Dreams~Shadows of the Night Read Online Free
Author: Olivia Claire High
ropes that bound their wrists. Marie groaned and Josh hissed out a breath, as the blood began to flow painfully back into their swollen hands. The woman took turns briskly rubbing their wrists to help ease the discomfort.
She left and returned a short time later accompanied by a young girl. They each carried a cup with water and a plate of what looked like some kind of stew. Josh had no idea what the ingredients were and he didn’t care. The aroma wasn’t bad and he was hungry enough to gnaw on his shoe. But thirst was his most immediate concern. He drained his cup and instantly wished for more. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and saw Marie wrinkle her nose after taking a tentative sip.
“What’s the matter?”
“This water hasn’t been treated. Despite having shots it could still make us sick.”
“I’m sure it’s okay. I saw some of the natives drinking it.”
“We can’t go by what they eat or drink. Over the years their bodies have built up immunity to any microorganisms. Bacteria that could make us ill most likely wouldn’t have any effect on them at all.”
Josh stared into his empty cup and swore. “Great. An amoeba cocktail. That’s all we need on top of everything else. I don’t know about you, but I have to say so far this day really sucks,” he said, trying to infuse a bit of humor into the situation for her benefit.
She rewarded his efforts with a weak smile. “I’ve had better.”
They ate in silence and a tenuous calm gradually settled around the area. People had finished eating and began climbing into their hammocks for the night. The darkness beneath the jungle canopy reminded Josh of thick molasses. He looked at Marie where she lay sleeping curled on the ground with her head pillowed on her arm. Weary from the day’s march, he settled himself on the dirt floor and folded his hands behind his head.
The jungle reminded him of a surly mistress sulking through each day punishing everything with her suffocating heat. As if that wasn’t enough to make a body miserable, the rain and humidity could rot a man’s feet inside his boots if he weren’t careful.
He’d always enjoyed going to new places, but what happened today was undeniably the downside of being adventuresome . He hoped for Marie’s sake things weren’t going to get any worse. She’d turned out to be a lot more vulnerable than he would have expected considering she’d always acted so confident. But then that was before someone had pointed a loaded gun at her.
A tired sigh escaped as he wished he had clean water to drink, a shower, and a change of clothes. Most of all he wished to God he had taken Catherine’s advice more seriously. Maybe if he hadn’t been so damned determined to prove it’d take more than a nightmare to scare him off, he m ay have reconsidered taking the job.
Whether or not she had some kind of psychic connection with the future or it had been that mysterious woman’s intuition thing that guys never understood, he’d obviously been wrong to ignore her. He shifted his body trying to find a more comfortable position on the hard packed dirt and closed his eyes.
He supposed he should at least be thankful she hadn’t been right about his being unconscious, soaked to the skin, and coated in mud.
Chapter Three
Dressed in faded sweats, Catherine propped her bare feet on the coffee table and leaned her head back against the sofa cushions. She’d turned the TV on more for the sound of voices than any interest in the program. Images from the screen sent lights dancing over the carpet in flickering patterns.
It had been a long day. Two nurses calling in sick had made it necessary for her to work a double shift. The extra hours had left her feeling more tired than usual. But there was an added dimension to her wearines s now – a disturbing sense that something wasn’t quite right. The feeling had started as an unsettling mood when she’d drifted off to sleep last night
She left and returned a short time later accompanied by a young girl. They each carried a cup with water and a plate of what looked like some kind of stew. Josh had no idea what the ingredients were and he didn’t care. The aroma wasn’t bad and he was hungry enough to gnaw on his shoe. But thirst was his most immediate concern. He drained his cup and instantly wished for more. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and saw Marie wrinkle her nose after taking a tentative sip.
“What’s the matter?”
“This water hasn’t been treated. Despite having shots it could still make us sick.”
“I’m sure it’s okay. I saw some of the natives drinking it.”
“We can’t go by what they eat or drink. Over the years their bodies have built up immunity to any microorganisms. Bacteria that could make us ill most likely wouldn’t have any effect on them at all.”
Josh stared into his empty cup and swore. “Great. An amoeba cocktail. That’s all we need on top of everything else. I don’t know about you, but I have to say so far this day really sucks,” he said, trying to infuse a bit of humor into the situation for her benefit.
She rewarded his efforts with a weak smile. “I’ve had better.”
They ate in silence and a tenuous calm gradually settled around the area. People had finished eating and began climbing into their hammocks for the night. The darkness beneath the jungle canopy reminded Josh of thick molasses. He looked at Marie where she lay sleeping curled on the ground with her head pillowed on her arm. Weary from the day’s march, he settled himself on the dirt floor and folded his hands behind his head.
The jungle reminded him of a surly mistress sulking through each day punishing everything with her suffocating heat. As if that wasn’t enough to make a body miserable, the rain and humidity could rot a man’s feet inside his boots if he weren’t careful.
He’d always enjoyed going to new places, but what happened today was undeniably the downside of being adventuresome . He hoped for Marie’s sake things weren’t going to get any worse. She’d turned out to be a lot more vulnerable than he would have expected considering she’d always acted so confident. But then that was before someone had pointed a loaded gun at her.
A tired sigh escaped as he wished he had clean water to drink, a shower, and a change of clothes. Most of all he wished to God he had taken Catherine’s advice more seriously. Maybe if he hadn’t been so damned determined to prove it’d take more than a nightmare to scare him off, he m ay have reconsidered taking the job.
Whether or not she had some kind of psychic connection with the future or it had been that mysterious woman’s intuition thing that guys never understood, he’d obviously been wrong to ignore her. He shifted his body trying to find a more comfortable position on the hard packed dirt and closed his eyes.
He supposed he should at least be thankful she hadn’t been right about his being unconscious, soaked to the skin, and coated in mud.
Chapter Three
Dressed in faded sweats, Catherine propped her bare feet on the coffee table and leaned her head back against the sofa cushions. She’d turned the TV on more for the sound of voices than any interest in the program. Images from the screen sent lights dancing over the carpet in flickering patterns.
It had been a long day. Two nurses calling in sick had made it necessary for her to work a double shift. The extra hours had left her feeling more tired than usual. But there was an added dimension to her wearines s now – a disturbing sense that something wasn’t quite right. The feeling had started as an unsettling mood when she’d drifted off to sleep last night
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