Excerpt
The front door of the house
opened and a man walked out of it, followed by a woman. He walked to the edge
of the porch and leant against the railing as he surveyed the land surrounding
the house. He was looking off into the distance as though he was trying to see
something that was hidden from view.
He felt the
touch of the woman’s hand as she laid it on his back; she then slid it down to
move around his waist as she moved to stand to the left of him. She leant her
head on his shoulder letting out a sigh of contentment as she made herself
comfortable in her spot by his side.
Turning his
head, he kissed her on her head, before turning back to continue his perusal of
the environment. The view was having a peaceful effect on him as it reminded
him slightly of his home. Soon, after leaving this location, he would be
returning to his home with the woman who was currently at his side. Although
she was different to the type of women he had being used to, based on where he
had grown up, he knew that she would not have to worry about feeling unwelcome
in his home once she returned with him.
‘Do you think that
they have landed yet?’ she asked him, with her head still on his shoulder,
interrupting his perusal of the environment.
‘Yes, they
landed about an hour ago,’ he informed her.
‘How do you know
that? I did not hear the phone ringing’
‘Mikel contacted
me as soon as they cleared customs.’
‘Oh I always
forget about that, your secret communication systems.’
‘Yes you always
do,’ was the man’s indulgent respond to her statement. ‘Anyway, he said that he
and the others should be here in the next two to three hours and it has been
almost an hour since he contacted me, so they should be here in the next couple
of hours or so. If it is not too much trouble, I would like you to prepare for
their arrival.’
‘Do you know how
many others are coming with him?’
‘He said that he
brought four others with him.’
‘Do I know any
of them?’
‘You have met
two of them, but I am not sure if they remember you and the other two have been
around, but you have not had the chance to meet them yet.’
Turning so that
she was now facing him, ‘do you think that will pose any problem for them or
me?’ she asked him.
‘Not if they
valued their lives,’ was his calm, but deadly response as he kissed her gently
on her lips. That action was such a contradiction to the hardening of his eyes
as he spoke about their impending visitors that if she had not been so sure of
his feelings towards her, the woman might have had second or third thoughts
about being with him.
Letting out a
sigh of contentment, she snuggled deeper into his embrace, ‘I’ll make sure everything
is ready by the time they get here,’ she told him.
‘Thank you for
that’ was his grateful response, ‘but, there is no need for you to put yourself
out for their visit tonight,’
‘I know, but I
want to welcome them anyway,’ she told him, ‘I want them to know that even if
they do not accept me, I know how to welcome guests to our home.’
After
considering her statement for a while, he nodded his head, ‘I understand now,’
he conceded, ‘if you are to have their loyalty, you have to let them know that
in your home you are in charge.’
‘Yes, that’s why
I want to get things ready for their arrival.’
‘Ok, do what you
feel is necessary.’
‘Don’t you
worry, I will,’ she assured him.
With that, they
both continued to survey the peacefulness of the land that surrounded the
property. The woman was not sure about the man standing at her side, but she
knew that there was some anxiety in her about meeting the as yet unknown
visitors that were right now on their way to their location. Even though her
current position deemed that she should not have any worries, it did not
preclude her from being anxious nonetheless.
As though the
man knew that she was still experiencing some anxiety despite his reassurance,
he pulled her even closer to his side. ‘I can feel your anxiety,’ he revealed,
letting her know that he was in tuned to her mood, ‘There is no need for you to
worry, be assured that I will not let anything happen to you,’ he reassured her,
trying to soothed her nerves.
‘I know that,’
she responded, unable to keep the anxiety out of her voice. ‘But it still does
not stop me from worrying. I want everything to be right for you, as what I do
and say is a direct reflection on you and what your people will think about the
choice that you have made.’
‘I know you do
not fully understand, but apart one that you have yet to meet, no-one can tell
me that by choosing you, I have made a wrong choice,’ he reassured her once
again.
She did not
quite understand what he meant by that statement, but felt that he must know
what his people would say about her, so she decided to try to put her anxiety
aside for the time being, until she meets their impending guests; then she
would see if what he has told her is the truth.
