Page 23 of The Last Man on Earth
I remember seeing a jagged rock that looked like an arrowhead, and a patch of yellow flowers I brushed against. Now I’m retracing my steps, looking for them. They’re my lifeline.
That shit sounds dramatic as fuck, but it’s real. People die doing shit like this. Usually white people, I would imagine. Niggas don’t walk into the jungle on purpose. We got too much shit goin’ to be out here creating excitement like that.
I’m moving slow. My steps are deliberate. I’m scanning my surroundings like a fucking robot.
Throw me in a concrete jungle and I’m making my way out, no doubt. I grew up in the A. Not the rough parts exactly, but I put myself in places I ain’t have no business being and lived to tell it. But this shit here is even more dangerous. My mouth is dry now, so dry I can’t even swallow.
I could sit down right here and just wait for death to come. Maybe get chewed on by bugs until an animal comes along to finish the job. It would make the pain go away, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t have to think about my cousin and nephew burnt to ash in that plane, or Ms. K laying in a shallow grave near the wreckage. It could be good. It could be peaceful.
But shit, I got a lot to live for. And if I don’t make it back, that would be like killing Ariana with my own hands. That’s a strong woman, but we all got our breaking point. I wouldn’t wanna put her through that. She don’t deserve it.
Shit.
I think I know this branch.
I stare down at it, smiling as I realize the lighter part of the wood is from where I broke it. Snatched that shit down to the white meat, and thank God I did. Relief floods through me, so strong I almost go to my knees on the dirt. I follow it, one branch to the next, until the trees start to thin. The air shifts, then I smell it…the smoke from our spot.
When I step out from the trees, Ariana is there, staring at me with her arms folded.
“Where the hell were you?” she snaps, her voice cracking a little.
I shrug, trying to play it cool even though I’m damn near crying inside. “Told you. Exploring.”
Her nostrils flare, her eyes narrow, and I realize what I’m looking at.
She was scared.
Forme.
I can’t lie, that does a little something to me.
DAY THREE
Chapter 12
Ariana
It’s early in themorning, but I have no idea of the actual time.
Villain stands a few feet away with his back turned while I balance most of my weight on my left leg. The ground is soft, and the air smells heavy with salt. Birds sing. Leaves rustle. And I urinate, cringing at how loud it is. Or maybe I’m just being self conscious.
It’s hard to go with him this close to me, but out here, I realize I’m gonna have to relinquish my privacy and my pride. I wipe quickly with a napkin, then turn back to him.
“Done.”
He nods, and I’m grateful he doesn’t say anything. It’s quiet the whole way back to your spot, where we sit in silence. It’s an odd kind of quiet, stretched between us like a rope I’m scared might snap. Both of us keep looking up, scanning the sky like we can conjure a rescue plane through sheer will.
But nothing comes.
Time passes. How much, I have no way of knowing. Villain took off his Rolex last night. He said it was broken, frozen in time at the exact moment of the crash.
At some point, when the shadows have shifted slightly on the ground, I decide I can’t hold back anymore.
“I have this horrible feeling that nobody’s coming.”
His head jerks in my direction, his jaw tight. “Why the fuck would you say that?” he demands. “I done told you a million times. I’m famous. Ain’t no way the whole world ain’t out lookin’ for me right now.”
I almost laugh, it’s so ridiculous.
