Chapter 10

Friday 7:30 pm Day 14

That evening Bobby lay in bed listening to the sounds of the night. He heard shouting outside, which wasn't unusual. The guards arrived with his meal. There were only two and they both looked a little tense. One stood at the door while the second sat the tray down.

As the guard headed toward the door, gunfire erupted outside. The guards rushed out and slammed the door shut. Automatic weapons fire filled the night, outside was pure chaos. Feet pounded the concrete floor outside his door. Men flew by as orders were shouted to them.

This didn't sound like a drill, it sounded like warfare. The fighting seemed to be away from the detention center. Bobby wondered if Justin was safe or in the middle of the battle. The hallway became quiet while the amount of gun fire ramped up outside.

The cell door opened and Jesus stepped inside. "Move, we don't have much time."

Bobby jumped up and put on his sandals. Dressed in only his shorts and sandals, he followed Jesus out of the room.

Jesus looked at Bobby "No time to explain. A rival gang is invading. Now is the time for your escape."

"Amelia! Jesus, I won't leave without her." Jesus nodded and went to unlocked Amelia's cell next door, with Bobby at his heals. Amelia looked up seeing Bobby for the first time. There was fear in her eyes, but she seemed in control and alert.

"Amelia, we have to leave!" Amelia followed Jesus and Bobby down the empty hall. Eventually, they went out a side door, facing toward the sea.

"Everyone is focused on defending the entrances to the compound. There are a few guards watching on the perimeter walls. If you go now, you can make to the water without being seen."

Jesus nodded toward the sea. "Use the water as a cover. Go out as far as you can. The waves are mild. Follow the beach north to the end of the bay. Get out there and continued to follow the beach ten miles until you get to the Resort. Call the American Consulate to get help. Do not call the local police."

Bobby frowned. "What about you?"

"No one will believe, the number one man in Suarez gang, would let prisoners go. Don't worry. Now go!"

Bobby didn't trust Jesus, but he couldn't ignore his one chance to get away. The sporadic gunfire and shouting provided great incentive. Bobby and Amelia quietly dashed to the beach and walked out in the warm water until the waves reached Amelia's shoulders. They were very far from the beach at this point, the bay was incredibly shallow. In the dark, no one would be able to see the two heads at such as distance.

Bobby hissed and groaned quietly as the salt water penetrated his wounds. The run left him breathing hard and his ribs complained with the exertion. The pain was mostly superficial, which Bobby focused on ignoring. He shivered slightly in the warm water.

"Bobby, are you ok?" Amelia whispered.

"I am fine. The salt water stings a bit." Bobby voice sounded a bit winded, but strong and confident. He was glad it was dark enough to hide his expression.

"How about you?"

Amelia sniffled. "They never touched me. I am fine, and a good swimmer. Don't worry. But you look terrible. Those bastards really messed you up."

"I'm fine Amelia. I think we should walk as far as we can, if we swim the splashing might draw someone's attention. Don't take your shoes off. The coral may cut up your feet."

A loud explosion followed by a second, briefly lit the sky. Bobby and Amelia ducked further down in the water.

"We better get going." Bobby moved north with Amelia at his side.

Bobby saw Amelia in the light for a very short period of time, while they were escaping. What he saw told him everything he needed to know about his companion. She was slim, healthy and athletic, maybe a little over five seven. He guessed her age to be in the late twenties. She was very scared, but put on a brave front. In his current condition, he was sure she could out run or out swim him. He was the drawback in this duo.

They slowly crossed the bay. Gunfire and explosions continued at the compound.

The water level dropped as they neared the north end of the bay. Bobby staggered out of the water and dropped down on the beach. Amelia sat beside him. They could still hear gunfire in the distance.

Amelia leaned toward Bobby. "Why don't you get to the jungle's edge and rest? I'll look for the next leg of our trip." Great, he was taking orders from a young civilian and too weak to argue. He watched her disappear among the rocks at the point.

He stumbled across the beach, reaching the edge of the jungle. He stopped and grabbing the trunk of a young palm tree. He fell to the ground, jarring his bruised hips and ribs.

"That hurt." He closed his eyes, just to rest, and fell asleep.

Bobby woke up feeling alone. He listened but he didn't hear Amelia. His limbs felt heavy, he knew he needed to keep going but his body protested. He could rest a few more minutes. He blinked his eyes a couple of times and thought he saw a shadow move.

