Laughing Eyes: Bittersweet Familia (3) Read online

  Danny

  “So everyone is down with the rules? Do you want me to go over them again?” I looked around to ensure the entire group understood. We would be heading back out knowing we were all targets and working together was key to our survival.

  Interpreting the blank faces as ‘good to go’ I pulled my pack on. “Alright, let’s go before our window of opportunity closes.”

  There was a rustle of things and quiet murmuring as people gathered what they had and made their way to the vehicles.

  “Are you sure you don’t want us to come?” Eduardo seemed like a genuine caring person and only just a little put out by my instruction to remain behind.

  “They know who you are. There are still men alive who have seen both your faces. It would do us no good if we ran into trouble and they recognized you. We have the girls to protect also.”

  He nodded his head while looking at the troupe. “Ok, well if you need anything let me know.”

  “Will do.” I replied, heading off.

  “And Danny?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Anna is a good girl, I think of her like a daughter. She has a big heart and really cares for these villagers. Sometimes she invests too much of her devotion in making sure they are ok. I’ve seen you two together and I’ve also seen how protective you are of her. Please make sure she is ok out there.”

  There was such sincerity shining in his eyes that I knew he carried genuine concerns for Anna. It seemed like no matter who it was she came in contact with, everyone in some form or another, fell for her. And I could understand that completely. She consumed my every thought, had me seriously contemplating my future that just had to have her in it, and the overwhelming need to protect.

  “Eduardo, I’d rather die myself than have anything happen to her.”

  ***

  Aiden led the convoy as we navigated the roads through the thick jungle. Alec and half his team were in the middle while Anna stayed close next to me.

  “So,” I began, my eyes flashing her an amused look. “Where to after this?”

  “Hmm… good question!” She looked dreamy as she contemplated her endless possibilities. “I want a job that doesn’t involve blood and certainly no death. Without a doubt, I will live by the beach and be as far away from any kind of jungle.” She laughed lightly. It was beautiful. “And I want a dog. What about you?”

  Anna looked to me, her green eyes joyous. “Well, wouldn’t you know it! You have just singlehandedly, without even battering those beautiful lashes of yours, stolen my future. Have you no shame?” Her infectious laughter caused me to smile. “I think I need to keep a closer eye on you!”

  “I think I might like that punishment.”

  I raised my eyebrows in mock admonishment. “And here I had you pegged as some sweet and innocent girl.” I winked as she blushed and giggled at my teasing. She simply was the most stunning women I had ever met!

  Moments like this were hard to come by in a war zone, yet I could feel Anna longing for some normalcy. And then, like a flick of a switch, her smile faded, her face suddenly growing deathly serious. I followed her gaze to see the two trucks coming to a standstill. We were still quite a distance from our destination and having traveled this road many times, I knew we were in the thick of the jungle.

  “What’s happening?” There was no mistaking the tremor in her voice.

  “The rules were no stopping!”

  And then I saw it.

  Stretching up ahead to Aiden’s truck, two men dressed in black, the lower half of their faces covered in red bandanas, pointed their semi-autos at the cab.

  “Oh god!” Anna choked. “Luiza is up there with Aiden!”

  I didn’t have time to respond. The green jungle framing us turned a sinister black as a number of men with machine guns slowly emerged from the thick of it. They didn’t look like the amateurish men we had so far encountered and I had the feeling that this lot was part of the army sent through to destroy the villages. There were ten all up, five on each side. Angry shouting erupted as the exposed aid workers on the tray of the truck were ordered off and made to stand facing against the vehicle.

  Both doors to our truck were yanked open, but as I reached for Anna she was already being dragged out, her squeals igniting a rage from deep inside. A gun muzzle pressed hard against my temple followed by a demand in Spanish. Stepping out, I was greeted by a man dressed the same as the others, his sinister eyes laughing as he spun me against the hood of the truck. Anna’s terrified face met mine as she mirrored my position on the other side.

  “Who are you?” The man yelled, his gun pressing against the base of my head.

  “We’re with the aid workers,” I replied, keeping my eyes locked to Anna’s.

  “Stand up!” he ordered, gripped my shoulder until I was upright. He was the same height as me, his skin tone slightly darker, eyes as black as the night.

  “All aid workers are to leave!”

  “We’re just here to help.”

  “You help, you die.” There was an unmistakable promise in his voice. To my side I could hear Anna talking to her own captive, their conversation becoming heated.

  “We will leave now. No more helping.” I raised my hands feigning surrender.

  “Too late! You oppose El Leon…” I didn’t give him the chance to finish the sentence. Simultaneously, I gripped the gun muzzle pulling him towards me as my bent elbow crashed into his jaw. He released his own hold as his head whipped to the side, his footing becoming unstable.

  Anna lay flat against the hood, her hands protecting her face as I took aim at her captor. He was late to respond curtesy of her distraction, his chest now littered with bullets as he fell back into the thick of the trees.

