Into the Wild Dark

CHAPTER 34 - JACK

Ch. 34: Jack's Dive

September 11 | Day

Pass through the stand of live oak where the Spanish moss spills from limbs that kiss the sky and caress the ground. You'll know you're near the place when you stumble upon graves. The cemetery stretches as far as loss and despair, but go through it. Don't stop. Follow the sunset, one foot before the other. You'll find the stream. Dive into it. You're nearly there.

I went over Yalina's instructions in my head for the umpteenth time. Sunny and I had traveled through the cemetery straight as the crow flew toward sunset. We had cleared the forest, which wasn't primordial, but was ancient enough for the woods to feel bereft of the civilizing touch of humans.

In the clearing where we found ourselves, teal blades of grass danced on a breeze, and irises lapped purple tongues at the wind. Animals stirred in the underbrush, peaceful enough not to trouble us. I watched a baby deer tiptoe from the treeline on skinny legs and poke its chocolate nose into the foliage. It ran off as thunder and lightning crackled above the treetops. The weather was worsening.

We stood on the banks of what might have been a stream once upon a time but was now more of a river. Yalina had perhaps misremembered details. I ran a hand over my gritty face and scratched a cornea with a knuckle, worried about when Mr. Cyprian would notice us gone.

"Climate change?" I complained.

"Probably heavy rains further north," Sunny replied. "Conversely, it's been two decades since Yalina was last here. This body of water could have been swelling since her childhood."

"Shit... I don't see the stone she told us would mark the spot, either. I think the river's covering it. I'm gonna have to go in. "

"'Go in,' as in swim it? We don't know how deep it goes."

I shrugged. "Can't be more than a few feet."

"Could," Sunny pushed back.

"Got any other ideas?" I asked. He expelled a breath and unclasped his sword to dive in with me, but I stopped him. "Stay here and watch for those Fext soldiers Mal said might be out here."

"I don't like this, Jack."

I wasn't exactly thrilled, either, but the idea of Darcy hiring a team of divers to retrieve the map propelled me to the shoreline. "What are they, anyway?" I tugged off my red t-shirt and shimmied out of my jeans.

"What are what?" Sunny asked.

"Fext soldiers." I smelled them in the wind. At least, I figured that's what I smelled. Distant but present. The cold odor of guns, the spicy kick of gunpowder. Another werewolf somewhere, too. Zyr Ravani, probably. Sunny and I had to be careful not to run into anyone.

Leaving my shoes and socks in a pile, I folded my clothes on top. My dying cellphone fell from a pocket. I needed to wrap this mission before we lost battery power completely. A weather alert had come across. I didn't bother opening it. It was obvious the weather was bad. We just had to leave this place as soon as possible.

"Fext soldiers are, erm, the Slavic undead. They're impervious to every weapon except glass bullets," said my friend.

"Overlay City was full of types," I grunted, ready to take the leap.

"Hey." Sunny clenched my wrist. "Be careful, Jack."

I faced him, knowing what he wanted, and he knew what I craved. His lips, his hands, his hot body against mine. He stepped into my arms for a brief escape from our harsh reality. As his tongue curled past my teeth, I felt him trembling. The kiss deepened.