Page 98 of Blue Arrow Island
A high-pitched squeal sounds from deeper in the cave. I turn the flashlight that direction, now making out the sounds of scratching on rock and loud chittering.
“What is that?”
“Shit,” Marcus murmurs.
He grabs my stun stick from my hand and quickly sets it on the ground, then gives me an apologetic look.
“This won’t take long.”
“What—”
He wraps his arms around me and sweeps my legs out from beneath me. I barely get out a squeak of protest before we’re on the ground, his massive body covering mine.
“What the hell are you doing? Look, I like you, but this isn?—”
A whooshing sound comes from the cave’s belly, fast as a freight train speeding down tracks. It sounds like heavy fabric flapping together, clicking sounds added to the chittering, squealing and scratching.
Oh, fuck me.Bats.
The roar is deafening. It’s a massive bat colony, all exiting the cave. Thousands of wings flutter around us, but Marcus has me completely covered. One of his arms is on the cave floor around my head, the side of his face resting against mine.
“It’s okay,” he says, his warm breath a caress over my cheek.
It takes a couple of minutes for me to be able to hear anything other than the whooshing and flapping of the bats. I can feel Marcus’s heart beating steadily against my breast. He’s supporting most of his weight on his knee and elbow, so he’s covering me without crushing me.
There are only a few light squeals and flutters now. He starts to move, but I grab his waistband.
“Not yet. I’m afraid of bats.”
He stays in place, a droplet of sweat falling from his sweatband onto my forehead.
“They won’t hurt you,” he says in a soothing tone.
“They carry rabies,” I hiss. “And bacterial infections.”
“They’re not gonna bite you.”
“I got bit by a bat as a kid.”
“Shit, really?”
“Yeah. My family was camping. It was a fluke thing; there was only one. But we had to leave the camping trip and go to the hospital.”
“Damn.”
“It was hairy. And it hurt like hell when it bit me.”
“I think they’re gone now. But we can wait longer if you want.”
I release his waistband, my cheeks warming. “Sorry about grabbing you.”
“I grabbed you first.”
“True. Maybe you should apologize.”
He arches a brow, amused. “Twice in one day?”
“You don’t need to apologize. I would’ve probably died of heart failure if you hadn’t done that.”
