Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Kelli felt like crap. She was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. She was terrified that she’d fall asleep and wake up to pitch darkness again. The candle had been a godsend, but it had finally burned down to almost nothing.
Flash had been the most amazing partner in this…
what was this? Adventure? No, that wasn’t the right word.
Nightmare? Yeah, that was closer. Having Flash with her made everything that had happened not quite as scary.
If she’d been by herself, she would’ve been a basket case.
And she couldn’t even imagine being stuck in this hellhole with her cousin and the Three A’s. They would’ve been unbearable.
Amazingly, she’d learned stuff from Flash. He’d let her…no, made her open the second can of food. She’d wanted to save it, because in the back of her mind she still wasn’t so sure that Flash’s friends would find them. But she let him talk her into seeing what was inside the can.
He’d made opening the first can seem so easy.
She sawed back and forth with the tip of that spoon for what seemed like an hour before she’d finally been able to weaken the tin enough to break it.
Inside had been what looked like peas, but they were a speckled brown.
Flash thought they were probably gungo peas.
Another common Jamaican staple. The liquid they were in smelled really good, but that was probably because she was so hungry.
This time, they’d remembered to put some of the uncooked pasta into the can. Her mouth watered as they waited for the pasta to soften. When they couldn’t stand waiting any longer, they both popped a few pieces into their mouths.
Never in her life would Kelli have thought just soaking pasta in liquid, without any kind of heat source, would result in anything edible. But the tiny morsels were a feast. She imagined she could feel her body soaking up the carbs and other nutrients from the pasta as it settled in her belly.
The peas weren’t great, but again, since she was so hungry, Kelli didn’t think twice about eating them.
When the can was empty of peas, and after they’d drunk every drop of the coconut milk the vegetables had been packaged in—the little that wasn’t soaked up by the pasta—it was all Kelli could do not to break down in hysterics.
That was it. The end of their food. They’d also finished the water. They’d found the source of the dripping, and had begun collecting water in the empty bottle, but starving to death wasn’t her idea of a good way to go.
“Come here,” Flash said, from where he was leaning against the side of the bus.
He held his arm out to his side. Without hesitation, Kelli crawled over and leaned into him.
His arm around her felt like coming home.
He was her safety net. Being close to him helped her believe that someone would be coming for them. That they’d be found.
“Once upon a time, there was a girl. She had an evil mother and stepfather. They made the poor girl work from the time the sun came up to when it went down. But the girl didn’t mind.
Staying busy kept her mind off other things.
Like her empty belly and the taunting of the other little girls in her village.
None of them had to work like she did. They all got to wear pretty dresses and sit outside in the sun and have tea parties. ”
Kelli smiled as she snuggled into Flash’s side.
She’d told him hours ago about her love of fairy tales.
How the happy endings soothed her soul. They’d taken turns telling little made-up stories.
It was his turn, and she was content to listen to him talk as she watched the last of the light from the flickering candle.
“One day, a possum waddled into her yard. Her stepfather wanted to kill it. Said it was vermin and would dig holes and destroy their crops. But of course, he wouldn’t do the deed himself, he ordered the girl to do it.
So she dutifully set a trap, putting some of her own dinner inside.
Before long, the possum took the bait and was inside the trap.
“But the girl couldn’t kill the beast. It was ugly and scarred, and it hissed at her, but she didn’t care.
It was just scared. Trapped. Like her. All it wanted was to live its life.
So in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, she went out to the trap and set the possum free, warning it not to come around in the daylight when her stepfather could see it.
She also promised to leave food out, if he came back.
“For the next year, that’s what she did.
Even though she was always hungry, she saved some of her dinner every night to bring outside for her possum friend.
Then one night, her stepfather got angry with her and began to beat her.
The girl was crouched down, trying to cover her head, enduring the pain from the much larger man’s fists, when she heard a noise outside. Scratching at the door.
“It got louder and louder, until finally her stepfather couldn’t ignore it any longer. Angrily, he stalked to the door and wrenched it open. Looking down, he saw a possum.
