Page 10 of Ace

She winced when she touched the area around his wound, grateful he was still unconscious. “Why are you here?”

She wouldn’t flatter herself that he’d come just for her. He hadn’t reached out in over a year, or was it two? And yet here he was on the very island and in the very village she was living…

She took large amounts of water and poured it through his hair. It rained down through the slats on the flooring of her bamboo hut.

He moaned.

“Dex?” She touched his shoulder. “Dex. Wake up.”

He squinted and shifted and then moaned again.

“You had some fall. They found you hanging in a tree.” She laughed as if it were nothing. “And then they carried you here because you were taking some kind of nap on the path. In their way.” She kept babbling, hoping he wouldn’t drift off again.

He mumbled and then gasped and opened his eyes. “Gi!” His eyes were crazed, scared. She knew he had no idea where he was.

“Dex.” Her voice was quiet. As soon as he recognized her, his eyes softened and one corner of his mouth lifted. His signature crooked smile even now begged to be kissed. She peered down over his face so that he could see her without moving. “Hey there.” She tried to be as encouraging as possible. But she didn’t need to force her smile. She was happy to see him.

“Hey.” His voice was crackling. He tried to wet his lips.

“Hold on.” She grabbed one of her bottles of filtered water. She tipped it just enough to wet his lips.

“More.” He lifted his head and then moaned. “Ah.”

“You have a cut. It’s stopped bleeding, but I’m sure it’s gonna hurt for a while.”

He closed his eyes. “Mmm.”

“So, I don’t know what happened to you or why you’re here. But the villagers found you hanging from a tree by your parachute ropes.”

He squinted his eyes. “Bullets.”

She gasped. “No.”

“Yes. Thirsty.”

She moved closer and lifted his head in her lap. Then she tipped the water bottle so that he could sip it. He took a few careful swallows and then he sat up in one fluid motion.

“What!” His grin made her laugh though she should have been angry. “Were you faking all that?”

He winced as he shifted his body. “No, you think I’m faking a gash in my head?” He looked around. “Do you own a mirror?” Then his gaze travelled over her face, and she felt everywhere he looked as if his eyes left a trail of awareness.

“Yes.” She dug in her rucksack. “But I don’t use it much.”

He grinned appreciatively. “You don’t need it.” Then he held it up to his face. “Oh, wow.” He turned to one side then the other. “But that looks nasty. Clean though. I guess I can thank you for that?”

She nodded. “It might be good to see a doctor.”

“I will once we get out of here.”

“Wait, what?”

“It’s a total war zone. The island is the center of what is becoming an international incident. We are leaving.”

She immediately sat taller and shook her head. Decisions were not made so abruptly. And if she left, all her people would leave too. If she abandoned ship, she would feel like a total traitor. “I can’t just leave these people.”

He winced. “I don’t want to leave them either. Not without helping them first. But if I know you, they’re self-sufficient by now. They can carry on without you. And no international power is interested in terrorizing them. They want the resources and the location of this island. The villagers will be ignored. But you won’t.”

She knew he was right. “I told Father.”

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