Chapter 38: Chapter 38

“Present me to who?”

“Luca Aguero. The leader of Xpresso and the real Mastermind behind the massacre today. He would love you as his woman. And you would give him all the information you know about The Lucian Brothers. You will be so much of an asset to him.”

Avril burst out laughing and that seemed to put of Miguel. Why was she laughing?

“What? So I'm some sort of object that is being passed off from Mafia Lord to gangster now?”

“Is that how you see this?”

“Yes. And I will not take it,” she said with a deep frown. He smirked and rubbed his goatee. He looked out the window and Avril used that opportunity to do an eye language they used well in the Mafia. She glanced at Chidi and to Miguel, then back to Chidi. This happened between two seconds, and Chidi understood. Even Nana and Xiào Wéi understood.

Miguel looked back at Avril.

“You don't have a choice. You should be glad I didn't kill you and your friends too,” he stated.

“I would never forgive you for taking Alejandro away from me,” she drawled and he chuckled.

“What are you going to do about that?” I told you, he wasn't part of the plan,” Miguel ranted.

“But he died because of you. Alejandro died because of you,” Avril gritted and he scoffed and got on his feet.

“We'll be at our destination in a few hours. Make yourselves comfortable with the seats,” he cooed and turned around to go.Chidi waged up and grabbed him by the neck, her arm locking his head inside. He grunted and wanted to elbow her but Xiào Wéi kicked his hand and face. He groaned painfully. She kicked his stomach and Nana gave him a bad fall, by clearing his feet off the floorwith her leg. Chidi stamped on his face with her feet and he screamed and turned sideways. Avril got on her feet and stepped over him.

“You underestimated us by not putting us in handcuffs,” she pronounced as she bent over him. He tried to get up but Nana and Chidi simultaneously held down his hands and stood on his palms, pinning them down painfully.Xiào Wéi had his legs twisted in a way he couldn't move them easily.

“You think you can escape? The other van is behind us, men with guns,” Miguel spat out.

“Awwn, so cute,” Avril cooed and her girls chuckled.

“I just wanted to do something to you. Just you,” she added and pulled a penknife from her back pocket. His eyes traveled to her hand and he scoffed.

“You are just a weak girl. You can't kill me,” he mocked.

“Awwn, weren't you informed?” Avril asked.

“That what?”

Avril bent her head down to his head and brought her mouth to his ear. The penknife placed directly over his neck.

“That the same chocolate humans love, is lethal to dogs...like you,” she whispered. And with that, she drove the knife into his neck and twisted it. He shrieked and blood sputtered from the spot. Avril pulled out the knife and dug it into his chest too. She pulled it out and drove it into his stomach. She began to stab him all over, grunting angrily as she did.

Chidi grabbed her hand.

“That's enough,” she muttered. Avril's chest rose and fell angrily. She looked at the man who was getting swarmed with a pool of his own blood. She broke down in tears and palmed her bloodied hands on her face. Miguel was the very first human she killed. Alejandro never allowed her take a human life.

“May the blood of Alejandro Mateo be avenged,” Chidi mumbled.

“May the blood of Alejandro Mateo be avenged,” Nana and Xiào Wéi repeated.

Avril got on her feet and picked up the knife. She cleaned the blood on his clothes and walked to the door of the van, the one that led to the driver's enclosure. She opened it and saw the driver driving, without a clue of what had happened behind him. The loud music he was listening to took the blame for that. Avril knocked him out and the van swerved a little. She took the wheel and looked behind her at the second van coming behind them. She looked at the passenger side and saw loads of guns under the seat. She called the girls and they each picked one. They opened the doors and began to shoot at the other van. Immediately, bullets began to rain on their van. But they continued to shoot back until they busted the other van's tiresand drove away.

After they drove long metres, Avril pulled over by a hill. They got down from the van and took whatever could be useful to them.

“We have to leave the van here, because they might trace us if we drive it somewhere,” she said as they closed the doors.

“Where are we going?” Xiào Wéi asked.

Avril looked up at the hill.

“Wherever that leads. Let's go,” she said and began to climb up.

“What if they figure out we stopped here and climb the hill too?” Nana asked.

“That will be a long while from now. We'll get to somewhere safe before then,” Avril answered and her friends began to climb the hill too.

Chapter 55

They reached the top of the hill and began to walk faster in order to get as far away from the van as they could. The ground was covered with leaves from the trees, twigs and sticks, stones and pebbles. This was to the girl's advantage, because they was no way another person could follow their tracks. Their footprints didn't even show a little sign.

The girls continued to walk in silence until they got very tired. They had covered more than five kilometers and it was very late into the night. Only the moonlight guided their feet.

“Is there anywhere we can get water? I'm so thirsty,” Nana whined and sat on a large log of fallen wood.

“There's water in this bag. But it can only last us tonight,” Chidi stated and opened the driver's bag that she had taken. Five bottles of water were in it, with a bar of chocolate.

