Nila
“THIS WON’T WORK.”
Jethro shushed me, inching through the wonky panel hidden in the toilet block. The wretched air almost made me gag.
The moment Jethro had come, he’d made me dress, and hoisted Daniel’s carcass over his shoulder.
His eyes blackened with nerves and resolution as he ignored me. “It will.” Under his breath, he added, “It has to.”
Another shiver darted down my spine. The millionth shiver since I’d arrived in Africa.
It felt like an eternity had passed since I’d claimed a life, pierced my needle and taken someone’s last breath, last gasp, last thought. It felt like eons since I’d finally succumbed to the raging lust in my bloodstream and forced Jethro to take me.
But in reality, only forty minutes had ticked past.
How long would Cut give Daniel to rape me? An hour? Two? Or would he wait until Daniel tired and went to tag him for his turn? Either way, time was finally on our side—for now.
Every step, I couldn’t stop the remembrance of Daniel’s heart giving way to my needle point. Every breath, I couldn’t stop reliving the final moments of victory, followed by a canyon of regret.
I’d killed someone.
I’ve murdered.
I no longer had the right to heaven or angels or eternal paradise.
In order to win against the devils, I’d had to become one.
Before, I was willing to make that sacrifice, but now.
..now I knew what a weight it was to value my life above another’s.
And I wasn’t so sure. Did I have the right? Did anyone—regardless of circumstance?
I kept seeing the trickle of blood, oozing and pooling on the floor—unwilling to leave its host, copper and crimson...slowly turning to unwanted rust.
Dirt to dirt.
Ashes to ashes.
Daniel had been raised with diamond spoons and diamond toys. Would his body eventually fuse with the earth, transforming from bone and becoming the sparkling gemstones his family coveted?
Reborn.
Into the one thing his family treasured the most.
Was that karma?
Or serendipitous endings?
Stop it.
You heard what Daniel said. He would’ve raped me until death.
If I had died, he wouldn’t be moping about mourning my loss or regretting his decision.
Straightening my shoulders, I stopped thinking about the murder and dealt with the aftermath.
Jethro moved silently and stealthily. I refused to look at Daniel’s sheet-wrapped body. A bloom of blood was the only sign that beneath the burden existed something sinister.
“Jethro...” I whispered, cursing the remnants of the drug-liquor still hammering my heartbeat. My orgasm had been blistering and explosive, but it hadn’t nullified the urge entirely.
He looked up, stepping through the fence opening, leaving the encampment for the free world. “What?”
“I—I—” I didn’t know what I wanted to say. I’d apologised for killing his brother. I’d let him console me when really I should console him for losing yet another member of his family.
He hasn’t lost Kes...not yet.
I felt responsible. I should be the one to destroy the evidence, not him.
“I want you to go. If Cut—”
His teeth bared. “Don’t bring that up again. I’m. Not. Leaving. I don’t fucking care if he sees me. I’m here for good. I’m with you for good. Got it?”
His gaze entrapped me; I sucked in a breath. The magical question he’d asked filled my mind.
Marry me.
Marry me.
Marry him?
I’d said yes, but nerves tap-danced on my ribcage. I wanted him as mine more than anything, but there was so much we had to defeat before we were free.
Looking over my shoulder, fear tiptoed through my shadow, terrified Cut would find us.
Repositioning Daniel on his shoulder, Jethro held the panel wider. “Come on.” Perspiration and strain etched his forehead. “We have to hurry.”
I didn’t hesitate again.
Ducking through the fence, I stayed by his side, crunching through long grass, keeping my eyes wide and wary.
We were no longer in the den of Hawks but entered a much larger one of lions and hyenas.
I’d never been to a place where humans weren’t on the top of the food chain.
It made me very aware of how vulnerable and edible we were.
A few hours ago, the plains had been shrouded in darkness so thick, my eyes were completely blinded. Now, the black turned pinky-grey, slowly yawning as daybreak appeared.
We had to hurry.
Hurry.
Jethro had to hide.
We have to run.
Trailing in his wake, I didn’t ask about his plan. I trusted him. However, being so exposed out here—visible to both man and beast—I didn’t like it.
I had to pinch myself to believe he was truly here. When he’d run into the tent, I thought I’d finally snapped. That whatever drugs Cut had given me had consumed me whole.
But then he’d touched me and the repellent desire in my blood became an incinerating demand. His arrival was a miracle. And I’d appreciated that miracle by making him fuck me.
He’d helped me forget for just a tiny moment.
The further we travelled, the more numb I became.
Shock was a weird thing.
