Chapter 23
Shio Cuppacio
Feeling warmth on my back, I turned onto my side so it could cool off in the chilly room. I kept the thermostat at sixty-seven degrees at night, but somehow, it felt more like a hundred degrees right now.
Damn.
I hoped that Solana hadn’t touched the AC.
She was always complaining about being cold and shit.
As I shifted again, trying to get comfortable in my bed, I felt a loose, unstable, grain-like material against my skin.
Knowing my alarm would go off at any moment, I sat up in the complete darkness and felt around the bed for my phone.
Gripping the sheets, I clenched them and again felt looseness flow through my fingers.
Grabbing another fistful, I lifted my hand, turned it over, and the substance brushed against my face with the flow of humid air.
Slapping the bed, there was no bounce back.
The four-thousand-dollar mattress I slept on wasn’t what I’d been feeling around on.
In fact, it felt like a bed of sand that I was in.
The coarse fibers were hot and itchy as hell against my skin.
Inhaling and exhaling in the same huff and not being able to smell my home, I immediately knew what time it was.
“Aye, what the fuck!”
Ezio. Ezio was waking up too.
“Is this fuckin’ sand?” he yelled out.
“On foe ’nem… I’m on Don’s ass if he took me out of my bed and dumped me in one of Preston’s sick-ass simulations.”
Nel. He was here too.
“Shit, I’m supposed to be on leave! Why the fuck Ezio get some time off when Jisei had the babies, and I don’t!”
Metavello’s cranky, complaining ass.
“Shut y’all ass up! It’s too fucking hot for you niggas to be bitching today,” Matteo grumbled.
The gang was all here, which meant this was indeed one of Don’s trainings. But why the fuck were we in the sand, and why in the fuck was it so damn hot?
Grrrrlllll Grrrrrllllll Grrrlllllll
Short, low throaty moans were near, and judging by the pungent smell, it had to be an animal. They couldn’t have been dangerous, though, because they hadn’t attacked us, but then again, it was too dark for them to see unless they were nocturnal.
“Smells like an elephant’s ass,” Metavello complained.
“Aye, where Shio? Shiooo! Shio!”
“I’m here,” I responded to Ezio, not in the mood for this shit.
Last night, I’d basically realized I was just as fucked up as the dick heads currently whining about shit they should’ve been used to.
All in one day, I’d flirted past respectable boundaries with Solana, fucked my main fuck buddy and called her Solana’s name, committed to protecting Solana from her fake-ass fiancé, sucked her whole face into my mouth, ready to fuck her in the Maybach to some Rick Ross, pulled back once I realized I’d be causing a war telling her we couldn’t move forward but was still uncertain, to then deciding I was definitely not pursuing her after hearing my stepfather’s random-ass sermon before passing out.
My mind was too fucked up for Don and his games today.
Everybody had better tread lightly because I would blow this shit up if pushed too far.
Touching my body, I felt a pair of pants on my lower half that seemed to be made from some type of material that could be wool.
On my top half was the same, but there seemed to be a shawl there too.
It was too damn hot for a shawl, but I wouldn’t be removing it until the lights came on, and I could see the conditions of the climate we’d been dumped in.
Horns blared and tambourines played. The music around us sounded like something straight out of the movie Aladdin.
“Are we in India? Is this a fake-ass India, Twin?” Metavello asked his brother.
“Shit, ain’t no fuckin’ telling. Help me up.”
I could hear the two help each other stand as I remained calm.
There hadn’t been a training that we hadn’t conquered.
I also knew that each one of us, except for Matteo, had taken the lead on a training except for me.
I needed to focus and concentrate through my current mental state because knowing Don’s pattern, this shit would be solely on me, and our survival would depend on it.
Feeling the pull from my family’s hands, I let them help me rise from the scorching-ass sand. Ezio slapped my chest, and I knew it was him because I could smell his house on him.
“You ready?”
“’Bout as ready as I’m gone be,” I answered, keeping my breathing labored.
“At least the nigga gave us shoes this time. They feel weird, but this hot-ass sand on bare feet would’ve been deadly.”
“On foe ’nem.” Nel backed up his brother.
The music grew louder and was starting to get annoying as fuck.
Still, I waited for what was next. Moving my feet because it felt like my weight was sinking into the sand, I felt a thump on my right ankle.
Bending down, I ran my hand across a stick, so I picked it up and held it to my side.