  Crouching down, I made my way around the back of the truck. “Anna?” I said quietly enough so only she could hear. She spied me with one terrified eye, her small body shaking. “Get under the truck.” She did so without a moment’s hesitation, disappearing from view. Ahead, the sound of more fire erupted, bodies wearing black suddenly falling to the ground. I spotted Aiden who had taken down the two at his end plus another two who had been harassing Alec and the team. They all now huddled together on the left hand side as Aiden was held in a standoff with the four remaining soldiers on the right. He was facing me, his face partially visible through the four bodies. His vengeful eyes caught mine, his fingers flexing on his trigger. Reaching into the truck, I tore open the sewn seam searching for just the right weapon. Sinking to the ground, I pulled the pin and tossed the grenade. It landed just shy of the soldier’s feet, any noise it made easily drowned out by their repetitive incoherent shouting. Raising my gun in the air, I fired two warning shots, our aggressors suddenly caught off guard as they searched desperately around them.

  It was too late.

  Aiden killed the lone soldier keeping watch before crossing the road, taking the aid workers with him into the jungle. I was half way to Anna when the explosion threw me the rest of the way. I rolled on impact coming to a stop next to the truck, her hand grabbing mine, her sweet eyes shiny with tears. A second explosion, louder than the first erupted as Aiden’s truck blew up in flames, a dark plume of smoke blocking the sun. As debris from the destroyed vehicle fell around us, I moved further under our own truck. Drawing Anna’s face closer to mine, her body trembled against our various points of contact. She looked to me and my heart contracted. Feelings I never expected were arising in a place I knew I had to fear.

  But here we were.

  Her thick lashes were stuck together with moisture from tears, her lips red from nervous biting. Cupping her cheek, I drew circles with my thumb against her skin. She closed her eyes and I kissed the lids, tasting the saltiness.

  As my lips touched her face, she pressed against them.

  In that moment I knew.

  She was feeling every bit the same as me.

  Anna

  We all met beside the truck Danny and I had traveled in. All a little shaken
, all desperate for some form of escape. We knew our time here was coming to a close. Tensions were brewing and we had no idea who the man was we were fighting.

  Danny stayed close, Luiza on my right, her arms wrapped around my waist. She was covered in dirt from the jungle and the smoke that had engulfed the whole area from the gas explosion. We took a moment and absorbed the devastation around us. Ten dead bodies lay scattered, oozing blood from various points on the body, mangled limbs from the blast still smouldering.

  “Are we all accounted for?” Aiden asked, stress marring his features.

  “We are,” Danny replied. “Now we need to make a decision whether we advance forward and see the villagers or not.”

  “It’s not that far from here,” I offered knowing that most of us were fighting the urge to run. I was too. But I also wanted to check on the group and make sure they were doing ok.

  “All in favour of continuing?” Alec asked the group.

  Everyone except Luiza raised her hand.

  “That settles it. It may be a tight squeeze fitting us in all, but one truck had to be the sacrifice.” Danny squeezed my hand and led me back to our vehicle. “Are you ok?” His eyes were loaded with concern.

  “I’m a little in shock, but I’m not hurt. Promise!” He didn’t look too convinced, but I really was fine. “If it weren’t for you and Aiden, we would all be dead now. We owe you our lives.”

  ***

  They were here. Had to leave.

  The message was scribbled on the back wall of the last building. It was how we decided to communicate knowing that it was a difficult access point that wouldn’t be used by the soldiers. It’s messy lettering formed the words I dreaded to hear. Perhaps it was the same group who confronted us. If it weren’t, then there were more. The disconcerting part was that it seemed to be a trend of theirs to revisit sites they had already destroyed. That meant the villagers would no longer be safe enough to rebuild their lives. They would have to find somewhere else entirely and relocate.

  “Do you think it was the same group of men?” I asked Danny and Aiden who stood next to me, their eyes still glued to the wall.

  “It’s hard to say,” Aiden began. “We were still quite a while away so it could mean there are others.”

  Nothing of this whole scenario was reassuring.

  “It’s best we head back and seriously start planning our exit,” Danny responded, his eyes softening when they met mine. He knew we had unfinished business to take care of here and he was also sensitive to the fact that my heart would break leaving these people in the condition they were in.

  “I agree,” Aiden also looked to me, releasing the branch that covered the message. “This place will destroy us all if we are not careful.”

  ***

  For the next two weeks Aiden and Danny stuck close to us all, minus a few occasions when they went searching for El Leon’s arms factory, each time returning without any leads. Their frustration was evident and well-deserved. When out on the job they would be gone for quite some time, failing to come home at night as they were too far in the jungle to make it back safely. But when home, they would take their dinner with us and tell stories about their trip.

  Then when everyone went to bed, Danny and I would make our journey back to the ocean where we would sit and chat about all things life. Some nights it was too dark, the moonless sky not offering us any light, so we would remain around the communal table under the glow of candles. It didn’t seem to matter where we were, we always had something to say, always something to laugh about. I had never smiled so much before; never felt so happy in my heart.

  When Danny held me in his arms while we listened to the waves crash, I felt safe. He was my protector, the one who was quickly capturing my heart. Shivers would run down my spine and Danny would pull me in tighter.

  Yet I could still feel it.

