Black Smoke (13 page)

Chapter Ten

“How’s the arm?” Boomer asked as he sat down next to her.

“It’s fine,” she told him with a small smile.

“So, what next? We sit and wait for nightfall?” Ricochet asked as he leaned against a tree.

“I think that’s best. When it starts getting dark, you can run into town and check things out,” Kong told Boomer and Ricochet. “If everything looks good, me and Sam will meet up with you.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Ricochet said. “I think I’ll grab a bite to eat and catch some z’s.”

“Me too,” Boomer said as he stood.

Sam found it strange that no one was talking about the men they’d encountered. But she supposed Kong would take his opportunity when the other two left for town. Until then she’d enjoy some peace and quiet and grab some food herself. Maybe that would help her shake this overwhelming need to sleep.

While the other men slept, Sam did some stretching and practiced some of her martial arts moves. That always seemed to help wake her up, but it wasn’t working today. She walked over to the small pond and splashed cold water in her face, that didn’t work either. Nothing was going to work, except sleep.

Finally, she gave in. It was starting to get dark and it would take a good forty-five minutes for Boomer and Ricochet to make it to town. Once there, they’d need to locate the building. She calculated that gave her two, two and half hours of sleep. That should snap her out of whatever was wrong.

When she walked back over to the trees, she saw Boomer and Ricochet checking their packs. Kong was giving them orders and checking to make sure their radios were working. With the three of them awake, she could finally lie down. Before closing her eyes Sam said a silent prayer for Boomer and Ricochet, asking for them to be kept safe from harm on their journey. Then she asked that she and Kong be watched over as well. As a side note, she asked that she be allowed to rest peacefully. Sam no sooner finished with her prayer than sleep pulled her into darkness.

Kong watched his two best friends in the world head toward the town that held their target. When they were out of sight, he did another radio check with them, just to make sure everything was working. Satisfied that he could do no more until he heard from them, he turned back toward the trees.

The sun was almost completely down now and the moon was shining brightly. The cooler air felt good against his skin. When he looked for Sam, he found her sleeping deeply. Her face was pale, dark bags had begun to form under her eyes and that bothered him. Maybe infection had already started in the wound. He wanted to wake her, check her arm again, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Rest was best now.

Kong explored the surrounding area for about an hour, never going out of sight of their campsite. Sam was vulnerable right now and he doubted she had the strength to fight. Damn, he wished she was awake, there were a lot of questions he had for her. With the two of them alone, he’d be able to get some answers.

He looked toward the trees that hid the pond and decided to wash up. When he was done, he’d wake her up. Telling her he wanted to check her arm was a good enough excuse.

Kong stripped down to his boxers, then stepped into the shallow pond. The water was clear enough for him to see nothing was swimming with him. It wasn’t cold water, but nice and cool. Just enough to cause goose bumps on his skin. With a loud sigh, he lay back into the water, letting it lap over his body. The sand under his back felt silky against his skin, relaxing him. He lay like this for about fifteen minutes, then dipped his head under the water and stood. He felt invigorated, alive, with the cool night air against his damp skin.

As he walked back toward camp, he decided to go easy on Sam. What was the old saying? “You catch more flies with honey”? Yeah, he’d be her friend, then maybe she’d open up to him. Approaching the trees he could see a bright white light coming from where Sam was sleeping. It wasn’t a flashlight. No flashlight he ever saw put out a light like that. Concerned, he crouched down and pulled his pants on, then slid his boots back on all the while watching this incredible white light.

Dressed now, he crept toward the light. He didn’t hear anything, not even Sam dreaming. When he approached her, he stopped dead. Sam was still sleeping, but she was blanketed in a brilliant light. Kong looked up into the trees but saw nothing to indicate it was coming from up there. It was just there. As he debated whether or not to yell and wake her up, a gold ball of light appeared between them.

For some reason he didn’t feel fear or the need to fight. He felt calm. As he looked at the gold light, a face started to appear in it. Beautiful clear, topaz eyes peered at him, then came a smile that sent warmth through his body. The face disappeared and the gold light floated toward Sam.

It traveled the length of her body, stopping at her wound for only a few seconds. Kong wasn’t sure what was happening, but he knew he’d never experienced anything like it before.

When the gold ball of light was finished with whatever it was doing it sailed high into the tree tops and disappeared. Kong brought his eyes back to Sam. This time two figures were forming in front of him. One seemed to be a male figure, the other female. As the faces formed, Kong tilted his head and studied them. The eyes of the female were almost identical to Sam’s, the shape was small and petite like Sam’s. The male’s face was shaped much like Sam’s.

Kong’s brow furrowed. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear he was looking at her parents. As that thought floated through his mind the two figures smiled at him and inside his head he heard words.

Take care of our precious angel.

While Kong puzzled over that short phrase, the two figures parted, as if to let him past. He wasn’t sure why, but he seemed to be moving toward Sam. As he came closer to her, the white light that had been covering her lifted and like the gold light, disappeared into the treetops.

Kong took a few moments and looked around. He knew he wasn’t dreaming. His heart was beginning to pound so hard it hurt his chest. What the hell just happened? And why was Sam being watched over by…by… Hell, he wasn’t even sure he knew what it was.

“Sam, Sam, wake up! Wake up!” he shouted down at her.

Sam’s eyes flew open and she bounced to her feet. “What is it, what’s wrong?”

Kong noticed that her color was better and he eyes were sharp. “You tell me! Damn it Sam. I want answers and I want them now!”

Realizing they weren’t in any immediate danger Sam relaxed, then scrubbed her face with her hands. “What is it now Lieutenant?”

