Scattered Pieces

 

Part 2


“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” I kept muttering under my breath. The thought of me being some shark’s breakfast didn’t appeal to me at all and I was scared shitless not to mention the visions of having a big hunk of my body torn off wasn’t helping matters.

“Lizz,” Brian half whispered, quietly yelled, “don’t move any further, any movement will draw the shark towards you!”

“Let’s try to paddle the raft towards them,” Howie suggested in a whisper.

“AJ you just stay sitting,” Kevin advised as he caught AJ out the corner of his eye, still cradling his hurt arm.

“Hold up guys, it’s okay,” I yelled out triumphantly.

By the looks I was getting from the raft and Lizz, I guess they thought I’d pretty much lost it. The fin was only five feet away from me now and I got a closer look at my attacker.

I started laughing looking at their shocked faces. “It’s a dolphin!”

The vision relieved me and I smiled in spite of myself. I remember when I was about eleven or twelve, we were at a beach at Ana Marie Island and a bunch of us kids were playing in the water when some parents started to scream and holler at us to get out of the water. We ran out in a big hurry, sort of reminescent of the movie Jaws and I recall seeing about four or five fins jutting out of the gulf water. Almost on cue, the fins leapt into the air and there were dolphins out playing in the water. They have that way about them where they can be mistaken for sharks.

As quickly as the dolphin appeared, it disappeared again, swimming off. Hanging onto the prized green back pack, I swam towards the yellow raft, Lizz swimming ahead of me. When we reached the raft, I heaved the backpack into the boat and then helped to shove Lizz up into it with Brian and Kevin grabbing her by the arms, pulling her in.

Me getting into the raft wasn’t as easy and AJ started off on a stream of curse words as his side of the raft lifted up on his side. After three or four tries, I managed to drag myself over the edge and laid on the bottom of the boat once I was aboard.

“Nick can you take your meds without water?” Brian asked as he fumbled through the bag.

“It doesn’t matter, he’s going to have to,” Kevin stated in a stern voice.

I shot a dirty look over at Kevin.

“Nick, we really don’t have the time or the facilities right now to take care of your butt if you having a seizure, do we?”

“Okay, alright, I’ll take the damn thing without water, but if I choke, it’s your ass buddy,” I sputtered.

“Good idea,” Brian replied as he popped one of his water medications into his mouth. The irony struck me as being odd, him taking a “water pill” without water. Brian needed to take that pill every day for the rest of his life. Because of his heart condition, his body wasn’t able to get rid of fluids effectively and without taking the pills he would swell up and the risk of his lungs filling up with fluid was always hanging in the balance.

“Gimme mine,” I ordered as I held my open hand out towards Brian.

“Here you go,” Brian remarked cheerfully as he handed the backpack over towards me. I dragged my body over towards the edge of the boat and propped my back against the side. All was quiet for the time being, the only sounds were the water lapping against the sides the raft.

Breaking the “ice” Howie started calling out in a British accent, “Is anyone out there?..... Is anyone alive?”

Lizz playfully smacked Howie in the shoulder. “Watch Titanic much?”

~*~*~*~*~



Startled, I was awakened by AJ’s yelling.

“LAND GUYS! I SEE LAND!”

I narrowed my eyes towards the direction he was pointing. Sure enough, there was a spot of green roughly a mile away from us.

“Yeah! We’re saved!” Lizz and Brian cried out.

“I hope there’s a McDonald’s there, cause I’m starving,” was the only observation I could think of.

“You and your stomach Nick, honestly,” Kevin reprimanded.

Almost on cue, my stomach growled in reply. “Well, I am, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but I try not think about it,” AJ snapped.

I glared at AJ and mouthed his words back at him with the ugliest look I could put on my face. He raised his hand up to flip me off, momentarily forgetting about his injured shoulder and quickly howled in pain when the movement caught up to his brain.

“Ha ha.”

“You sonofabitch!” AJ growled.

“For christsake, would you two just knock it off for a day!?” Kevin and Howie said in unison.