“As he stared at it, the animal began to grow. It grew and grew—until standing at the door was a giant! A huge, ugly, scarred giant. It hissed at the stepfather, then grabbed him by the throat, pulled him out of the house, and stomped on his head. Squishing it.
“The girl stared at the giant, wondering if she was hallucinating.
Then the giant ducked his head and came inside the small kitchen.
He picked up the girl ever so gently and carried her outside.
He stepped over the wall around their yard and stopped.
They were surrounded by almost a dozen possums. As she watched, they all began to grow, just like the one at her door.
Now she was surrounded by giants, male and female.
“‘This is my family. My brothers and sisters and my parents,’ the giant said. ‘Because of you, not killing me a year ago, we’ve thrived. To thank you, we’re going to bring you to our world. You’ll marry me and live happily ever after.’
“The girl was confused. ‘But you’re a possum,’ she said.
“‘I am and I’m not. That’s our secret form. I’m really a prince. But maybe you think I’m ugly and don’t want to be with me. ’
“He sounded so sad, and the girl felt for him. ‘I don’t think you’re ugly. My stepfather was ugly. Deep in his soul. You aren’t. I’ll come with you. Be your princess.’
“That night, there was a huge party. The giants celebrated a new princess—who was healed by their prince’s touch, so no more bruises marred her fair skin. And they lived happily ever after.”
Kelli smiled against Flash. His stories…they weren’t exactly the best. They made no sense. But she loved them anyway. Because they all had happy endings, just like she’d told him she loved. “That was perfect,” she told him.
He chuckled, and Kelli felt it reverberate against her side. “It sucked. But I’ll get better.”
It was strange that she was smiling. She was filthy, smelled horrible, was thirsty and hungry, and yet, she was content.
Just then the candle flickered and abruptly went out. Kelli could smell the smoke from the smoldering wick in the air. She inhaled sharply.
“Easy, Kelli. We’re okay.”
Swallowing hard, Kelli nodded against him. The dark seemed darker now. Which was silly, but she couldn’t help thinking it was true.
“Your turn. Tell me a story,” Flash ordered.
She knew he was trying to distract her. From their situation, from her growling belly, from the dark.
What Kelli really wanted to do was scream.
Have a tantrum. This wasn’t fair. What did she do to deserve this?
She was a good person. Didn’t cut in front of people on the interstate, said please and thank you even to people who were mean.
She put her cart in the thingy in the parking lot at the grocery store instead of leaving it in the middle of another parking space.
She paid her taxes on time and ignored all of Charlotte’s nasty quips against her.
And for what? To end up buried alive in a bus in the middle of some stupid jungle.
Flash’s arm tightened around her, then she felt his lips on her forehead.
But…she wasn’t alone. She had Flash. And the more time she spent with him, the more she liked him.
There was probably some psychological reason for that.
She was dependent on him. Shared trauma, something.
But Kelli couldn’t imagine him not being in her life now.
She liked talking to him. He was smart, had good instincts, and was incredibly calming.
Besides that, he made her feel alive. He didn’t see her flaws, and there were many.
Instead, he saw her .
“Come on, your turn,” Flash said, nudging her gently.
Taking a deep breath, Kelli began telling a story about a grasshopper named Fred who left home to see the world, only to discover that what he’d been searching for was back home the entire time.
She’d just finished, and was basking in Flash’s gentle chuckles, when a loud sound echoed throughout the metal bus.
Like his namesake, Flash moved so quickly, Kelli couldn’t even begin to process what he was doing or what was happening.
Before she knew it, he’d pulled her to her feet and put her back against the far corner of the bus.
Away from the manhole they’d been dropped through when this whole nightmare started.
“Stay here,” Flash ordered in a tone of voice Kelli hadn’t heard him use before. It was hard and cold and completely businesslike. This was the SEAL behind the man she’d gotten to know. It should’ve scared her, but instead it made her feel protected.
“I’ve got the conch shell knife we made. If it’s Heckle and Jeckle, I’ll make sure they don’t get a chance to hurt you.”
His first thought wasn’t even about getting out of there—it was for her safety. “Be careful,” she whispered.