“Do you speak English,” Tank asked as they approached.
The oldest member of the group—a man somewhere in his sixties with a long white beard, piercing green eyes, and a face that looked as if it had been baked by the sun—came forward while the others held back, their guns still aimed at us.
“We speak English,” the man said. “And just so you know, you’re trespassing. This is our land. We’ve claimed it for ourselves—and you’re destroying it.”
“With all due respect, we didn’t mean to trespass,” Tank said. “Lightning struck our plane. It took out one of the engines, and we lost five people before we crashed. We’ve been waiting to be rescued—and I think we have a good chance of being rescued. Just a moment ago, we heard a plane nearby, which means that they might be searching for us. Did you hear it?”
“We heard it.”
“We’re hoping to be off the island as soon as possible. If you have any way to communicate with the outside world, we could be gone today. Or tomorrow at the latest.”
“The outside world?” the man said. “Are you fucking kidding me? We chose to leave that world behind. We escaped from that world to live out the rest of our lives here. We’ve been here for years. And you’re stealing our food.”
“The majority of what we’ve taken are fallen coconuts,” Tank said. “The second day we were here, we also took a few pineapples because we were hungry. Otherwise, we’ve only taken what was plentiful, such as the breadfruit and the papaya. We’ve also fished. For a water source, we’ve tapped into the many bamboo trees around us. To keep ourselves clean, we’ve used a nearby waterfall.”
“You see, that’s one of the problems we have with you,” the man said. “That waterfall is where we get our fresh water. You people have polluted it.”
“We had no idea. We just wanted to bathe.”
“And because you did, that water is no longer safe to drink. Now, we have to go to another water source that is miles away.” He pointed his gun straight at Tank’s forehead. “You’ve inconvenienced us.”
“We didn’t mean to.”
“But you did.” He nodded at Cutter. “And so has he, even though we fixed him up for you. When we found him in the jungle, he had a broken arm and a deep gash on his leg. There were smaller cuts on his body, but they’ve healed. He also was burned on his torso from when the plane exploded—which we saw, by the way. But treating him with aloe took care of that. Your boy is lucky to be alive. He owes his life to us. We’ve tried to do what we could for him, but the infection on his leg isn’t pretty. At this point, he either has blood poisoning or is on the verge of developing it. Unless you’re some kind of miracle worker, he’ll likely die of that. I’d give him a couple of days—tops.”
“I can’t tell you how grateful we are for what you’ve done for our friend,” Tank said. “We were beginning to think that we’d lost him. You have no idea how thankful we are that you brought him back to us. And that you cared for him.”
“The jungle gives,” the man said. “Find the right plant, and you can heal most any infection. But the one on his leg? I don’t know what the hell that is, or if there’s anything here to fix it. But it’s bad. And you’ll be burying him soon. On our land, by the way—which none of us likes.”
“Can I ask what you’ve treated his infection with?”
“Agar. Not that you know what that is.”
“I do,” Alexa said. “And you were exactly right to use it—it’s a strong, natural antibiotic. Kelp is something else we could use to fight his infection.”
“We didn’t use kelp,” the man said. “And who the hell are you?”
“I’m Alexa,” she said. “Alexa Blackwell. I’m an environmentalist. I work to sustain the environment.”
“And yet you shower where we drink our water. Explain that.”
“We didn’t know that anyone was using it as a source for drinking water, and it’s all we could find. We were desperate.”
“Desperate? Here’s when you were desperate, girl—when you were bitten by those spiders. That’s right—we also saw that happen. And frankly, I’m surprised that you survived. Those motherfuckers have killed too many of us during our years here. I thought for sure that you were going to shit the bed. And yet here you are—healthy. How is that?”
She motioned at Tank. “He sliced open my neck and drew out the venom. We had Tylenol to bring down my fever and Benadryl to stave off the inflammation. We used penicillin to prevent infection.” She pointed at Cutter. “He got those supplies off the plane before it exploded. I’m very lucky.”
“You know who isn’t lucky? All of you.” He cocked his head to the side. “We’re giving you five days to get off this island. If you’re not gone by then, we will kill you in your sleep. It’s not as if we haven’t been around your hut at night, wondering when we should act. The women keep telling us to hold off—that help will come. But you’ve been here for almost two weeks now, and nobody’s come. We thought a rescue plane would be here at this point. If you’re lucky, maybe one will come. But make no doubt about it. This is our island, and it’s here to sustain us—not you.”
“How many are you?” Tank asked.
“Hundreds at this point.”
“When did you come here?”
“Thirty years ago.”
“Why?”
“What the hell business is it of yours?”
“I’m just curious.”
“We came here to be free—truly free. Free of governments. Free of bureaucracy. Free of a corrupt system that no longer works. At this point, my wife and our friends have lived here for a full generation. Children have been born and raised here. Friends and family members have died here. These men behind me? They are my sons. This is our home, and you’re not welcome here.”
“What if they don’t find us in five days?”
“Then I guess we’ll be tossing your bodies into the ocean.”
“Do you have any forms of communication that might help us get off the island?”