As we drifted closer towards the island, I couldn’t help but notice that it didn’t look like there were any buildings or signs of life dotting the landscape. It looked like it was covered in a dense forest. The aquamarine colored water provided a nice backdrop to the sandy beach that outlined the island.

By the time we reached the island, it was growing dusky, night would be setting upon us soon. When we got close enough, Brian, Howie, Kevin and I jumped out of the raft and towed Lizz and AJ towards the shore. I could tell by Lizz’s reaction she wanted to jump out of the boat and kiss the sand.

“Guys, I have the weirdest feeling that this island is desserted,” I observed.

Howie made light of the predicament we were in as he started singing the theme song to Gilligan’s
Island.

“Howie! This is serious!” I reprimanded.

“Nick chill out, would ya? I’m sure they will be looking for us, I mean we crashed a plane out in the freakin ocean,” he replied with a stupid grin on his face.

“Nick, I think we should get some wood and build a fire,” Lizz quietly suggested, taking ahold of my arm.

I looked at the shoreline briefly, listening to the squawking gulls overhead.

“Nick?”

I blinked when I realized that she was waving her hand in front of my face, breaking me from my trance. “Oh, shit, yeah and I’m not going to have a seizure either so get that thought out of your head!”

“I didn’t,” Lizz sighed. “Come on, let’s go get that wood.”

“I’ll help you,” Brian happily offered and joined us as we walked into the woods.

~*~*~*~*~



It almost took my breath away. As green as
Oklahoma was, nothing compared to this. I’d even been to the Bahamas and Hawaii when I was younger, but this seemed to have more of an effect on me. Of course I was a lot older now so that would naturally help me to appreciate it more. The sand was the whitest I had ever seen and the water the most amazing color. Without any sort of transition, the sand suddenly turned into a dense forest. Some of the trees were tall and made a canopy over the smaller ones and everything else. The trees made it even darker, blocking what was left of the now red sun. The sky was clear and I could only imagine how the stars and moon would stand out.

“Lizz, slow down already!” Nick called out, a twinge of amusement showing through his voice.

“Sorry!” I called back, slowing my pace down. The forest was thick and yeah, a little intimidating, but my mind was more focused on the beauty of it. The potential danger didn’t even cross my mind.

“This sucks! Everything is still damp. We’ll never get a fire started with damp wood.” Nick grumbled.

“Maybe underneath what is on top will be dry?” Brian suggested, kicking at the fallen branches at the ground.

“It was a pretty viscous storm, but hey, at least it’s not cold or anything.” I remarked.

“Yeah, we are probably going to have a hard time finding much that is going to be dry.” Brian agreed.

“What kind of animals do you think live in here?” Nick asked, looking around.

“Not a clue, but I am sure we will find out eventually.” Brian followed Nick’s gaze.

“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” I called behind me in a song-song voice.

“Haha, Dorothy. Although, we aren’t in Kansas anymore.” Nick snickered.

“It was Oklahoma dear, not Kansas.” I teased.

“No, Dorothy was from Kansas.” Nick argued.

Brian started laughing. “Do you two ever give it a rest?”

“Nope.” Nick and I both said in unison. I turned around to give him a mock glare, although he wasn’t laughing anymore.

“Shhh...” He said softly. “Don’t move.”

Brian, only a few feet ahead of Nick, froze too. “What was that?”

Suddenly I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and I wished I hadn’t decided to walk ahead of Nick and Brian. There it was again, a rustling not very far in the distance. I threw a look back to them, fear building.

“Shit! It’s all around us!” Nick hissed, his eyes frantically darting around.

The rustling grew louder and I was felt like I was paralyzed. It was on all sides of us and my heart was pounding like one of those huge drums that weighed more than I do. Suddenly there was a whooshing noise and something flew in front of my face. I let out a scream and jerked back. More came and I whipped around when Brian let out a yelp. I gasped in horror when he grabbed at his arm. Sticking out of it looked like a tiny arrow. Without thinking twice he grabbed it and pulled it out, wincing sharply.