Kong started pacing. “Where to begin,” he mumbled. “Let’s see, how about you tell me how you knew those four men were there today. None of the rest of us saw them. How come you did? What, are you some kind of psychic?”

“No more than you are,” she replied.

“Then I come back from the pond and what do I see?” he asked in a sarcastic tone.

“I have no idea.” Sam was weary from the day and not at all interested in Kong’s rants.

“You covered in a bright white light. Then some gold ball floats in between us and a face appears. Then whoosh, it disappears. Then two figures form out of the white light that was surrounding you. One male and one female. What the hell is going on! I think I have a right to know!”

Sam felt her knees go weak. White light, gold light. Male and female figures. What happened to her while she slept? She could feel the color drain from her face. Her stomach did a slow roll.

“Damn,” Kong swore and reached for her. She was going down and it was because of him. Scratch the idea of becoming her friend. He was sure to be on her top ten list of enemies now.

“Don’t touch me,” she said emphasizing each word. “Don’t put your hands on me.” As she spoke she started to back away from him. He wanted answers? Well so did she. She turned and ran for the pond.

Once there, she knelt down and stuck her whole head into the water. Pressure was beginning to build behind her eyes. She held her head under the water as long as she could, then pulled it out, flinging water from her hair. Pulling her shirt off over her head, she began to cry. Why was this happening to her? Everything was going so well in her life. She did a job and moved on. No one ever hassled her about it. Why him, why now? Neglecting to take her pants off, she waded into the water and lay back. “Tell me what’s happening, please?” she begged her guide. But no answer came. “Have I done something wrong? Am I being punished for something?” Still no answer came.

Sam sat in the water for a few moments then dragged herself out. Her emotions were raw, along with her eyes and her skin. With her back to the campsite, she bent to pick up her torn shirt.

Kong waited as long as he could, pacing and wondering what the hell was going on. The look on her face was one of shock when he mentioned the two figures that stood over her. Could it be that she didn’t know this happened? How could she, she was asleep. Not willing to wait for her any longer, he headed for the pond.

When he got there, she was standing with her bare back to him again. Her hair was wet and so were her pants. “Sorry,” he said and began to turn away.

“For what? It’s not like you’ve never seen a woman’s bare back before.” Her voice was scratchy and filled with anger.

“Not like yours,” he said in a soft voice.

Sam froze. He was talking about her scars. Well, they were part of her and if he didn’t like them, then he didn’t have to look.

“I’ll wait for you back at camp.” Kong walked away.

Sam was ready now, ready to fight him if she had to. It didn’t matter if he hated her, or thought she was some crazed woman. She had a job to do and damn it, she was going to do it.

As she approached the campsite, her guide spoke.

Is it not time to share your story Samantha? Maybe if you share, your burden will lessen.

With him? He hates me,
she responded silently.

Sometimes it is easier to share with a person we do not know well. How could he hate a person he does not even know yet?

Sam rolled her eyes. She was tired of being nagged about it. If this was what was expected of her, so be it. She’d tell him the whole gruesome tale, then he’d know her and have a reason to hate her.

When she saw him, he was sitting on a rock, staring at the ground. Trying to be the bigger person, she went and sat next to him, then took a long deep breath.

“When I was eight years old, I had two wonderful parents. We lived in a nice two storey house in a beautiful neighborhood. My childhood was great. My parents showered me with love and gifts. Then one night, while I was in my room, I heard the front door crash open. I heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Then I heard my dad shouting. I was so scared I just sat on my bed and listened. I could hear fists hitting flesh and my mother’s screams. I wanted to help, to do something, so I started walking toward my bedroom door. But it flew open and a tall man was standing in front of me, he pulled me by the hair and pushed me into a chair, then tied me up.”

Sam paused and took another deep breath. Kong was watching her intently, not saying a word. He would let her tell her story. It was obvious she’d never shared it with anyone before by the way she spoke so fast. Almost as if she were constantly reliving it.

“Before he closed the door, I peeked across the hall to my parents’ room. My father was tied to a chair. His face was bloody and swollen. My mother was on the bed naked with two men raping her. I can still hear my father’s pleas to leave my mother alone.” Her voice broke, so she cleared her throat and continued.

“The man that tied me up told him that when they were finished with my mother, they’d use me next. I was only eight. I didn’t understand what that meant, but I knew I had to get out. So I started praying for help, praying for someone to come and stop the men. That’s when I heard it for the first time. A soft, calming voice that told me how to untie my own hands. I did what it said to do and the next thing I knew, my hands were free. I wanted to run across the hall and help my parents, but the voice told me to go out the window. So I did. We had some spouting that ran down the side of the house. I climbed out the window and started lowering myself to the ground. When I heard the gunshot I screamed and fell to the ground. I tried to stand and run, but my ankles hurt too badly. The voice, the whisper as I call it, told me to start crawling. So I did.”

Sam chanced a look at Kong, his face was stoic, but his eyes held anger. Whether it was anger at her, or anger about her story, she wasn’t sure. But she had started this and now she had to finish it.

“They must have heard me scream, because the next thing I knew, the man was standing over me. I felt a sharp pain in my back and tried to crawl away. Then another sharp pain. When I heard the sirens I thought we were safe, but then I heard another shot and felt another sharp pain. My whisper told me to play dead, so I did.”

Sam sat straight up and continued. “The next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital. I could hear my uncle Walt talking to someone. He said he’d raise me. I was all he had left and he would raise me.”

Kong almost commented, but held back. She was talking to him and he wasn’t about to give her a reason to stop. It was a wild, tragic story and he wanted to hear the rest. When she simply sat there, twisting her hands, he knew he’d heard all that she would say.