Chapter 24
Tuvo
She was all right. The sound of the gun discharging seemed to linger in her ears, and there were a couple bruises on her arms, but not so many that it appeared she’d been made into any kind of example.
And she was smiling. That light in her eyes was as radiant as always.
But, when he tried to get her to follow him, she gestured to another that clearly had not been similarly spared.
The dark-haired female sharing the empty room with her was breathing fast, her hand trembling on what appeared to be a crudely made knife. It, her hand, and her shirt were all coated in bright red, human blood.
But that wasn’t what held his attention. Instead, he was focused on the wild, manic look in her wide, bloodshot eyes. He had seen that look in others before. It was the kind of desperate violence only born from a combination of determination, hopelessness, and pain.
She also had bruises on her body. Darker than Hattie’s, all in various stages of healing.
“This is Belmira,” Hattie said, her voice unnaturally loud as she tried to speak over the ringing in her ears. “Can we take her with us?”
Tuvo grunted in agreement.
The sound seemed to break Belmira out of her daze. Her eyes snapped onto his as she lifted the little knife and aimed it at him next. Hattie made a sound of dismay, rushing to talk to her in English – no doubt telling her that Tuvo was no threat.
But even before Hattie could rush through her explanation, Belmira was blinking, returning to herself as the battle fever subsided.
She said something back to Hattie that made her nod enthusiastically.
The female glared at him, obviously distrusting.
She said something and Tuvo was able to capture the word ‘big’.
He imagined she was remarking upon his size, and he did his best to appear non-threatening even as his claws were unable to retract.
He had used them so much that there was swelling around the beds again.
“Hattie.” He gently touched her arm, making sure to keep his claws away from her, catching her attention. “We have to go.”
She seemed to be partially listening but also reading his lips. She nodded before grabbing Belmira’s hand and tugging.
Tuvo couldn’t help himself, he snarled.
Belmira’s knife was up again, and she dropped into a crouch. Hattie flinched back, looking at him in surprise.
He tried to stop the growl, but he couldn’t silence himself any more than he could look away from Hattie’s hand holding Belmira’s.
And while he knew that wasn’t an intimate act among humans, it didn’t change what he felt about it from his own culture. He didn’t care if Hattie wasn’t attracted to other females, no one should be holding her hand but him.
It seemed to take her a second to understand. She laughed sheepishly, releasing Belmira’s hand before rushing to calm her down.
The moment she let go, Tuvo was able to wrangle himself back under control. But he very quickly took hold of her hand instead and pulled her close.
Belmira watched it, her expression fading from wary to amused. Hattie was smiling dreamily as she touched his arm, leaning against him. She enjoyed his proprietary claim, and her joy over his possessiveness made him squeeze her hand just a bit tighter. So small in his fist
“You two need to stay close to me. I think most of those remaining ran away, but there might still be some hiding.”
Hattie passed the information on, and Belmira nodded even as she lifted her knife – ready to defend herself.
Tuvo, reluctantly, released Hattie’s hand and was the first to step out of the room. Cautiously, in case there were men out there with guns just waiting for him to emerge.
But there was no one. Well, there was a body, but Tuvo had already dealt with him – eviscerated and dead.
When he motioned the females forward, he realized that he should have moved the corpse. Both of them gasped and retreated. Belmira said something that Hattie responded to in a conciliatory tone – though she looked uneasy herself.
Around the next corner, when Tuvo went first to check it out, he saw another body and this time jogged forward to drag it into a nearby room to spare them the sight. When they followed, they grimaced at the trail of blood but didn’t seem so horrified.
Reversing their direction back through his carnage, he was acutely aware of exactly how many males he had killed. He didn’t regret taking their lives, but each time he had to stop the females to hide another eviscerated corpse from their sight, he became more aware of their aversion to violence.
What would Hattie think? She certainly didn’t seem pleased as she tried to step around the blood and viscera his claws had ripped free. His female was sweet and kind – and he adored that about her. How would she tolerate this?
There was only so much he could worry about right now, however. Her safety came first, and he didn’t know if she was safe here.
And he didn’t have much left in him. He was running on pure adrenaline and determination. But the pain, the blood loss, it was starting to overcome even that. But he forced it down. Away. He focused on the task immediately in front of him.
