Jasmine looked up. Their faces were indistinguishable in the dark. “No. Not really. I mean, I have Aunts, Uncles, and cousins, but they’ve never given two shits about me and my family. My family turned their back on my mother when she married my father. A lot’s changed in the south, but some families are still prejudiced.”
“What do you mean?” Zach asked.
Dante nodded his head. He knew what was up.
“She was white and married an older black man. He was ex-military. They dated for years before finally getting married and having me. Mom already had my brother from a bad high school relationship, so they already looked down on her for that and thought she was trash. Dad and mom dated for years before I think they finally stopped caring what people thought about them and decided to do what made them happy.”
“Well, what about them? Wouldn’t they be looking for you?” he asked.
Jasmine sighed, feeling choked up. Some days were harder than others to talk about it. “I haven’t always been this size. I used to be big as a house. We all were. Mama always thought she’d get gotten by a heart attack. She used to joke about her weight and needing to change her ways. Breast cancer took her. She wasted away to nothing. In some ways, it made her happy that she wouldn’t be buried in a coffin the size of a piano box. That crazy heifer,” she said, giving a watery, choked up laugh. “Bubba had always had a problem drinking. He was my half-brother and born twelve years before me. It bothered him that none of our family wanted anything to do with us. He self-medicated with alcohol, amongst other things. Esophageal cancer had spread through his body, but his kidneys failed before the cancer could finish him off.”
“Jesus,” Zach muttered.
“That’s horrible,” Dante and Lucas echoed.
She shrugged, hugging her knees. “Dad. Well, I think he died of a broken heart. Him and mom had been together for … I don’t know. Maybe eight years before they even got married. My grandma tried for years and years to break them up without success. Mama always wanted her mother’s approval, but she finally realized she wasn’t going to get it and married my father a few years after she had me. They didn’t want to take a chance on dying and having one of her family raise us. And me, well, I guess something good came out of all that tragedy. I was terrified of following in their footsteps and dying before my time. I’ve worked my ass off to eat better and exercise. I know being overweight puts you at greater risk for these things and a Southern diet doesn’t help. I changed everything about myself to avoid that fate, but it’s still always in the back of my mind. It’ll never leave me. None of it. I’ve been lonely for a very long time. It’s hard not having a family that cares about you.”
They were all quiet for a moment, absorbing everything she’d said. Finally, Zach wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her some of his warmth.
“It shouldn’t be forgotten. They live on in your memory,” he said. “Fuck the rest of them if they don’t care about what a good and amazing person you are. They don’t deserve to know you and you’re better off without them if all they care about is what color your skin should or shouldn’t be. You’re a beautiful woman.”
“Thanks,” she said, going quiet. She wished she’d had a fire to stare into and space out at. Maybe it would curb some of those painful memories. Somehow, it helped talking about it with them. She’d had no one to talk to for such a long time. Friends didn’t seem to stick around when face with so much angst and sadness.
“We need to get some rest so we can continue on tomorrow,” Zach finally said after long, quiet moments.
It wasn’t as if there was anything keeping them awake.
Jasmine nodded and slid under the shelter. Zach moved to one side of her and Lucas and Dante moved to the other. In seconds, the space was comfortable and cozy, if a bit tight. She didn’t have any room to move, crushed between their big, muscular bodies.
Heat of a different sort uncurled low in her belly. She propped her head on her elbow, staring at Zach in the dark, feeling the heat of Lucas’ breath on the back of her neck. She was keenly aware of her backside squashed against his crotch. Lucas held perfectly still, trying not to touch her and make her feel threatened.
Dante was odd man out, facing the jungle and grumbling under his breath.
Jasmine could help but chuckle.
“What’s so funny,” Zach murmured.
“Oh. Nothing,” she said, curbing the impulse to laugh more. Just moving brought her breasts against his chest with aching awareness.
She stiffened, feeling something tickle her foot. A shriek escaped her.
“Just a bug,” Lucas said, kicking it away.
“What about snakes?” she asked, shuddering.
“You only gotta worry about three of them getting in here tonight,” Zach muttered, draping an arm over her waist.
“Huh?” She realized then what he was talking about when his groin pushed against her and his erection prodded her mound.
She bit her lip and wondered how the hell she was going to sleep with the three of them that night and actually get any rest at all when all she wanted was for their snakes to give her a bite.
***
Lucas remained awake even after the others had fallen asleep. He’d always had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar areas, no matter how exhausted he might be, and now was no different.
He smelled Jasmine’s short, spiky hair, enjoying her scent. He admired the fact that she’d shared her past with them, and thought of himself as a coward. He’d also been heavy in his youth. Even now, he was the bigger of the three. Where Dante was lean as a swimmer and Zach had the build of a quarterback, he looked more like a linebacker. Which in fact, he had been.
His mother, seeing his rising weight and wanting to do something about it, had gotten him into football in middle school, where his size had been an attribute to the team. He’d grown by leaps and bounds above the others, but had finally leveled out in high school.
