Survive the Monsters and Breed 2 Chapter 2

“Shit,” I breathed as the ground rumbled beneath me.

“What in the hell?” Shanice asked from behind me, and I turned to see her staring at the door with wide dark brown eyes.

A second later, Em appeared. She had her arms wrapped around the ill woman’s waist so she could help her walk, and the two of them exchanged horrified looks as the door continued to creak closed.

“Lyano,” the honey-blonde woman breathed.

“There really is a door,” Em whispered.

“Told ya.” Devonna crossed her arms and glared at Shanice. “And good riddance. I hated that damn jungle.”

“They were telling truth,” the tall blonde said, and Shanice’s body visibly tensed.

“Should we let it close?” Sarah asked, and she looked to me for an answer.

“Why not?” Devonna scoffed. “It’ll keep anythin’ from comin’ through. Besides, why would we want to get back over there, anyway?”

“Water,” I answered quickly.

“And food,” Sarah added. “This is a desert, and resources seem to be pretty scarce.”

“Well, can’t we just open it again?” Devonna asked.

I glanced around quickly but didn’t see any flashing lights like there had been on the other side of the door.

“If they didn’t open it from this side, then probably not,” I said. “But the door is half-closed, we don’t have time to check and see. We need to stop it, and fast.”

“You could go through,” Sarah suggested, and I could hear the panic in how shaky her voice was. “Then you could just open it again.”

“But what if he can’t?” Devonna asked. “Maybe it only opens once, we don’t know. And then Jakey would be trapped.”

The door was closing inch by inch, and I knew we needed to work quickly. I looked around to see what I could find to help us, and off to the right I spotted a small cluster of rocks about the size of my head. Then I rushed over and felt them to make sure they were solid enough to hold the door.

“Here,” I said as I grabbed one and carried it over to the closing doorway.

I dropped the rock in front of the path of the moving wall and waited. Once the door hit the rock, it strained as it tried to close, but then a loud whirring sound occurred, and it stopped moving altogether.

I stepped back to admire my handiwork and allow my body to rest. I was still injured, and picking up that rock had done nothing good for my open wounds.

Everyone was quiet as they stared at the door in front of us. Shanice wore a look of anger and confusion, but the other two just stared in awe.

Just based on the brief interaction I’d had with Shanice, it was clear she was a control freak who liked to be in charge. The fact that she hadn’t known about this door had to be eating away at her. But there was nothing she could have done about it. From this side, the door wasn’t even visible. It was designed to blend into the back of the cave perfectly.

I just hoped that after seeing it, she’d realize we didn’t mean her or her group any harm. We’d been telling the truth, after all.

“Now that you’ve seen it for yourselves,” I said softly. “Let’s start over. I’m Jake.”

“I said it earlier, but I’m Sarah,” the redhead added.

“Natasha,” the blonde said.

“I’m Devonna,” the Southern woman piped up.

“Zoriyana,” the pale, honey-blonde woman said without looking away from the door.

“Zori-uh-what, now?” Devonna asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Zoriyana,” the woman repeated, and she wiped sweat from her brow and then coughed up a small amount of blood into her hand.

“Now, see, that’s a beautiful name and all, honey,” Devonna said. “But it’s kind of a mouthful. I’ma need to shorten that a bit, if that’s alright with you?”

“You are going to shorten my name?” the woman asked in a raspy voice, and she turned to flash Devonna a small, amused smile.

“Only if that’s alright with you,” the Southern woman said.

I couldn’t help but smile at Devonna treating this woman like she would anybody else even though she looked and sounded like death.

“Southern manners at their finest.” Sarah rolled her eyes.

“I have not had my name shortened before.” Zoriyana licked her chapped lips. “How does this work?”

“Hm.” Devonna put her hand on her chin. “Well, takin’ your name into consideration, I’m thinkin maybe Yana? You like that? Or… what about Zori, is that bett-”

“Enough!” Shanice snapped, and Devonna raised her eyebrows and reared her head back so far, I thought she was about to slap the woman across the face.

