Free Waterproof by Amber Garr Page A

Go ahead, try it.”
    Feeling as though nothing in this world could hurt me, I swung back my head and took a sip. At first it tasted like a strong tea, but then flavors of smoked wood, fresh cut grass, and blueberries filled my mouth. The bite didn’t kick in until after I swallowed.
    “Whoa. What’s in this?” I coughed several times, trying to get the question out.
    “I call it ‘Jacksonjuana’. It’s my own version of Mamajuana.”
    I raised my eyebrows, unable to speak yet , and not knowing what the hell he was talking about.
    “ It’s an island drink made of bark and leaves and other things. My grandmother used to brew it. I had to make do with what I could find that wouldn’t poison us.” He pulled the bottle out of my hand. “Perhaps it needs a little more time to age.”
    “Maybe,” I said, not knowing if that would make any kind of difference at all. Jackson took another sip and began bouncing along to the music Max played again.
    I watched the smiling faces and awkward gyrating bodies of my friends, no my family, and smiled. The memory of Daric and Alicia hung over the group like a lurking shadow, but somehow our celebration seemed like a tribute to their lives. It had been quite a while since we were able to let go like this.
    Just as that thought crossed my mind, the w orld changed. Lights shot through the camp in synchronization, coming from all different directions and blinding my sight. Max’s bow screeched across the strings, bringing the music to a crushing halt. Laughter ceased, panic ensued, and our group became the hunted once again.
    Mercenaries surrounded us on all sides in four wheelers and off road vehicles that now seemed as loud as a race track. Their engines hummed in the night, daring us to run. The distinct sound of semiautomatic weapons being cocked sent my fear into overdrive. I jumped forward to reach Vee on the other side of the fire just as one of the mercenaries stepped into view.
    “Don’t move,” he said.
    I held up my hand to shield my eyes from the headlights but continued to walk forward. Without another warning, something hit the side of my head and sent me flailing to the ground. Apparently, a second mercenary hadn’t been too far away and decided to take a cheap shot.
    “Stop!” Sasha commanded more than yelled. “You didn’t need to do that.”
    The giant man looked down at me and smirked. “He didn’t listen.” Raising his head to meet Sasha’s fierce glare, he pointed the gun at her chest. “And when you don’t listen, you get punished.”
    I saw Max grab Sasha’s hand in an attempt to hold her back. This mercenary would kill our leader in a second, and it seemed like Max understood that better than she right now.
    “Let’s go,” the mercenary said.
    With his words, the camp became a flurry of activity. Armed men and women ran forward from every direction of the forest, collecting each one of us. Two pairs of hands yanked me up off the ground and dragged me into the darkness. Vee screamed for Hunter, Trevor spat insults, and Carrie tried to run.
    That sealed our fate.
    The second Carrie got free, all hell broke loose. Although outnumbered and unarmed, each one of us decided to fight to the bitter end. I heard Vee throwing punches and saw the vague outline of Hunter jumping on the back of one of her attackers. A gunshot rang out through the night, but I didn’t have time to assess its target before fists began pummeling my body.
    Due to arrogance or just plain laziness, my captors forgot to check for weapons. Pushing through the pain of the punches aimed at my face, I reached for my knives. In my awkward position on the ground, I still managed to grab one of them. I rolled to the side, and as the first mercenary jumped out at me, I threw the knife straight into his chest.
    His forward momentum sent him flying by, giving me an opportunity to retrieve my knife seconds before his partner realized what had happened. When he snarled at me and lifted his