Return To Primordial Island, Rick Poldark [top non fiction books of all time .TXT] 📗

own exhaustion. At one point his eyelids grew heavy, and he found himself nodding off.

He startled when Tracey moved closer to him, he presumed to keep him awake. He didn’t mind the thawing of the ice between them. She didn’t appear as irritated over his protest.

She leaned in, speaking in low tones so as not to disturb the others. “If this Nazimaa comes to you, how will I know? Will I see her?”

Peter shrugged, answering in an equally low tone. “Honestly, I don’t know. If I see her, I’ll let you know.”

“Please do. We can’t have her corrupting you like she did Mike Deluca.”

Peter glanced over at Jason, who was sawing wood. “Maybe his snoring will scare Nazimaa away.”

He and Tracey shared a quiet chuckle. It was nice to hear her laugh. “Mary’s pretty pissed at me.”

Tracey smiled. “That’s an understatement. First fight?”

“I guess…but truthfully, things aren’t totally right between us.”

Tracey cocked her head a little. Peter always found that mannerism adorable. “Really? How so?”

“I don’t know. She’s okay and all, but…”

“She’s not for you.”

“Yeah…I guess not. It was exciting and fun in the beginning, but she’s not exactly…my cup of tea.”

Tracey smiled, warming Peter’s heart. “That’s good to hear.”

Taken by surprise, Peter stammered, “I’m glad to hear that.”

Tracey shimmied closer to him, leaning in further till her hot breath caressed his face. He didn’t mind. “I can’t wait to get out of this place.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“After this temple, we can leave together. Start over.”

Peter looked down for a moment. “Tracey, I don’t know if I can ever leave.”

She looked stunned and disappointed. “Why?”

“I can’t return to our dimension with this…curse. Who knows what would happen? Poseidon Tech would probably dissect me like some science experiment.”

Tracey set her jaw. The campfire danced, reflected in her eyes. “I won’t let that happen. I won’t let them hurt you.”

“You won’t be able to protect me. And, I don’t want to put you in danger. I’ve put you in enough danger as it is.”

She locked eyes with him, adamant. “I’m not afraid of them. They will learn to fear me.” A wicked grin crept across her face.

Peter recoiled from her. Her demeanor in that moment…it wasn’t like her. Her confidence took on an arrogant tone. Something wasn’t right. He looked across the campfire and saw Tracey sound asleep. What the…?

When he looked back at the person sitting next to him, it was a featureless figure with eyes black as tar. It flashed a toothy grin, its teeth sharp and jagged.

He scuttled away from it as it laughed at him, mocking him. He looked around to see if anyone had been woken by the commotion, but his friends were all sound asleep. “You! What do you want?”

It crawled toward him on all fours, its breathing raspy. “To walk the earth again, to leave this place.”

Peter leveled his gaze at it. “I won’t let that happen.” He took a chance with what he said next. He figured she already knew they were coming for her. “We’re going to destroy your body, and then we’ll be rid of you.”

It laughed at him. It was a bitter, derisive sound. “You will free me. It is inevitable. It is your destiny. It is why I’ve brought you here.”

Peter closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses. He detected her, in front of him. She registered as something cold and dark, but powerful. When he opened his eyes, she was gone.

Chapter 12

 Peter decided not to wake the others up. He had passed his test with flying colors, which is why Nazimaa had left. He did, however, feel violated. She had used his feelings for Tracey to torment him. He cursed himself for allowing himself to be drawn into it hook, line, and sinker. He cursed the fact that it wasn’t real.

After an undefined period of time, when the fire died down, leaving behind glowing coals and embers, he decided to wake Jason up. He crept over to the hunter and reached out to shake him.

Jason’s hand shot out, snatching Peter’s wrist.

Peter, startled, nearly yelping. “You were awake?”

Jason smiled and winked at him. “No, but I’m a light sleeper.”

“Yeah, well, it’s your turn. I’m exhausted.”

Jason sat up and looked over at Tracey, who was curled up on the ground, sound asleep. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be left alone.”

“Nazimaa came to test me,” said Peter. “She posed as Tracey.”

“What did she want?”

“I don’t know. To torment me. She told me I was going to get her off this island. That it was why she brought me here.”

Jason looked around, alert. “She’s going to come for me, isn’t she?”

“Probably. You should wake Mary up. I’m going to get some shut eye.”

Jason nodded. He stood, brushing himself off. As he walked over to Mary, shaking her gently, Peter lay back and closed his eyes. Although he was rattled, he was totally and truly exhausted. Sleep took him quickly, and he drifted off into a dreamless oblivion.

*

When he opened his eyes, everyone else was gone. Peter sat up, rubbing his eyes. The campfire had been extinguished, the kindling smoking. The ground felt wet.

Jason burst out of the jungle clasping his spear. His shirt was out of his pants, his hair was a mess, and he looked panicked. “Jesus, Peter, you’re finally awake.”

Peter sat up, rubbing his eyes. He felt groggy. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

“The girls are gone. I tried to wake you, but you wouldn’t wake up.”

Peter tried to stand. He felt woozy, and the jungle spun around him. “Where’d they go?”

Jason’s eyes darted around their campsite. He looked like a madman. “I was visited by Nazimaa last night. She appeared as Joey, but I knew