“Excuse me?” the Southern woman asked. “Just why do you feel the need to be so damn rude right now?”

“You all show up here, tell us the sun isn’t real, that we’ve all been kidnapped and put into the same ugly green jumpsuits, and now there’s a door at the back of a fucking cave in the middle of what I thought was the desert,” Shanice said, and her voice became higher and faster the more she talked until she was tearing in ragged breaths and looking around in a panic. “Sorry if I don’t feel the need to focus on manners right now.”

“I mean, that does sound like a lot,” Devonna admitted with a shrug. “But if you would’ve just believed us earlier, this wouldn’t be so damned overwhelming right now.”

“Why would I believe some strangers I just met?” Shanice scoffed.

“Let’s all just take a deep breath,” I suggested.

Everything Shanice said was true. This would be a lot for anybody to handle, and Devonna needed to cut her some slack. We’d just shattered this woman’s sense of reality, and that was a terrifying thing for anyone to go through. We’d figured out that we were in a room the first day we woke up, so we’d had a few days to come to terms with it, but these women were just finding out after being in here for who knew how long.

We needed to give them the proper time needed to process this new and horrifying information.

“Tak.” Zoriyana nodded. “Shanice, you should relax some. They were telling truth, see? Not liars.”

“Just because there’s a door here doesn’t mean we should believe everything they say,” Shanice said in a low voice. “We still don’t know these people.”

“We really have no reason to lie to you,” I said. “I know we just met, but we’ve been honest about everything we’ve said. We just want to get out of this place, wherever we are.”

Shanice eyed me curiously, and her plump lips pursed together as she thought. I could tell that she wanted to ask me more, but she was hesitant to look weak, or maybe she didn’t want us to think she’d accepted us as being friends. Either way, she let out a little sigh and looked at the door again, but she lowered her spear at her side, so I thought that was a step in the right direction.

“I can’t believe this is real.” Em walked over to the rock and placed her hand on it. “There was a door here the whole time.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” I said. “It was well hidden.”

“Did Shanice say your name was Em earlier?” Sarah asked.

“Uh, yeah.” The woman nodded and bit her lip. “It’s short for Emily, but everyone calls me Em. At least, I think they did.”

“Have your memories been foggy, too?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah,” she agreed quickly. “All of ours have been since we woke up. Yours, too?”

“All of them.” Sarah nodded.

I walked over to the door and put my hand next to Em’s. Then I double-checked the area, but I still couldn’t find anything to indicate the door was there. There was no handle, no buttons, and certainly no flashing lights like there was on the other side.

“Do you see anything?” Sarah asked after a moment.

“No.” I shook my head. “There’s nothing here.”

“What do you mean nothing here?” Shanice scoffed. “There’s a door in the back of a cave. That’s definitely not nothing.”

“This room is incredibly intricate,” I said. “The jungle room was, too. Everything in here is probably real, but it was brought here from somewhere else.”

“Da.” Natasha nodded. “Room is real, all plants and animals are alive, but it was constructed this way.”

“So what is it you’re looking for over there?” Shanice asked, and she lifted her chin slightly as she eyed me up and down.

“There was a red flashing light on the side we came from,” I explained. “I was looking to see if there were any lights or buttons on this side, but I don’t see any. Which means there’s probably no way to open it from this side.”

“We have slept in here every night,” Zoriyana said, and her lips quivered as more sweat dripped down her face. “It was so close to us, and we didn’t know.”

“There’s no way you could have,” Sarah told her. “We didn’t know where the door we found was, either.”

“Yeah, we just found a wall and followed it,” Devonna added.

“Da,” Natasha agreed. “It took us nearly all day, too. These rooms are quite large.”

“We were walkin’ for hours,” the Southern woman complained.

“How many of you are there?” Shanice asked.

“Four,” I said, and my brow furrowed as I gestured to the three women and myself. “We’re all right here.”

“You’re leaving this door open,” she pointed out. “How do I know it’s not to let others in?”

“There aren’t any others.” I shook my head. “Not that we know of, at least.”

“There were no other men?” Shanice asked, and her mouth formed a thin line.