“You only live once,” Nana said in relief and took a bottle from Chidi.

“It's cold. I didn'tnotice because we were walking and sweating,” Xiào Wéi mumbled and hugged herself.

“We need somewhere to keep us warm, or we're going to freeze overnight,” Avril opined and looked around.

“I'm quite sure we wouldn't see any blankets flying around,” Nana joked as Avril kept looking around.

“Haha, you never know. What we actually need is a fire. And something to cover us from dew,” Avril said. She got on her feet and began to pick twigs and sticks from the ground. Chidi stood up and joined Avril.

“You do all the work, I'm going to rest my feet a bit,” said Nana.

“Lazy arse,” Xiào Wéi joked and went to join the rest. They gathered enough wood and leaves to make a fire. Avril chose a spot that was directly under a short tree. Autumn was around the corner, so trees were begining to shed their leaves. But that particular short tree was still green and full. It would serve as a perfect shade against morning dew. Avril gathered a few big branches that had broken off from their respective trees. She and Chidi used it to push off leaves from under the tree, making the ground bare and smooth. Then they used it to form a thick maze around the spot they had swept, so animals would not run aroundor over them while they slept. Only a small opening was left at the front, for them to pass inside. All wasAvril's idea.

“Jungle girl, did your island wolf guy teach you this one?” Nana chirped as she yawned and walked drowsily towards the tree.

“Kinda. He thought me survival skills, even though we never experimented all of it,” Avril answered.

“You got some balls, you know. Living with such a being and even falling in love with him?” Xiào Wéi asked.

“Dakar was... He was totally lovable. I sometimes forgot he looked different from me, and saw the inner him. Plus, he loved me,” Avril cooed and stood straight to tieup her hair which kept falling over as she tried to make a fire.

She had only confided in her friends a year ago, one year after she arrived Tijuana. She felt Dakar should be kept only in her heart, without letting others know. But then, Nana remembered she was with a man on the island,and kept asking. She had to tell them. They were bewildered when they heard about what he was. In fact, Nana refused to believe at first. But with time, they all were cool with it.

Avril bent down after her hair was already in place. She arranged the wood then poured dry leaves, and barks at the top. She lit it up with Alejandro's cigar lighter that was in her pocket throughout, and continued to put leaves to make the fire stay. Finally, the wood caught fire and Avril sat down.

“So, we're fasting tonight?” Nana asked as she ripped the pack of chocolate open.

“That's your definition of fasting?” Xiào Wéi asked. Nana broke chocolate and stuck it into her mouth.

“Wha..h'am hungry,” she muffled out amidstmunches.

“Avril, what are you doing?” Chidi asked Avril who was sharpening the end of a long stick.

“Trying to find something for us to eat,” she answered.

“How is that finding something for us to eat?” Nana asked and gulped down a little water.

“I'm going hunting. Wild hares usually burrow around this sort of habitat. They taste good,” she replied.

“Did your island wolf teach you that too?”

“No,” she replied and paused. She looked at the ring on her finger,shining against the fire.

“Alejandro taught me. When we went to Australia for a little deal,” she added.

“So, you're going hunting? How?” Chidi asked.

“I'll just look around. Some plants here are really edible for them, so their burrowswon't be far from them. I'll search till I find.”

“And if you don't find?”

“I'll find nuts. And if I don't findnuts, I'll find a place to sleep between y'all.”

Nana chuckled and threw the chocolate bar to Xiào Wéi, who broke off it and handed it to Chidi. Chidi took her portion and gave Avril the last one.

Avril collected it and continued to sharpen the wood until it became very sharp and pointed. She then left with the chocolate in her pocket.

“I could really use a man right now,” muttered Nana. Both Chidi and Xiào Wéi glared at her.

“What? It's cold!” she retorted.

“How did we end up with something like you?” Xiào Wéi asked.

“I'm the vibe of this gang. Can you beat that?”

Chapter 56

The hunting was very successful. Avril returned with two medium sized hares. They had dinner and slept off on the floor. Avril was grateful she was feeling sleepy, but unfortunately, she had a nightmare. She saw bullets raining down on Alejandro and screamed out. She sat up panting heavily.

“God,” she muttered and palmed her face. Her friends were still sleeping despite her scream. She looked at the still burning fire and moved closer to it. She arranged the wood untill the fire blazed up even more. She stared into the fire while thinking of what was going to become of her life, now that Alejandro was gone. How were they going to locate Arturo when he arrives Italy to take them back to Mexico? Her phone was probably still at the hotel. And she didn't even know where exactly they were. What if Miguel had successfully driven them out of Milan?

It was not until two hours later that Avril could fall asleep again. This time, she had a nightmare-free sleep. She woke up in the late hours of the morning. Nana was seated opposite where the fire had burnt.

“Morning,” Nana hailed at her. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“Morning,” she hailed back and dusted off dirt from her body.