“Communication? There are no phones here. Don’t you get it? We came here to be alone. We came here to start a new life and to get away from everything that was oppressing us. Taxes, politics, rhetoric, bullshit. So listen to me on this. I’ll say it again. This is our island, and you’ve got five days to get the hell off of it.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“HE WAS LYING,” TANK said when they were out of earshot. “He does have contact with the outside world. His clothes were relatively new. Same goes for his sons. And he wore sneakers that definitely were a recent purchase—you could tell by looking at them and by how deep the treads in the sand were when he walked away from us. Here’s what I know from that exchange—somewhere on this island is a boat, and they use it to go to a neighboring island, which must be populated with people and with stores to purchase things like clothes and sneakers. Who knows where we are? Doesn’t matter. What matters is that we’re close to an island filled with people who can help us. I can promise you that.”
“One of his sons was wearing a T-shirt that said ‘Duck Dynasty,’” Daniella said. “Did you see that?”
“I did.”
“Who the hell wears a ‘Duck Dynasty’ T-shirt?”
“These people. And since that’s a relatively newish show, my point is made. They have access to a populated island.”
“The plane,” Lisa said. “I can’t hear it anymore. I think it’s gone.”
“It’ll be back,” Tank said, and then he knelt at my side and placed the back of his hand against Cutter’s forehead, likely to see if he was running a temperature, which he was.
“Are you with me?” Tank asked.
Cutter’s voice was barely a whisper when he spoke. “I’m here.”
“Are you strong enough to talk?”
“Yes.”
“What do I need to know?”
“He wasn’t lying. There are hundreds of them here. I saw the compound, which is tucked within the jungle—but it’
s huge. The women demanded that the men help me, and so they did. They have a shitload of supplies here. Everything you could imagine. They even had a sling for my arm, for Christ’s sake.”
“Did they treat you with drugs?”
“No, but they have drugs. I heard some of the women say that they should shoot me up with penicillin, but the men weren’t having any of that. They didn’t want to waste it on me. Instead, they chose the agar. They wrapped the plant around the cut on my leg. They cleaned my leg and changed my dressing each day with fresh leaves. They poured alcohol on it to help kill the infection. But it was all for not. My leg is in bad shape. I can feel it. I can smell it. And I can tell you this—it’s not healing.”
“We’ll get you well.”
“It’s too late. With each day that passes, I feel as if I’m slipping away.”
“Alex and I will take you over to the hut. I’ll examine your leg, and we’ll go forward from there. What I need you to do is to focus on your health, and pull through for all of us. I need you to fight this, Cutter. I looked everywhere for you. None of us is about to lose you now.”
“I don’t know if that’s a choice, buddy. It’s not good.”
“We’ll see about that.” He looked up at Alex. “Grab his legs. I’ll take him by the shoulders. We need to get him back to the hut and expose the wound, so we can see what we’re dealing with before we go forward with any treatment.”
“Is there any penicillin left?” Lisa asked.
“Some. We’ll use what’s left of it, and then we’ll see what the jungle has to offer. The key is to kill whatever infection has taken hold of him. But we’ll succeed. Do you hear me, Cutter—we’ll succeed. I promise you that we will.”
“I appreciate that,” he said. “But I think you should save your supplies. I know what I’m feeling, Tank. I know what it means from our training. I’m a lost cause. Save the penicillin for yourselves should you need it.” When Tank was about to speak, Cutter reached out and gripped his arm. “I need you to listen to me now. No bullshit, OK? We’ve never done bullshit. We’ve always spoken the truth. I know that I’ll die from this. I won’t be here much longer. All I ask is that you keep me comfortable, that you stay by my side, and—if you do get off this island—that you take my body with you. For my parents’ sake.”
“You’re not leaving any of us,” Tank said. “So, get yourself together. Fight this. Alex, grab his feet. Let’s go. We don’t have long until the sun goes down, and there’s plenty to do while we still have light.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
WHEN ALEX AND TANK got Cutter back to the hut, Tank immediately revealed the wound on Cutter’s left calf. While he assessed it, he kept his features neutral even though it was clear to all of us that Cutter’s leg was severely infected.
The cut was deep, and a yellowish fluid was seeping out of it. The skin around the gash was red and swollen, and there appeared to be red streaks spidering out from it, as if they wanted to claim his leg for their own.
Even I knew that what I saw wasn’t a good sign. In fact, it was a dire sign. From growing up on a farm, I knew enough to know that the wound I was looking at had likely affected his lymphatic system, which meant that the situation was indeed severe. Cutter needed whatever penicillin we had left, but from what I was seeing?
Even that wouldn’t be enough.
While Tank tended to him, I took Alexa aside.
“We have four shots of penicillin left,” I said. “But from what I’m seeing on Cutter’s leg, that’s not going to be nearly enough. What’s in this jungle that can help him now?”
“Agar is very good as a topical treatment,” she said. “And I’ve seen plenty of it right around our hut, so there’s that. Believe it or not, kelp also can help, and that’s everywhere on the shore. The trick is to get it when it’s as fresh as possible, just as the tide is going out, as it is now.”
“What else?”