“Brian?!” Nick cried.

“It’s okay, it was small and I don’t think it went that deep.” Brian gasped.

Suddenly several silhouettes appeared from around the trees. My heart dropped as they all raised spears at us. They kept appearing and within seconds we were completely surrounded. My attention was torn away from them when I heard a gasp behind me.

“Oh god...” Brian suddenly moaned, dropping to his knees.

“BRIAN!” Nick yelled, vaulting forward to his best friend, catching him before he collapsed all the way.

“Dizzy...everything’s spinning...the arrow...” Brian gasped, already breaking out into a sweat.

“Poison.” I jumped at the voice that appeared behind me. I turned slowly to see a man standing before me, spear held to my heart. My eyes grew at his appearance. He was deeply tanned and had what looked like some sort of an animal skin around his waste. That was all he wore. What scared me the most was the feral look in his eyes. Well, that and the spear.

Brian let out a soft moan. Then Nick’s panicked voice, “Brian, no! Come on buddy! Stay with me, come on!”

I looked up at the man. “Please, you can’t let him die.” I whispered.

The native grunted and thrust the spear closer to me. Nick gasped and I could almost feel the panic grow.

“Poison. He dies.” He stared back at me, no emotion in his face.

“Please, I’ll do anything. You have to do something!” I was totally shaking now and I think the native seemed amused by me fear.

The other natives moved in closer, still holding their spears up at us. The man in front of me appeared to consider what I said. Then he turned and pointed to the closest man next to him.

Lako mai eke.” He barked in a sharp voice. The other guy immediately moved towards the one in front of me.

I risked a glance behind me. Nick and Brian were both on the ground, Nick’s arms protectively around Brian. I looked at Brian and my heart skipped a beat when I saw that his eyes were closed and his breathing labored. My eyes met Nick’s and he looked as scared as I felt. I jumped again at the angry tone in one of the men’s voices. The other one flicked his hand towards us and gestured deeper into the forest. Then they both grew quiet and turned to look at me. Then their gaze shifted to Brian and Nick.

Without warning the man that I guessed to be the leader, the one that I had begged for Brian’s life from, started to yell out to the other natives. Several of them moved to Nick and Brian. One of them leaned down to take Brian away from Nick.

“NO!” Nick hollered. Before he could resist further, two others grabbed him from behind. I started to run to them, but I was grabbed too.

“Wait! What are you doing?!” I cried, frantically. I struggled against the iron grip, but it was pointless. The man had my arms twisted behind my back and was shoving me forward. I whipped my head around to see two more pushing Nick in the same direction. Another was carrying the now unconscious Brian. Seeing that we had no choice and not wanting to anger them further, I stopped struggling. Nick must have had the same thought because he ceased his struggles too.

After walking for a good 20 minutes the sky was almost completely dark. The men had let Nick and I go, probably knowing we wouldn’t escape. Neither one of us would be going anywhere without Brian. Not to mention, they were the only ones that could help him. The natives were moving so fast and I had a hard time keeping up. I kept stumbling on raised roots and just about anything else. Nick had to grab me to keep me from falling more than once.

“Where are they taking us?” I finally asked Nick in a hushed voice.

“I don’t know, their village?” He suggested. “God, what if they won’t help Brian.”

“They have to.” I whispered back, my voice choking up. The pain in his drove a stake through my heart.

“What if it’s too late?” Nick sounded choked too.

I shook my head in the darkness. “We can’t think like that. We have to have faith. Brian’s strong, he isn’t going to give up.” I believed what I was saying with everything that was in me, but I was so scared. This was even worse than all that shit with Terri and Marcus. Now we were on some island, no one knew where we were, and totally helpless against these natives. There was just something about this situation that made it seem more threatening.

“Lizz, look!” Nick hissed, shaking me out of my thoughts.

The forest suddenly opened up into a clearing. Huge torches were stuck in the ground all around the clearing. My jaw dropped at the sheer size of it. It was almost like we were in a completely different world. I couldn’t even see to the other side of the where the forest began again. There were tons of small hut-type things scattered all around. More natives were strolling around, gazing at us with hard faces. My stomach clenched.

We were led to the left, toward an area that seemed to be more brightly lit than anywhere else. The man carrying Brian disappeared into one of the hut things.

“No! Where are you taking him?!” Nick cried, rushing towards the hut.

“Shut up!” One of the natives snarled at Nick, grabbing him roughly.

“Nick!” I cried, but before I could move, another pair of arms yanked mine behind my back. I was propelled forward. Torches lined a path up to a huge stone chair. Natives were gathered on both sides, watching with those cold eyes. Seated in the chair was a man dressed like everyone else except for an animal skin draped around his shoulders. He held some sort of lance in his hand.

I gazed at him in awe, power and intimidation seemed to flow from the man. I quickly surmised that he was the leader. He had a strong jaw and several scars marred his dark face. A stunning blow suddenly came down between my shoulder blade and I dropped to my knees, gasping. Almost immediately afterward Nick dropped next to me in the same fashion. I felt him wince next to me.

I started to look up, but a rough hand shoved my head back down again. I moaned softly, shit that hurt! I guess we weren’t supposed to look at him either.

“Do not anger the chief!” A voice hissed in my ear and I flinched involuntarily.

I looked at Nick out of the corner of my eye. Our eyes met and it gave me a little strength. I turned my attention back at the ground, not wanting to get hit again. Just when I was wondering what was going to happen next, the chief started to talk, his voice sending shivers down my spine.




~*~*~*~*~



AJ angrily tossed a seashell across the beach towards the direction where Nick, Lizz and Brian had headed, in search of wood for a fire.

“Really nice of them to just take off like that,” he sputtered angrily.

“AJ, calm down, they’re probably not having good luck finding wood, just chill dude, stressing out over this won’t make the wood come any faster,” Howie reasoned.

“Well, if Brian wasn’t with dumbass, I would seriously wonder about it,” AJ added.

Kevin shook his head as he looked over at AJ, resting against a palm tree, cradling his hurt shoulder. “Why don’t you just relax, take a nap and when they come you’ll be feeling a little better.”

AJ nodded, his eyes focused on the green backpack laying across from Howie. “Yeah, they shouldn’t be gone too much longer, they need to take their meds.”

“See, exactly, so just calm down and get some rest,” Howie reassured.

~*~*~*~*~*~



“We do not like preditors on our island!” The chief’s voice boomed. I flinched when he started to talk. But when he continued I was beginning to think that this was all a practical joke created by Brian or Howie. “The posion was meant for you and the girl, not the short one.”

I couldn’t stay on my knees like a sitting duck. I jumped to my feet only to be knocked back down with a sharp blow to my stomach. Trying not to cough, I failed as I tried to catch my breath, the blow knocking the wind out of my lungs.

“Nick!” Lizz yelped.

I cast a quick look over at her and hoped she read my mind when I was trying to convey that she needed to stay quiet.

“Why not him?” I managed between gasps for air.

“Our population is getting too closely bred and we need new breeders and he looked like something we would be interested in,” the chief boomed.

My head whipped upwards as did Lizz’s.

“Breeders?” we asked in unison.

“Yes.”

“Whoa, man, not Brian, he’s not the type,” I corrected. AJ’s face popped into my head and I quickly brushed the image away. “You’re crazy to think you could get someone to do something like that.”

“Then I shall take you both in exchange for that man’s life,” the chief replied with authoriety.

“You can take us to save Brian’s life but we’re no way in hell going to do something like that!” I managed a sideways glance at Lizz and I could see her face had grown pale. She was just as sickened as I was about the whole thing.

“You have decision to make, you either do as I ask or you will become slaves in exchange for his life, working from sunrise to sunset as our workers.” After the chief made his statement, he clapped his hands together, loudly. Four natives rushed towards our side and put a tight grip around my arms, forcing me to stand.