I didn’t know what the fuck we would be facing when the lights came on, and I wanted to be prepared.
“Cuppacios!” Don’s voice came over the music, making my muscles tense. “Welcome to ancient Egypt!”
“Egypt?” Ezio asked what we were all thinking.
“Yeah, Egypt, nigga. Cuz I know fasho one of you niggas questioning it.”
“Welcome to ancient Egypt, niggas,” Matteo said, reiterating what Don had just said.
“Today’s mission is simple. You’re going to walk your fellow Cuppacio through an obstacle course.
If he survives the end, he will find the prize.
And if he doesn’t, then, well… you niggas are going to die of thirst.” The music came back on, letting us know Don was finished after giving us those bland-ass instructions.
“Aye, where the fuck my bitch at?” Matteo asked another question that I’d been thinking.
Scarlett had always been the one to give us the directions before and during missions. At the very least, she told us about the climate, animal facts, and other important information we needed to survive, which was more than Don provided. His ass just didn’t give a fuck.
“Hey, guys! Hi, baby! Y’all will do amazing, sweeties! I’m here!” Scarlett’s voice came over the speaker.
“Aye, that belly dancing music is getting on my fucking nerves,” I said out loud. “Shit feel like I’m getting put in a trance.”
“Bro, facts,” Metavello agreed.
“Hop on the camels, cousins. They are already lowered to the ground and will rise up once you get on. They will take you where you need to go. They have been properly hydrated. Remember, camels can reserve water exceptionally well. They can go days without it, if need be, and they don’t tire easily.
As long as you stay on course, they can get you where you need to go without struggling.
They can sustain speeds of up to forty miles an hour too! ” Scarlett called out.
I still couldn’t see, but I was storing all the information, just in case we needed it.
“I designed headpieces to shield you from the sun. They are in the front pockets of your pants. Put them on.”
Reaching into the pocket I felt first, I pulled out what felt like a damn oversized cotton ball and tossed it over my head, shifting it until the hole of the nose and mouth was in front.
“Go ahead and get on the camels.”
Listening to the grunts, I used my stick, holding it out in front of me until I hit a solid object.
Using my palm, I placed it on what I assumed was the camel and ran my hands along the side.
I’d never ridden a damn camel or any other fucking animal outside of a horse before, but it couldn’t be too much different.
Feeling for the middle, I put the stick under my armpit again and hoisted myself up.
By the time I was on the camel, I felt way too damn high in the air, and the animal was still on the ground.
This fucking camel smelled like it hadn’t bathed ever.
Still, I swung my leg around and took a seat, keeping my stick in place.
Grabbing the reins, the camel lifted, throwing me all the way off, but I tightened my grip, making sure I didn’t fall back into the scorching sand.
I clicked my tongue to calm the one-humped animal, as it was beginning to move with the neighboring camels.
“Woaaah, Topsy. Calm yo’ big ass down,” Nel instructed.
Ezio grunted. “I damn near busted my balls tryna get on this muthafucka. Aite, we on them, pretty cousin. Turn the fuckin’ lights on. I’m starting to see dots and shit.”
I heard Matteo utter, but before he could curse Ezio out for calling Scarlett pretty, Don spoke over the speakers. “Remember, it’s ancient Egypt, muthafuckas, Get active.”
“About fucking time!” Metavello yelled as we all heard a clank above us.
“Shit! These camels tall as fuck. Damn! What don’t Preston have?” That was Ezio; I could tell by the way he said damn.
Nel cursed under his breath. “Are we in the fucking desert for real, my nigga?”
“What the fuck we got on, Twin?” Vello asked, letting me know the lights had been activated since he could see his brother.
Everyone was shooting off questions while I remained calm and kept my balance.
I still had the stick at my side, my institution telling me I’d need it eventually.
Alarms were going off in my head, but I continued to balance myself on the mammal.
The camel began to move forward faster, and hearing the rest of the men behind me told me they were moving as well.
The sun was hot on my skin, damn near burning a nigga, and whatever clothing that had been draped over my body was needed because my skin would’ve probably dried out already without it.
I listened to the guys argue behind me, along with the music, for a good twenty minutes before my mouth grew parched and my curiosity piqued. “Aye… Can y’all see?”
My world was still dark. The rest of my senses were heightened since my eyes weren’t working, but from the way they’d been describing the never-ending dunes of sand, someone had to be able to see.