Chapter 26: Kent takes Koa for her first ride in a vehicle

Chapter 26: After Koa left, disappearing into the jungle, Kent stayed up for a while, keeping an eye on the fire. He’d have to keep the smoke going all night, so he set an alarm on his phone to stoke the flames every few hours.

But even with all the exercise of the day, he was too wired to sack out like his dogs, who lay sprawled beside his bedroll, sound asleep. Instead he sat cross-legged, watching the fire.

Koa didn’t observe the social niceties; she didn’t even know about them.

She didn’t thank him for the flashlight, or say good night.

She killed a huge boar right in front of him as if it were nothing.

Gutted it. Skinned it. Ate meat with a knife off of leaves.

Stripped out of her clothes and walked into a waterfall, naked in front of him, without a backward glance.

She showed no deference, no coyness—whatever she was feeling was clear. The moments she was happy, or afraid, or sad, or anxious—they were all easy to read.

The fact that she’d never been socialized in a “normal” way made her unfiltered, completely authentic. She had probably never learned basic right from wrong, growing up in isolation with a mentally ill parent.

Had Koa attacked Abalo?

Was she capable of more, of killing him one day?

Yes, and again yes; he could easily picture her gutting a human like she did a pig, if she decided it needed to be done.

Could he afford to get emotionally involved with someone so…feral?

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