Page 95 of Lost Paradise

Lost in the darkness of the moment, I deepen the kiss, pouring my soul into it, letting her taste the depth of my longing and desire. In this passionate exchange, amidst the shadows and the chaos, I find solace, a fleeting moment of peace in a world of perpetual darkness.

Chapter 30

Time isn’t on ourside. Regardless of whatever level of intelligence the savages have, they will realize one of their spawns is missing and will start to entertain the possibility that it ventured to the prohibited side of their island.

We need to figure out what it is that causes the savages to stop at the border and not dare venture past it. I’m a firm believer in science and cannot sit and accept that it’s superstitious beliefs preventing them from attacking us. They look at us with a mix of hatred, venom, desire, and hunger. They hold the kind of contempt that festers deep within like an old wound never allowed to heal. This is more than simple hostility against foreigners on their island. It’s pure, unadulterated hatred.

There is something ancient and primal in their gaze, a loathing that feels as if it’s woven into their very being. It’s not just our presence they despise; it’s our very existence.

This isn't a simple territorial dispute; it’s a deep-seated enmity, a resentment that transcends reason.

The others dismiss my concerns, chalking it up to mere barbarism, but I see something more. There’s a spark in their eyes, a glint of something almost otherworldly. It’s as if they know something we don’t as if they guard a secret that fuels their hatred and binds them behind this invisible wall.

It’s something more profound, something that strikes at the core of who we are and what we represent to them. So many questions haunt me, gnawing at my mind during the long nights. There must be an answer, a truth hidden beneath layers of myth and legend.

I have to find it.

“I want to come with you,” Eve says, and the others object to her offer of joining me on my quest to the border.

“It’s not a good idea, darling,” Foster retorts. “There is no clear indicator where the border is. What if you venture by mistake on the other side? Or fall into another sinkhole like Zane did?”

“I could have said the same about you the other day,” she counters, “but there is the urgency to find out and prevent them from coming here, so I want to pitch in.”

“I agree with Foster,” I chime in.

“Plus, there’s the brat,” Astro says, and we all look at the child playing with some seashells we collected to keep her busy. “You can’t take it with you. What if the cannibals see it?”

“For the last time, asshole,” Eve says red-faced. “It’s a human and a female. It is ashe.”

“What about if it doesn’t want to be a she? Why are you forcing a gender on it?” Astro muses, and I know he’s only doing it to rile Eve up. There is no way in Astro’s primitive mind that he gives a flying rat’s arse about gender sensitivities.

“Listen dickwad, on this island, there is only?.”

“Andsheneeds her parents,” Foster butts in, interrupting Eve before she and Astro start another one of their tiffs that seems to be getting more frequent every day. “I’m going to sneak into their camp tonight and drop her in. Astro and Jack, since you both have been moonlighting as drug mules, you will show me how you’ve been getting in and out unnoticed.” He glances at Astro and changes his mind. “Jack, you’re leading this expedition.”

So Foster figured out the two bastards' little arrangement. I knew they were sneaking around behind all our backs but I’m not a snitch.

“How long did you know?” Jack asks Foster, casually leaning against the palm tree trunk. He seems unfazed by the revelation, effortlessly flicking his Zippo open and closed, the metallic click echoing with each precise, practiced motion.

“Not a lot will pass under my radar, Bancroft,” Foster replies, his eyes drifting to Eve and then back at Jack.

Eve and Jack?

Now, that’s a coupling I did not see coming.

“Astro and Jack, make sure the weapons are in order. We will need to split them down into two groups. One for us, and the others to be divided between Zane, Byron, and Eve.”

I watch Eve’s eyes brighten with appreciation as Foster gazes at her with his decision, but there’s no missing the hesitancy in his eyes. I feel the same way, but Eve isn’t the kind of person to wrap up in wool.

“But—”

“The decision is made,” Foster interrupts Zane’s protest, which for sure would have been about Eve joining us. Foster holds a stern, serious face; he’s not accepting any countering from anyone.

"Jack, give Zane your knife," Foster instructs firmly. "He'll know how to use it effectively in an emergency."

“We’re the ones going into enemy territory,” objects Astro.

Foster’s gaze shifts to him, a silent intensity springing from his eyes, conveying an unspoken warning not to challenge his authority. It’s the kind of look that would send a chill down someone’s spine, a cautionary threat that I would never want to be the recipient of.

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