16
Do You Want Me?
Diamond awoke and became frantic. “Cody! Cody, wake up! Buddy’s gone! We’ve looked everywhere. He’s nowhere in the cave!”
Cody rolled over and tried to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. “What are you saying? Did you say Buddy’s missing?” He jumped up. “Where did you see him last?”
“I saw him right here last night. He and I fell asleep right here with you. Remember?”
Cody exhaled heavily. “Yeah. Yeah, I remember now. So, how long ago did he disappear?”
“I woke up maybe ten minutes ago and he was gone.”
“I’m going out to find him,” Cody said. “The sun’s coming up. I need to find him before La Luz starts patrolling this area.”
“Here are those combat boots you wore yesterday.”
“No, no, those things don’t fit. They hurt my feet. I need my sneakers.”
Victor came in, panting. “I already looked out back, but I didn’t see him. I’ll go out again after the sun comes up.”
“I’ll check on the beach,” Cody said as he walked over to the front entrance which was still blocked by jagged rocks and debris. “Buddy isn’t tall enough to reach the opening in the back tunnel. He probably went out right here.” Cody looked out through the small opening, then pulled down several more rocks to increase the size of the hole.
With a handgun under his belt, he crawled through, convinced it would not collapse on him.
~     ~     ~
Diamond waited anxiously while Cody went out on his own again. She walked toward the interior section near the shower where she found Parker sitting alone. “Is it okay if I talk to you, Mr. Parker?”
“It’s difficult to watch him suffer, isn’t it, child?”
She sat down. “How did you know what I wanted to say?”
“You aren’t hard to read.”
“Mr. Parker, I, uh . . . I don’t know how to ask this . . .”
“You want to know why Cody is so moody, right?”
Her troubled eyes gave away her feelings.
“What’s your definition of love, Diamond?”
“Love? Uh, finding someone to be with who makes me feel good about myself. That’s what I’ve always thought.”
“And have you ever found anyone who makes you feel that way?”
She could not hide her frown. “Well, I . . .”
“You see, we all have the same vocabulary, but we don’t all use the same dictionary, in a manner of speaking.” 
“Tell me something I can understand. Please.”
“Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for a friend,” Parker told her.
“Let me guess. That’s from the Bible?”
“When someone is touched by the God who really sees and really hears, it changes one’s definitions, especially the meaning of love. True love can sometimes be measured by pain. A heart that loves the most is the one most easily broken.”
“Mr. Parker, you’re going to make me cry again.”
“Real love calls you into someone else’s pain. It’s love that puts Cody in conflict with evil every day. If he isn’t lifting up his hand to the helpless, he’s not whole. But that is a difficult road to walk alone. He makes a mistake by not letting someone in.”
“Cody used that word whole earlier. He said I would be whole again. I told him I have never been whole.”
Parker’s 81-year-old eyes glistened. “You have to give your life away to be whole. Exchange your life for the one God has for you.”
The hunger in Diamond’s voice gave away her feelings. “We got on that plane just four days ago. Who would’ve ever thought I would be wanting what I want now.”
~     ~     ~
The sun was still below the horizon when Cody made his way down the hill toward the water. He favored the sore knee he had bruised the day before while tumbling into the bushes during the gorilla incident. He spotted the tiny figure of a dark-headed boy sitting alone on the beach near the gently-splashing surf. The bodies from the crash and the floating luggage had apparently been washed out to sea. The storm may have taken care of that. The tail of the commuter aircraft remained tall in the water, like a marker to the departed.
Though the sun had not yet made its appearance, a faint orange hue had begun to fill a spectacular eastern sky. Cody cautiously looked around. His first thought was to scold the boy for running off and jeopardizing the safety of all. But as he approached the child, he instinctively slowed his steps. The serenity was golden.
Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone needs an audience. They were of the same mind — he and this child who had been forced to chase away the shadow of death way too soon. What was his story? Would he ever be able to tell anyone? Would he ever even say a word? The last thing this child needed right now was a lecture.
Cody sat down at Buddy’s right side, slowly, silently, so as to not disturb the moment.
“Hello, Gunfighter,” the boy said without even looking up. “I’m sorry I make things hard for you. I make things hard for everybody.”
Cody, surprised, hesitated before speaking. He sensed that Diamond had followed, that she was now standing behind them keeping her distance.
“You know, son, I prefer ‘Cody’ instead of ‘Gunfighter.’ See, Gunfighter is a codename assigned by the people I work with, but Cody is my real name, and that’s what my friends call me. What’s your name? I mean, if we’re gonna be friends, I need to know what to call you.”
“Freddy. My name is Freddy Reyes. I am from Colón City in Panama.”
“Well, Freddy, why haven’t you been talking to us before now?”
“Because I am afraid. I am troublemaker. I know your real name is Cody Musket. I heard everyone talking. Why do you want to be my friend, Cody Musket? I never had a friend before because I am big troublemaker.”
“Well, I been known as a troublemaker myself. In fact, I been known to need all the friends I can get. A friend is a real gift.”
“Is the actor lady your woman? I heard the others talking.”
Cody sighed. “Well, see, you gotta be careful about listening to what everybody says. But why do you wanna know if she’s my woman?”
Freddy dropped his head again and said nothing.
“I wanna ask you another question, Freddy. Is that okay?”
The boy shrugged his shoulders.
“Why did you hide under that tarp on the boat? Why didn’t you get off with the other kids?”
