Laughing Eyes: Bittersweet Familia (3)

by Melissa Jane

  “So why have you returned? I don’t get it, this place is abandoned.”

  A sudden look of desperation replaced the fear in her eyes.

  “It was less than a couple of hours ago. I was here this morning. I left for another site, but some of our team remained. Now they are gone too. There is a boy. His name is Tomas. When we left the site, he was one of the few remaining males who could take care of the others. I promised I would return to make sure he was doing ok.”

  “But he’s not here?”

  “No,” she shook her head sadly.

  “Nobody in their right mind would stick around.”

  “So why are you here? What purpose do you serve, skulking around the shadows of the abandoned houses?”

  I couldn’t hide my smile. “That’s very creative.” There was something about the way this girl spoke, the way she sounded her words that amused me. She was engaging, animated. “I am here trying to find some evidence Satan himself may have left behind. The sooner I find the asshole the better it is for everyone including me.”

  “So you are after El Leon?” Anna looked hopeful, her perfectly shaped brows arched in expectation.

  “Unless there is someone else involved in this abomination that I should know of, then yes, he would be the one.”

  “You won’t find him.” She sounded adamant, although her eyes looked hopeful.

  “And why is that?”

  “So few people know what the man looks like and even then it’s vague. How can you kill something you’ve never seen?”

  Anna

  Luiza’s hand held my wrist in a vice-like grip. “Who are they?” The shake in her voice hadn’t yet eased and I worried just how much this was all mentally scarring my friend. I knew she wasn’t handling things as well as she should, but this was ridiculous.

  “Lu, get a hold of yourself! Take a few deep breaths and relax a bit.” I threw a worried look over my shoulder toward the two men who both leaned against their truck, arms folded across their chests, muscles bulging. They watched on, curious about the tense discussion taking place.

  “They are here to help, supposedly.” How much of what the man said was true, I didn’t know.

  “Where are they from, some government organization?” She picked nervously at some leaves, destroying them in a matter of seconds with her anxious fingers.

  “I presume so.”

  “What are their names?”

  How could I have forgotten to get his name?

  “I haven’t got that far yet.”

  “What are they planning on doing to help?”

  I really had no idea. From what I could see it was just the two of them. “I’m guessing whatever they can.”

  “Far out, Anna. We are stuck here until Andrew returns with two GI Joe men carrying an armoury of weapons, watching everything we do like a pair of hawks.” She flung them a curious look, one that contained more judgement than necessary. “Anna, the dark haired one hasn’t taken his eyes off you the whole time!”

  Gripping her face with both my hands, I held her still. “Luiza! We are safe. Stop with this paranoia.”

  I watched with some guilt as tears welled in her eyes. “Were you telling the truth about leaving with me?”

  “Yes,” I said without a hint of doubt, “we both need to escape this jungle of horrors.”

  Danny

  “I get the feeling they are talking about us.”

  “Oh? What makes you say that?” Aiden’s amused tone made me smile.

  “Body language.”

  “Hmmmm is that right? What are their bodies ‘saying’ right now?”

  “Well right now Anna is telling her friend just how much she has fallen head-over heels for a man she just met.”

  “No… I’m not seeing it.”

  “My friend, I know you’re not blind. Can’t you see the way she keeps looking over her shoulder at me?”

  Aiden’s scoff only encouraged another curious glance from both girls. “Sorry to burst your love bubble, but I’m almost certain they are simply figuring out if we are psychopaths or not.”

  “Ye of little faith.”

  “Believe all you want, but these girls are not interested.”

  “I only want one.”

  ***

  “Ladies!” both girls jumped in fright at the sound of my voice suddenly next to them. Their faces were marred with frowns, Anna with her hand covering her pounding chest, her friend with eyes brimming with tears.

  “Don’t sneak up on us!” the friend snapped.

  “I’m sorry, I thought you both could see me.”

  They looked to the muddy ground trying to hide their distraught faces.

  “No, we’re sorry,” Anna began. “We have all just been on edge, you know?”

  “Understandably so. We really should get out of here. The fact that it is now deserted, when you said the villagers were staying put is not sitting well with me.”

  “We have to wait for Andrew,” Anna’s eyes flew to meet mine.

  “Who is he?”

  “One of the guys we work with. He dropped us off to get fuel and will be picking us up on the way through. If we are not here, he will freak out.” She brushed a stray lot of dark hair behind her ear.

  “Does he have a cell?”

  “Yes, but on satellite. Only Eduardo and Andrew have them.”

  “And where is this ‘Eduardo’?

  Anna sighed heavily, concern etched on her face. “He and Samuel stayed here to help bury the dead, but they’re gone as well.”

  The friend lowered onto her haunches to dig around in the bag at her feet. After a few seconds she located a small notepad that had seen better days.

  “Here,” she said handing it to me after flipping a few pages in, “we keep their numbers just in case.”

  I pulled out my satellite phone and dialled the number before handing it to Anna. “You talk to him.”

