Page 50 of Totally Shipped
We are still in the dark of the jungle, but at the edge now—a rocky incline is ahead of us.
“If Harvey is up there, will he see us coming?”
“No, see how the ridge circles around? The entrance to the cave is beyond that curve. We’ll be able to get really close, but we should try and move quietly.”
“Roger that.”
Taking a moment to drink our remaining water, and eat another fucking banana, we don’t speak. There is no need. If Harvey is up there, we all know what needs to be done.
Twenty minutes later, we are just around the corner from the caves entrance. I can smell woodsmoke, so it’s obvious Harvey is here.
We need to take him by surprise, so if Daisy is there, he can’t hurt her or use her as a hostage. Waiting is frustrating, but it’s better than rushing in to a situation and fucking it up. After a while, I hear a voice for the first time.
“...more fruit…gotta feed her…”
Fucking perfect.
I can feel my brothers tense; we are all a hair’s breadth away from exploding.
And then there he is, stepping around the corner and straight into the three of us. His eyes widen with shock, and then he turns to move. I get to him first, and spin him around. Then Gray slams him into the rock face. Killian is already gone, off to find Daisy as we’d planned.
Harvey isn’t going down as easily as I expected. He’s hissing and struggling, and surprisingly strong. It takes both of us to keep him subdued.
“I’LL KILL YOU ALL,” he screams. “SHE’S MINE!”
“Wrong thing to say,” Gray growls, smashing his fist into Harvey’s jaw.
Harvey drops like a stone and I watch as Gray drags him along the ledge. I don’t care if he is dead or alive. My mind is on one thing—Daisy.
DAISY
Harvey has taken my boots.
He figures I can’t escape if I don’t have footwear. He’s not wrong; there is no way I could travel across those rocks and then the jungle floor in bare feet.
So I’ve gone back to the hot springs. It's dark back in this part of the cave, but there is just enough light to see. If Harvey is off foraging for a while, I want to be able to enjoy the water without the worry of his eyes on me.
I quickly strip off my clothes. My shorts don’t fasten anymore. I need to figure out a way to keep them up, but that’s a problem for another day. Everything is a problem for another day—I can only handle this right now. And right now, it’s mommy and me swim-time.
I dunk my head under the water and when I surface again, I think I’m hallucinating.
“DAISY, WHERE ARE YOU?”
That voice…I really hope I’m not hallucinating.
“I’M HERE!”
A minute later, through the gloom, Killian comes into view. As soon as he sees me he runs, then falls to his knees and cups my face.
“Sweet baby Jesus, are you alright? Oh my little love. Did that fecker hurt you?”
It’s hard to form words because I’m crying so hard.
“Shhh, macushla, you’re safe now.” Killian pulls me out of the water and into his arms.
More footsteps are coming, and then Leander is here too.
“Is she alright? What did that fucker do?”
