Chapter 24
“Ah— I remember you complaining about him,” Guy replies, snapping his fingers. He pauses for a moment, scaled brows pulling taut. “But wait, why is he here? He’s not a soldier… is he? He doesn’t look like one.”
Guy’s befuddled ramblings do nothing to quiet the onslaught of questions crowding my head.
Every thought materializes into words, splintering as each explanation makes less sense than the one before.
“I don’t know why he’s here. There is no way the Nilsan military authorized a civilian to approach a terrorist organization, let alone lead the group,” I explain, slipping past Guy to plant myself near a closer barricade.
Grabbing the collar of my shirt, Guy yanks me backward so hard I fall on my butt. He whispers a gentle apology.
“We need to get closer. I can’t hear anything,” I strain, the wind knocked out of my lungs.
“Why would you need to hear? Ginny is probably just making threats or something. There is no reason for you to put yourself in this mess if you want a chance at going home,” he says, dusting off the bits of sand that cling to my legs and arms.
I suck in my cheeks, vehemently shaking my head. “I don’t trust what’s coming from the Nilsan side, especially if it’s about me. And with knowing how they found out about you all, it probably is.”
I’m unsure of what Kinsley would gain from coming all this way to rescue me, but there is no doubt that he is here out of self-interest. There has to be an angle to it, that’s just how he is.
“Kinsley is not a good person; he wouldn’t show up here unless it’s for his own benefit,” I say. “He’s a smart manipulator, tricky and charismatic. No one knows how to read him like I do. He’s deceptively convincing, despite his appearance.”
Guy’s eyes go wide, filled with uncertainty. His attention shifts between me and the Nilsanian soldiers.
“Lowell will kill me.”
“Guy, please.”
He shakes his head again. “I have orders, May. If that Kinsley man is as dangerous and untrustworthy as you say, allowing you forward would be stupid.”
They have no idea what they’re up against. Kinsley is a sociopath.
He’s not just insane, but evil too. A military official would have been more welcome than someone of his deplorability. Ginny has her wits about her, but someone who can survive the inter-politics of the Nilsanian government for decades will triumph every time.
I grit my teeth. “Move us closer or I’ll scream.”
“May, no. I said—”
I vocalize a small scream, steadily increasing in volume. While childish, it has to be done.
Guy winces, waving his hands back and forth until I stop. He bares his teeth, but not in aggression.
“Goddess, you’re a handful. I see why Lowell likes you,” he sighs, defeated. “Just… just stay next to me.”
Behind the abundance of concrete and weaponry, Guy leads me closer to the cluster of Gaia 4 and soldiers. Although I can’t see Ginny’s face from behind, I sense she’s on-edge. I’m not surprised she’s already sussed what a snake Kinsley is.
“Whatever you can say to Lowell, you can say to me,” she says, her arms crossed. She may be short in stature, but her broad and muscled shoulders are incredibly intimidating.
Kinsley sneers, mirroring Ginny by crossing his arms as well. “If I wanted to talk to some halfwit soldier, I would have asked for that. Is Lowell dead? Or is that lazy miscreant vermin taking a leisurely nap while his thralls toil away for him?”
Ginny’s brow raises in disbelief, but her voice doesn’t waver in its directness. “You don’t seem to understand how this will end if Lowell gets involved. Speaking with me, his ‘halfwit soldier’ is our most peaceful option.”
“I find it hard to believe that that abhorrent animal would give up the opportunity to be face-to-face with the Nilsanian soldiers he so despises,” Kinsley replies, a grotesque smile lifting his ratty mustache. “Forgive me if I don’t believe your lies, little miss.”
Dropping her head, Ginny exhales in exasperation at the blatant disrespect. She doesn’t seem bothered, but that’s because she’s stalling for time.
Guy protectively splays his hand across my back, sliding in place next to me.
“It was difficult for her to convince Lowell to stay behind. She’s worried that if they see the state he’s in, they’ll seize the opportunity to overtake the base.
Even with Ginny’s leadership, most of us are lost without Lowell’s command and strength.
It would be a devastating loss if anything bad happened to either of them right now. ”
Ginny’s fears aren’t unfounded. From what I understood in the Nilsan weekly newspapers, Lowell was present at every attack, regardless of scale. Nilsan can easily deduce that something is wrong with him based solely on his absence.
“If you have nothing to say to me, then I suggest you leave,” Ginny says, her body so stiff she may as well be made of stone.
She’s afraid.