“There were,” I said. “But not anymore.”

“Alright.” She nodded. “Well, I’m afraid I’m going to need to ask you to leave.”

“Oh.” I frowned. “Yeah, we can go, but I would like to stay and talk so we can get this figured out.”

“It’s gonna be dark soon,” Shanice said, and she looked right at me. “I can’t have you in this cave. Or anywhere near it for that matter.”

“What’s your deal with Jake?” Sarah asked, and her deep red eyebrows pulled together.

“Yeah.” Devonna glared at Shanice. “You’ve been pointin’ that spear of yours at him since the moment we got here. What the hell did he do to you?”

“Is it because he’s a guy?” Sarah asked. “Aren’t there guys in here with you, too?”

“There are three of you women,” Natasha pointed out. “And three of us. There were three men in jungle with us, so I am guessing there are three men in here, yes?”

Zoriyana and Em looked away, and I noticed their breathing rates increased just slightly as they looked down at the ground.

My heart rate spiked at their reaction. Something was wrong here. Why were they so upset about this question? And if there were men, where were they now?

Natasha had a point. There were three men in the jungle. Me, plus two other males. And there were three women. Now, there were three women here in this desert room, so it made sense that there would be three men as well. But I’d yet to see a single one. Where the hell were they, and why was my stomach churning just thinking about it?

“There were men here,” Shanice said, and she glanced down at the ground and then back up at me with sheer determination behind her eyes. “But they’re gone now.”

Devonna raised an eyebrow at me before turning back to the dark-skinned woman.

“And when you say ‘gone,’ you mean… dead?” she asked. “Because it sounds like you mean dead. In fact, it kinda sounds like you killed ‘em.”

“And what of it?” Shanice countered.

Devonna pursed her lips for a moment and then shrugged. “Well, we can’t judge you too much, I suppose. Jake did kill that one asshole the other day. But Jakey is nothin’ like him. He’s a good man. He protects us and takes care of us.”

Hearing Devonna talk like that about me made my heart swell with pride, and I couldn’t help the silly smile that came over my face at her words.

“What about the other guy, though?” Sarah asked.

“Oh, the nice English guy?” Devonna asked. “Now, what was his name again? Brian? Bishop?”

“Ben,” Natasha said with a small shake of her head.

“Right, right, Ben.” Devonna nodded. “He was real nice, too.”

“Did you have to kill him, too?” Em asked quietly.

Something about the way she said ‘have to’ made me think something bad had happened between the men and women in this desert room. Shanice had just admitted to killing them, but I suspected it wasn’t for sport.

“Oh, Lord, no,” the Southern woman chuckled and waved her hand dismissively. “No, no. He was picked up by a crazy bird monster, dropped on his head, and picked apart for their dinner, poor thing.”

Em’s eyes widened as she listened to Devonna, and I had to stifle a laugh at how ridiculous the Southern woman was sometimes. The poor women in front of us had no idea what they were in for.

“He was nice, though,” Sarah repeated.

“Yeah, we were thinkin’ about lettin’ him join our group,” Devonna added.

“There’s no such thing as a nice man in this situation,” Shanice said through gritted teeth. “If they’re out here, they’re all bastards.”

“Maybe the ones in this here desert were,” Devonna countered. “But not Jakey. He’s a sweetheart.”

“A sweetheart who apparently murdered another man just a few days ago,” Shanice scoffed.

Devonna raised her eyebrows, shifted her weight, and then leveled the dark-skinned woman with a firm point of her finger.

“Honey… you are the pot in this situation,” she said in a warning tone. “Jakey here is the kettle. You see where I’m going with this?”

The muscles in Shanice’s jaw twitched, and her dark eyes shot daggers at the finger Devonna had pointed right at her. I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if she spontaneously combusted at that moment, but Devonna kept her finger pointed directly at her like she didn’t give a shit how irritated the other woman was becoming.

“What happened to the men in here, anyway?” Sarah asked in a gentle tone. “What did they do?”

Devonna may not be the most understanding, but Sarah seemed to be picking up on the energy the women were putting off. Something bad had happened here, and my gut dropped at the thought of what it might have been.

