Chapter 16: Zara
I’d been at the medical camp just over a week, and Demon and I had been texting on and off. At first, I texted him to tell him to leave me the hell alone, but he kept telling me how much he loved me and that it was all a setup. I didn’t want to believe him, but after that first night of texting back and forth, I read all the texts and listened to the voicemails left by him, the old ladies, and Bull. Hell, even Jinx had left a couple.
All of them were telling me how Lucky had set Demon up, what had happened when he found out. They swore he loved me and said how bad he was taking me being gone. I had to admit, doubts were starting to become bigger and bigger. Had I overreacted? Should I have stayed and talked it out with him?
I knew a part of me was reacting badly because of what Nathan and the two guys before him had done. I thought I had been in love with Nathan, but I now realized, it hadn’t been anything close to love. Not like what I felt for Demon, which made his supposed betrayal that much worse.
Add to it, the amount of sickness down here was mind-numbing. These poor people had nothing. We worked sixteen-hour days and it still wasn’t enough. I fell into bed exhausted at night.
It was hard to keep your mind on what we were doing when there were armed guards walking around all the time. A couple of days after we got here, the government sent out troops. They said for our protection. Apparently, there were known rebels in the area. They were concerned about us. I was kind of regretting coming. Thank God I only had three more weeks to go. Ted had arranged for me to be replaced even if the original doctor couldn’t come.
I still hadn’t told him what had happened with Demon, but he knew something was wrong. He’d asked me more than once if I was alright and if I wanted to talk. I kept telling him I was fine, but anyone looking at me could see I wasn’t. I was losing weight. I couldn’t get enough rest. I hoped I didn’t come down with anything. Wouldn’t that be a joke?
I crawled out of bed and washed my face, attended to my other hygiene, and got dressed. Time to start the day. Outside my tent, the lines were mysteriously gone. For days, I’d wake up to lines that went on forever of people waiting for medical attention. Today, I only saw a few men wandering around. What the hell was up with that? Surely, we hadn’t helped everyone who needed it already.
I grabbed some bottled water and a slice of bread with peanut butter. Thank goodness we had a local woman willing to bake bread for us. The peanut butter I’d brought with me. I went to find Ted. Maybe he knew what was up.
I found him and the other three doctors all in the treatment tent. They were frowning. When I came in, Ted gestured for me to join them.
“Come here, Zara. We need to talk.”
“What’s going on, Ted? Why are there hardly any patients?”
“We were just talking about that. I don’t like it. The guards are acting super jumpy. I think something might be up with those rebels they’re supposed to be protecting us from.”
“You think they’re close? Would the people stay away if they knew that?”
“They would. I heard one of the guards talking. He was worried that reinforcements hadn’t come,” Dr. Diaz said in a whisper. He was a physician out of Texas. He was Hispanic and knew the language well. I could speak enough to get by.
“Shit. We need to get out of here, Ted. If these rebels are that bad, we’re targets. They look for Americans to take as hostages,” Dr. Finch hissed. The tension was starting to worry me. Were we in danger? You heard stories on the news about things like this happening.
I took out my phone and started to text. I don’t know what made me do it. I just felt the need to have contact with him.
Me:There’s something strange going on here, Luca.
His reply came a few moments later.
Demon: What do you mean? Are you alright?
Me: I’m fine at the moment, but there are no patients today. And the soldiers are antsy.
Demon:Soldiers! What soldiers? Zara, what the hell is going on down there in Mexico?
I gasped in surprise. How did he know I was in Mexico? I hadn’t told him where I was. Now that I think about it, he never asked either. He’d known exactly where I’d gone.
Before I could respond, Ted leaned over to me. “Who are you texting, Zara?”
“Demon. He might be able to find something out we can’t. He has government connections. He was in the Marines.”
“Really? Okay, ask him to find out.”
Me: Luca, I need you to find out
I didn’t get to finish my text. At that moment, there was a loud explosion that sounded like it was right outside our tent. We all dove under the nearest furniture. I think I even screamed. There was shouting, running feet, and the rat-a-tat of gunfire. I closed my eyes and prayed. Please God, get us out of here alive. I want to see Demon again. We have unfinished business.
My prayers were interrupted by the closure to the tent being ripped open and in stomped a big group of men. They weren’t our guards. They were all rough, dangerous-looking men with big guns and scowls on their faces. They wore a ratty assortment of fatigues and regular clothes. It looked like we were looking at the local rebel group. God help us.
Demon: