Primal Nature

by Monique Singleton

  ‘Is she what you really want?’ she cooed, ‘Or would you rather have all this’ her hand seductively passed over her breasts and erect nipples, down her flat stomach to the fine triangle of hairs at her pubic mound. The fingers of one hand disappeared between her legs.

  Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his head Croc moved a step back. ‘What about Ortiz?’ Sanity was leaving in a hurry, lust was all that was left.

  ‘He’s asleep, and anyway, you’re going to be the boss soon, aren’t you?’ Her eyes pierced his. Hypnotising him. She moved closer again. Her hand stroking his face and moving down to his neck. Before he could comprehend what was going on she had grabbed his neck in her talons and was pressing inwards. Moving him backwards to the wall.

  ‘You pathetic piece of shit.’ She whispered. His hands came up and tried to disgorge her grip. His survival training kicked in—but it was no use. She had him hard up against the wall, his feet no longer touching the ground. He kicked frantically to no avail. She closed her hand and ripped his throat from his neck. Desperately, he tried to press his hands to his bleeding neck. The blood sprayed around the room, colouring everything bright red as he stumbled, trying to get away. Falling to his knees, he looked up at her form once more, tried to speak, and fell over flat on his face.

  Tonal waited a few seconds, just to be sure, she felt for a pulse and not finding any she moved to free Dulce from the bed. Dulce was crying softly, stumbling off the bed she moved over to Croc’s body and kicked him viciously, her anger centred on the body. Tonal let her vent for a few minutes.

  ‘Come on Dulce, it’s done, get dressed, we need to get out of here.’

  Dulce wiped her face with her arm and aimed one last kick at her tormentor. Turning around she became all business again and found the clothes she had picked for the escape should it ever come. A tight fitting stretch set that moved with every turn of her body. Her feet bare, so she could hold on if needed. Packing her flat shoes in a small back pack, along with Croc’s knife, the second gun he usually kept in a holster on the inside of his right calf and her cell phone, she slung the pack over her back pulling the straps tight.

  Tonal had changed in the meantime and was listening for any movement outside at the open doorway. Lowering herself to the ground she allowed Dulce to climb on her back as they had practiced so many times.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

  They slunk out of the room, keeping to the shadows. One of the dogs started baying, catching her strange scent. It was silenced by a rough blow from a guard. The moon was half full, in and out of the clouds that moved over its surface.

  Gliding to the wall of the lion’s compound, Tonal sprang up onto the top, looked back one last time and started the decent down to the moat’s floor. She climbed and slid down, past the hooks and onto the sandy floor of the lion’s den. Tonal wasn’t expecting too many problems from the cats, they had been sated earlier that night, but anything was possible. Moving almost without sound she skirted the area where the remains of one of the girls lay. Most of the lions lying asleep, their stomachs full. Most—but not all.

  One of the lionesses was awake and nursing the cubs. She caught the strange scent and sprang up, growling in a low and menacing voice. There was no doubt that this would awaken the others. The large male was between them and the way out. Waking immediately, he rose to his full height, trying to pinpoint where the new threat came from. Puzzled by the strange smell he curled his lips, attempting to learn more. Tonal moved to a large tree that was to her right and pushed up against its bark. Dulce understood and left her back and climbed up the branches as high as she could. Moving back to the wall, Tonal found a position with her back to the solid stone. The lion had found the intruders. The one in the tree he left to his lioness, the strange animal near the wall was another thing completely. He was confused. It looked like a lion, but was much, much bigger than anything he had ever seen. Even towering above him. The scent told him it was female, but that was impossible. Lionesses didn’t get that big. One of the females growled and he decided that whatever it was, it was a threat to his family and had to be handled. Voicing his anger, he moved towards the intruder, flanked by two of his lionesses. The third was at the base of the tree and starting to make her way up after Dulce.

  Tonal had to get this over with as soon as possible, lions don’t climb all that well, but they do climb. The lioness would get dangerously close to Dulce. Standing to her full height she roared a challenge to the lion. He charged, she met him half way, throwing him off his feet with the impact. He stood quickly and attacked again, the lioness on her right attacking as well. Tonal swiped the lioness with her paw and sent if flying, turning just too late to stop the male’s charge. His jaws clamped on her back leg and he tried to shake his head, attempting to break the bones. She turned her back and raked her claws over his side. The lion let go and, leaving no room for chance, she pounced on him, closing her jaws around his head and ending his life in one jaw-crunching wrench. The lioness that remained turned and made her way to the cubs, determined to fight to the end to protect them. Tonal turned her attention to the one who had already climbed to the first branches of the tree where Dulce was perched. Reaching up on her back paws she clamped her jaws around the lioness’s right back leg and pulled her out of the tree. With a swipe of her right paw she sent the cat tumbling to the body of her mate. Regaining its feet, it joined the other female at the cub’s side.

  One last growl was enough to keep them at a distance. If possible Tonal didn’t want to kill them all. It wasn’t their fault they had been changed into man-eaters, and now they were just protecting their cubs.