  It was becoming more than just paranoia.

  It was consuming me.

  Eyes watching, following our every move.

  Waiting for that one vulnerable moment.

  Danny

  Enough time had passed before we found ourselves on the road again, heading toward the last village we all but abandoned. We had left a small message on the wall stating our return in two weeks. Word from the locals back at base told us that El Leon and his soldiers seemed MIA.

  There had been no more killings.

  No more genocides.

  While it was good news for everyone, it didn’t lower our suspicions.

  “Boss!” Samuel, the youngest of the aid workers came running up, a troubled look on his face. “The weather front has changed. We need to leave.”

  Aiden, myself and Alec had been working our way back through camp reassessing the clues that had been left for us while the others attended to the small amount of villagers who had returned. There had been many interruptions since our arrival, but this time Alec gave his colleague his full attention. “What does the forecast say?”

  Our messenger looked flustered, “It’s coming in from the south strong and fast.”

  “Will we make it back to camp if we leave now?”

  “No, we will be driving straight into it.”

  Alec heaved a sigh while lost in thought about our travelling plans. “Well we can’t exactly stay here in this blood bath of a place.”

  “There is a town not far from here, about three hours east.” I mentioned, two sets of hopeful eyes meeting mine.

  “Then we head there.” Alec announced before running off to gather his equipment and to alert his workers.

  I turned to Aiden who wore a similar confused look. Clearly we were missing something.

  “Why are they all freaking out about a storm?”

  ***

  “What the fuck is happening?” I had to yell for my voice to be heard over the roar of the rain.

  “It’s seasonal,” Anna yelled back. “This just happens to be ‘the’ season.”

  The dodgy windscreen wipers were doing a lousy job, not that they stood a chance. The wind powered through the jungle sending sheet-like rain pounding against us. We were travelling blind and we stood no chance.

  We were already saturated, our clothes soaked through. No sooner after alerting the staff to pack up immediately, the winds came howling through; bringing the ominous clouds with them. While we stacked the trucks with equipment, the rain began pelting us, big heavy droplets at first, splattering randomly, then it was every man for himself as the sky fell around us.

  Alec and the others traveled behind at a safe distance to avoid collision but close enough to not lose sight. The windscreen fogged up due to the humidity and as if reading my mind, Anna used her sleeve to clear a circle.

  “Thank you.”

  She gave me a small smile that made me want to plant my lips on hers. On cue, the right hand front wheel dipped down into a pot hole then up and over a mound, the motion causing everyone in the cab to be violently thrown about. Anna’s small hand came to rest on my arm, her knuckles turning white as her grip tightened.

  After what felt like six hours, we finally came to a stop outside a two story weatherboard hotel.

  “This must be us.” I announced, not entirely happy with our new position and in all honesty, I was more than surprised the place was still standing under the power of the storm.

  “On the count of three. One, two, run!” I threw the truck door open and waited for Anna to climb out before slamming it shut. Aiden took care of Luiza as they made tracks to the shelter.

  The others joined us soon after only to receive curious and somewhat hostile expressions from the woman on reception. She stood moodily behind the counter studying us with contemptuous eyes. Her mouth formed a thin line as she caught sight of the muddy puddles at our feet, messing up her aged and worn floor boards.

  “We need a few rooms for the night, please.” I requested in an attempt to move the show forward. Her beady eyes now assessed us all a bit closer.

  “I only have two roo
ms and there are eight of you.”

  “Ok, four to a room.”

  “Only two beds in each.”

  “We can double up. We will take both, thanks.”

  The woman gave a curt nod before ushering us up the rickety stairs. We all followed diligently behind in single file careful not to touch the loose balustrade. She unlocked two rooms with a key tied on a lanyard around her neck before pushing past us in the tiny corridor.

  “You pay in the morning,” she grunted. I couldn’t help but find the humor in her inhospitable behaviour. I caught Anna’s eyes, her face too sharing the same sentiments.

  “You expect more?” the woman quipped, her annoyance more than obvious.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” my chuckle encouraged a sweet laugh from Anna who then turned to face her boss.

  “Luiza and I will obviously stay together. The four of you should take one room and we will share with Aiden and Danny.”

  This clearly didn’t sit well with Alec, who now looked at me with suspicion. In fact they all did.

  “Are you sure?” He asked as if I wasn’t there.

  “Of course, we are all close, it’s fine.”

  Grunting similarly to the receptionist, he took his cue and disappeared into his room, the others following close behind.

  “Well aren’t you just the brazen Miss? Taking on the big boss like that,” another gorgeous smile crept across her face.

  “Would you rather share with him?” She raised her eyebrows at me with mock curiosity.

  “I think we all know the answer to that!”

  Anna

  Luiza and I both sat on the end of the bed we would be sharing not really knowing what to do next. We silently watched as the two men unpacked various electronic equipment, placing each item carefully on the mattress. The room was dimly lit, courtesy of only one lamp in between the two beds. It’s occasional flicker in perfect timing with the lightning outside. The incessant rain battered the foggy window pane, the mustiness of the room clinging to our damp bodies.