“What about Brian? He can’t die!” Lizz gasped.

“The light haired one will be taken care of, he will not be disposed. You must have your decision by sunrise. I will expect one option or the other. He can still be poisoned if we have to as well as you.” With a nod of his head, both Lizz and I were ushered off, past the hut where Brian was and then shoved into a small hut three places away.

I landed onto the packed dirt floor, hard, knocking the wind out of me.

Fun, twice in one day.

I looked over just as Lizz hit the ground, she cried out in pain and quickly rolled over and sat up, blowing on her skinned knee.

“Shit, we are in a world of shit,” I stated as I looked around the hut we were thrown into.

“You can say that again, what the hell are they thinking about breeding? Are we animals or something?” Lizz snapped.

I nodded absently.

“Okay Nick, what are you thinking about?”

“The green backpack and our meds.” As I answered Lizz, I heard her gasp. “Yeah, not a very good situation, is it?”

~*~*~*~*~



Lelani knelt quietly beside her charge in the medicine hut. Her mother was a skilled medicine woman and Lelani had learned all of her trades from her mother shortly before she died. She had practiced on removing the poison from animals many times and was successful, but working on a man proved to be a greater challenge for her. He was sweating profusely, softly moaning.

“You must drink this,” Lelani stated in a soft voice as she offered the man a drink made from banana tree bark. She placed the bowl next to his lips and slowly tipped the bowl towards him.

As Brian tasted the mixture, his face scrunched up from the foul tasting liquid. Some of it went down his throat causing him to start up in a coughing jag.

Once Lelani was satisfied that the man had drank the proper doseage she placed a cold compress on his forehead and quietly left the hut to gather more ingredients for the next step that she had been instructed to do on the man.

~*~*~*~*~

“Do you feel like we walked on the set of a bad movie?” I muttered to Nick. We were both sitting side by side against the wall of the hut.

“Ya think?” Nick managed a half smile for my benefit.

“Ya know, this is the kind of thing I would expect to find deep in the Amazon jungles or something.” I thought outloud.

Nick gave me a funny look. “Amazon jungles? Where you getting that?”

“Seriously, this kind of stuff exists. They have these native Incan tribes out there that most people never see. And the ones that do usually never make it back. Before this trip I looked up all kinds of stuff about Fiji on the internet. I’m glad you finally got a new laptop by the way and shocked it hasn’t been thrown across the room yet. Anyway, like ancient Fijians were really savage. They sacrificed people and were kinda violent and stuff. That was hundreds of years ago. Maybe these guys are descendants or something.”

“Probably, because normal Fijians are supposed to be really nice and hospitable. Unlike these freaks.” Nick rolled his eyes.

“Maybe they aren’t even Fijians. Who knows? Fiji’s main language is English, but they also speak Hindu and Fijian. I had a good friend that lived in India for awhile and she would tell me stuff in Hindu and what that native leader guy yelled out wasn’t Hindu. So maybe it was Fijian?” I continued.

“Lizz, you’re giving me a migraine. Where do you get all this crap?” Nick said wearily.

“Books.”

Nick snorted. “You and Kevin and your damned books. We are still up a shit creak with no paddle. The guys are probably worried sick about us and we need our meds. And the natives are going to come for us by sunrise for an answer.”

I sighed. “We don’t have a choice. We can’t let Brian die.”

“I know.” Nick bowed his head forward on his knees.

I rested my hand on his back. “What?”

“They’ll make us slaves. Maybe they will trade him for just me. Even though you got the lung transplant, you still have to be careful. Working from sunrise to sunset will make you sick.”

“And you don’t think you’ll have problems with that? Especially without your meds. I don’t think they will go for that anyway because he said the trade was for both of us. Besides,” I added quietly, “I am not leaving you.”

“So what do we do?” Nick lifted his head and looked at me.

