Between Darkness and Dawn

7.

Cody looked over at Carmen and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Why the hell was a girl like that wandering about Colombia alone? She could get herself caught in the middle of something serious that she didn’t want to be involved with, if she wasn’t careful. Her friend Godfry didn’t look much help, and her other friend Harmony was fast asleep, despite both their attempts to wake her for food. It seemed like they were in dire straits and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about that yet, but he couldn’t deny that Carmen was a beautiful girl. And not exactly protected either. Though, he could see from the way Darick watched her that he was attracted to her as well, but he figured that didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Wanting something and getting it were two different things.

Yet Cody was aware that just by being in the same place as Carmen and her friends could put them in danger, but still, they needed some sleep and he wasn’t about to make Darick go on for a few more days just to avoid spending time with this one, harmless girl. At least he hoped she was harmless. He could tell Darick was hooked on her, but still, neither one of them could afford to let a girl get in the way of everything they’d worked so hard for. “Hey bud…looks like we’re set for a good night’s sleep.” Darick smiled as he handed him a bottle of water. Without even acknowledging his good humour, he took the bottle of water and moved over to the fire. Cody sat next to Fritz and kept quiet as he watched Carmen gaze at the fire, perfectly content.

“I think we may need more wood for the fire.” She realised, looking around at the guys, who looked like they needed a good rest. “And you lot looked beat, so give me a sec and I’ll be back.” She smiled, getting to her feet. She walked to the entrance and then turned and looked at everyone sitting there, trying to judge how much she would need to gather. She counted six guys, including herself and maybe some extra for through the night. Happy with her calculations, she nodded to herself and climbed down to the clearing, singing to herself as she walked around. She hoped that the fresh air would lessen her worries and give her a moment to figure out an escape plan, just in case.

“Cody what’s up with you?” Darick asked, making sure Carmen was gone before speaking. When he didn’t get an answer, he pushed harder. Her friend Godfry was trying, once again, to wake Harmony and get her to eat something, and so he felt he could talk freely. “There’s something going on. Can’t you tell me what it is?” He continued, sitting down at the fire so he was between Cody and Carmen’s spot. He didn’t much like the way he was looking at her, even though he didn’t exactly have a claim to her. But still, they had rules and those rules were there for a reason. You didn’t get involved with anyone if you were already committed to the cause. You didn’t go after a girl you knew your mate liked and most important of all…you didn’t let a girl sidetrack you from what needed done.

“I’m just thinking. It’s nothing to worry about.” Cody smiled back, before reaching into his backpack and removing a paperback book. He got comfortable, lying on his side next to the fire, and ignored them all in favour of an old, beat up copy of his favourite detective story. Darick knew better than to push too hard; there were things about Cody that no-one else in the team knew and until Cody was ready to share the truth, Darick had to play along.

A second later, Carmen walked back in with the logs for the fire and settled herself down to fix it. Both men watched her as she played with the fire, adding bigger logs, taking away bits careful not to burn herself. The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes as the others busied about, talking, organising themselves and eating. Darick wasn’t oblivious to the smile Cody had when Carmen began talking with Godfry, or how he was quite obviously eavesdropping in their conversation. “Harmony refuses to get up. She says she’s not hungry and she just wants to sleep. I told her there was real, proper food but she flat out refuses.” Godfry explained as quietly as he could, whilst still being heard. Carmen sighed and thought about their options. They weren’t great. If Harmony didn’t get her act together, they could get in real trouble. And if she woke up to find ten more men surrounding her than when she went to sleep, she would scream the cave in. But she didn’t know what else to do.