  Slowly Dulce climbed down out of the tree and took her place on Tonal’s back. Keeping the lionesses in sight and softly but clearly growling, Tonal moved out of the clearing and into the trees. Once there she started to run, listening whether the cats were following her. They weren’t. She reached the compound gates within a few uneventful minutes, slid past the lights and guards and continued on in the fenced enclosure. After another five minutes they reached the boundaries of the lion’s compound. The fence was high and the current lethal. It was high enough for normal lions. Tonal was much larger and could jump much higher. But still it was close. Taking a long run at the highest point in the landscape she only just cleared the fence, scorching the fur on her back legs. No matter, it would grow back. Continuing at full tilt in easterly direction she ran for another half hour until they were sure they were relatively safe. Dulce dismounted and retrieved her cell phone from the backpack. She pressed speed dial on three and the dial button. She let the phone ring three times before hanging up. Exactly two minutes later she repeated the action.

  Remounting they continued in a more leisurely tempo in a south-easterly direction, arriving at the predefined destination an hour later where Alex and a few soldiers were waiting for them. The bruises and cuts he could see on his sister’s face and arms alarmed Alex.

  ‘I’m ok’ she assured him, ‘these are just superficial.’

  Tonal had moved to the side and changed back to human form. One of the soldiers offered her clothes and she dressed quickly.

  ‘It’s done’ she told Alex. ‘Ortiz is dead, and as a bonus we got Croc as well. They will probably not find out until the morning, so we should get away from here as quickly as possible.’ Hopefully the fallout would not be extreme. With their leader and the moneyman dead the mercenaries would need to find new employment. The revolutionaries counted on them being disorganised and so egotistical that their own individual immediate survival would be the only important issue. Regrettably there would probably be some casualties among the servants of the compound, but Alex and Tonal were hoping that they would be the ones to find the two bodies and leave before the mercenaries woke up and plundered the place.

  The assassination proved to be the major success they had hoped. Alarmed by the manner of his death, Ortiz’s supporters fled the country. The foreign support evaporated, and the President was l
eft without anyone protecting his back. A vicious retaliation by the government’s troops proved to be the catalyst that led to even greater support of the revolutionaries and so the Presidential power waned. The revolution gained more and more ground, Alex became the face of the saviours. People flocked to their cause and foreign support in the form of money and arms swayed the balance in the favour of the revolution. The march to the capitol was unstoppable.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  This was getting out of control.

  What started out as the occasional tryst had blossomed into a full-fledged relationship. We spent more nights together than not. By day we pretended that nothing was going on. But who were we kidding? Beside ourselves that is.

  I think everyone knew. At least everyone close.

  And Alex was ecstatic, he beamed.

  That was what did it for me. The adoring way he looked at me. I could swear he was planning a lifetime of husband and wife, maybe with the chocolate box house and a labrador. I enjoyed his company, thrilled in the sex and the release it gave me, but balked at the commitment and love he so desperately needed.

  Don’t get me wrong, I loved him. Just not as much as he loved me.

  He tried to pretend that our relationship wasn’t his whole life, but it was obvious. He lit up when I was around. Paid no attention to anyone or anything else. He was the ultimate lovesick puppy.

  And me?

  I wanted to love him like that. But I couldn’t. Part of me held back—all the time. In the lovemaking, the talks, the feelings.

  Was my fear of loss so great that I would forgo everything, so as not to have to experience it again?

  What was I doing to him, to myself?

  I’d tried this before. Loving someone with all my heart. More than once. Only to lose them. Literally when they died, but mostly much earlier. When they started to resent me.

  It always happened.

  I suppose it’s understandable. No one wants to get old, feeble maybe, and eventually die. Everyone wanted to stay young, beautiful—live forever.

  Everyone except me.

  What seems ideal from a distance is very different up close. For example—loss.

  No one wants to lose their loved ones. For me it is a fact of life. Everyone I have loved, or ever will, is destined to die before me. It happens over and over again. I will outlive them all.

  The pain doesn’t get any more bearable with practice. So, it makes sense to avoid it. Not to love anymore—to isolate myself.

  But that was easier said than done.

  Alone in the jungle, it had been a breeze. There was no one to love. No one to feel good with. Just me and my daemons.

  Sometimes, lying in bed with Alex, him asleep in my arms, I cursed him silently for bringing me back and for shattering my peace. For making me part of a family again. Making me love.

  I had been at least blissfully ignorant for a few years in the jungle. Or maybe just fooling myself. But it had worked.

  Sort of.

  And now the damage had been done.

  I had made someone fall in love with me. I had strung Alex along.

  What was I going to do about it?

  It turned out to be a lot more acute than I had thought.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

  The mission had been blotched. We had messed up big time.

  Alex had panicked.

  But why? He knew I was virtually indestructible. There had been no need for his rash involvement—for him blowing the assassination. I was ok. Would have been even if they had caught me. And they wouldn’t have. I can take care of myself. Alex’s over-protectiveness had screwed up the mission and sent the target into hiding.

  So now we were here. Back in the compound.