When he’d chosen to go into the Marines, he’d actually had to lose weight before they’d accepted him. He still had the stretch marks on his waist, chest, and biceps, and looked at them now as battle scars in his struggles to gain control over his mind and body.
Slowly, Lucas eased a hand over her side, feeling Jasmine’s battle scars—the slight stretch marks that marred her skin where she’d once been big. It would never be a turn off to him. More than anything, it turned him on to know that she echoed his struggles and had succeeded.
It was common ground she didn’t know they had, but it endeared her to him all the more.
Touching her small waist, the flare into her round hips made his blood boil. He felt himself growing hard against her buttocks.
He nuzzled her neck, wishing he could take her right then and there, but he didn’t think any of the three would appreciate a move like that. Not when they all seemed to want to do something with her. It wasn’t safe, not yet. Just because they thought it was a blood borne pathogen didn’t mean they were right.
The scientists who’d experimented on them had deemed it necessary to take samples of all their fluids. Repeatedly. Especially that fucking bitch. He couldn’t count how many times she’d jacked him off to take his seminal fluid, cackling at his misery and beating on him when he resisted her.
Jasmine was nothing like that. There was sadness there, yes, but also an intense yearning for love. If she was anything like him, she’d had few enough relationships in her youth due to her weight.
Resolutely, Lucas removed his hand, willing his body to calm its response. He struggled to keep his mind blank and allow sleep to come.
There would be time for more. At least, he hoped there would.
Chapter Six
When the massacre on the beach had happened, they’d initially thought to retrieve some of the weapons for their own usage. However, given the humidity of the jungle and lack of resources, they didn’t have any way to keep the guns in good working condition and blood marred many of the weapons. Dante,
Lucas, and Zach had all the weapons they needed at their disposal. They were hunting and killing machines, and gunshots would only serve to help possible enemies in locating them.
They had to be more careful now that they knew the project had landed boats in the area and were definitely searching for them.
Anyone bringing up the rear of the line was in charge of making sure they covered their tracks. It wasn’t as much of a problem for the men, but Jasmine left a trail that would be easy for any experienced tracker to follow. They just had to hope that the project hadn’t anticipated having to hunt them down and wouldn’t be able to pinpoint their location.
The other groups on the run could lead them away from where they were at, and hopefully would.
Now, however, Dante almost wished he’d had one of the rifles, just to make things a little easier. His reflexes were fast enough to allow him to catch a few birds for breakfast, and he quickly located eggs enough for all of them.
Canned food was good for a few meals, but they all needed protein given the pace Zach wanted them to maintain.
When he came back to camp, he saw the others had awakened. He proudly held up his bounty for them to see. Zach and Lucas looked pleased. Jasmine smiled and held her stomach as if she was already looking forward to eating.
“I thought you’d all appreciate some breakfast this morning. I know our supplies are running low and I couldn’t sleep anymore with the insects crawling over me and sucking my blood.”
“I know that’s right,” Lucas said, stretching. “I’ll get some more water. We need to refill all our bottles anyway and hydrate as much as possible before we leave.”
Zach pulled the map out of his pocket and studied over the landscape while Dante built a small fire. He still had his kindling ready, and the bamboo he’d split into small pieces the night before had dried out enough he managed to get a fire going.
He spit the small birds and was gratified to smell fowl cooking over the flame.
Jasmine walked off to relieve herself. A sudden shriek turned his blood cold, and he and Zach raced to where she’d hidden behind a tree. A small coral snake was coiled under a dappling of sunlight.
“You scared the shit out of me, baby,” Dante said, trapping the snake and pinching its head off. He hated snakes, and this one was definitely poisonous. That they’d slept near something that had venom powerful enough to kill a man in thirty minutes or less didn’t set well with him.
They might have a chance to fight it off, given their strange new powers, but Jasmine didn’t have anything like that on her side.
She shuddered and hugged his neck. “I just about squatted over that damn thing!”
Dante and Zach chuckled. “You gotta keep an eye out for these things, baby. They’re everywhere. I think they’ve got something like six or seven different species of poisonous snakes here. Maybe more.”
Jasmine shivered again. “I know. I’m trying to be brave, but I keep expecting a python to drop out of a tree or one of those bird eating spiders to fall on me. I hate to admit it, but the jungle gives me the willies. I’m a city girl. Never even been to the Everglades. I just don’t like reptiles and spiders or any other arachnid.”
“Since you’ve got this under control, I’m going to go check on the food and get back to looking at the map,” Zach said, shaking his head and resisting another chuckle at Jasmine’s behalf.
Jasmine gave Zach a glare. “It’s not funny. You just don’t know how hard it is to resist being a coward when it comes to this shit.”
Dante grinned. “Oh, I know. But I was raised around a bunch of good ol’ boys from the South. They put you through your paces if you’re a man. You want to show them it ain’t about your race or anything else like that. It’s about how tough you are and that you can hang with the best of them.”
She smiled. “Uh. I hate to ask, but can you hang out a minute while I do my thing? Just turn your back. I want you close by in case I need to be rescued again.”
