The Gem

The Gem

By Dawn Meyung

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

The sound waivered in and out, my head spinning. I opened my eyes, pushing up on my elbows. The world around me is blurred, the views obscured. Where am I? How did I get here?

I slowly rolled over, landing on my hands and knees. I tightly closed my eyes, the buzzing sound continuing around me. The blades of grass are soft against the palms of my hand, but nothing like the sands that surround my beach home. Home. How far from home am I? I couldn’t have gone that astray, could I?

I open my eyes again, this time seeing the lines of trees forming in front of me—a forest. I am in a forest. I slowly get up, stumbling around. I clutch a nearby tree, the bark ripping into the flesh of my palm. Blood slowly trickles down my wrist, warm against my arm. I take a step forward. I have to get out of here. Wherever here is.

Johnson, my partner, where had he gone? He has to be somewhere out here with me. I trudge along the blurred forest, the leaves crunching beneath my heavy boots. The buzzing follows me. I turn my head, and nothing is there. Have I lost my mind? Could I be stuck in some wild dream, unable to wake to the outside reality? I startle as my walkie sounds, static. I pick up the black box and press the buttons.

“Johnson,” my voice shakes. “Come in, Johnson?” Static. I growl, continuing my journey further into the forest. He’s out here somewhere. I can feel it in my bones. The radio sounds like it's on static once more.

“They found us,” Johnson’s voice barely garbles. They found us? “Run, Reaper, you have-” His voice cuts off with a blood-curdling scream! The radio goes dead. I shake my head, staring at the walkie.

“Johnson,” I echo, my voice hollow and empty. “Johnson, please.” I shake the radio, yelling in frustration. What did he mean? Why was he screaming? The buzzing from behind me approaches my ear.

Click! Click!

A gun cocks back, its barrel pressing against my spine. I put my hands up, dropping the radio. Whoever they are has found me. Why can’t I remember?

“Thought you could escape that easy, aye?” The voice is dark, but familiar. Rordin is the leader of the sting operation. “Slowly turn, but keep your hands up.” I obey his orders, turning to see his twisted face. A dog attack that he barely escaped as a child left his face marred and ugly. “Where is it?”

“Where’s what?” I question, furrowing my brows.

“You know what I am talking about.” Rordin presses the gun between my breasts, leaning closer. “Where are you hiding it?” I shake my head, still trying to figure out how I got here. I remember the beach. The ocean waves had been calming the night before the operation. Johnson was my partner in crime, my ride or die. This was meant to be our last gig, just enough to get us by. But it went wrong. An explosion, maybe.

“I’m afraid I don’t remember.” Rordin rests his finger against the trigger of the rifle. I gulp. Is this how I go out? Afraid and confused.

“Well, you’d better start thinking….fast.” My chest tightens as I rack my brains. What is Rordin looking for? What were we meant to steal? “The ruby, where’s the fucking ruby, Reaper?!” Ruby? The moments come flooding back in. We were going after the Blood Ruby. It’s worth millions and could change any of our lives once we sell it on the black market. “3….2…..1…..”

I frantically think. Johnson said we should take it for ourselves, betray everyone else, and run. But Rordin had already planned to kill us all and take it for himself. I barely escaped the compound when the explosion sounded off in the background. “You're dead meat.”

BAM!

A gun sounds off. I look at my chest, still intact. Rordin stands frozen, blood trickling from his open mouth. His body hits the ground with a thud. Johnson stands behind him, a rifle in his hand. Relief floods through me as my legs shake. “Johnson!”

Johnson lowers the rifle, sprinting toward me. “We have to run, Reaper. They’re on my trail.” I nod, taking Johnson’s hand in mine. We run, trekking our way through the twisted forests. Dogs bark behind us. “Do you still have the ruby?” I don’t answer, not sure. My pockets feel empty. Did I ever have the gem? “Reaper?”

“I don’t - I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?!” Johnson stops, pulling me into some trees. He grabs my face, his hands rough. “What do you mean you don’t know?” He pats me down. I frown, afraid I may have actually gone mad. Why can’t I remember? “No, no, no,” Johnson moans. “I can’t believe you lost it!”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. Johnson closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. Rushed footsteps and heavy paws fly past where we stand hidden. Johnson stares at me, biting his lower lip as he thinks. He nudges his head back in the direction we were running from. I silently follow behind him as he sneaks off.

We rush back to Rordin’s dead body. Johnson swoops down, inspecting him for any sign of the ruby. But he won’t find it there. Rordin doesn’t have it. The memory floods back. I escaped the compound, hiding the ruby in the dirt. I buried it under a twisted oak tree like a dog burying its prized bone. Something smacked my head, knocking me out cold. Did they get the ruby? The man whose gun slammed into my head, or were they taking me out of the game in search of who they thought would really have the stone? “Johnson,” I whisper, pulling at my husband’s arm. “I know where it is.”

“Ok,” he answers. I stumble through the forest, trying not to attract any attention to us. The solid twisted oak stands up ahead. I was next to it when I woke. I never should have left this spot.

“That oak. I buried it there.” Johnson nods, letting go of my hand. He rushes to the oak, digging in the fresh dirt. He smirks as I approach. The ruby still lies where I hid it.

“Good job, Reaper. Let’s get out of here.” Johnson stands, pocketing the ruby as we run off in a random direction. Home. We can go home.