“They thought they could control us,” Shanice said, and she lifted her chin slightly. “They took the note too seriously. They thought we were their property, and they decided they were going to take what belonged to them. Whether we liked it or not.”

Shanice’s words made my stomach tighten with anxiety and grief, and Devonna decided to finally lower her pointer finger.

“I’m really sorry that happened.” I frowned, but the death glare the dark-skinned woman shot me made me take an instinctive step back.

“These three women are vouching for you,” she said. “So you can stay in the area for now. But at this moment, I need you to leave this campsite. We won’t have you around here.”

“Oh, you won’t--” Devonna started to scoff, but just then, Zori went into another coughing fit.

And this one was by far the worst I’d seen yet. Blood dripped down her chin and through her fingers, and she struggled to catch her breath as her entire body lurched forward with each cough.

Em held her close and patted her back, but the pained look on her face told me she felt helpless to do anything else for her.

Shanice stayed where she was, but she closed her eyes for a few seconds, and just that small gesture showed so much pain that my heart broke for her. I couldn’t imagine losing one of my women. We’d been in plenty of situations where that was a likely outcome, but we’d managed to pull through them all.

Even still, I didn’t know what I would do if one of them was sick like that. The blonde woman seemed to be getting worse by the second, and at this point, I wasn’t sure there was anything to be done about it.

“We’ll go if you want us to,” I said. “But Zoriyana doesn’t appear to be doing well. Is there anything we can do to help?”

“We’ll help you.” Sarah nodded. “Like I said before, I’m trained in first aid and CPR. I can take a look at her if you’ll let me.”

“If you’ve got first aid and CPR training, then you’ve got the same skills as I do,” Shanice told her in a clipped tone. “I appreciate the offer, but we’ve got it taken care of. Now, unless you’re going back through that door right now, I need you to get out of my cave before it gets dark.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing we can do?” I asked.

“I’ve got it covered.” She looked me up and down as her tone became icier. “Maybe you ought to focus on your own injuries, anyway, and stop trying to play hero to all of us. Looks like you’re not holding up too well yourself.”

My face grew hot at her words. She was right, I probably wasn’t in any condition to help anyone at the moment. But even with my own injuries, I wasn’t nearly as bad off as Zori was. That woman looked like the Grim Reaper was about to come get her any second, and my heart ached for her.

I was growing slightly annoyed that Shanice was refusing my offers to help Zori, but I figured it probably came from a good place. She didn’t know me or my group, and after what had happened with the other men in here, I couldn’t blame her for being wary. She was only trying to protect Em and Zori, and that was something I could definitely relate to.

If one of my women was sick like that, I’d be frustrated with everything and everybody, too. Not to mention, we’d just told her she’d been essentially living a lie ever since she’d woken up here. I couldn’t fault her too much for wanting us to get out of her cave so she could tend to Zori in peace.

But my understanding did nothing to quell my desire to help the sick, fragile-looking woman.

“Uh, yeah, those otter creatures did a number on me,” I admitted.

“Speaking of which,” Shanice said with a gesture at the door. “Since that’s gonna have to stay open until I can further assess this situation, you’re sure whatever the hell is making that noise can’t get in?”

Everyone grew quiet as we listened. Sure enough, I could still hear the screeches of the beasts. Most of them sounded further away now, but there were also a few low huffs and growls that were clearly from nearby. It seemed the majority of the creatures had retreated and left a couple to guard the area while they were gone.

“We already told you, they’re otter monsters,” Devonna said. “With tusks and shit.”

“It sounds like they’re moving away,” I said. “But no, I don’t think they can get through the door.”

“Alright.” Shanice nodded and pulled in a deep breath. “Now, I need you to leave.”

“You’re sure there’s nothing we can do?” I asked, and I watched Zori as she trembled in Em’s arms.

“I’ve got it,” Shanice repeated through clenched teeth. “We don’t need your help.”

“Come,” Natasha said, and she grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the cave entrance. “We will go.”

“Thank you,” Shanice told her with a curt nod.