Kinsley’s smile skews crooked. “Oh, come on, now. You know I can’t just leave. I haven’t even made my request yet! But if you’re unwilling to be hospitable —” he cuts off with a yelp.
The Nilsanian soldiers shift into offensive positions, looking at one another with reservations. Kinsley’s eyes widen as he takes a stumbling step back, horror painted on ghostly skin.
Ginny cocks her head with intrigue.
I hear him before I see him. Boisterous, thudding steps displace the sand beneath reptilian feet. The earth may as well be parting with how it tremors. A deep exhale pours from a frothing maw, agitated.
“I hear you’re disrespecting my second-in-command, yeah?” Lowell growls. A spirited, unhinged expression clings to his face like a mask, the likes I haven’t seen since our initial encounter. And while he tries to hide his limp, it’s clear he is favoring his bad side.
Kinsley jumps to attention, his stringy body trembling under Lowell’s oppressive presence. He, much like I did, underestimated Lowell’s staggering size. The WANTED profile that described his height was always believed to be an exaggeration, but the irony is that it was understated.
“Y-yes,” Kinsley says, pinching his shoulders back. He tries to appear less startled, but his brain doesn’t do a very good job of relaying that information to his face.
Lowell stops beside Ginny, using his hand to urge her to step back. “I can handle it from here,” he says.
Ginny doesn’t protest, but her eyes are full of dread. She knows Lowell’s poor health will be confirmed if she creates a fuss, and Lowell knows this too.
Kinsley clears his throat, shaking his fright. His voice cracks on the first word. “You have a prisoner that is one of ours.”
Lowell smirks, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, I do now?”
“Yes. Her name is May. Brown hair, green eyes, muscular with a bad attitude — we know you took her, so don’t try to act coy,” Kinsley sneers, puffing his chest.
Lowell shrugs casually, his nonchalant stance creating more tension. “Oh, you want her back? From where we found her, it seemed like you wanted her dead.”
“Of course not. We are not monsters like you lot,” Kinlsey replies, shifting his weight awkwardly. He sways opposite to any movements Lowell makes. “May is an integral member of our team, and losing her would be devastating. We want to request her safe surrender in exchange for supplies.”
Lowell squints, a deranged grin pulling up to his eyes. “You’re assuming she’s alive. I find that sweet.”
“Ugh, I knew you’d never be merciful,” Kinsley grunts with a moue. “If you return her body peacefully, we’ll negotiate a reward.”
I’m genuinely surprised that Kinsley is as intent as he is on rescuing me, or my corpse; it’s unlike his foul character, and it only raises more suspicion.
Lowell tuts, ignoring the offer. “I find it interesting that Nilsan sent the Director of Land Surveillance and Preservation, a civilian, instead of a military leader,” he prods, tapping a claw to his chin.
Kinsley makes a few wild gestures, his charisma back in full swing. “I don’t question my orders,” he says, quickly adding, “I was instructed to rescue any parts of May with the offer you rudely ignored.”
“You and your leaders should know better — I don’t negotiate,” Lowell laughs, clicking his teeth.
He places a hand on his good hip, holding Kinsley’s gaze hostage with an unblinking glare.
“However, I’m feeling charitable.” Leaning into Kinsley, he bumps his nose.
“My one and only offer is that one of you will be allowed to leave alive — and I’ll even let you choose who!
This way, someone will be able to return the few remaining pieces of your soldiers’ corpses to their loved ones. ”
A chill washes over anyone within earshot, perturbed by the low resonances of such horrific words.
Lowell jerks forward in a feint, for the only reason to startle Kinsley. “You know what? I’ll throw in May’s remains for free. It’s a gracious proposal, I’d say.”
Well, there goes any chance at peace and resolution.
Tension swallows the immediate area, and any sense of levity disintegrates when Lowell blows a hefty snort in Kinsley’s face. Moisture flecks cling to pale skin, the gesture intentionally rude.
Although Kinsley’s body nearly melts with terror, his eyebrows draw down to his nose.
A redness flushes from his chest to his forehead, the muscles in his neck straining as he suppresses a raised voice.
His signature look of disdain warps and contorts his face as the mask of civility slips off completely.
“You bastard animal,” Kinsley barks. “You should have been exterminated alongside those other cretins you called family.”
A wire visibly snaps in Lowell’s brain, a large vein on his forehead pulsating as his muscles pull into tight ropes. His pupils pull to slits and his eyelids spread wide with ferocity, the lines along his throat becoming sharp as his jaw droops to unhinge.
“Oh, no,” Guy worries behind me.