“I will find you again. I promise. Now, come on, I have to find a safe place to put you.” Tyson wanted to comfort her, but time was of the essence. There were only a few hours of darkness left, and he wanted to get in and out and put down some extra distance between them and the rebels before it was light.
Jayde nodded silently and followed on Tyson’s heels as they weaved in and out of the trees. Tyson found a small area behind a single waterfall and checked it for animals. Finding none, he led his quiet charge inside the dark area. “I want you to stay here. Don’t come out for anything. Okay?”
Tears began to fall from her expressive eyes as she nodded, the drops hitting his hand. His callused thumbs wiped them away, “Don’t cry, little rose. I will be back for you. I will find you again, no matter what. The pack stays with you. You have your gun.”
Tyson did an automatic check of his weapons and took a deep breath. It was time to go. He felt Jayde withdraw even farther into the cave and he pursued her. It was as black as pitch in the cave and yet Tyson knew exactly where she was.
He cupped her face gently, tracing her beauty in the dark, as if committing it to memory. Then before either of them could say anything, he smashed his lips against hers. The kiss was hard, fast, and short. “Never forget I will come back for you. I love you.” Then he was gone.
Tyson moved with the stealth and speed that made him one of the best at his job. He focused on his target, trying not to think about his wife sitting alone in the dark, wet cave beneath a waterfall. As his strong legs ate up the ground, he found himself more and more focused on the task at hand.
It took him about an hour to reach the outskirts of the camp. It was makeshift and shoddy, but hopeful-ly equipped with a phone or radio.
He sneaked into the first hut. In a fast assessment of what he faced, he saw there was a young woman sleeping tied to the bed. Well, he knew what she was here for; and although he wanted to help her, he couldn’t risk her screaming and alerting the rest of the camp. Jayde’s safety came first. Reluctantly, he left her there after determining there was no phone anywhere.
The next three huts were the same. They all had a woman tied to a bed and not much else. Unsure of how he was going to get into the center of the camp unnoticed, Tyson spotted a hut way off to the side that was bigger than the others.
Fading back into the shadows, he inched his way around to it. There were grunts and other muffled noises coming from there. Peeking in the open window, Tyson took stock of what was inside.
A wiry dark-skinned man was on the bed raping a sobbing woman on a small army cot. Tyson also spied a table with a radio in the center of it.
A dog’s bark dropped him down and he withdrew the survival knife he had on his leg. A camp member yelled sharply at the dog, which immediately fell silent. Tyson headed for the hut’s entrance. The man’s increasing grunts told Tyson he was just about done. The woman had fallen into hushed whimpers as the man above her found his own pleasure at the cost of her pain.
Slipping into the darkened shelter, Tyson edged closer to the man on the bed. The girl barely had time to acknowledge Tyson standing over them before the man on her was dead. The scream seemed to stop in her throat as she looked into hazel eyes of her savior.
The metallic scent of blood rent the air, courtesy of the rapist’s slit throat. Tyson dragged him off the girl who just looked at him with wide eyes. He put his finger to his lips, signaling her continued silence; and as she nodded, he moved to the table that held the radio.
Two seconds after he picked it up the woman screamed. He turned to see another man standing in the doorway, frozen with surprise. Before that man could do anything, Tyson threw his knife to land deep within the man’s neck.
As the second man crumpled to the ground Tyson grabbed a machete and the map along with the radio, nodded to the girl, and ran, knowing her scream would bring others. He was right. Four men were running towards the hut and opened fire as they saw him fleeing.
Grateful this hut was along the edge, Tyson quickly disappeared into the woods after returning fire on the men, emptying the Spectre he carried and leaving him with only the Glock and the stolen machete. Three men dropped from his bullets but more were coming.
The searing pain of a bullet lodging into his shoulder nearly took him to his knees, but he kept running. He covered the distance as he was trained to do. Soon those men were left behind. He knew they would be on his trail soon and with the dogs, so his small lead didn’t make him feel that relieved.
Tyson took many twists and turns before he headed back to the waterfall. He didn’t want to return there but he didn’t have a choice; he needed Jayde’s help again, this time to remove a bullet.
Four and a half hours after he’d left Jayde alone, he found himself cautiously approaching, hand over the wound on his shoulder to help stop the flow of blood and hoping no one was right on his heels witness-ing his entrance in the pre-morning glow.
Maneuvering around the cascading water, he slipped into the damp cave. “Jayde,” he croaked out. Nothing. He tried again, keeping his voice at a whisper since sound traveled well in the cave.
“Tyson, you’re back!” He heard her say. “I’m over here; the cave goes back quite a ways.”
“Turn on the light.” His words were slurred.
The muted light from the flashlight shone way off to his left and he followed it. Bathed by the soft glow, Jayde stood looking at him with a mixture of worry, relief, and love. His body totally exhausted from the combined blood loss and running, he stumbled over to her and smiled gently. “I got it.”