The three women escorted us to the cave entrance, and just before we stepped out, Natasha turned back and locked eyes with Zoriyana.

“Bazhayu tobi dobre spaty, druzhe,” she said softly.

Zori’s eyes widened slightly. Then she nodded and licked her lips.

“Do nastupnoho zhyttya,” she replied.

Natasha smiled, and then she continued walking so the rest of us followed after her.

“What was all that about?” Devonna asked.

“That poor woman.” Sarah frowned. “I hope she’s okay. She looked really sick.”

“She is not okay,” Natasha explained. “She is going to die.”

“What?” Devonna squeaked. “How do you know that?”

“She was coughing up blood,” the Russian woman explained. “Her body is weak and frail. I would be surprised if she makes it through night.”

“Oh, my god,” Sarah breathed, and she put her hand over her mouth. “That’s so sad.”

“What did you say to her?” Devonna asked.

“Ukrainian people believe in different kinds of deaths,” Natasha explained. “And they often compare death to sleep. I wished her good sleep.”

“What did she say back?” Sarah asked in a low voice.

“‘Until we meet in next life,’” Natasha said, and she let out a shaky breath.

“I’m sorry.” I put my arm over Natasha’s shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

“Da.” She looked up at me with dark grey eyes that glistened with sadness. “I am sorry for her, too.”

We were all quiet as we walked through the sand aimlessly.

The rock formation where the cave was extended out on either side. We’d begun walking to the right, so I kept going that way until I saw a spot that indented a great deal. I figured that would be our best bet for setting up camp. It wasn’t as secure as a cave, but it was better than being completely out in the open.

“This way,” I told my group. “We’ll set up camp over there.”

“Hopefully that’s far enough away for Shanice’s liking,” Devonna grumbled.

“Someone a bit bitter?” Sarah chuckled.

“Damn right, I’m bitter,” Devonna said. “I hate that woman. She’s a total bitch. She barely listened to a word we had to say.”

“Let’s not hate her too much,” I said. “At least, not yet.”

“Well, it’s a little late for that,” the Southern woman huffed. “Downright crude, that one.”

“You’re pretty crude yourself sometimes,” Sarah laughed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the Southern woman asked.

“You know exactly what it means.” Sarah raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m just saying, I’m sure it was a shock for them to have us just show up the way we did.”

“Da.” Natasha nodded. “They did not even realize they were in room.”

“I think if we let them have a little while to themselves, they might come around,” I said.

“Especially with Zori in the state she’s in.” Sarah shook her head. “That has to be really hard.”

“I can’t even imagine,” I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.

“Yeah, I don’t know what I would do without the three of you,” Sarah said.

“Aww, you do like me,” Devonna teased.

“Sometimes,” Sarah joked. “But seriously, just give her a chance. I kind of like her.”

Natasha and I both looked at the redhead in unison, and she blushed just the tiniest bit.

“I said kind of,” she clarified. “I’m not saying I’d like to be around her often… or at all right now, but I don’t know… she seems strong and focused. That’s good, right?”

“It is,” I allowed.

“Focused on making Jakey seem like an asshole just for bein’ the only man around here,” Devonna muttered.

“Hey, if I don’t mind, you shouldn’t, either,” I pointed out. “Let’s just give everyone their space before we jump to any conclusions.”

“Alright, I’ll try not to despise her entirely.” Devonna pursed her lips. “But I got a feelin’ she and I ain’t gonna get along.”

“And you know that, how?” Sarah asked.

“My gut, darlin’,” the black-haired woman answered. “And it ain’t never steered me wrong before.”

“So, was it you or your gut that got you attacked by a killer snake on your first day in the jungle?” Sarah asked with a wry smile.

“I’m gonna go ahead and say that was me,” Devonna said, but then she cracked a small smile and swatted the redhead playfully. “Fine, I see y’all’s point. It was a lot to find out just now. They were shocked as hell when we ran into them. I’d probably be a bitch, too.”

“It makes sense she wouldn’t trust us right away,” I said. “These weren’t the greatest circumstances to meet someone under. Especially after what happened with the men in here.”

