Page 35 of Colombian Chemistry

“Irene, hurry up!”

“I’m... trying...” I said as I kicked and thrust my hips to get my donkey moving.

A red Jeep roared over the hill, and I saw the unmistakable cartel members hanging off the side with their scary guns clutched in their hands.

“Fuck!” Marcus said as he pushed his donkey into the bushes. “How in the fuck did they find us?”

“I don’t know! Come on, Chong!” I kicked harder.

“Get off the donkey and get in here!” Marcus commanded.

Before I could swing my leg over, I heard the shouts of the men from the Jeep. I glanced over and saw them staring straight at me.

Shit! Busted!

“Irene! Now!”

They shouted my name and fired some gunshots in the air. Marcus went prone in the bushes, pulling out his gun and taking aim.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Two men dropped off the side of the Jeep, and their limp bodies collided with the ground. I didn’t have time to see what happened to them because suddenly, my neck snapped back as Chong bolted into the jungle.

“No! Stop!” I screamed as my terrified donkey veered and leaped through the thick vegetation.

This was it. Exactly what I thought would happen. I would die by donkey.

I continued screaming for Marcus as I held on tight, screeching as branches whipped me in the face. One of them dislodged my basket helmet, and it slipped down over my face. At first, I wanted to remove it since I couldn’t see much through the wicker slats, but I realized quickly it protected me from the branches assaulting my face, so I left it in place.

“Chong! Stop! Stop! Halt! Ho!” I screamed, but the donkey didn’t heed my pleas and continued running for its life... and endangering mine.

Because of the basket impeding my vision, I couldn’t see what happened or what caused Chong to veer course. All I knew was that suddenly the donkey went left, but my body continued on the trajectory we’d already been going. I screamed as I flew through the air and grunted when I landed in a thick bush.

I took almost no time to assess myself for injuries, knowing the cartel was nearby. I was just grateful I’d survived the initial impact.

I’m alive. I’m alive! Thank you, God! I didn’t die by donkey!

But as I struggled to get free, I realized how tangled up I was in the thorny branches. I struggled against them, pulling and tugging until I felt my dress rip free. I fell backward onto my ass with a thud, then yanked off my basket helmet and looked down to see every last button holding the front of my dress closed had ripped off in my struggle.

Oh shit. I was practically naked in the jungle.

But I didn’t have time to fix my dress and cover myself up. I heard footsteps crashing through the foliage behind me. Then more gunshots caused me to jump.

Quickly, I leaped to my feet, prepared to run.

Marcus exploded through the trees, his gun held tight in his hand as he slid to a stop when he saw me. His eyes bulged as they raked me up and down, and I gasped when I realized my button-down dress was completely open, and I was standing there with my granny panties and bra I should have thrown out years ago on complete display.

I pulled the pieces of fabric together to cover myself. “My dress tore open.”

He chuckled. “I can see that. Nice underwear. Very... old fashioned.”

Heat flushed my cheeks. “I have nice underwear. I just wasn’t expecting anyone to see them when I got dressed two days ago,” I argued, then shook my head. “Why are we talking about my underwear? Are they all dead? Are they coming?”

Marcus’s smirk deepened for a moment while he took one last glance at me standing awkwardly in front of him.

“No. They aren’t all dead, and the four left are probably hunting for us now.”

A crackling sound in the trees caused both our heads to swivel. Marcus wrapped an arm around my waist and dragged me into the bushes behind him.