"Bobby, are you awake?" Amelia's face appeared out of the shadows.

"Can you cross another bay? It is a shorter distance than the last one."

"Sure. No problem."

Amelia reached out her hand to help him up.

Bobby shook his head. "No, I have to do this myself." Bobby didn't have the heart to tell her, he didn't want her touching him. He grabbed the small palm tree pulled himself up to his feet.

After a couple of minutes, he was steady on his feet, ready for the next bay.

They walked around the point into the neighboring bay. Bobby felt Amelia occasionally looking his way. He hoped he wouldn't let her down. They walked into the water up to Amelia's shoulders and across the bay toward the next point.

As they neared the point of the second bay, Bobby's strength started fading fast. His casted arm felt very heavy, water resistant, but not water proof. Bobby fought the exhaustion, the fire in his ribs made his breathing difficult. He felt like he was holding Amelia back. She wasn't even breathing hard. As they walked toward the beach, the water level dipped lower, until the buoyancy of the water no longer helped Bobby stand. He sagged to his knees in the sea grass, struggling for air and trying not to cough. Amelia turned around and went back to Bobby.

"Bobby?" She reached out to him. He flinched away.

"Amelia, go on to the resort. I will catch up later. I would never forgive myself if my physical limitations got you captured. You can bring back help."

"No Bobby, I won't leave you! Rest a minute and we'll go together."

Bobby hung his head. He was too tired to come up with a persuasive argument. He focused on his breathing and tried to ignore the pain. He thought of Amelia and how he needed to get her to safety. He knew she could easily make it on her own. He pushed back the pain and stood up on wobbly legs.

"Bobby, you need to rest. There is still plenty of time before dawn. They are too busy to chase after us."

Bobby knew she was right. He groaned "K".

He trudged forward toward the shore, Amelia in his wake. He went past the beach and into the jungle foliage before he fell and rolled onto his side. Amelia knelt down and removed the larger rocks under his body trying to make him more comfortable.

Amelia wanted to get Bobby somewhere he could recover his strength. Through the walls she heard most of what had happened to him since he arrived at the compound prison. She heard the rape and torture from her cell only four days ago. She never heard Bobby cry out in pain, or beg them to stop. She could hear very little of what the men were saying, but she could hear Suarez on occasion. What she heard made her blood curdle. Did Tony go through the same agony?

She knew he was in incredible pain, she could hear him in his cell asleep at night groaning. Only two days ago, she heard him start to move about his cell and walking. She knew they did the same thing to her brother and she wasn't going to let those bastards kill Bobby too.

Through the moonlight she looked at his shirtless body, covered in numerous bruises and lacerations. There were more stitches then she could count. His cast seemed to hold together, even though it was dripping wet. The ends of his fingers that extended beyond the cast were bruised and swollen. Only his face seemed unmarred by the abuse. She wasn't sure if any man could put up with that abuse and not live the rest of his life a broken man.

She reached out and touched his brown curls. He had a handsome face and wonderful body. In the distance she could hear another explosion and continued gun fire. She hoped the rival gang would win. Then no one would come looking for them, or care if they were rescued. Her parents must be out there somewhere looking for her and Tony. They missed their last check-in phone call over two weeks ago.

Before traveling to Cancun she studied everything she could about the area. She knew there was a network of cenotes, the Dos Ojos just north of Tulum. Perhaps these underwater caves would be a good place to hide for a day. The warm water is drinkable and they are prolific in the area. If she could just get Bobby to one, they could hide.

Bobby's breathing became steady and his body relaxed. Amelia lightly touched him and he did not respond. Good she thought, he is in a deep sleep. She got up and explored the area looking for the best way to continue north. She stretched her long legs and began to follow the jungle edge around to the next bay. The bay seemed isolated, although she thought she saw the shadows of structures through the moonlight. The structures would be too obvious to use as a hideout. She explored further looking for a natural hiding place.

Amelia rounded the point and saw a large stretch of beach. She couldn't even see the next point. She felt they were still too close to risk stopping here. There was plenty of dense jungle hugging the beach. They could hide easily if they heard anyone approach.

The point was very rocky. Bobby would have to negotiate some very large rocks to get from where he was resting. More large rocks awaited them on the climb down to the beach. Amelia explored a little more hoping to find an animal trail that might take a short cut through the point to the other side. She took the first path she found. She made it through to the other side, but it was very dark on the trail.