“And Devonna’s attitude didn’t help,” Sarah laughed.

“I am kind of a lot when you first meet me,” Devonna chuckled. “I can’t help that I’m sassy.”

“Like Jake said, we should give her a chance to calm down and come to terms with what just happened before we judge her too harshly.” Sarah nodded, and then a deep frown came over her face. “Plus, I’m sure she’s more worried about Zoriyana than anything else right now.”

“If Natasha is right--”

“I am always right,” the Russian woman cut me off.

“That means Zori probably isn’t going to make it through the night,” I said, and a sinking feeling hit my stomach as I spoke. “They’ll need time to grieve that, too.”

“Yeah, but Shanice made a good point.” Sarah bit her lip as she looked me up and down. “You’re injured, too.”

“Let’s get camp set up,” I said. “Then we’ll worry about my injuries.”

As much as I wanted to play like I was too tough to feel pain, my body ached like it had been hit by a Mack truck, and I was exhausted beyond belief. Fighting those monsters had taken a lot out of me already, and on top of that, we’d been arguing with Shanice for the last twenty minutes. My clothes were still drenched in blood and rainwater, too, so all I wanted was a nice fire to relax by, and the comfort of my women gathered around me.

I led my team over to the large indentation in the side of the rock. Then I started to gather some kindling to get a fire going.

“Jakey, sit down.” Devonna grabbed my elbow and led me over to the rocky wall. “We’ll do this. You’ve done enough.”

“I was just going to get a fire going,” I said.

“Yeah, while you’re bloody as all hell,” the black-haired woman snorted. “You sit right there and take a load off, the rest of us will get a camp set up for the night.”

“Can you two handle getting a fire going?” Sarah asked. “I’d like to look over his wounds.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we can do that,” Devonna said.

“Da.” Natasha nodded. “If you need help, let me know.”

“Thanks,” the redhead said, and she walked over and crouched down next to me. Then she smiled softly. “Do you think we can pull down your jumpsuit so I can get a good look?”

“I think that can be arranged,” I chuckled, but the movement made me pull in a sharp breath as the wound on my abdomen sent a new wave of pain rushing through my entire body.

“Alright,” Sarah said with a shake of her head. “Come here, Superman.”

“Superman?” I chuckled.

“Yeah.” She smiled. “You’re always trying to do everything and take care of everyone.”

“Hm.” I smiled back. “And to think, you didn’t even like me when we first met. Now, here you are comparing me to one of the most well-known superheroes of all time. I’m starting to think I’ve grown on you.”

“It’s not that I didn’t like you.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m just used to being the leader, that’s all.”

“And how does it feel to be second in command, now?” I teased.

“I don’t know.” She glared playfully. “You tell me.”

“Clever,” I laughed as I leaned forward so she could help pull my jumpsuit down.

I winced as the redhead peeled the wet cloth from my body.

“Ooof,” Sarah muttered as she gently extended my arm. “He got you good over here.”

“To be fair, I think he got me good everywhere,” I sighed and shook my head.

“Where else is hurt?” she asked.

“I think there’s some puncture wounds on my abdomen,” I told her.

“I don’t see any,” she said as she looked over my chest and abs.

“A bit lower,” I said.

“Oh.” Her face flushed bright red, but she nodded and pulled the jumpsuit down even further. “Yeah, I see them. There’s three pretty big ones there.”

“How are they lookin’, doc?” I asked with a smile to try and relieve some of the tension.

“Not too bad.” She pursed her lips as she focused on the cuts. “It looks like all of your wounds have started to heal, which isn’t surprising after the last few times. Still, they don’t seem to be healing as fast as before.”

“No?” I asked, and my eyebrows pulled together. “You don’t think so?”

“It’s been at least half an hour or more since we came through the door,” she said. “There’s a small ring around the wounds to show that the bleeding has stopped, but it’s not as big as last time when Natasha pointed it out.”

“Hm.” I frowned. “Maybe whatever drug they gave me when they brought me here is wearing off.”

