Page 91 of The Last Man on Earth
His sits back on his heels and lets out a long breath as he looks back at me. “They might be coming to help us, but I’m still a nigga. Can’t take no chances.”
We’re both silent as we look around our camp. The firepit. The clothesline. The path our feet wore in the ground that leads to the stream. So many memories are stitched into this place.
I feel strange, and I don’t know how to explain or make sense of it.
He stands and reaches for my hand. With both of our bags in hand, he leads me back to the beach. Back to the promise of home.
We pass the HELP sign, which is indecipherable now. The sign, the arrow…all blurred into lumps of nothing. That’s what my mind feels like right now…blurred senselessness.
And I don’t know how to feel.
Chapter 45
Vincent
Two helicopters circle twice,slicing through the sky, blades whipping the sand up like a hurricane. I squint through the sand clouds with my heart pounding.
This is it.
They land a few yards away, then a swarm of people in bright orange jumpsuits rush toward us.
One of the medics stops next to Ari first, checking her pulse, her breathing, her eyes. Another hands her a bottle of something orange. They slip it slowly between her lips, saying something to her that I can’t hear over the whirring of the blades.
My throat tightens when one of them touches her stomach. He’s being careful, but my first instinct is still to whoop his ass.
The other one approaches me just then, calling to me in a language I don’t understand, but I’m too busy looking past him to worry about it.
“Wait!” I call to the medic who’s leading Ari to the first helicopter. “Hold up! I’m going with her!”
The medic shakes his head.“Protocolo.”
“Nah, that’s my girl. And my baby. I’m the father!”
He shakes his head.
Fuck this. He can’t understand me, and I can’t understand him. I mean, I can guess whatprotocolomeans, but I don’t give a fuck about that.
I start in Ari’s direction, but the other medic jumps in front of me. It becomes a fuckin’ tug of war, and I’m about to steal on this motherfucker when the helicopter door closes.
And now, it's in the air.
My chest caves in a little bit. I feel like I just lost my family all over again. She’s gone, just like that. This shit fuckin’hurts.
“Senhor.” The medic taps my shoulder, then inclines his head for me to follow. With bags in hand and my heart in my throat, he loads me into the second helicopter, where he promptly wraps me in a weird ass blanket, then hands me a bottle of something orange and a protein bar.
“Where the fuck are we going?” I ask as we lift in the air. The man gestures for me to drink. I stare at him while he wraps a blood pressure cuff around my arm, realizing I won’t get any answers right now.
I crane my neck, searching for Jane’s helicopter. It’s there, in front of us, but I can’t see her. I can’t keep her safe. I’m at the mercy of whoever the fuck these people are, and ain’t a damn thing I can do but sit here and wait.
I’m frustrated as hell. Then I fuck around and look down. The island,ourisland, shrinks beneath me. That’s been the only home I’ve know for however the fuck long it’s been. I don’t even know anymore. My people are still down there. That hurts, too, more than I can stand.
This shit is blowing me. I just got rescued. I should be happy. I should feel relieved. But I just feel lost right now.
Chapter 46
Ari
As soon as Istep off the helicopter, the medic grabs my hand and walks me into a giant hangar, it looks like. There’s a shock of cold air, and the light is so bright, I put my hand over my eyes. This place is the exact opposite of the island—it’s sterile, sharp-edged, and colorless.