I sat quietly for a moment. “Okay, I got it. We make the trade, Brian gets healed, and do what they say. Soon the rest of the guys will find us and rescue us. Then we get out of here and get rescued by search planes.”

Nick shook his head. “You got it all figured out, don’t ya? I don’t think it’s going to be that cut and dried.”

“Have faith Nick.” I smiled.

Again he shook his head, but concern filled his eyes now. “You’re acting sort of funny. Like you should be freaking out here and you aren’t.”

I shrugged. “I guess I must be in shock or something. It doesn’t feel real to me.”

“It’s real, Lizz.” Nick said somberly.

~*~*~*~*~

Lelani returned to the hut and back to her charge. The man was asleep now, but it wasn’t a restful sleep. He tossed and turned and moaned softly. Even sleep wasn’t an escape from the pain of the poison. Lelani rested a hand on his forehead. A frown appeared on her delicate features. She didn’t want this man to hurt and the fever was still strong.

Whispers were rippling through the village about these strangers. It was being said that her light-haired charge was desired for mating. The two others, a darker-haired taller man and a smaller blonde woman were with him. They objected to the chief’s decision and were left with the choice of taking the light-haired man’s place. Lelani secrectly hoped that the other two would not accept. Even though she was quite a few years younger than this man, she still hoped that she would get to be his mate. The other two were younger than this one, but still older than her. It was a possibility since her mother had been of the same blood as the chief.

Brian moaned again and blinked at the cool hand on his forehead. When his eyes focused he saw a young dark-skinned girl standing over him. “Where am I?” He whispered.

The girl’s face lit up. “I will heal you. Do not worry, you are safe. What is your name?”

“Brian.”

“Brian.” She repeated softly, liking the sound of it.

“My friends?”

Lelani dropped her smile. “I do not know. It is up to my uncle.”

Brian shut his eyes again, uneasy. He wasn’t sure what was going on and he was worried about Nick and Lizz. Not to mention he felt like crap.

~*~*~*~*~

“This isn’t right.” Howie observed.

“Yeah, the sun set hours ago and they haven’t come back. What if they are lost? What if something is wrong?” AJ added. He hadn’t moved from his spot against the palm tree. His arm had settled to a dull throb and his anxiousness over the missing three was making him even more irritable.

“They don’t even have a flashlight or anything. Maybe we should look for them. Kevin?” Howie glanced up at the eldest.

“I don’t know!” Kevin exclaimed, exasperated. He had been pacing back and forth for the past half hour it seemed. “If we go look for them, we could get just as lost. Dammit, why did I let them go off?!”

“Don’t blame yourself Kevin, it isn’t your fault.” Howie said reasonably.

“Sure, how the hell do they always manage to get into so much trouble?” Kevin grumbled.

AJ just sighed. Hadn’t he already said that?

Suddenly Kevin froze in his tracks. “Did you guys hear that?”

“What?” Howie and AJ asked at the same time.

“A noise.” Kevin said, his voice hushed.

He turned his head towards where the trees started. AJ and Howie followed his gaze, holding their breaths. Without warning something whooshed through the trees and flew overhead.

All three gasped and then AJ started laughing. “It was a bat! Holy shit are we paranoid or what? It was a damned bat!”

They all laughed nervously at their jumpiness. That is until a ring of light quickly surrounded them. Lights that eventually became torches. Torches that were held by people. People that didn’t look very friendly.

~*~*~*~*~

I didn’t know I had started to doze off until Nick shifted and I jolted awake. I was leaning against his shoulder, but now I sat up quick.

“What?”

“Listen.” Nick whispered.

I fell silent and strained to hear what he was talking about. Sure enough, in the distance there was a faint commotion. It was steadily growing louder and I jumped up. I started to peel back the heavy cloth that served as a door to the hut, but Nick pulled me back. He peeked his head through.

“Shit! Fuck!” He hissed. He turned around to face me. “Well, here comes our rescuers.”