‘Alright then, I
will try not to worry too much about our guests not liking me,’ she capitulated,
before snuggling deeper into her place at his side.
He did not
respond in word to her concession, but rather made a sound in his throat as
though agreeing with her.
Chapter 1
Heart pounding in her chest,
Eve Simpson ran. Each step she took was into the unknown as, apart from the
moonlight, there were no other discernible lights to light her pathway. Unfortunately
for her, said moon was now obscured by a dark cloud which had suddenly appeared
out of nowhere.
Running as fast
as she could in the terrain, with every step of the way was becoming an ordeal
for her as either her tee shirt was snagged by an unseen branch, or she stepped
on a stone that she could not see. Although, she was wearing her trainers, it
did not have a solid enough traction, or sole to protect her feet from the
boulder like stones that she stepped on as she tried to make her way to safety.
Her breathing
was becoming more laboured the longer Eve ran. She was also getting stitches in
her sides from her prolonged dashed to safety. Right at this moment, Eve did
not know why she had decided to wonder so far from safety, but, the night had
been so beautiful when she had left the house that she had lost track of time
and of where she was.
She had been
wondering in the mountains, climbing higher and higher, lost in her thoughts as
she admired the beauty of her surrounding with the sounds of the night
creatures as company; when suddenly, she heard a noise that was completely
different to the noises that she had become used to in all of her weeks in her
family home. At first, she had ignored the sounds thinking that it might have
been the day creatures settling down for the night; as she herself should have
been, instead of wondering about in an unknown terrain.
Ignoring the
unusual sounds, Eve had kept on walking and exploring the area as she went. It
was not long after hearing the unusual sounds that she realised that she was
hopelessly lost. It was around the same time that she realised that she had
picked up some unwelcome visitors. That was when panic had set in. Immediately,
Eve wanted to go home, but was unclear as to exactly which home it was that she
wanted to go back to. Did she want to go back to her home in England, or did
she want to go back to the family home that she was currently staying in whilst
she was here in Jamaica.
If only there were
some street lights around to enable her to see more clearly or even pavements,
then she would have been able to move around more freely. Unfortunately for her,
that was not the case here. This was Jamaica and not England. To make matters
worse, she was not even in one of the major cities or towns; no she had to have
families who come from the middle of nowhere with hills, mountains and more trees
than humans and maybe animals put together.
The fact that
there were no lights or pavements meant that there was also no paved roads
anywhere in the locale, all there was were dirt roads and tracks for the
residents of the area. Here, there was only the moonlight available to light
her path as she tried to find her way back to her family home. If only she had
kept to the tracks, she might have been able to find her way back, but no, she
had to be even more adventurous and step off the tracks in a bid to explore the
interior of the trees.
Eve wished that it
was the middle of the day, as trekking through the woods would not have posed a
problem to her, as she would have had daylight to find her way back to the
route she had originally taken to get back to where she had stepped off into
the forest. By leaving the house so late in the night, Eve now knew that what
amounts to an enormous mistake had been made on her part. As she tried to find
her way back, Eve was beginning to wonder why she had thought that it was a
good thing to venture out in the first place.
‘Why did I have
to leave the safety of the house?’ Eve asked herself as she once again tripped
over an unseen tree root. ‘Great! Just great! Now I’m talking to myself .Just
goes to prove that I have officially lost my mind.’
She had decided
to go out for a late night stroll ,just as she had done in the last few days,
ever since she had been at the house. Even though she knew that it might not be
safe to do so, the need to leave the house was too much for her to ignore, so
she gave in to in to the urge for a late night walk.
Eve did not like
to be cooped up after spending a couple of years in a mental institution where
everyone though that she was mad. It was only after certain things came to
light that they realised that she was not mad at all; she had just being one of
the few people to realise what was going on.
Did any of those
know it all jerks apologised to me? NOOO!!! All they did was released me with a “we
hope that your stay here did not disrupt your life too much,” like they cared anything
about me anyway, Eve thought as she dashed through the woods.