“We didn't want to wake you up. You seemed to be sleeping really deep.”

“Thanks. I needed that sleep. I had a nightmare and stayed up for two hours.”

She yawned and got on her feet.

“Nightmare? Sorry about that.”

“It's fine. Where are the others?”

“Went to look around. Here, eat this. Leftover meat from last night,” Nana said and brought a stick with meat stuck through it to her. Avril accepted it and walked out of the shade of the tree. She began to eat and look around too.

Close to noontime, the girls set out again. They continued to walk, in hopes of meeting civilization soon. Certainly, there might be a village around. Or even a touristcenter. Everywhere in Italy was almost a tourist center.

It was close to evening when they finally heard other people's voices. They stayed still and hid behind a tree when the voices got nearer. Five men appeared from the direction the girls were headed. They were talking in hushed tones and walking. They wore normal outfits, but something about their body figures was putting Avril off. They were broad chested, tall and tan skinned.They looked really suspicious.

“They look like a bunch of boxers,” Nana whispered and immediately, one of them looked towards their direction. The girls hid behind the big tree and waited for the men to walk away. Their conversation stopped and Avril guessed they were standing still to look for them. Few seconds later, their voices came up again and Avril thought they were finally leaving. But she was wrong. They were walking towards them.

“Hello, come out,” one of them bellowed. Avril glanced at her friends and told them to stay put.

“Let us see your faces, ladies,” another one said.

How did they know they were ladieswhen they hadn't seen them properly?

Two of the men began to walk towards the tree.

“Run,” Avril ordered and they all scampered towards the same direction, the opposite of the men. Two of the men who were walking towards the tree began to pursue them. The girls ran but could see the men just feet from them. Suddenly, each girl screamed in pain,stopped running and fell to the floor.

***

“Avril, wake up. Wake up,” Xiào Wéi whispered and kicked Avril's legs. She opened her eyes and blinked them repeatedly to get her to see clearly.

“Where are we?” she asked as she saw the brownish color of the wall.

“We don't know. We woke up here. But we know it has to do with those men,” Chidi's voice sounded. Avril realized they were all sitting down on the floor, with their backs against the wall, and their hands bonded together.

“What in the world is this place?” Nana whined and hissed.

Avril looked at the engravings on the wall and could pinpoint that they were in no ordinary place.

“XiàoWéi, check my pocket. Is my charm bracelet still there?” Avril asked desperately and shifted her butt to face Xiào Wéi.

“Yes,” she answered after she felt her right pocket and the gold bracelet was still there.

Avril sighed in relief and leaned back onthe wall.

A tall man walked into the room through the door and peered at them with a grin.

“Hello, ladies. I apologise for any inconveniences. But, we just have to keep you,” he said.

“For what exactly?” Avril asked.

“Oh, you'll see. Be good,” he said and left.

“Are you girls thinking what I'm thinking?” Nana asked.

“From frying pan to fire,” Chidi stated. The girls all sighed and made sounds of tiredness and hopelessness.It was obvious they were kidnapped again,and could even be in worse trouble.Avril had suspected those men right,they were looking far from people with good intentions.

Right then, the door opened again and two men dressed in animal skin walked to them. They pulled them up and took them out of the room. They walked through a very long hallway and arrived at a large door. The men held them tight and opened the door. They walked into a very large hall with spotlessly clean marble floor. The walls were golden with black and gold carvings and inscriptions. But Avril and the girls did not have a sound mind to check out the features of the hallroom. They walked with the men until they reached a dome in the wall. The dome had a curtain of fine beads on a string, hanging from the topto the bottom, making it a little hard to see the other side.People appeared to be sitting behind them and talking in hushed tones.

“The girls are here,” the man holding Avril and Xiào Wéi announced. They were in front.Another man who was dressed like them came out through the beads. He looked at them and held a few beads for them to pass through. Few seconds later, they were moving into the dome. The people became quiet as the girls stood. Avril looked ahead and froze.

Dakar. It was Dakar who was sitting on a throne and peering at them. Her blood stopped flowing and she physically turned pale. She could not feel her legs, and got a partial deafness. No other sound in the world passed through her ears, except the sound of her own heartbeat which was beating slower than normal.A very curvy lady was seated on a smaller throne, by his side. Her hands were intertwined with one of his own hands and her thumb was gently grazing against his skin.

Dakar looked at the guards and the black girls behind, but not at her. When he finally set eyes in her, she became warm blooded again. But, those green eyes she had loved were not looking familiar anymore. They were cold, hard, expressionless and indifferent. Dakar did not show a slight look of recognition when he looked at her. In fact, it was like she was a pillar that always stood at that spot.

“Alpha is not home, so take the girls back. When he comes, we can put them up for unction,” he ordered with a voice that certainly wasn't the one she knew. She stared into his eyes one last time before the guards turned them around to head back. At that very point, she realized that the man sitting on that throne was dakar—but not her Dakar.