Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
17
Training during this course will progress from static drills to dynamic scenario work. Safety protocols will be strictly enforced throughout all practice sessions.
- Excerpt from a police training manual written by Ben Hollis
Lochlan is climbing over me. He reeks of sweat and alcohol and his large belly crushes the air from my lungs. I turn my head to the side, steeling myself to endure what’s about to happen.
I gasp in a breath as I wake up, startled. The knife in my hand is poised to strike, and it takes me a second to remember where I am.
The cave. I must have fallen asleep. Since it’s always dark in here, I can’t get a sense of how long I slept. I’m groggy and thirsty, my throat uncomfortably dry.
For the first time since getting to the island, I didn’t wake up drenched in sweat. This cave is going to make a nice shelter for me as I heal and figure out my next move.
I’ll have to venture out to find food, but I’m hoping to get my water from in here. I ease my feet back into my socks and shoes, the pain not better or worse, and stand up.
I’m lightheaded, probably from lack of food. I’ll eat a papaya after I get some water.
Keeping the knife in my right hand, I tiptoe deeper into the cave, toward the murmur of water.
I don’t have to go far. In the darkness, I can clearly hear the trickle, but can’t see it. I use my hands to search, my palm landing on a smooth rock wall with water gently flowing down. I bend to inspect the ground with my fingers, hoping to find a pool of cool water.
Instead, it’s rolling along the edge of the cave floor. I follow the path for about fifty feet, where the water seems to seep into another wall.
Damn. No drinkable water source in here. That means I have to go out. I’ve got enough problems with my feet; I can’t let myself get dehydrated, too.
I leave everything but the knife, spear and canteen in the cave. As the path takes me upward, pinpricks of light filter into the cave through tiny holes in the curtain of vines. I can smell the sweet, heavy scent of the tropical flowers even from twenty feet away.
Careful to ease out at the same end I entered through and not disturb the cave’s covering, I blink against bright light when I emerge. The tree cover above is too thick for me to tell what time of day it is.
I consider waiting for the cover of night, but I’m just too thirsty. The small waterfall I bathed in yesterday isn’t too far, and I know exactly how to get back there.
A snake as thick as my forearm slithers across the ground in front of me as I walk, unconcerned with my presence. It’s black and red with an arrow-shaped head—probably venomous. I’m not tangling with venomous snakes, even though my mouth waters at the thought of grilled meat.
I’ll have other chances at small game. I say another silent thank you to the universe for sending me this knife. In the light, I can see that it’s very well made and sharp.
This weapon will give me a chance against anything I encounter. I can’t help wondering who left it in the cave, and when.
It’s mine now. I can live without everything I left in the cave if I have to, but the knife, spear and canteen will come with me everywhere.
When I exit the jungle, the sun’s position tells me it’s around late morning. I must’ve slept through the night.
Sweat is already running down my spine and gathering under my arms. I’d love to take my clothes off and sit in the cool water for a while, but I can’t.
Kneeling beside the pool of crystal clear water, I bend and splash my face. It’s a mess of scrapes, but none of them seem very deep.
Then I fill my canteen, drink it all, and fill it again. This time, I drink half of it and then dunk it below the water’s surface to get it full.
After screwing on the cap, I put the strap over my head so the canteen rests on my hip, pick up my knife and spear, and start back toward the cave.
I feel better. The rest helped. My head is clear enough now that I can think through my options and decide what to do after I let my feet heal.
“Any last words, Briar?”
My feet freeze, the voice setting off alarm bells in my head.
It’s too late for that, though. When I turn around, Virginia is standing around ten feet away, her expression a cross between furious and smug. She’s gripping a long metal spear, the corded muscles on her lean arms glistening with sweat.