It had the power to anesthetize even the most horrifying situation. It could dull the most excruciating pain and make it liveable. But it could also abolish instinct and make a bad idea seem good.
Was this a good idea? Or terrible?
Jethro stumbled beneath his dead brother’s weight.
Dashing forward, I reached out unthinkingly. My hand touched cooling flesh. I swallowed the urge to retch. “Let me help.”
Jethro shook his head, pain scrunching his face. “I can manage. Just stay close.” Blood trickled down his side where his gunshot wound had torn. The heat in his eyes wasn’t just from rage but fever. As much as he would deny it, he wasn’t fully healed and should be resting.
Instead, he’s out here...saving me.
We were both in pain. The kick from Daniel throbbed and the hits and scratches didn’t appreciate being ignored. Even the slice on my palm from the ceremony still stung. We both needed to be held together with stitches and bandages.
“Jethro, please, you’re not well. Let me help. We’re in this together. Don’t carry this burden on your own.” By burden, I didn’t just mean Daniel’s death, but the entire situation.
He smiled softly. “Nila, I can feel your urge to help. I feel your love, your fear, your uncertainty.” He sighed. “I even feel your confliction about saying yes to marrying me.”
I sucked in a gasp. His condition gave me no room to hide. No secrets.
“I’m sorry. I can’t—”
He moved forward again, his knees kissing the long grass. “I know you can’t help it. But don’t ask me to lean on you when there is so much I made you survive on your own.” His jaw clenched. “I need to do this. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t interfere.”
“Interfere?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Jethro—”
“No!” He slammed to a halt. “Nila. Stop. Just stop. Be quiet in both voice and thoughts and let’s get rid of him.”
I looked down, rubbing my fingers together, hating the sticky residue of Daniel’s blood. I hadn’t even washed my hands after stealing a life. A life he didn’t deserve but still a life.
The terrible crime would shade me forever.
Who am I? Who have I become?
“Please, Needle,” Jethro murmured when I didn’t respond. “Be quiet. Just...focus on happier things. It will help me immensely.”
Forcing a door closed on my thoughts, I nodded. “Okay.” If blocking my feelings was the only way I could help him, I would do it.
“Thank you.” Jethro’s back bunched as he slowly moved ahead with his slain sibling.
A rustling sound shot my head up. Every thought dispersed like the wind while fear squatted heavily on my spine. “Jethro...”
“Shit.” He froze.
“Shit?” I couldn’t breathe. “What—what is it?” My ears strained for more noise while my eyes frantically searched the thigh-high yellow grass.
Jethro took a determined step forward. “Don’t look. Just keep moving. We need to get a little further.”
I disobeyed, locked into a statue.
A chilly morning breeze rustled the grass, making it dance and weave. But there was something else...something other than plant life...something very much alive.
Stalking us.
Hunting us.
“It’s watching us...” My voice barely escaped.
“Do as I say. Don’t run. Don’t panic. Just stay calm.”
Something glided, hunting closer and closer.
Jethro slowly turned to face me, his eyes narrowing on a spot to the side. Daniel’s arm escaped the sheet, hanging loosely over his shoulder, his frame morbidly sprawled.
Jethro tensed. “Fuck.”
My heart rate exploded. Instincts ordered me to run. But I couldn’t unlock my knees.
Never tearing his eyes from the speck in the grass, Jethro very gently, very methodically slid Daniel off his shoulder.
His legs, hips, torso, arms, until finally Daniel lay on the ground.
The moment he was down, obscured partly by foliage, Jethro tore off the sheet, threw it away, and paced toward me.
Stupidity made me speak. “People will find him. It’s too close to the camp.”
Jethro shook his head. “Believe me when I say, they won’t.” He backed up, splaying his hands as if showing no threat to whatever hunted us.
I knew why.
Don’t ask why.
“Why?”
Ignoring me, his voice dropped to a whisper as his face skittered between fear and fight. “Nila...back away. Return to the camp. I need you to run, understand?”
My mouth fell open. I gulped terrified breaths.
Jethro came close enough to touch me, swivelling my shoulders until I faced the fence. His voice burned my ear as he growled, “Run. Now!” He shoved me hard. “Run!”
His command was a gun and I became a blur of motion. My knees shot high, bouncing over the tall grass; my hair flying in all directions.
Movement immediately exploded beside us, disrupting the peace of the plain.
Shit!
Run.
Run.
Run, run, run.
I wanted it to be explainable—grass stroked by the breeze. But it wasn’t. There was no wind anymore.
Prickles on the back of my neck had nothing to do with the cold morning. Basic instinct knew what this was—why I ran for my life.
I was prey in the middle of a hunt.
My legs sprinted harder.