“Maybe,” she agreed. “But I think you’ve just lost a lot of blood. Your body probably needs some nutrients and water to heal properly.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” I agreed.

“And I’ll be able to see them better once I rinse them off,” she said.

“Now, we just need to find some water,” I sighed.

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” she joked. “We’re only in a frickin’ desert.”

Sarah made sure to check all my wounds while Natasha and Devonna got a fire going, and before long, I felt somewhat relaxed. My body still hurt like a son of a bitch, but it was nice to know that Sarah cared enough to look me over, even if there wasn’t a whole lot she could do at the moment.

After they got the fire set up, Natasha and Devonna headed further down the rock formation and disappeared behind some boulders. I figured they were looking for more wood to keep the fire going, but after a couple of minutes, Devonna poked her head out from behind a rock and called out to us.

“Hey!” she yelled. “We found a pond!”

“A pond?” I asked, and I raised an eyebrow at Sarah.

“You think she’s being serious?” the redhead asked.

“Why wouldn’t she be?” I chuckled.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “A pond in the middle of the desert seems… strange.”

“Well, the only thing to do is to check it out.” I got up and reached for Sarah’s hand, but then I winced as I helped her to her feet.

“You gotta take it easy, Superman,” Sarah tsked and shook her head.

“Not if it will keep you calling me that.” I grinned.

“Grab the baskets!” Devonna called.

“So demanding.” Sarah shook her head, but she picked up the woven baskets we’d brought with us.

The redhead and I made our way along the rock formation over to where Devonna had her head poked out from behind the rocks.

“Hurry it up,” the Southern woman called.

“Jake’s injured,” Sarah reminded her.

“Oh, right.” She frowned. “Well, I guess just keep goin’ at the pace you’re goin’, then.”

“We’ll do that, thanks,” Sarah said dryly, and I had to smile at the two women’s banter.

After a few moments, we made it to the small gap in the rocks ahead of us. Devonna led us through the open area, and inside there was a small pond maybe ten feet in diameter.

The area was completely surrounded by rock, and there was only a few feet of sand around the outside before the water took over the middle part of the cove. I wasn’t able to see how far down the water went, but there was a distinct line around the outside, so I could tell that it had already been somewhat depleted.

“We were lookin’ for a place to pee when we stumbled on this place.” Devonna grinned. “Look who’s survivin’ now.”

“Alright, alright,” Sarah sighed. “Don’t let your head get too big.”

“Da,” Natasha said. “I was one who suggested we go over here in first place.”

“It was a group effort,” Devonna said.

“Mhm, sure,” Sarah chuckled.

“It looks like it’s already half-empty.” I frowned.

“I’m guessing this is women’s water source,” Natasha said with a nod in the direction of the cave.

“I would think so,” I agreed. “And since it’s already running low, we can’t take too much.”

“There’s so much water here still,” Devonna said. “Whatever we take ain’t gonna hurt nothin’.”

“Double negative,” Sarah muttered.

“I’ll double negative you,” Devonna joked.

“It might not seem like a lot right now,” I explained. “But four more people drinking out of here is going to deplete it a lot faster. I’m sure we can find another water source somewhere, but for tonight, let’s take from it sparingly.”

“Jake’s right,” Sarah said. “But it’s going to be dark soon. We should get some water and wash out those wounds of yours.”

Sarah filled one of the baskets we’d brought with us, and then we walked outside of the oasis area so she could rinse my wounds without the fear of contaminating the oasis’ water source.

I leaned against the rock and braced myself, and the redhead carefully poured the water over my arm first, then my stomach. The water stung like a son of a bitch, but I gritted my teeth, sucked in deep breaths, and powered through it.

“Yeah, they’re still open,” Sarah said.

“No shit,” I breathed.

“Sorry.” She bit her lip. “They must have been pretty deep.”

“Those claws weren’t exactly short,” I chuckled breathlessly.

“I would think not.” Sarah frowned. “Come on, let’s get back to the campsite. We can get you something to eat.”

“Yeah, you had us pack two days’ worth of food,” Devonna reminded me. “We’ve got plenty for tonight.”