I pushed around him and looked towards a bunch of moving torches. Sure enough, in the center of a group of natives was Howie, Kevin and AJ. Two of them were walking with Kevin, one had ahold of each arm. “Shit. What’s their deal with Kevin?”

“I don’t know. They probably have their eye on him too. Maybe they can tell he is related to Brian.” Nick suggested grimly.

The natives marched the guys right past our hut and over to the same place in front of the same stone throne where the chief sat before. I squinted in the darkness and recognized the chief as he approached his throne. Kevin started to yell and all three guys were pushed down to their knees like Nick and I were. Kevin kept yelling and one of them struck him, causing my stomach to wince with him. The arguing continued, but I couldn’t make out any words. Suddenly several heads shot in Nick and I’s direction.

“Oh, that can’t be good.” I muttered, backing away from the flap. Nick stood upright too and backed up with me. I started to get beside him, but he pushed me behind him again.

“Lizz stay behind me.” Nick ordered.

Normally I would have argued, but a wave of fear washed over me as I heard the angry voices grow closer. Suddenly it didn’t seem so fake anymore and I started to shake. That sole factor alone unnerved me even more. I never shook, ever. Unless of course it had to do with that bond Nick and I shared. I remembered talking about it with Brian one day and I sort of discovered that I never ever shook. I could be on the brink of total hysteria and I still didn’t shake. Except now, when it had to do with Nick, I shook. I had a death grip on the back of his shirt now, backing up and pulling him with me. Like that was going to do any good. Right, Lizz, keep dreaming.

The natives burst through, grabbing ahold of Nick and prying me away. I screamed and threw a fist out, panicking. It connected somewhere and one of them started yelling, probably swearing in Fijian. There was just enough light to barely see the fist coming and I tried to dart away. The blow landed just below my collar bone and I dropped like a fly. Rough hands picked me up and hauled me out of the tent. I heard Nick struggling against them too and we were dragged before the chief. Both of us were thrown to the ground, again. Did they enjoy that? I was almost beyond the pain from fear now as I stared up at the angry face of the chief.

“YOU DECIDE NOW!”

 

~*~*~*~*~



updated:
06/04/01
As I was being dragged towards the chief, my eyes scanned the surroundings quickly. The group of people that stood holding torches, were comprised of men, the women appeared to be resigned to a section of the meeting grounds, further back. I quickly decided that the men were held in higher esteem. I decided I would use this to my advantage.

“I WANT YOUR DECIDION! NOW!” The chief’s voice boomed.

“GO TO HELL,” AJ shouted. His reprimand was a swift blow to his stomach, causing him to collapse onto the onto the ground in a coughing fit.

“YOU SPEAK ONLY WHEN SPOKEN TO!”

“I’ve made my decision,” I hoped that my voice didn’t sound as shaky and unconvinced as I felt at the moment. I was sort of afraid to meet the chief’s gaze but I was guessing at this point I really had nothing more to lose. “It’s a deal I want to make with you, but I would prefer to talk to you in private.”

“Nick!.... don’t!” Lizz warned quietly.

Two men grabbed me by the arms and I was ushered over towards the chief’s quarters. I could hear the rumbling of the crowd as they were trying to decide what I was going to do. I managed a glance back towards my four friends, kneeling before the stone altar. Kevin threw me a wary look and I quickly looked away for fear I would lose my nerve to do what was necessary.

Once inside the chief’s quarters, I was again forced to kneel onto the straw mat that covered the packed dirt floor. One of the men pushed my head forward so that I wouldn’t be able to make any eye contact with their head leader. I swallowed nervously when I heard the rustling of the seed necklaces that the chief wore around his neck.

“Your decision?”

The calmness in his voice took me by surprise, I was prepared to hear the shouting. I decided to sound submissive, thinking that this would be the way to get him to agree with just about anything I wanted to propose. I quickly licked my lips. “Permission to look up?”

“DENIED.”

Shit, that was all I needed to hear. I wanted to make eye contact to get my point through to him. I decided to plunge into my proposal. “I want to save my friends and I want to make a deal with you. I am willing to be not only a breeder for your group, I’m willing to become a slave if this will ensure their lives.”