He chuckled again and turned his back to her. “Sure thing, baby. I like being your knight in shining armor. It’s good to feel needed.”
She relieved herself quickly. When he turned around, she was just pulling up her pants. “Trying to catch me or something? I didn’t say you could turn around!”
He held up his hands. “Guilty! Let’s get back before they eat everything. I’ve got enough for one bird and one egg each, but that doesn’t mean Lucas won’t try to sneak some extra. The man eats like a horse.”
Jasmine caught his hand and held it, allowing him to help her over the overgrowth to walk easier. Dante liked the feel of her small hand in his. He’d meant what he’d said. It made him feel big inside to come to her aid whenever she needed it. He thought Lucas and Zach also felt that. Something about being in the service had instilled in them a desire to help those that couldn’t help themselves.
Yeah, he thought she could hold her own, and that she didn’t complain every few minutes about her misery and the situation was just another reason why she gained respect in his eyes. Most women he knew couldn’t go through half the shit she’d gone through without bursting into hysterics, let alone losing her entire family.
He’d left his family behind in a dirt poor town. He’d never known his daddy, and he’d been faced with joining a gang and slinging on the street or working a minimum wage job with no future prospects. Most of the factories had shut down a decade before he’d come of age so that option was out.
When he’d scored high on his ASVAB test in high school and the recruiters had come a calling, he’d jumped at the opportunity to get out of town and make something of his life. He’d never regretted his decision. It allowed him to take care of his mama—something his piece of shit dad had never done. The poor woman had never gotten one dime of child support and had worked in the local grocery store saving and pinching every penny his whole childhood.
It felt good to do things for others, and he’d never forget his humble beginnings.
He supposed now she’d received the news that he’d been killed in action. At least she would receive compensation for his death and know he’d died a hero.
He would probably never see his mama again.
Sometimes the lost, hopeless little boy he’d once been surfaced, and it was hard to get him to go back down beneath the carefree player he pretended to be.
The birds were done cooking, and the eggs had been boiled over the fire in a small pot they’d taken from aboard Jasmine’s boat.
“Mmmm. Smells good,” Jasmine said, almost reluctantly letting his hand go. She gave him a shy smile that warmed his heart and made his blood pump hard and fast.
He willed his reaction to stop, knowing there was nothing he could do about his attraction to her.
“I’ve been ready to eat since I caught them,” he said, sitting beside his comrades and digging in. “It’s hard being patient when you’re hungry.”
“I agree,” Jasmine said, tearing off chunks of deliciously smoked flesh. “My stomach has been eating me alive since we got here.”
When they finished eating breakfast, Zach showed them the map. “If we continue this way with the sun at our backs, we should reach this small tributary before nightfall. I didn’t want to head straight to water at first, since that would be what they’d expect from us if we were being followed. I think it’s safer now to move to some inland water sources. If we’re lucky, we’ll find a out of the way area that we can set up a more permanent residence and wait things out. Maybe find a fishing hole and plenty of bamboo for shelter. Maybe a cave. There’s a lot in this area. We’ve got the potential to be comfortable for a while, even if we are in the jungle.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Lucas said.
Dante and Jasmine both nodded.
They picked up their belongings and smothered the fire, scattering their makeshift camp as best as they could in different directions. They disguised their tracks in the direction they headed.
Better safe than sorr
y.
***
The time in the jungle was beginning to get to Jasmine. Dante, Lucas, and Zach had a kind of stamina that she would never match.
Not only were they taller than her, with strides that seemed to devour the distance, they were in peak physical condition from their training. All she had was what she’d managed to do on her own.
And apparently, it wasn’t nearly enough to keep her from feeling aching muscle fatigue.
Wanting to reach the tributary before dusk could blanket the jungle in darkness, they’d taken few breaks and had had almost nothing to eat during the day. The breakfast they’d consumed was long gone by now.
She lagged behind them. Tears of sheer exhaustion stung her eyes. She wanted to ask for mercy, but her pride wouldn’t allow her to show them that kind of weakness. She’d never been the kind of woman to cry and get her way. Maybe it was her southern upbringing that gave her the idea that crying and hysterics were weak. She’d known plenty of women who seemed to wrap men around their fingers doing just that, but in her mind, she found them highly irritating and didn’t want to be that kind of a manipulative person.
Then again, she tended to overcompensate with working hard because she’d grown up with the fear that people would think she was lazy because she was fat. Even when she’d shed the pounds, the attitude remained.
Lucas’ voice interrupted her damaging thoughts. “You okay, honey?” he asked, his voice soft with concern.
“Oh. I’m sorry.” She wiped her face with the back of her hand. “Just not used to all this physical stuff. You know, former fat girl and all.”
“You shouldn’t put yourself down like that,” he said. “I used to be big when I was young. Hell, up until I enrolled in the military. They almost didn’t take me. I had to lose forty pounds of fat, so I know where you’re coming from.”
Jasmine looked Lucas over. He had a stocky build, but she never would have guessed he’d ever had a weight problem. “Really?”
Savage Hunger (Project Nemesis) Page 7