Bred by the Bushmen

His father had told him to always trust his instincts, that when he needed them most, they’d help him survive.

Time passed, and with it, his anxiety grew.

As he made his way through the forest, going along the regular path, he paused as a flashing light waving up ahead distracted him. Fucking trespassers.

Back and forth it moved, and he came to a stop. Reaching into his glove compartment, he grabbed his .44 Magnum. After stopping the snowmobile, he climbed off, keeping the motor running. Raising the gun in front of him, he waited.

Someone rushed toward him, and then gasped.

The instant he saw it was Opal, he lowered the weapon and exhaled the breath he held.

“What the fuck are you doing out of the house?” he asked, stepping toward her.

She threw herself into his arms. She was panting hard. “Some strange men came. I don’t know who they are. I hid and they have Damon. They asked about where you were. They had a gun. I didn’t know what to do. I needed to warn you. I left Damon … shit … I left Damon all alone.”

He cupped her face, and he saw the fear and panic in her eyes. “Calm down, baby, I’m right here.” She wasn’t dressed for the weather. He didn’t like any of this.

“We’ve got to go back. We’ve got to go and help Damon. I can’t believe I left. It seemed like a good idea at the time. What if they’ve shot him or something? Oh no.”

He slammed his lips down on hers, doing anything he could to distract her. The panic rising up inside her wouldn’t do either of them any good.

“Did they see you?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I climbed down the escape route you showed me. I was so wrong about that. It is the best plan to have. Thank you.” She kissed him back.

“They didn’t shoot Damon on sight?” he asked.

“No. I don’t know why they’re there either, Caleb. They seemed interested in what you guys did. Where you were. Damon told them you were only a few hours out. I don’t … everything’s a blur right now. I can’t think.”

Her hands were shaking.

“You did good coming to me, Opal. You’re going to have to stay—”

“No, you’re not leaving me behind. I can’t … no, I’m coming with you. I’ve got to be there for Damon. I have to know he’s okay. I’m sorry. I can’t just leave like this.” She pulled the bag off her shoulders. “I’ve got guns and ammo. I figured you’d need them. Please don’t make me stay here.”

She looked at him with her big eyes, and he was a goner. There was no way he was going to be able to say no to her, and he cursed.

“Get on.”

He didn’t know what he was going to do, but whatever it was, saving his brother was high on the fucking list.

****

Damon was going to kill the guy who kept the gun trained on him. He didn’t like being on the end of something that could kill him. If this guy slipped, then his face was going to get blown off, and that wouldn’t be pretty.

“You know, I’m starting to think you guys have a bit of a crush on me and my brother,” he said.

He didn’t know their names and so he referred to them as Asshole and Bigger Asshole. Bigger Asshole was the one who held the gun on him, and it was really pissing him off.

“Shut up,” Asshole said.

“I don’t get it. I mean, come on, guys, you’re holding me at gunpoint right now. We’ve been waiting for what, an hour? What exactly are you wanting? Because it’s clearly not my death. You wanting my ass?” He stood up, bent over, and showed it to them.

“Sit the fuck down, queer!” Bigger Asshole growled the words, and Damon couldn’t help but chuckle. These guys had a laundry list of issues.

Caleb had warned him many times that he had too big of a mouth, and one day it was going to get him killed. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight though.

Opal had been hiding in the closet, and he’d also heard the shuffling of her getting out of the window. He and Caleb had practiced it enough that they knew the sounds. Their parents had done the same thing with them as kids in case of fire or predators.

He hoped she’d gone to find Caleb. He also hoped that she hadn’t gotten lost in the forest. That was the last thing he needed right now.

Everything was riding on her finding Caleb.

When she did, and his big brother saved the day, Caleb was so going to kick his ass for going out without some kind of weapon. It was a rule they lived by, but he only expected to chase after the dog for a minute. It proved he could never be too cautious.