“If we can find it, thyme can be used as a disinfectant. But St. John’s wort is perhaps the most powerful armor we can find. It’s strong in situations such as this, and I’m fairly certain that it grows here. That said, rose petals also are powerful against infection, if you can believe that. And so is echinacea, which is plentiful on this island. And then there is peppermint, which also should be applied topically. I’ve seen that here as well.”
“Then we need to go in search of all of those. Are you up for that?”
“I’d do anything for Cutter,” she said. “The sky is still bright. Let me grab a bag, and then let’s get to it.”
BY THE TIME WE WERE leaving, Tank already had given Cutter his first shot of penicillin.
“Where are you two going?” he asked.
“In search of plants that can help Cutter.”
“Don’t wander far, and don’t be gone long. The sun will set in the next five hours.”
“It won’t take us that long,” Alexa said. “Since we’ve been here, I’ve already seen most the plants that we need. We just need to find them—starting with what’s right in front of us.” She pointed over at the shore. “The kelp.”
IT TOOK US THREE HOURS to find what we needed for Cutter, who was in some sort of dream-state when we returned.
“It’s not good,” Blackwell said when we approached the hut. “His fever is high. Tank gave him Tylenol to keep it in check. But I think he needs more at this point.”
“Then give him more,” I said, showing her our bag filled with plants. “We’ll also try this. We’re not giving up.”
“What did you find?”
“Everything but the thyme. We found kelp, agar, St. John’s wort, echinacea, and rose petals.”
“Rose petals?”
“They have antibacterial properties,” Alexa said. “If we use a bit of water to mash all of it together into a thick spread, we can smear it into his wound, and hope that that buys us time. We got plenty of everything, but all of this needs to be reasonably fresh to work efficiently. What we gathered must be applied now, in the morning, and in the afternoon, at which point Jennifer and I will go for more. Along with the penicillin, we might be able to manage this.”
“What if we can’t?” Daniella said.
“That’s not a question,” I shot at her. “We’re going to save his life. Understand?”
Her eyes widened at the sharp tone in my voice. “I only want the best for Cutter,” she said. “You have to know that.”
“Then be with him,” I said. “Talk with him. If he sleeps, hold his hand and comfort him, just like you did for Alexa when those spiders bit her. Support him. That’s what he needs from all of us right now—our support and our love.”
“Cutter saved my life on that plane,” Daniella said. “I know what he did for me. I was behaving like an idiot. I regret all of it. And I want all of you to know that I apologize for how I acted. Obviously, I have some growing up to do.”
“To say the least,” I said to her. “Now prove to all of us that you’re up for that challenge by helping Cutter. Where is Tank?”
“He went into the jungle not long after you left. He said he’d be back by sundown.”
That surprised me. “Where did he go?”
“To look for the boat.”
“If a boat even exists, how would he know where to look for it?”
“Cutter told him the general location of their camp. It’s on the other side of the island.”
“On the other side of the island?”
“Apparently, the island is narrow. Cutter said that getting to the opposite side of it should take no more than two hours.”
“Tank went alone?”
“Alex went with him. Tank has his gun. He gave his knife to Alex.”
“Jesus Christ,” I said. I turned to Blackwell, who was standing at the hut’s entrance. “What were they thinking? Those people know that Cutter knows where their camp is located. They know that Cutter would share that information with us. Because of that, they’re now on hyper alert, armed and ready i
f any of us dare to come anywhere near them.”
“What’s done is done,” she said. “Daniella was their confidante. They left without saying anything to me.”
“And how does that sit with you?”
“Not well.”
“What are they going to do if they find this boat that may or may not exist? If it does, certainly they will be guarding it. Maybe some people even live on it in an effort to protect it.” I turned to Daniella. “Did Tank or Alex say anything about that?”
“They didn’t.”
“Then I don’t see the point of any of this. Are they planning on stealing the boat? They’ll be shot if they do.”
“I think they want to see for themselves what we’re dealing with,” Blackwell said.
“Cutter has already told us what we’re dealing with.”
“Hearing and seeing are two different things. I’m not excusing what they did, but I think they wanted to judge for themselves the enormity of what’s at hand.”
“They already know from Cutter, who told us that there are hundreds of them on this island. What more do they need to know? I’m sorry if I’m being a bitch about this, but that’s my husband out there—and he doesn’t have Tank’s training. So, yes, I’m concerned. And I’m pissed off. Hopefully, Tank will enlighten me on why he decided to do this when they return.”
“I believe he will. Tank is no fool. He did this for a reason, and he’ll share that reason with you.”
“It better be a good reason,” I said. “The other half of my life is out there with him now. And if anything happens to him, there will be hell to pay. I can promise all of you that.”
THREE HOURS LATER, the sun had set, it was twilight, and neither Tank nor Alex had returned.
At that point, Alexa and I had cleaned Cutter’s wound again, applied the herbal paste to it, and wrapped it in fresh, water-soaked kelp and palm leaves so the mixture could settle deeper into the cut. With his temperature rising, we administered more Tylenol, which thankfully we had plenty of. As for the penicillin, I wasn’t sure when to give him another shot, so I didn’t, but hoped that Tank would return with Alex soon so he could inform me when the time was right.
Annihilate Him (Volume 2) Page 9