“You ready to do this?” Zach asked her, drawing her attention.
She didn’t see a life raft inflated off the side of the boat. She was sure they’d had one somewhere. Didn’t all boats? “Ready to what? Swim? I don’t see anything out there to swim to!”
Jasmine heard the panicked edge to her voice, but she was powerless to stop it.
Zach pointed to a small sliver of beach, barely visible from her position.
“No way. I’ll never make it. I’m a horrible swimmer.”
He grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady. “You have to, or stay here with the others. I can’t control them if I’m no longer on board,” he said quietly, his face serious.
“We’ll help you swim, baby,” Dante said. “We’ve been trained for this. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
“And you can wear a life vest if it makes you feel better.”
Jasmine nodded, breathing deeply to calm herself down. “Yeah. Yeah, that’ll be better. I’ll take the vest.”
She hadn’t noticed, but they were all loaded down with small canvas bags stuffed to the brim with what she assumed was supplies from the boat. She slipped on a life vest and tied it around her chest and waist. She looked out again at the thread of beach shimmering like a needle in the moonlight. Before she had a chance to argue against them, someone pushed her overboard.
The moment the cold water touched her skin, she wanted to scream, but that would fill her mouth with water and she’d drown. Through sheer effort of will, she choked the scream back and kicked with all her might. The vest helped her stay afloat and she bobbed back up to the surface.
Behind her, she heard three more splashes as Zach, Dante, and Lucas joined her in the water. It made her feel a little better that they hadn’t just tricked her into going in alone so they could abandon her to her own devices.
Blinking water out of her eyes, she felt them sting from the salt. She gritted her teeth, paddling her arms and kicking her legs. She didn’t seem to be making any headway, however. She would have been surprised if she’d managed to swim even ten feet. There was no way for her to tell how far or how little she’d gone.
Zach growled impatiently beside her and grabbed her vest, tugging her along behind him as he swam to the shore.
Beside them, she could just make out Dante and Lucas in the water. They had determined looks on their faces, but they pulled ahead of her and Zach, seemingly without effort, even loaded down with the canvas bags which had to be heavy if they took on any water.
Jasmine kicked and splashed, trying to swim, but it was difficult with the buoyancy of the vest floating up around her neck and armpits. The darkness didn’t help either. She couldn’t see shit from the water and paranoia had her expecting a shark attack at any moment.
She blamed that fear on watching Jaws too much as a kid.
Her arms and legs began to feel heavy from the exertion. She couldn’t imagine how the guys must be feeling towing the bags and her.
Waves crashed against her, strangling her with water. She coughed and sputtered, wondering how much longer the torture would continue.
After what felt like forever, she felt the pull of shoreline beneath her feet, tugging them in to the beach. It didn’t take much longer before she could feel sand beneath her toes and she was able to walk instead of swim.
She stood and waded to the shore, dropping to the beach, thankful to still be alive. On her knees and hands, she gasped for breath, watching water drip off her chin and nose into the sand. Beside her, the men dropped their bags on the beach, catching their breath.
“That was a little further than I thought,” Lucas said with a grin, breathing heavily.
Dante chuckled and Zach grunted. “You good,” Zach said, looking at her with concern.
“Yeah. I thought I was a goner for a little while there.”
“I knew you could do it. You’re tougher than you think,” Zach said.
“Not without help,” she admitted.
“Come on. We can’t stay here,” Zach said, getting to his feet and opening the bag. He threw a pile of clothes at her. “Put these on. We’ve got dry clothes for everyone, socks and shoes.”
Jasmine was surprised the bag had protected the clothes from getting wet, and figured the bag must’ve been water resistant. She stripped the life vest off and immediately caught the men staring at her shirt. When she looked down, she saw her nipples peak the wet t-shirt. Feeling her face heat, she turned around and stripped out of the shirt and wet bikini top, quickly slipping a dry shirt on and then shimmying out of her wet jeans.
She pulled a pair of sweatpants on. She supposed she’d go commando, since he hadn’t thrown her any panties. It wasn’t that she hadn’t done something like that before on laundry day when all of her clothes and undergarments were dirty. She just hadn’t done anything like that with three men around.
Sitting in the sand, she pulled on socks and shoes, then stood. In the time she’d had her back to the men, they’d managed to change into pants. It was a tight fit, given they’d come from her father. She supposed it was lucky for them he had a habit of leaving clothes everywhere he went and was of an average size. They were definitely broader in the shoulders and chest and were in the process of pulling shirts on.
Muscles moved in fascinating patterns as they dressed, and she felt magnetized to watching them dress. She caught herself when Lucas grinned at her, flashing white teeth in the dark and winking when he caught her looking.
Jasmine smiled back and shook her head, feeling a flash of heat cross her face. She got to her feet as they finished up, avoiding looking at their muscular physiques with tightly stretched t-shirts and pants. Each of the three men swung a heavy bag over their shoulder.
They began walking along the stretch of untouched beach. It looked for all the world like some abandoned island.
At least she didn’t have to worry about tripping over anything in the sand. That was the brightest point she could look at, over her situation. She only hoped they intended to keep their word and let her go on her way at the first chance. She could see no reason for them to keep her. They hadn’t once mentioned using her as a ransom, and honestly, there wasn’t anyone left alive in her family that would pay it.