“Good.” I nodded. “I could use something to eat.”

Even though a hot meal would have been nice, the dried meat and fruit jerky we’d brought with us would more than suffice. I really was quite hungry, and my entire body was aching from the beating it had endured just an hour or so prior.

Once my wounds had been rinsed out, we made our way back over to the fire and took our places around it. I laid on my side and got as comfortable as I could, and while Devonna sat cross-legged next to me, Sarah stretched her feet out to warm them by the fire, and Natasha sat halfway cross-legged with one knee pulled up to her chest.

Devonna passed out dried fruit and jerky, and for a while, we all ate without saying a word. My mouth watered from the flavor of the meat and papaya, and I chewed as fast as the dried consistency of the food would allow me to.

While we ate, I noticed Shanice’s group still had their fire going outside of the cave. Zori laid on the ground next to it with her head in Em’s lap, but Shanice sat on a large rock with her spear across her lap. Every so often, she glanced over to us, and I knew it was really me she was watching.

I had the best view of her, so I didn’t think my friends had noticed, and I wasn’t about to point it out. I understood it wasn’t personal. After the torment these women had endured from the men they’d been trapped in here with, I couldn’t blame them one bit for being leery of me.

“So,” Sarah said after we’d all finished eating. “What’s our plan now that we’re here?”

“Well, this ain’t exactly where we thought we were gonna end up,” Devonna sighed.

“Far from it,” I agreed.

“How many rooms do you think there are in this place?” Sarah whispered.

“Oh, Lord, this better be the only other one.” Devonna shook her head. “Because this is all gettin’ to be too damn much.”

“We have no way of knowing how large this building is,” I said. “We’ve just got to try as best as we can to get out.”

“Which means we need to get out of this room next,” Sarah said.

“We escaped one room already,” I added. “I don’t see why we couldn’t get out of another one.”

“The door is still open,” Devonna pointed out. “We could always go back to the jungle and look for another door in that room.”

“That feels like going backward.” Sarah frowned. “And what are the odds that there’s another door?”

“What are the odds that we were all kidnapped from different times in the past, kept alive and young, and dropped off in a huge rainforest kept inside a buildin’?” Devonna countered, and she pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side.

“I mean, I see your point there,” Sarah chuckled.

“But you’re right, it does kinda feel like goin’ back,” Devonna sighed.

“I don’t like idea of going back into jungle,” Natasha chimed in. “Desert is probably full of mutant creatures, too, but at least here there is not as much coverage for them to hide behind.”

“Natasha makes a good point,” I agreed. “Aside from some rock formations here and there, there isn’t a lot that monsters could hide behind.”

“Oh, goody,” Devonna said. “At least we’ll see ‘em comin’.”

“Hey, I’ll take that as a win,” I laughed.

“Yeah, you’re right.” She nodded. “I really didn’t wanna go back into that damn jungle anyway. It’s creepy as all hell in there. This place is only a notch below on the creepy scale, but still.”

“There’s got to be another door in here somewhere that leads out,” Sarah said. “The other door only opened from our side, so I’m sure there’s one in here that only opens from this side.”

“Logically, that makes sense,” I said. “But I’m not sure anything about this place follows logic.”

“Not a damn thing,” Devonna snorted.

“Okay, so we’re all in agreement?” Sarah asked. “We’re going to stay here and try to find a way out of this place once and for all.”

“Agreed,” I said.

“Fine by me.” Devonna nodded.

“Da,” Natasha said.

From across the way, I saw Shanice rush over to the fire as Zori went into another coughing fit. Even with the distance between us, I could make out the sheer amount of blood the woman hacked up. The fit lasted several minutes, but then it suddenly stopped, and my heart sank.

Emily held Zori’s head and rocked back and forth, and across the dim desert, I could hear her frail moans of torment filling the air.

“No!” Shanice screamed, and the sound of heartache in her voice pricked at my eyes and forced me to look away.

“Oh, no.” Sarah covered her mouth, and I realized all the women were watching along with me. “Is she…?”

“In next life,” Natasha answered grimly.