BLUE IRIS
Chapter 9

Iris

"HOLY CRAP!" Lois gushed. "Look what you have there."

"I did the same as Dr. Hull's, by cutting empty bottled waters in half, poked tiny holes, and filled them with soil," I said enthusiastically.

Not in a million years, I thought of cultivating flowers or plants, yet here I was. I felt it was a huge fulfillment on my part to see the tomato and cucumber sprouts grew in my care. "This is amazing, Iris."

"You never know until you try, right? Dr. Hull called this cute sprouts Vivipary in Latin. It means live birth."

"I wish I'm good at something like you. Teaching history isn't anything useful anymore. What you do is fulfilling." She sat beside me, in front of around thirty sprouts.

"Yes, it is. Don't worry you can teach again, Lois."

"I hope so. What are they?"

"The hairy ones are tomatoes and those oval shapes are the cucumber. After a few days, I can transfer them to the ground like those ones." I pointed at the fruiting tomatoes. "I need seeds though for carrots, lettuce, spinach, and maybe bush beans."

"Let me check the map if we can replace a shop near the camp. I'm pretty sure they'd already there to scavenge. After what happened, I don't suggest much of going with them unless they ask me to. I can't keep them watching my back every time I go with them, you know. Instead of searching for supply, they have to look after me."

"Can we sneak out? If ever we replace a shop," I suggested.

"I don't think it's a good idea. You know how important it is for Colt and Gael that we should stick to the rules. It's for our own safety." "They won't know unless you'll tell." I never thought of going out for the past few weeks, but it didn't hurt to try for everyone's benefits.

She hesitated, "We'll see, but you know how dangerous it is out there."

"Yeah. We can ask Darick to come with us. What do you think?" I insisted. "I'll think about it."

"I know you're not a rule-breaker, Lois. I can't put your life at stake because of some seeds. That's why we'll ask Darick to come with us."

"I don't have a problem coming with you if they give us permission. Anyway, have you seen Cora?"

My brows furrowed. "No. Why?"

"Cora could also be sneaking out at night. She didn't join us anymore. She said she'd better spend in her room than with us." "Typical Cora and she hates me."

"She hates everyone has a vagina." She rolled her eyes in disgust.

I couldn't help to not smile. "Seriously? Greedy much."

"Clingy."

"So, her and Colt, huh? So I heard."

"What?" She blinked. "A quick fuck maybe, but a relationship? I don't think Colt has time for that especially with her." Ouch!

I could feel my chest tightened that it came from Lois. I might have expected too much that maybe Colt thought the same way as I was. I wanted to berate myself for having a huge crush on him because Lois might be right that Colt was not interested in a relationship.

I'm such an idiot.

"How long have you known Colton? I mean Colt."

"You keep calling him that."

I wrinkled my nose. "Yeah, a bad habit."

"He doesn't seem to mind though. We're on the same flight back to LA. When we landed at the airport, it was under emergency shut down. That's how I met them. We sneaked out together, and since then, I'm stuck with them where ever they went. So bad you didn't get a chance to meet Colton. He was funny and clever just like Colt. Colt is a serious type though. His thing is to lead and protect while Colton was more of a plan type of guy. He was our brain until we bumped into Gael's group."

She let out a sigh and continued, "I've never seen anyone as close as them. They were so adorable, that's why Colt almost lost his mind when Colton died. We were all worried about him. He never came out of his cabin for days if not sitting on his brother's grave. Then one day, he just came out of the blue and joined us for lunch. Everyone's jaw dropped, and the silence was overwhelming as we just stared at him in shock. And I swear that day was like the brightest day of our lives." Lois laughed, eyes filled with warmth. "We love that dude so much."

"Could imagine that," I agreed.

"But damn, they look hot."

I smiled, and Lois smiled wickedly.

"Girls!" Frost called out, making us froze. He was walking toward us, wearing a huge grin on his face. Colt appeared, and my world seemed to slow down. They were geared up and seemed about to go somewhere. "sup, Templeton?" I asked.

"Damn! You know what?" He smirked. "I kinda like my name on your tongue. It's sexy and better than oysters."

I knew he was just messing with me, so I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, Templeton? Is that your new pick up line?"

"You're full of shit. Get your head out of your ass." Colt hit him in the head.

My heart thundered just by hearing his voice.

Damn it! He always looked good and even better every day, but maybe it never crossed his mind on shaving his growing beard.

I thought of Tom Hardy, and he was also hot. It suited Colt though, but it wouldn't kill him to trim at least. You just want to see how he looks without facial hair, Iris. Damn right!

