Yellowjackets: The Broken Victors

Chapter 22: A Confession, 𝘈 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯

[1996]

"Damn. So Martinez dumped you?" Agami asked Natalie, who had the muzzle of her rifle pointed up and focused on a bird resting on a tree branch.

"He didn't," replied Natalie as she concentrated, taking a deep breath before pulling the trigger. "We ended what we had."

Agami then walked towards where the bird fell down, picking it up and putting it in a sack containing the other small animals they managed to hunt for the day.

"That better be what really happened because I'll be laughing my ass off at you if he actually dumped you," she said, looking at Natalie with so much doubt. "Don't let that dickhead humble you."

"Do you realize that your hate for Travis is poking out?" Natalie told Agami, who then scoffed at her.

"He's a dude, Scat. I hate dudes."

"Rhett is a dude."

"Rhett is no dude. He's a loser."

As they walked back to the cabin, almost everybody was busy doing their own thing when they arrived.

Shauna was cutting some meat into portions, with Akilah helping her sort it out. Taissa and Travis were busy with the firewood. The man was gathering the logs after Taissa split them and tied them together with a vine to avoid some mess as he put them in a corner.

Before they left earlier, Laura Lee, Mari, Van, and Misty went to the lake. The two girls had shown their interest in learning how to do spear fishing with the help of Laura Lee, while Van volunteered to stay with them on the lakefront just in case they'd need some kind of assistance. Van refused to stay down like Taissa suggested due to her injury, claiming she's not totally unable to help everyone around with their chores.

Jackie's part starts once the hunters, or those who went fishing, arrive back. She handles the preparation of other smaller animals, including the kinds that Natalie and Agami had just brought back. Surprisingly, the girl didn't grow tired of pitching in, and she still continues to do her part even after what happened.

The rest of the girls, including Javi, were busy washing everybody's clothes in exchange for not participating in other chores, except one.

As Agami's eyes met another pair of black ones, she felt a slight discomfort. Yumi, who was sharpening the edges of thin branches that they'll use for cooking meat using a knife, has her gaze fixated on Agami. The girl may not be saying a word to her and simply throwing daggers, but she knows there's something more with those glares.

They lost count on how long it has been since the plane incident happened. Almost everybody forgot, or somehow chose to forget, about what Agami did on the plane. Aside from the fact that the damage had already been done, they weren't starving anymore, and that eased them a little bit.

Although they are still preserving foods, the day won't pass anymore without each of them getting enough rations for their bodies to function properly. They were evidently in a much better situation than before.

"You got something?" Ben asked Natalie and Agami.

Agami extended her right arm to the man, handing him the sack as she spoke. "Yeah, four birds-I don't know what kind-and three squirrels."

"Another successful hunt, I see," he responded, checking the contents.

"And more work for me," Jackie joined in the conversation, snatching the sack from Ben's hold, then immediately walked away.

Natalie scoffed at Jackie's words but didn't say a word about them. Agami placed her hand over Natalie's shoulder, attempting to convince her friend to simply ignore and let go of Jackie.