Brothers in Arms

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The caves were dark, musty, full of cobwebs and debris, dirty-smelling and unconnected. Apart from shelter from a storm, they offered the castaways nothing. After a cursory check, Drake and Mai soon realized their time would be best spent elsewhere. They took some time circumventing the mountain from the height of the highest cave, but even up there, at that time of the morning, the hanging mist refused to relinquish its secrets.

“Bastard gets thicker by the day,” Drake said, dubiously. He shielded his eyes, squinting. Mai turned her nose up at him.

“Whoa, you stink, my friend.”

“Well, thanks. Guess I forgot my Lynx.”

He led the way down the mountain, head still pounding in a turmoil of mixed feelings. He’d become very conscious that Mai had been leading the way since they’d been shot down, much like she had led the way when they first met. He ploughed down the steep mountainside until he reached the foothills and then the forest. Of course, he knew where they were going long before he admitted it to himself. It was a foregone conclusion, had been for some time.

The lake glistened invitingly, sparkling with promise. Mai regarded him innocently from beneath hooded eyes. “Remember the first time we discovered a lake together?”

“Vividly.”

She unzipped her jacket, the sound loud in the stillness, and shrugged the heavy material off her shoulders. It fell to the ground with a thunk. With her hands above her head, she stripped off her vest. In another minute, she had unbuckled her trousers and stepped out of her underwear.

Mai Kitano stood before him naked. It was a sight he remembered well, a sight he would never forget. He watched as she turned and sauntered into deeper water, at length turning to face him once more.

“You joining me?”

“Fucking right I am.” He rushed into the lake, crashing face forward, not even bothering to take off his clothes.

And when he reached her, it seemed like the past had merged with the present.