"Bobby?" Amelia followed the jungle edge softly calling out for Bobby. She finally found his large sleeping form in the darkness. She decided to rest a bit and wait for Bobby to wake up.

Much later Bobby began to groan in his sleep. His feet and legs trembled as he curl into the fetal position, then extended his legs again. The way he moved his legs, he must be cramping in his sleep.

"Bobby, wake up." He shook his head and groaned.

"Bobby, wake up."

"Uhm K." Bobby opened his eyes and tried to straighten his legs. He never remembered having leg cramps this bad. He tried to maneuver his injured body to reach his calves. With his left hand he started to rub, but his hand was still too weak and painful from the nail wound.

Amelia crawled up to Bobby and put her hand on his knee. He flinched and wanted to knock her away.

"Bobby, I know after what happened, you… uh… don't like being touched, but I need to work the cramps out of your legs."

Bobby muttered "Sorry, I don't… ok, thanks Amelia." He was glad she could not see his embarrassment.

Amelia worked through the massive cramps in each leg. Bobby never thought a woman's touch would make him feel so queasy. He could still feel Suarez touching him, tensing at the memory.

"Bobby, relax. This is serious; we need to get moving again. I know I'm not an expert, but I can give good leg massages."

Bobby stopped her hand. "Amelia, I can get up now. Thank you, you did a wonderful job." Bobby slowly got up rejecting Amelia's help. He limped around to get the blood flowing in his legs again. He felt so conflicted with wanting, and not wanting Amelia's touch. Damn Suarez.

"Follow me." Amelia got up and looked back at Bobby.

Bobby hobbled behind Amelia through the jungle, careful not to lose her in the dark. They came out on the other side of the point. The way down from here was a rocky steep path. Bobby's legs were feeling much better, but the path was arduous.

Bobby looked at Amelia. "Let me go first. If you were below me, I could fall and hurt you." Bobby left no room for argument as he carefully picked his way down. He slipped and slid a couple of times but kept his balance. He made it to the bottom with Amelia close behind.

"See, I made it in one piece. Let's follow the tree line." Bobby lurched toward the jungle not able to conceal the trouble with his legs. Amelia followed behind concerned. She guessed they had covered less than four miles. Bobby needed water to help with the cramps.

Bobby's gait improved as they walked. The beach slowly curved but they still couldn't see the next point.

Dawn Day 15

As dawn approached they could see more of their surroundings. Bobby stopped; looking for a place they could hide during the day, and find some fresh water.

"Bobby, we should look for a cenote for fresh water." Bobby smiled at Amelia. Amelia saw his smile for the first time and it almost took her heart away.

Bobby blushed. "I'm glad we are on the same page." In the morning light she looked beautiful. Her face was framed in lush brown wavy hair, which accentuated her light blue eyes.

"Bobby you rest, I will have a look around." Bobby didn't want to acknowledge his weakness, but he knew he could not go much further. He nodded and found a tree to help himself down. Amelia hiked into the jungle determined to find a safe haven.

She emerged sometime later soaking wet. "I found a good place. Do you think you could swim under water a short distance?" Bobby nodded and got up slowly, his whole body was cramping. He followed Amelia along a small animal path, until jungle became too dense and the path ended.

Amelia stopped, "Bobby, we will have to crawl through there." She pointed a small opening in the undergrowth.

Bobby frowned. "Are you sure you are not lost?"

Amelia looked up at him with a big grin. "No, I asked the animals for directions."

Bobby looked back at the opening. He could see where Amelia crawled through before and some animal tracks. His body could easily fit through the opening, he just wasn't sure he could crawl.

Bobby walked over to the opening. "Clever. Very clever. You lead and I will follow."

Amelia bent down and crawled into the underbrush and waited for Bobby.

Bobby knelt down and with his one good arm, he follow her, ignoring the growing pain. They crawled about 3000 feet and the path opened up again.

Bobby looked down the path and saw a small cenote, no more than twenty feet in diameter. He let Amelia help him up this time. She was so excited; he didn't want to dampen her spirit by shrugging her off.

She ran to the cenote and looked back at him. Bobby limped to her and sat down at the rocky edge. He reached into the water, cupping his hand; he brought the water to his lips. The water was warm and tasty. He drank more of the water and sighed.

Amelia watched him drink the water. She was so pleased to find this place.

"Bobby, I am going to go back and try to cover our tracks. Will you be ok for a while?"