Now here she
was; in the place of her ancestors breathing the same air that they had
breathed before leaving it for greener pastures. The land that they own before
their exodus had been left behind, but not sold off. It was still a fruitful
place where one could come to relax and feel at one with nature away from the
modernity of life.
When she
originally came to the family home, it was with the thought of getting away
from England and all that it entails. From her first day at the house which - over
time had been expanded to a modern four bedroom house with funds from family
who were living in England, - Eve thought that it would be an ideal place for her
to stay in order to not just recuperate, but to put things into perspective and
plan her future. Being that the house was situated in a location that made it
almost impossible for the normal utilities to become part of the structure of
the house; Eve was happy for the seclusion that it afforded her.
However,
recently, the overall look of the house had been amended due to changes that
had taken place in her life. They now have portable utilities that made living
in the house much more comfortable. All she had to do was stay in the safety of
the newly modernised house rather than be out in the wilds of Jamaica.
This is what you
get just because you had to have a last walk before going to bed, Eve chided
herself.
Hearing a noise
that was completely different to those that she had become used to hearing
since the start of her adventure, Eve came to a sudden stop. With a pounding
heart, Eve stood still, as she tried to gauge the direction that the sounds were
coming from. It was not clear to Eve the type of creature that was making the
sound, but one thing was clear to her; it was not a small one. Eve was unsure
as to whether or not there were wild boars or pigs in Jamaica because she was
sure that whatever it was it definitely was not a small creature.
Even if it is a creature
of the porcine variety, shouldn’t they be fast asleep this time of night and
not wondering about like I am? Eve wondered to herself.
Realising that it
might not be safe for her to keep standing in the same place for long, Eve resumed
walking. Continuing in the direction that she had been heading, Eve hoped with
each step that she took that she was not heading towards the creatures that
were in the woods with her. At first, she thought that it might have only being
one creature in the woods with her, but after listening intently for a while
she came to the realisation that there were a number of them out there and that
they were definitely tracking and keeping pace with her.
Knowing that there
were unknown wild animals following her, only served to ratchet Eve’s fear
level even higher than it already was. Now there was no doubt in Eve’s mind that
she had to find a way to get back to the house in one piece without becoming
the late night snack for whatever it was that was prowling about in the bushes
stalking her. In her panic, Eve rushed ahead whilst looking everywhere, but in
front of hers.
SMACK!!!
‘OW. Oh you’ve
got to be kidding me,’ Eve groaned as she held on to her face upon realising
that she had run into a tree. He groan of pain was promptly followed by a
string of curses as she moved around in a circle trying to alleviate the pain
in her face.
All she could
feel was a wall of pain in her face and head, causing her to rest her butt on
the trunk of the same tree that she ran into. Eve tried to regain her senses by
shaking her head to stop the ringing in her ear as well as the bright lights
from dancing in her eyes. Lights that she knew were impossible because it was
still dark. With her back resting on the trunk of the very large tree, Eve used
one of her hands to rub the side of her head and ear to help dissipate the
effect of her run in with said tree.
Once she could
see again clearly without the dancing lights Eve took a stock of herself to see
if she had sustained any serious damage. She had hit the tree with such force
that she was slightly surprised that she had not knocked herself out
accidentally. Even though her ears were still ringing and she was still feeling
slightly out of it, Eve knew that she could not remain in the same place for
long, otherwise she would be making herself an easy target to whatever it was
that was in the woods stalking her.
Feeling slightly
disorientated as she pushed herself away from the trunk of the tree, Eve
started walking, well more like stumble in the direction which she thought
would lead her back home, this time, taking care that she did not walk into any
other immovable objects.
Stumbling along,
Eve was determined not to let the situation get the best of her as she tried to
make her way to the safety of the house. She remembered walking further up the
hill away from the house before branching off to her left, so that mean she
would have to reverse her direction to get back on the right path; if only she
could work out which direction to go in.
As she walked
Eve swiped at her face trying to remove the trickle of sweat that was running
down the side of her face, as well as debris from her run in with the tree.
Please don’t let
it be blood, was her fearful thought. The last thing she wanted was to be leaving
a trail of blood for whatever animal that was following her to track her by.