  We all waited patiently for the call to be answered, an awkward silence settling between us.

  “Andrew, it’s Anna,” a short pause. “We are fine, but we are going back to site four.” Another pause. “Well Eduardo isn’t here, neither are the villagers, but two military men and they’ve offered to drive us back.” She looked at me then to Aiden clearly embarrassed by not knowing what to call us.

  When the call ended, she handed me the cell and I gestured to the truck. It was going to be a tight squeeze with the four of us huddled together.

  “After you,” I encouraged. Anna stopped in her tracks a few feet ahead and spun around to face me.

  “You never told me your name.”

  “It’s Danny.”

  A small smile hinted at her gloss-free rose pink lips. “Danny,” she said as if sounding the word out to hear how it felt on her own tongue, “I like it. It suits you.” She turned on her heel and headed toward the truck. I couldn’t help but chuckle seeing Aiden’s dismayed face.

  “Only you,” he said shaking his head in disbelief.

  “Hey,” I couldn’t hide the twinkle in my eye, “love can be found in all places.”

  Anna

  Only the scratching and scraping of the tree branches across the windows and panels broke the awkward silence in the cab of the truck. The four of us were thigh to thigh along the bench chair, our shoulders left with no room to move courtesy of the two giant men either side of us.

  “How far away is this new site?” Aiden, the driver asked.

  “About thirty minutes,” I answered since Luiza had taken a sudden vow of silence. Even though her resolve was crumbling, I could see she was still pissed that we were travelling with these men. I turned my attention to Danny. “So where are you guys from anyway?”

  “We are marine scout snipers. A week ago we arrived back from tour and were deployed here to find El leon.”

  “The lion?”

  “You know Spanish?”

  I gestured to myself and Luiza. “Both our families are from Panama. We’ve lived in the States mo
st our lives though. How many of you have been sent to help?”

  To my right Aiden cleared his throat and Danny’s eyes lit up with amusement. “You’re looking at em’.”

  “What? Just you two?” I stammered, not believing what he was saying.

  “Yep.”

  “You do realize that there is a whole army out there and there is just two of you.”

  Danny tilted his head to the side as if studying my reaction, a smile mischievously pulling at his lips. “I get the feeling you don’t believe we are capable of handling the job.”

  “I don’t question your ability. I think you first need to see the sheer extent of damage the “lion” has done to this country.”

  ***

  “Has this been the same scene at every site so far?”

  “Yes.”

  Danny’s question hung thick in the putrid air. Both men were wrinkling their noses constantly at the stench of rotting bodies and pungent blood baking under the humid sun. Alec and the others were working steadily at moving the human remains to the rear of the village. This particular site was enormous, the death toll incredible.

  The disposable overalls worn by the aid workers were smeared in crimson blood, the hum of swarming flies following their every movement.

  “Why are you here?” Danny turned to me as if I was the strangest thing he had ever seen.

  Taking on the offensive even though it was irrational to do so, I snapped before I could stop myself. “The world has turned its back on these people, Danny. The bodies you see include children of all ages, babies, mothers, men who fought to death trying to save their families. These people have been shunned by their government before when the Americans came in fighting. Now it has happened again. Not even in death will these people know what it was like to be treated like human beings.” I watched as Danny’s eyes visibly softened. “We don’t even have the resources to give them each a proper burial. That’s why I am here. To do what I can to help those who have been abandoned by society.”

  “Anna, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I guess, in my own head, I can’t fathom why a woman should ever have to see this kind of thing. And I know you can handle it, but you shouldn’t have to.”

  With nothing left to say, I stared ahead frightened that the tears welling in my eyes would spill, revealing just how much the gruesome scenes did haunt me.

  “Anna!” Alec called as he rounded a crumbling structure. His disposable overalls were covered in a thick mess of blood and dirt, sweat dripping from his forehead. To someone who wasn’t used to this sight, they would be forgiven for thinking that Alec and the others were the psychopaths destroying the rural communities. “What are you doing back here? And who are they?”

  This was one of those times where my second in charge lost all form of tact.

  I gestured between our new guests. “This is Danny and Aiden. They are here to find El Leon.” Alec eyed them both with ill-disguised suspicion. “They’re on our side!” I said, reassuringly, but deep down I wanted to slap him for being so rude. Danny took it in his stride and flashed a killer smile which seemed to ease some of the tension.

  Alec turned his concerned gaze back to me. “Why are you here?”

  “Eduardo and Samuel have gone and so have the remainder of the villagers.”

  His brows furrowed together in confusion. “They shouldn’t have gone anywhere. Did he contact Andrew on the SAT phone?”

  “No, we were with Andrew. Then when he went to refuel. I rang using Danny’s phone and he mentioned that Eduardo had not made contact.”

  Alec lowered his eyes to the ground, his mind silently searching for answers. “Well, I don’t have an answer for that one. I guess we just need to wait and see.”

  That wasn’t the most reassuring response.