Dad had died of a heart attack not long after losing his wife of twenty years.
Even now, just thinking about her lost family made her eyes mist. It was hard to hear music they’d enjoyed or watch movies they’d seen together as a family. Added to that, she had the fear that she would follow in their footsteps and die at an early age.
As much as she tried to be healthy, it seemed like it didn’t matter. Genetics were against her in this.
The men stopped, drawing her attention away from her morose thoughts.
Zach pointed. “Keep to the beach and you should find a fishing village somewhere along the way. They dot the whole area. You’ll be fine.”
She realized then that they really intended to let her go. Elation surged through her, and some sadness, realizing they were hunted men and she would never see them again. She couldn’t help but pity them and the obstacles they would face.
Impulsively happy, she hugged Zach, wrapping her arms around his neck and thanking him.
The contact appeared to be too much for Zach, however. His arms tightened around her. His hand caught in her short, spiky locks and he tilted her head back, locking his mouth against hers in a searing kiss.
Heat washed through her, enveloping her senses as he kissed her long and deep. His mouth was hot, his tongue rough, his kiss sending a dizzying wave of desire through her that caught her off guard with its hungry intensity. Immediate lust pervaded her, traveling through her core as enveloping and heated as magma.
The kiss ended almost as abruptly as it had begun, but she was left speechless. Almost as soon as he’d let her go, Lucas grabbed her and spun her towards him. He kissed her, nibbling her mouth hungrily before Dante snatched her away and kissed her just as ravenous
ly and eagerly as the other two.
When she was finally released, she felt like collapsing in the sand. Her knees felt like jelly. She damned sure hadn’t expected three kisses in a row, each different, each heated and devastating to her senses.
Her mind reeled from the sensual onslaught and her pulse raced, making her heart feel like a trapped bird in her chest. She tried to calm down, but with the way they were looking at her, it was almost impossible.
“Jesus,” she mumbled, touching her kiss swollen lips in a daze, wondering what the hell had just happened.
They grinned briefly at her. “Get going,” Zach said, pushing her in the right direction before they could change their mind.
Lucas tipped an imaginary hat. Dante blew her a kiss and flashed an enigmatic smile.
Numbly, she watched them disappear into the overgrowth, knowing they would have it worse than her.
She walked on wobbly legs, her feet dragging in the sand, lost in her thoughts as she trudged up the beach. The lustful thoughts they inspired in her were embarrassing under every circumstance. She couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to lay beneath them or have them inside her. She smiled and shook her head. Things like that happened in porn movies, not in real life.
The sky lightened on the horizon, and ahead, she heard male voices speaking in Spanish. Feeling heartened that she’d found a measure of civilization, she broke into a run, breathing heavily after a few minutes of struggling on the beach.
“Help!” she called, hoping to get their attention before they could leave. With the hour, it was most assuredly fishermen getting ready for the day. She seemed to remember that most fishermen went out in the hours before full sunlight.
And then she saw the group of men smoking cigarettes and chatting amongst themselves. On the beach, she saw a boat that looked remarkably similar to the one that’d chased her away from the docks and soldiers who obviously didn’t belong to the local militia or fishermen.
They had to be some of the men looking for Zach, Lucas, and Dante!
They were carrying what looked like assault rifles.
Her cries for help were immediately choked off. She stopped, feeling panic rise. This fishing village was obviously in contact with the people who’d been holding the other men prisoner. She knew she didn’t want anything to do with them. She only prayed they didn’t spot her before she could slip away unnoticed.
“Hey! What are you doing here?” they shouted, catching her movement from the corner of their eyes. The men immediately raised their weapons, halting her escape.
She debated with herself, wondering if she could make it into the jungle before they shot her. Would they take her hostage and hold her for ransom? Would they just kill her for coming up on their encampment? She couldn’t count on their good graces just taking her to the American embassy.
In fact, she was pretty sure she’d be going to the same place the guys had escaped from, and she knew she didn’t want that.
Indecision rooted her to the spot for a brief second. Perhaps it was the sight of the guns that momentarily stunned her. Whatever the case, when they began grinning and running towards her, it was all the impetus she needed to make a break for it.
Erupting into action, she spun around, heading up the inclining beach for the jungle. She leaned down and grabbed two handfuls of sand, scanning the area for anything else she could use as a weapon, but the beach was devoid of anything useful.
Behind her, she heard them yell and charge after her.
Her legs, already tired from the swim and jog down the beach, felt like two dead logs. Her muscles screamed from abuse, burning with lactic acid as she strove to keep a distance between her and her pursuers.
They were rested and in far better shape than she was in. Before she could reach the safety of jungle cover, they’d caught her.
Someone snatched the back of her shirt, jerking her to a halt. She heard fabric rip, felt the bite of cloth around her collarbone, and sudden air lifting her back. She hit the sand and started kicking.
A face loomed over her and she threw sand at him, blinding him with grit. He screamed and kicked her in the stomach, knocking all the breath from her lungs.
