Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 533

Chapter 533 A Shared Burden

Even the poachers knew better than to move through the bush in the dead of night. For a fleeting moment, the family found a fragile peace.

“Get some sleep,” Jasper urged.

Finisher

They huddled together in the cramped space, the two little ones sandwiched between their parents. Exhausted and comforted by the presence of their mother and father, the children drifted into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Just before dawn, the chorus of birds outside the cave suddenly went dead.

Jasper’s eyes snapped open. He immediately pressed a hand over Tatiana’s mouth, his gaze sharp and alert in the darkness.

“Someone’s here,” he mouthed. His ears tracked a sound about thirty meters out and the snap of a dry branch that echoed like a gunshot in the silence.

Tatiana understood instantly. She gently nudged the children awake, pressing a finger to her lips. Ann was fully alert in a second, her small hand covering Hubert’s mouth before he could make a sound. The four o them held their breath, frozen in the dim light of the cave.

“…the tracks end here…”

Marcus’s gravelly voice drifted in on the breeze. He was closer than Jasper had anticipated.

“Fan out! That Hindersville bastard can’t have gotten far with a woman and kids in tow!”

A gruff voice answered back. It was Icarus. They had regrouped.

This was bad. Jasper peered through a narrow crack in the rocks, spotting at least five shadows fanning out through the morning mist.

He quietly pressed the rifle into Tatiana’s hands. In his own grip, he tightened his hold on a makeshift spear, a wooden branch he had carved into a lethal point while the others slept.

“Listen,” he whispered into Tatiana’s ear, his breath stirring her tangled hair. “I’ll draw them off. You take the kids and follow the stream down the river…”

“No!” Tatiana grabbed his wrist with surprising strength. “Don’t expect a repeat of last time. We either leave together or we die together.”

Outside, the crunch of boots on gravel grew louder. Jasper looked from the stubborn fire in Tatiana’s eyes to the small hands of his children clutching his shirt. He swallowed hard and finally gave a sharp nod.

“Fine. We go together.”

Jasper muffled the kids‘ shoes with moss to dampen the sound of their footsteps while Tatiana kept the rifle leveled, covering their exit. As the first poacher’s shadow stretched across the cave entrance, Jasper hurled a heavy stone into a cluster of bushes on the opposite side.

2:04 pm PTM

Chapter 533 A Shared Burden

“Over there!” the men shouted, instantly veering toward the noise.

Finished

Using the distraction, the family squeezed through a narrow fissure at the back of the cave and vanished into the dense jungle. The morning dew soaked their clothes, and thorny vines tore at their skin, but no one slowed down.

After a grueling trek, they found temporary shelter in the hollow of a massive baobab tree. Hubert and Ann’s knees were scraped raw from the rocks, but they bit their lips and refused to cry.

“Daddy, are we going to die here?” Ann asked, her eyes bright and searching in the shadows of the trunk.

Jasper cupped her face, his expression dead serious. “As long as we’re together, we won’t.”

Ann forced a small smile and nodded. “Right. We’re definitely going to make it!”

Sitting against the rough wood, Tatiana felt a wave of regret wash over her. Maybe she never should have brought the children on this trip. If she hadn’t tried to clear their heads with a vacation, they wouldn’t be fighting for their lives.

As if reading her mind, Jasper reached out and took her hand. “This isn’t on you. Stop blaming yourself. We’re going to be fine.”

She looked into his steady eyes and forced the guilt down. Outside, a troop of baboons began to screech. Tatiana’s head snapped up. “They’re using the baboons as sentries.”

Having lived on a remote island, she knew these tracking methods well. She found herself wishing Tammy were here; this was her home turf, and she would have known exactly how to turn the tide. But wishing didn’t change their reality.

Once the baboons quieted down, they slipped out of the tree and pushed deeper into the brush. Jasper used the sun to navigate while Tatiana used the glowing band from her hair tie to leave subtle marks on the trees.

They eventually made camp by a hidden stream. Jasper used his shirt and some fallen branches to rig a primitive tent while Tatiana identified a few edible berries and mushrooms nearby. Even Ann and Hubert pitched in, using the tricks their father had taught them to set a trap. To their delight, they actually caught a rabbit.

“Look, Mommy!”

The two of them proudly held up their prize, their fear momentarily forgotten in the thrill of the hunt.

Tatiana didn’t hold back her praise. “You two are amazing!”

Jasper smiled and began using flint to start a small fire to roast the meat. Tatiana frowned and stepped in. “Let me do it. Your wounds haven’t even started to close.”

His arms had been shredded by thorns during the escape, but he hadn’t uttered a single complaint.

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