"Don't tell me you don't feel the same, Colt. I mean even just a teeny tiny changes of waves in your heartbeat when she calls you—"

"No!" Well, that was fast.

"Liar," Frost muttered, still grinning. "Now who's full of shit? Shove that to your ass because you can't fool me when it's clearer than the sky, Officer Snow," he snickered.

"Just shut up. You, yourself didn't come from a romance novel," Colt snickered back.

"Damn right," Frost admitted.

"What's up with the two of you?" Lois interjected.

"Hunting," Colt answered shortly.

"Well, there's nothing to hunt in my garden." I rolled my eyes.

Frost barked out a laugh and was even holding his stomach. "I'm so into you right now, Iris."

Lois snapped her fingers at him. "Hey, I hate to burst your bubble, but you're out of her league, dude."

"Ouch!" His face was still red, wiping his tears. "Do you think I'm not aware of that? But may I remind you, Heloisa, I was the first one to see her, remember? And she's supposed to be mine. I was just thinking, you know." He shrugged. "If it won't work out for them, then I'm always right here waiting for her, right, Iris?"

My eyes widened. "Supposed to be mine your ass, Templeton! And work out with who exactly?"

"Frost, time to go." Colt slapped Frost's back hard enough that knocked the air out of his lungs. Frost winced. "That hurts, man."

"You two won't sneak out of this camp, understand?" He pointed his finger on us as a warning. "What made you think we will?" Lois asked him innocently.

"Maybe you two are planning something." Damn right, we are.

"Can we join you instead?" I proposed.

"No. It's too dangerous out there."

I stood up and rolled my eyes. "We're aware of that, and we can protect ourselves."

"The answer is still no." Fire lit in his eyes-no hesitation-no regret.

"I'll talk to Gael because I and Lois are coming with you."

"I like a feisty woman, Iris," Frost interrupted us.

"Shut up, Frost!" we chided him, making him laughed again.

"Just focus on your garden, Iris."

"You're damn impossible! You're sexist!" I stomped out from them. God, he's infuriating!

My stomach quivered, feeling useless as Colt always had planned for everything before I could even suggest. And when he says no, it means no unless it's an order from Gael. "Iris, wait!"

"Oh, you made a plan already. Go ahead and hunt a frigging gorilla!"

He swore behind my back while Frost was laughing his ass out. The thuds of his heavy footsteps signified he was following me. He then grabbed my arm.

In a swift motion, I was facing him, and my breathing caught under my throat as his sheer size made me small and powerless. Lifting my chin up, I met his steely eyes glaring back at me. For the first time, I realized I might have hurt his feelings as I could see now the pain flickering in those gray obs.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I looked back at him. I explored every tiny detail in his irises-they darkened, and it amazed me how his pupils slowly dilated at my sight. His lashes were too good to be real-they were long and thick. His eyes roamed around my face, lingering on my lips, then meeting my gaze again. My heart pounded. His breathing quickened, locking his jaw tight.

"You, lucky bastard." Oh, my god!

He blinked rapidly. "What?"

"I'm jealous." I blinked. Just stop it already, Iris. You sound like an idiot.

"With whom?" There was a tiny confusion in his unbelievably low and soft voice.

"Your eyelashes."

A small smile curved up his almost sinful lips. "Really?"

"Heck yeah."

"You're still beautiful with your light brown lashes, twig, and your eyes were the first thing I noticed when I first saw you. They're blue, and I've never seen anything bluer than yours before." I should be annoyed at him for calling me twig, but on the other hand, I found it cute.

"Just kiss and make up already. We're leaving in a minute!" Frost yelled from a distance, causing us to pull apart.

"Asshole," Colt groaned. Oh yeah, he has his way of ruining our moments.

"Not denying it, man, in fact, I've got a badge for that."

"Look, it's dangerous out there that's why I decided not to take you and Lois with us." Damn it! The way he said it, my anger just faded away. How could he affect me this much?

"Then, why do you have to go?"

"We're not just hunting. Hamid went to scout a mile away from here and noticed a group of men, probably campers, but we don't know yet until we go there to confirm.

"Fine." Despite my worry, I managed to nod. "Just be careful."

"I will." For some reason, his assurance gave me comfort.

A gasp slipped from my lips. My body stilled when Colt pulled me into his chest and wrapped his strong arms around me. A warning would be nice, but it seemed that it didn't exist in his vocabulary.

The strong thumping of my heart and the echoing of my pulse in my ears were giving me lightheadedness. Instinctively, I returned the favor and hugged him while resting my head against his chest. I listened to the strong beat of his heart, and definitely as strong as mine. My eyes flutter closed as I inhaled his manly scent into my lungs-so relaxing.