  Having our heads chewed off by Jesus.

  And rightly so.

  ‘What happened out there?’ He demanded.

  ‘I intervened.’ Alex’s stab at an answer.

  Jesus focused on him, his very stance belying his calm voice. The man was piping mad. So unlike the Jesus I knew. He was rattled. ‘Why?’ the question was curt, as if more would blow the lid of his restraint.

  ‘I had to get her out of there’ Alex’s pleas were getting more desperate.

  No answer from Jesus.

  ‘They would have captured her, maybe even killed her.’ Jesus’ silence intensified Alex’s panic.

  ‘And?’ the big man finally said to Alex’s shock. He looked to me for help, but none was to be found. ‘I very much doubt that they could kill her’ the leader stated ‘or even restrain her for that matter. Besides that, we do not abort an important mission because of one life, Alex you know that. Not even Tonal’s.’

  Not giving up so easily Alex tried; ‘if we lose Tonal, we lose a lot more than one person. She is vital to us.’

  ‘To us or to you?’ Alex flinched at the harsh words.

  I just sat there, letting it happen.

  The incident at the target’s mansion had brought home to me just how dangerous this relationship was. Thinking we could separate the “us” from our work had been a fantasy at best. And now it had put everyone in danger. Not to mention caused us to fail miserably on an important mission. We had to take him out. This had been the best opportunity. A new one would not present itself again in a hurry.

  And it had all been sacrificed because of Alex’s perceived danger of losing me.

  Jesus turned his back to us.

  We felt like small children seated in the school bench, being lectured by the irate head master.

  ‘I have closed my eyes to your romantic involvement.’ he chastised. ‘Hoping that it would not influence your actions in the field.’

  We felt terrible.

  ‘That was an oversight.’

  ‘What happened last night had nothing to do with our relationship’ Alex tried.

  'Yes, it did.’ I slid the nail in his coffin.

  He looked at me, shocked to his core.

  ‘Your fears are unfounded’ I continued. Wincing internally at each word, knowing the pain I was inflicting.

  ‘They weren’t. You were in danger.’ His words were almost whispers—pleas that I would stop. That I would not say what was coming.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

  Jesus understood and left the room.

  ‘Alex, this has to stop’ there was no sugar coating this. ‘We can’t go on. Our relationship endangers others, screws up everything we’ve worked for. We have to focus on the job, and to do that it needs to stop.’

  ‘I can’t’ he said feebly, ‘I love you.’

  ‘You can Alex, you have to. We have to.’

  ‘No. Please.’

  I let the silence talk for me.

  Alex slumped down in the chair. His mind grabbing for threads. After a few minutes of silence, he seemed to pull himself together.

  ‘Ok, we stop for now. Put it all on hold.’ He had found a way out. A desperate man, dying of thirst in a desert finds that one fata-morgana.

  ‘No Alex.’

  The words cut him physically.

  ‘We need to make a clean break.’

  ‘No…’ tears welled in the corner of his eyes, started their slow journey down his cheeks.

  It was killing me inside to be so brutal, but it had to be done. I had to continue now I’d started.

  ‘Please Tonal, don’t do this. I will be better, I promise. I will put some distance between us for now, but please—not forever.’

  He cradled my hand in his, searching my eyes for any sign, any indication that I might change my mind. Come back on my decision.

  ‘I need you Tonal. Please don’t do this. You feel the same way, you love me, don’t you?’

  I remained silent, my eyes not touching his. Pushing the knife deep into his very being, shattering his heart.

  It was for the best.

  Then why did it always have to hurt so much?

  His desperation made way for hurt, resentment and anger.

  ‘So that was it huh. Yo
u just switch off your feelings like that and expect me to do the same? Or did you even care for me at all? What was I? A plaything? Something to pass the time? A notch on your gun?’

  I should have countered that. Told him how much he meant to me. That my feelings for him were exactly the reason why we had to stop this relationship. That I was terrified that something would happen to him—more realistic than his fears for me. That I would be his nemesis.

  But I stayed mute.

  Coward that I am.

  And that made it so much worse.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

  Alex avoided her after that terrible meeting. Making sure he was always as far from her as possible. After a week of leaving him alone she tried to talk to him. Tried to make him understand that she wanted to be friends. Go back to how it had been before their friendship had become sexual. But it was hopeless. He was hurt badly. His heart was broken, and his trust shattered,

  She missed him. Badly. Maybe they should have just tuned the relationship down a bit. But it was too late now. He wouldn’t talk to her, only reluctantly sat in the same room. The air between them icy.

  She let it rest.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

  Finally, three months later, the last major battle was to be fought.

  To ensure success the revolutionaries once again turned to Tonal, to take care of the President. She assassinated him one dark night in his own bedroom, circumventing all the safety precautions by leaping up from the garden onto the first-floor balcony. He had been alone in the room, fully expecting any attack to come from the one locked and bolted door to the landing. When she crashed through the balcony doors he felt his heart give out. Whether his death could be accounted to heart failure or her claws and fangs was debatable, and totally insignificant.