Most of that focus was on searching out other threats.
The brightly lit compound was empty but for the dead men – getting more numerous the closer he got to the entrance.
Back when their confidence in their superior firepower sent their numbers at him en masse.
Before they started fleeing, rather than face an enemy they couldn’t see that needed no weapon.
The door to the outside was still wide open; the grounds flooded with light. But when he poked his head out, the tower no longer had anyone in it. Both vehicles that had been parked out front were gone, and the gates were open.
He stepped out cautiously, ready to move, but no shots rang out.
“Is it safe?” Hattie asked from the entrance.
“I think so,” Tuvo said as Belmira walked outside, a dazed expression on her face. The sort of expression someone wore when seeing the sky for the first time in too long.
The female took in a shuddering breath, wavering on her feet. Hattie rushed forward and took hold of her shoulders, steadying her, but Belmira shook her head and reassured her with a smile.
“Is she alright?” Tuvo asked.
Hattie asked and, after Belmira answered, responded, “She says she’s okay. It’s just been a while since she had fresh air. She can keep going.”
Tuvo grunted and directed them to follow him.
He was relatively certain now that the compound had been abandoned, but he was still careful when he approached the gates and stepped out into the dark forest. He immediately guided the females off the road and into the trees, not wanting to risk walking out in the open.
“I need to get Keith,” he said gesturing for the females to walk ahead of him so that he could keep them in his sights.
“You brought Keith with you?”
“I hardly had a choice. I left him up a tree though.”
Hattie started laughing, prompting Belmira to ask what he said. Tuvo didn’t pay much attention to their soft chatter as he tracked down the tree Keith was in. The moment the human male spotted them, like a fool, he called out – no doubt demanding to be brought down.
Before Hattie could even translate, he was climbing up to fetch him. He didn’t seem grateful that Tuvo had made sure he was safe, though he did appear relieved that Hattie was back and okay.
Tuvo looked over the group of humans as they chatted quietly. Checking on each other, introducing one another, trying to figure out what they should do next.
They could return to the plane, wait for rescue as they had before.
But they had already come this far. Keith had most of their supplies in the bag on his back that had once been Rodger’s and Hattie’s purse that was resting on his hip, and there was a road not far away. A road had to lead somewhere.
“Tuvo,” Hattie called his name gently, catching his attention. “Belmira says that we’re welcome to come to her village. Her family will offer us a safe place to stay.”
“Is it far?”
“She says that if we follow this road, we can find a footpath through the trees that will take us there. She doesn’t know how far since she came here in a jeep, but if we walk that way, she’ll know the footpath, and she says that can be crossed in about half a day.”
“Do they have a comm there?”
Hattie passed on the question then returned with the answer, “No phone, she says. But the nearest town is within a few days walk, and they have phones.”
Tuvo grunted in agreement. “Then, we’ll go there. Thank you, female.”
Belmira couldn’t understand his words, but she gave a half smile before nodding once.
After a bit more discussion, they agreed to hike through the darkened woods along the road without being on it before finding a place to stop later.
It was dark and traversing the wilds at night was dangerous, but remaining this close to the compound was even more so.
Tuvo was convinced no one was left in the building, but he couldn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t come back, and in greater numbers, so it was better to get away while they had a chance.
Keith took the lead, popping his chest out like he was important for determining their direction – though the road was right there beyond the trees, guiding them. He just had to follow it. Still, if it made him feel important to go first, Tuvo was just glad he was being useful.
Behind him was Belmira, still clutching her handmade knife close.
Behind her was Hattie. She looked tired, but she kept walking forward despite the long, harrowing day she had experienced. Every so often, she would look back over her shoulder, checking to make sure Tuvo was still there.
Because he was bringing up the rear. Keeping track of his little group of humans.
Making sure they were safe. That Hattie was safe.
He was acutely aware of the dangers of the forest he had come to know well after hunting in it for days, and he was keeping a lookout for a potential spot for them to camp out safely to avoid those dangers.
And his entire body was throbbing with agony as his adrenaline faded and he became fully aware of just how much damage he had sustained.