After several heart-pounding moments, he spoke, "Stay inside the camp, okay?"

"Okay." I felt the touch of his lips on top of my head.

When we finally pulled apart, I met his gaze one more time before he walked away. I was left there alone standing, astounding, and wondering what was that all about. There was only one thing I was sure of, I cared about Colt more than I should.

"Well, that was cozy." Lois came with a huge smile on her face.

"Not another word." I walked back to the garden, feeling my cheeks burned.

"I noticed things, you know."

"Lois, I'm already embarrassed. Please?"

"What's there to embarrass when two people like each other? There was something more with what I just witnessed, Iris. For months I've known Colt, he never acted like that, and I've never seen him looking at anyone the way he looked at you." She nudged me with her arm and giggled.

"I don't know, Lois. I should not be attracted to him."

"He's attractive. So it's not your fault." She waggled her brows. "And the feeling seems mutual."

"Cora warned me to stay away from him."

"Colt isn't hers in the first place, so why would you listen to her?"

"Do I look like I care what she said?" I raised a brow.

"Atta girl! And he collared Frost for wearing his brother's shirt, yet he gave them to you. So there's only one thing I can think about, it's a message 'to fuck everyone off because this girl is mine!"" she mimicked Colt's voice.

"What?" My eyes grew big.

"Yep. That's why Frost's having fun messing with him because he knows how important you are to Colt. Just don't break his heart, Iris, because if you do, I will make sure to crush yours?"

I smiled. "Noted."

"Oh, my God!" Lois ran to Darick with a string of fish in his grasp. "I don't know you can fish!"

"Nobody asks. I used to go fishing with my father when I was in Japan, but I wasn't sure there's any in the lake. I asked Frost for a hook if he could replace one, then there it is." He raised the stringer. I didn't know what type of fish was it, but it would definitely feed the whole camp.

"That's amazing, Darick."

"I don't know you guys eat fish, but I was tired of sitting, so I thought how could I help Colt and Frost."

"Right now we eat everything edible. Maybe next time we should come with you. What do you think, Iris?" Lois asked.

"Um, no thanks. I'm not a fan of the lake."

"Uh, okay." She laughed softly. "Well, let's go to the kitchen then."

***

THE FIRE pit was lit up.

Darick helped Hamid to take the table and chairs out. We never did this before since I arrived. It felt good to have this kind of simple get-together even though we were struggling to survive. Anna and Lois grilled those fish with Dr. Hull's herbs.

I managed to prepare some salad to occupy my mind among the other things. It was half successful because what happened between me and Colt earlier kept popping in my mind. The way he looked and talked to me, I knew there was something. The way he pulled me into his arms, twice, I could feel something overpowering between us, and it was almost embarrassing as I didn't want it to end. His warm embrace gave me comfort and assured me safety.

For the first time, Ayesha, Hamid's wife joined us. They were Egyptian Muslims who migrated to States and already American citizens. Ayesha didn't cover her head like most Arabs, and Hamid didn't pray like most Muslims. They were also very opinionated toward terrorists, and everyone respected that.

"This is aish balady. Whole wheat bread and almost the same as Greek Pita." She carried a basket of flatbread. "It's easy to make as long as you have wheat flour, wheat bran, and hot stone."

"Hot stone?" I asked.

"Yes, but tawa pan is fine."

"Similar to our tortilla bread," Lois agreed.

"Yes. Wait, where are Colt and Frost?" Ayesha looked around. "And Cora?"

I was getting antsier every tick of the clock. I let out a shaky breath. It was already dinner, yet there were no signs of any of them, and no matter how I dislike Cora, I never wished something bad would happen to her.

"I asked Gael, but all he said was Colt and Frost can take care of themselves. I've no idea about Cora though. Darick knocked on her door, but she must be sleeping," Lois said.

"Where's Gael?"

"Over here!"

"Did they contact you yet?" I asked once Gael got closer to our table.

"They're on their way."

"Thank God." I've been thinking of the worse scenario since the sun went down. I wasn't expecting they'd stayed this long out there.

"You okay?" Lois gripped my shoulder.

"I'm fine now, thanks. I was just worried about them." I sat on the long wooden bench, leaning my elbows against the table. I took a deep breath as I was about to have a flashback of how we got captured. "Trust me, they're good at what they do. You don't have to worry about them. I'll go to the kitchen to help Anna."

"I'll take care of the dishes later."

A few minutes later Frost called my name breathlessly.

Excitedly, I stood up only to let my smile disappeared from my lips.

Frost was walking alone.