  “There are some children who survived. We are keeping them all together until we can sort out the bodies. I suggest Luiza takes crèche duty,” he said, before turning to leave.

  For once I agreed with him.

  “I um, think I better go suss out if anything can be used as evidence before your crew inadvertently destroys it all.”

  I nodded my head and squeezed Luiza’s hand before following Danny down the bloodied mess of a path. The small derelict buildings framed us, casting a looming impression over an already desperate, stricken situation. We trudged through some mud and I noted Danny’s jaw twitch when we rounded on a woman lying still on the ground, her eyes a mirror of her horrors as she stared lifelessly at us.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” his voice was wooden as he walked ahead.

  “I thought we had already established why I am.”

  Danny ignored my failed quip as I watched him reach around to pull his Glock from his waist.

  “That’s not necessary. They are all long gone.”

  “Two of your aid workers are missing, Anna. I wouldn’t rule out any remaining trouble.”

  I knew, despite his flippancy, Alec held out real concerns over Eduardo’s disappearance. And so did I. It was the first time any of our team had vanished.

  We approached one of the houses at the rear of the village, why this one of the many, I didn’t know.

  “So, what are you looking for exactly?”

  “Every killer leaves a mark. Some are more notable than others.” Crossing the threshold we entered into a darkened house. The state of it was similar to all the others I had seen. It was really just walls and a roof with little to no furnishings and lacking in the basic living requirements.

  “Jesus!”

  The tone of Danny’s voice silenced me.

  “What is it?” I didn’t need him to respond. I had already followed his line of sight to the rear wall sprayed with blood that had long since dried. It wasn’t just a small splattering. Whatever had happened to the poor victim had been brutal and done without mercy. The copious amount of blood from the ceiling had dripped down and pooled on the floor.

  “Where is the body?” Danny asked, almost to himself. “Maybe Alec has already moved them out.”

  I shook my head before taking two quick strides to the front door again. Standing on the outside, I scanned the exterior walls quickly.

  “No. It hasn’t been marked with an X yet. Our team is marking each house as they go.”

  Moving back to the room containing the horrifying evidence, we stood in silence, contemplating the story behind this one.

  “No one would be able to just walk away from this.” I said, finally.

  “Exactly. It’s the other alternative that worries me more.”

  Danny

  She was by far the most courageous woman I had ever met. Yet even now her tanned skin had visibly paled, her eyes glazing over.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  She shrugged her shoulders dismissively and at the same time, wrapped an arm around her stomach.

  “Are you going to be ill?” The sight before us was gruesome. Not even I had imagined ever seeing something like this in my experience. We had followed the trail of blood down a hall and up a few steps into a back room. It seemed like our victim had an endless blood supply.

  Pinned to the wall by a large axe brutally smashed through the chest, was a man who had experienced a horrific end. His cheeks had been engraved with some form of initial, and both eyes had been ripped from their sockets, flies burying themselves in the empty holes. My own stomach heaved as my senses were assaulted. I had seen some fucked-up shit being a sniper, but this was up there with the worst. Blood dripped down his body and onto a bright yellow flower that appeared to have been strategically placed beneath his feet. Despite the horrifying sight before us, Anna hadn’t taken her eyes off the flower since we walked in.

  “Do you recognize it?” Her strange behaviour was piquing my curiosity. When she didn’t respond, I shook her shoulder gently.

  “Anna?”

  Jolted from her thoughts her troubled eyes looked blankly into mine. “What?�
� She said in barely a whisper.

  “Do you recognize the flower? You haven’t stopped looking at it.”

  “I don’t know what it is, I’m sorry.”

  “Anna, I think I should walk you back to the front. I knew it was a bad idea, you being here.”

  “Ok,” she agreed, meekly.

  I hadn’t been in the girl’s acquaintance long, but what I did know was that Anna was head-strong and determined. The gruesome discovery was enough to make anyone sick, but it was as if she was blind to the dead man hanging off the wall. There was definitely something going on in that pretty head of hers. Something fucked enough that she couldn’t reveal. The symbology of the flower was not lost on her, I just needed to find out what it all meant.

  ***

  “What the fuck!”

  Aiden stood to my left, Alec to the right. My partner scratched his head, a look of mortification on his face. “Just who the fuck are we dealing with?”

  “These are the scenes we have come across in all three sites,” Alec began, seemingly desensitised to the whole thing. “But, this is different. It’s like he is trying to send us a message. Like it’s all of sudden become personal.”

  “Do you know anything about the flower?” Aiden asked. I had reported back to him as soon as I walked Anna to the front.

  Alec shook his head slowly as if racking his brain. “Not a thing. I don’t even know what it’s called.”

  “What do you know of El Leon?” I was hoping he would have something to offer us.

  “Nobody knows anything about him. The survivors only recall seeing a man amongst the many with ghost eyes. He may call himself the lion, but to his victims he is the walking devil. Soulless. The army he controls sweeps through the villages, seeking men to work in his weapons factories. If they refuse, he brutally slays them and their families.”