Page 17 of No Escape

Crossing her arms, Sarah’s gaze followed Clint until he disappeared. She wondered how far he’d go before doubling back to get her when he realized she wasn’t behind him. Would he continue on and just leave her? In his present mood, he just might.

A few moments passed before she decided now wasn’t the time to show her independence. She’d better do what he said. Nevertheless, even a few minutes hesitation turned out to be a mistake. She could hear him thrashing ahead, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, wait up!” Her gaze darted over the ground and bushes thoroughly, looking for snakes and any other nasty creatures as she followed him. She wasn’t about to plow through the jungle like he was obviously doing, even if it did seem he was getting farther away from her. “Clint!” Damn him! “Wait up!”

Sarah caught her foot on a ground root and fell to her knees. That’s what she got for cursing him. It would serve him right if she did get lost. “Clint!” She pushed to her feet slowly and trekked on. Maybe if she called him by another name, like jackass or asshole, she’d get a better response.

She parted a leafy branch in front of her, and came face to face with a snake and not the green garden variety either. They looked at each other for a moment before she released a blood-curdling scream, and immediately swung around to go back the way she’d come. “Clint!” she screamed as she took off, stumbling blindly in haste.

A few feet into her panicked run, Sarah was brought up short by the sudden appearance of a wild boar that didn’t look anything like the cute little pig in “Charlotte’s Web”. This creature was as big as a large dog, with long, razor-sharp tusks protruding out of his mouth and going up the sides of his long tapered snout. He snorted and stomped his foot in warning. She screamed again, scaring some innocent birds in the trees overhead.

Frozen with fear, her eyes remained riveted on the boar. Sarah was trembling so badly she would have sunk to the ground if it hadn’t been for the threat of the snake behind her. Slowly, she turned her head to see where the legless reptile had slithered.

“Clint!” Sarah was so scared she almost wet her pants. The large gray hog snorted threateningly and pawed the dirt some more. Was it getting ready to charge? “Clint!”

Clint suddenly broke through a clump of tall bushes about three feet away from her. His expression was thunderous as his eyes zeroed in on her with frightening intensity. If he was concerned about her safety, there wasn’t an inkling of it revealed on his dark face or in his glittering eyes.

“For fuck’s sake, stop your damn screaming!” he snarled, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. “They can probably hear you all the way to China!”

Sarah was too afraid to take offense at his uncaring bark. She was more afraid of the snake than of him at the moment. “There’s a big snake!”

“Where?” his head jerked back and forth, looking for it.

“And a wild boar!” Sarah continued, in the same breathless voice.

“Where?” His head whipped back around, his gaze scanning the area.

Sarah realized the animal must have taken off when Clint stormed through the trees to her defense. “It was there!” she said, pointing to a bare spot on the ground where the dirt had been stirred up.

She watched Clint bend at the waist, and brace his palms against his thighs as he sucked in mouthfuls of air, like a man who’d just emerged from being held under water for too long.

“Shit! When I heard your frantic screams, I thought Rodriguez’s men had gotten to you. I nearly broke my damn neck getting back here, until I realized they would have never let you continue screaming like a fucking banshee. All you did was probably succeed in giving our location away.”

“Clint.” Sarah’s frightened eyes darted nervously in every direction looking for the repulsive and probably poisonous snake, and barely listening to Clint. “I don’t understand it. The snake was right there.” She pointed. “And the boar was there.” She started to move toward him. Where had it gone?

“Don’t come near me right now. It’s all I can do to keep from shaking some sense into you. So do us both a favor and don’t make shit easier by coming to me.”

He certainly wasn’t in a very compassionate mood. And what was he angry about? She’s the one whose life had been threatened. “What about the snake? Don’t you want to know what it looked like?”

“Did it bite you?” he rasped, pinning his gaze on her in a way that made Sarah feel like vermin.

“No, but-”

“Then I don’t give a fuck, Sarah.” Sarah wasn’t expecting him to turn on her like a wild animal. She jumped back with fear. “Your hysterical screaming has probably alerted everyone on the island where we are!” His voice raised an octave with every word he uttered.

As the enormity of what his words meant became clear, Sarah felt the blood drain from her face. “I’m sorry…I…I’m…” She stumbled to get the words out. No wonder he was so angry. “I’m scared of snakes and I…I thought you’d left me.” She turned away.

****

Clint was unprepared for the tears he’d seen swimming in her eyes. He suddenly felt like the hardhearted bastard Mark had called him over the years. Her soft-spoken words took the fire right out of him, making him see Sarah in a different light. In spite of her spunk and sass, she was a vulnerable woman, thrown into a situation out of her league, and handling it the best way she could.

How was he supposed to deal with this Sarah? The overwhelming urge to take her into his arms and offer comfort, something he’d never contemplated doing to another living being, surprised him. But he brushed it aside. He’d been raised hard and he lived hard. He wasn’t about to start turning soft now. When it mattered, soft wouldn’t save their lives.

He bent, unzipped his satchel, and dug around in the bottom until he found what he was looking for. It occurred to him Sarah might be hungry, though he gave her credit for not complaining about it. He was trained to survive for days without food, as long as he had plenty of water, but Clint knew she needed food for energy. “Here.” He tossed her an apple when she turned back to face him.

He hadn’t meant to look at her, but their eyes met when she caught the fruit against her chest. She’d managed to pull herself together fast, yet she couldn’t disguise the brightness still lingering in her eyes or the dirty tear tracks lining her cheeks. “I won’t leave you Sarah.” He felt he had to reassure her. “Besides, Susan will have my hide if I come home without you.”

The faintest smile softened her mouth. “Thank you.”

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