“Because of the pops. I don’t like pops.”
“Pops?”
“Yes, the pops were the same as when my father . . .”
“What did your father do, son? Can you tell me? I will always be your friend. You can tell me anything.”
Freddy began to sob. He placed his head against Cody’s ribs, his small body shaking with a memory.
“You don’t have to tell me right now, son.”
“I am sorry I cry, Cody Musket. I want to be a man, like you.”
“Well,” Cody said, “the greatest Man who ever lived was named Jesus, and He had friends who wrote about the stuff they saw him do. One of ‘em wrote the words, ‘Jesus wept.’ So, even the strongest men cry sometimes.”
Diamond covered her mouth with both hands and fought hard to conceal the sound of her own crying.
“My father shot my mother, and then he shot himself. I was watching from under the bed.”
Cody turned his head away. Despite what he had just said, he didn’t want Freddy to see the tears welling up in his own eyes. Behind him, he could hear Diamond whispering, “Oh, God, no.”
“After that, I go to live with my Aunt Linda in Panama City. She said it was my fault my mother and father were dead. She said nobody wants me because I am too much trouble. She sold me to a man with big red truck. He said I go to work in gold mine. No one want me. Nobody listen. I stop talking.”
Diamond eased forward and sat beside Freddy on his left.
“Hello, actor lady. Did you hear what I said?”
“Yes, Freddy, I heard.” She placed her arm around his shoulders.
Cody searched for words. “Freddy, when people are afraid, they sometimes look for someone else to blame. You have to forgive them.”
“Why should I forgive them?”
“Well . . . see, Jesus said that when you forgive somebody it messes with their head.”
Freddy frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Uh, okay . . . it means they’ll have second thoughts. It might change their whole attitude about stuff, maybe even turn their life around. It’ll also set you free from all the hurt you’re feeling.”
“Cody Musket, who was the other man in the water?”
“The other man? It was just the two of us, Freddy. Nobody else.”
“What does Jesus look like? How will I know if I see Him?”
“Well, I think, uh . . . if you ever see Him, you’ll know who He is. And don’t worry about Jesus. He’s been known to choose His best friends from people that nobody else wants, especially troublemakers like us.”
“Cody Musket, do you and your woman want me?”
Cody and Diamond exchanged an awkward glance. She nodded.
“So, Freddy, maybe you should call her ‘Mama Diamond.’ I have the feeling lots of kids will be calling her by that name soon.”
Freddy grinned. “So that means you will have lots of babies soon?”
Cody stood and took Freddy’s hand. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, little guy.”
Cody reached for Diamond with his free hand. “We need to head back to the cave before we’re spotted. The sun’s coming up fast.”
He led them up the hill. When they reached the plateau at the top, Freddy asked, “Cody Musket, can I have a codename like you?”
“Like I said, don’t be getting ahead of yourself.”
“What does that mean?”
Suddenly, a chilling voice rang out from below. “Detener! No te muevas!” (“Stop! Don’t move!”)
Diamond screamed and snatched Freddy into her arms as Cody turned to look. Three armed individuals, one woman and two men, stood at the bottom of the hill with guns raised. The shrill voice was that of the woman.
A large gray-haired man wearing a red bandana around his head stepped forward. He spoke English. “Ha! We been looking for you, amigo. I didn’t realize you’d brought the missus and your kid with you to this scenic Caribbean paradise. Yer a long way from home ain’t you, boy?”
The man appeared twice Cody’s age and would have blended well on main street in Dodge City around 1881. His hair was long enough to wrap around his wide head like a turban, and was held in place by the red bandana headband. His thick spectacles were horn-rimmed, and he wore a rugged version of buckskin from head to toe. He sported two holstered six-guns belted around his waist, a Bowie knife on his hip, and carried an assault weapon in his right hand.
Cody could feel Diamond’s fear as she pressed against him still holding Freddy. Cody threw his hands into the air and stepped forward.
“Praise the Lord!” Cody yelled down the hill. “I’m so glad to finally see somebody from home! You must be from, uh, lemme guess . . . Amarillo? See, I’m from Texas, and this here’s my woman and kid. We come on ‘nis here vacation, you see? And that airplane jes flat took a nose dive on us. So, have you come to rescue us, sir?”
The big man at the bottom of the hill stared at Cody for a moment but said nothing. Finally, he broke the silence. “Hmmm, now just tell me how many survived and where they been holdin’ out at, and we jus’ might be able to help you out, son.”
Freddy’s eyes were as big as saucer plates. He whispered, “Cody Musket, he is a gunfighter too. I hope Jesus is watching.”
“Cody,” Diamond whispered. “Look at the airplane!”
Cody glanced out to sea. The tail of the downed commuter was turning in circles, as if Leviathan, that monster of the deep, were waltzing playfully on the ocean floor holding the underwater parts of the plane in his death grip.
The ground began to shake again. This time, the rumbling could be felt like deep concussions. Cody and Diamond lost their footing and were quickly on the ground. They struggled to keep little Freddy from sliding away. They managed to stay on the plateau next to the cave entrance.
A minute later, the tremors stopped. A rock slide had cleared the hill of most foliage and debris, and there was no sign of the three individuals at the bottom. Victor emerged from the cave. “Anyone injured?”
No one had been hurt. But one glance toward the reef gave new meaning to the term, “shock and awe.”
The water along the reef bubbled, and steam arose from the surface. The aircraft fuselage and tail were gone.