"I'll be fine, you be careful." Bobby watched her disappear into the undergrowth.

Bobby drank his fill of water and found a comfortable spot to rest. His eyelids drooped and soon he was asleep.

I can't move. No...Not that room. Bobby looked around; he was manacled to the stainless steel chair. Suarez was dragging Amelia to the wooden table. Amelia!

Look Bobby! She's all mine. You know I don't like women. I will have fun watching you; while I make her wish she had never been born.

Bobby pulled with all his strength, to break the restrains. He heard the bones in his wrists pop. He worked the crushed right hand through the manacle.

Better hurry up Bobby, before I cut her up into little pieces.

No… stop. I'll do anything you ask, just let her go.

"Bobby! Bobby, wake up. You are having a bad dream." Amelia cupped her hands into the cenote and splashed Bobby's face with water.

"No…" Bobby gasped. He was thrashing about, his hands punched at the air.

Amelia splashed Bobby again. "Bobby, wake up. You are having a bad dream."

Bobby sputtered and started coughing. "Amelia?"

"I'm here Bobby, you had a bad dream. We're safe."

Bobby calmed down and opened his eyes and saw Amelia's worried face.

She smiled when his eyes cleared and he recognized her.

"Safe?"

"Yea, we are safe for now. "

Amelia stood up and climbed into the water.

"Get in Bobby, the water is warm and will help you relax."

Bobby shook off the dream and carefully climbed into the clear water. The water was so deep; he could not see the bottom. He held on to a rock and floated. He took in a small sip. The water felt so good on his throat. He took a deeper sip. He ducked his hair under the water and tried to get all of the salt out. He felt the grime and salt leave his body as he moved around the pool.

"The water tastes so good, I hate polluting it with my dirty body." Bobby moved from rock to rock keeping himself afloat.

Amelia swam over to him. "Don't worry; I don't think the two of us are enough damage to ecosystem. I haven't told you the best part. If you go under that outcrop and follow the bottom underwater you will find a cave on the other side. A couple of holes in the rock let a little light in. We can stay there during the rest of the day."

Amelia disappeared under the large rock. Bobby made his way around to the huge rock formation. He took a deep breath; his chest caught and shot pain into his body. He coughed and sputtered making his way to smaller rocks where he could calm down. He heaved and coughed trying to hold his ribs and not sink at the same time. He felt Amelia touch his back and help him out of the water onto the rocks. Bobby work his way back to normal breathing, and relaxed.

He looked apologetically at Amelia. "I forgot about my ribs and took too deep a breath."

Amelia looked concerned. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Give me a few minutes and I will try again."

"Bobby, hold your breath for twenty seconds."

Bobby took in a small breath and held it as long as he could. Only ten seconds. He took a deeper breath and held it for fifteen seconds. He practiced holding his breath until he got up to twenty seconds without pain. He got back into the water with Amelia. She went under with him and got him to the other side safely. He sputtered and coughed but with Amelia's help, he made it a rock ledge. There was a little light in the small cave. He could see leaves and sky through the rock above.

"Here Bobby, I found a place you can climb up." Bobby went over to Amelia and lifted his exhausted frame out of the water onto the ledge. Amelia climbed up after him. Bobby crawled to the nearest rock and rested his back against it.

Bobby gave Amelia a tired smile. "Thanks for looking out for me." He closed his eyes and listened to the drip of the water. He looked around and found a place to stretch out. He lay on his side and relaxed as best he could on rock. Bobby felt the rock draw the warmth out of his body after the heat from the physical exertion wore off.

Amelia placed her warm hand on his shivering body. "Bobby let's spoon so we stay warm. I know you'll behave yourself."

"No please don't. I'll be ok." Bobby's shivers turned into small tremors.

Amelia watched him closely in the dim light. Eventually his breathing slowed and Bobby fell into a fitful sleep. Amelia lay down and snuggled her back up against his chest, hoping her body heat would help.

Amelia woke up sometime later with Bobby softly snoring in her ear. He had pulled her into him and curled around her body in his sleep. His casted arm was holding her close. She felt safe for the first time since this horrible ordeal started. She went back to sleep, dreaming naughty thoughts.

TBC

Hi! I'll be on vacation for three weeks in wonderful Mexico, enjoying the beauty of the Caribbean Sea. I will be busy writting, but not publishing.

I wanted to thank everyone for reading my story! I will be back.