Choking and coughing, she rolled to her belly, rising on her knees to scramble away from him, but he recovered quicker than she’d thought, or maybe it was another soldier who’d caught up with her.
She didn’t dare look back. She kicked with all her might, landing a nut shot as she’d been taught in self-defense school when she’d been a teenager.
The man screamed in agony and growled, grabbing her foot and dragging her back. He yanked on her legs, trying to keep her from kicking him. Behind him stood one of the soldiers from the boat, grinning and scanning the jungle, looking for signs of the other men.
Sand scraped her cheeks, getting in her eyes. She screamed and tore at the ground, trying to escape but knowing deep down that she was badly outgunned and outnumbered. She had no hope of getting away from them, and the fury she felt directed around her did not bode well for her safety.
With fear, she realized she might be killed on the spot, and there was no one around who could help her.
***
Zach, Dante, and Lucas were quiet as they moved into the dense jungle. They’d been keeping to the edges of the jungle to make sure Jasmine reached safety. It was the best that they could do for her. As much as they might want to, she could never go with them. Not and be safe.
The few supplies they had would run out, and they would have to live off the land. It was too much to ask anyone to do that didn’t have to.
Zach was still trying to convince himself he’d made the right decision when a blood-curdling scream erupted through the air.
His blood turned to ice. When he realized at once something had gone wrong with their plan to let her go to a local fishing village, but he had no idea how or why.
Instant rage transformed the ice into a white hot blaze of fury. The change came over all of them before they were aware of it even happening.
They ran as one, their human bodies melding into wolf. The pain was hardly recognized as the sounds of her struggles reached their ears. They tore through the jungle, landing on all fours as their bodies were taken over by the beast barely held in check at all times.
They welcomed the change, the speed and strength it gave them. Racing faster, tearing through the overgrowth unimpeded, time seemed to slow to a crawl.
He could smell the scent of her fear, and recognized the smell of gun oil and gunpowder. The project guards had found her somehow and were intent on taking her with them and using her to find out where they were. His worst fear had been realized.
A howl spilled from his throat, answered by Dante and Lucas. The eerie call was enough to send anyone other than a simple mind into sheer panic.
They burst through the line of jungle, onto the beach, fangs dripping with saliva, fury rolling inside.
The men holding her down looked up, screamed in terror, raised rifles to defend themselves.
The bullets could barely slow their beasts down. Zach launched into the man pinning Jasmine to the sand, ripping into his throat and killing him instantly.
As the blood tinged the air, their minds were taken over by the kill, the urge to taste blood and destroy everything in their path.
The soldiers never stood a chance.
Around him, screams of pain broke the dawn air.
Seeing her caught and held against her will by the bastards who’d been tormenting him for months filled him with inhuman fury. Barely pausing to make sure she was alive, he returned to battle, biting and clawing, killing everyone in his path. Dimly, he recognized Dante’s and Lucas’ howls and growling as they left no one alive and allowed no one to escape.
Slowly, with their enemies conquered, the change reversed as their human minds took back control. Sometimes, it seemed easier than others to regain control. Perhaps it was the stage of the moon that allowed them an easier time of
it. Perhaps it was because they were settling into their new role in life.
Zach didn’t pause to think long over it, only feeling relief when his hands were his hands, though blood covered every inch of him.
He moved to where Jasmine had been laying in the sand, but she was no longer there.
For a brief moment, panic seized him, and then he saw her heading back into the jungle. “Jasmine!” he yelled.
She stopped and spun around, running back to him. She’d managed to pull her torn shirt back on.
“Thank god it’s you!” she yelled, colliding with him and holding him tight. “Those men, they were going to take me back to your prison! They kept asking me where you were, but I didn’t know! I tried to fight them off, but there were too many of them. And then these fucking wolves came out of nowhere and killed everyone. I didn’t know what else to do but run! We’ve got to go before those animals come back and eat us alive! There are dead bodies everywhere!”
Zach held her tight. “Nothing is going to get us, Jasmine.”
She tightened her arms, looking wildly around. “How the hell would you know? You didn’t see it happen. It was insane.”
Behind him, he recognized the silent approach of Dante and Lucas. They were breathing heavily from the fight still surging their blood. He knew he might as well divulge the truth to her now, rather than try to hide anything from her. “We were the monsters. The wolves.”
She pulled back, looking up at him, confusion etched across her face. “What do you mean? You can’t mean…not those things. That’s not possible.”
“It is, Jasmine,” Lucas said from behind. “It’s why we tried to leave you alone, to protect you from the truth. We’ve been…changed. Infected.”
They could see that she didn’t believe them. Who would?
Zach gave her a shake, knocking the misty look off her face. She focused on him, light dawning in her eyes.
“How? How can you be animals?”
Zach sighed. “We caught a virus in the jungle of Cuba picking up a drone. We don’t know if it was intentional or not. It was fast acting, whatever it was. Before we could reach pickup, the change was on us, and we had no control over what happened after that. We changed others along with us. They managed to subdue us with enough bullets to take us prisoner and we’ve been held in a prison facility ever since while they experimented on us, seeing what it takes to wound and kill us.”
Savage Hunger (Project Nemesis) Page 5