It was too quiet for me. I was beginning to worry if this man would be impossible to reach. Suddenly, he spoke some words that were complete jibberish to me, but the quick movements of the men that escorted me into the chief’s quarters led me to believe otherwise. Before a verbal answer was given, I got a physical answer when shackles were clamped onto my wrists and then my ankles.

“I accept you offer but your friends will remain kept here until I have seen your williness to be an acceptable slave or breeder,” the chief stated in an unusually quiet voice.

The details about me backing out on the breeding thing would happen when the time came, I had that part of the deal figured out. My primary worry was over Brian at the moment.

“Before you lead me away, can I see my friend that was shot with the poison arrow?”

“That request is usually denied, but I don’t see any harm in it. Take him to the hut to take a look at his friend and then to the worker stables.”

The chains clanked nosily as the men helped me up to my feet. There wasn’t any way I was going to make eye contact with my friends at this point knowing full well that they wouldn’t agree to the arrangements I had just made. We made our way out of the chief’s hut towards where Brian was being held. I kept my eyes focused in front of me but I know I distinctly heard AJ mutter ‘what the fuck’ as I was led by them and Lizz’s cries asking what I had done to deserve that type of punishment.

The hut that I was led into was very different from the chief’s hut. This one had lit candles lining two shelves, incense burning and a small bed covered in dark blue down-filled blankets. Although the bed was small, Brian’s body looked dwarfed by the down blankets. His face was glistening in sweat, a soft moan escaped his lips breaking the deafening silence in the hut.

As I reached a hand up to gesture my desire to go over towards Brian, the chains clanked loudly and Brian’s eyes quickly opened. His eyes shifted back and forth until they finally focused and rested on my face.

“Nick?”

updated: 6-11-01

Brian blinked, sure that he was hallucinating. “Nick?” He asked again.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Nick said softly, a lump forming in his throat. Brian still didn’t look very good, but Nick had to trust that the natives would keep their word and pull Brian through this. “How are ya feeling buddy?”

Brian managed a small smile for Nick’s benefit. “I’ve been better. What’s going on?”

Nick hesitated. He knew full well that Brian wouldn’t like the decision that he made, but he wanted to be the one to tell him, not some native.

Brian immediately picked up on Nick’s hesitation. “Nick, what did you do??”

Nick sighed. “I, uh...” He stopped and took a deep breath. “I traded myself for everyone else. I’m going to be their breeder or slave in exchange for your lives.”

Brian opened his eyes wider and tried to sit up. “Nick you didn’t!”

Nick gently pushed Brian back down onto the blanket. “There was no other choice. Don’t worry, I’m working on figuring something out.”

Lelani watched as the two men talked quietly, their words no longer audible. She was absolutely seething at the new change in plan. She wanted so bad to be the one that would get to mate with Brian. And now this other man had ruined it! The more she thought about it, the more her blood boiled. She would have to make him pay for taking her Brian away. Lelani thought furiously for ideas. This “Nick” obviously didn’t care that much about himself since he just sacrificed himself. Causing him physical pain wouldn’t be the most effective, although satisfying. His weakness appeared to be his friends. He cared too much and was willing to destroy his life over them. Something that could easily be exploited. Lelani noticed immediately that he was very close to her Brian. Of course she would never hurt her Brian just to get top Nick. Then her eyes lit up as she remembered the young woman that was with Nick. He was quite protective over her. In fact, this other girl was supposed to have been part of the deal and somehow Nick had managed to save her. Lelani smiled. This was a weakness of his that could be exploited much more easily than causing harm to her Brian.

Nick jumped when a young girl appeared out of the shadows of the tent. She gave him a hard look before turning to the natives that were accompanying Nick. She said something to them in a rather harsh tone. Nick observed, with mild shock, that they immediately obeyed her words. She must hold an important role in the tribe. Before Nick could resist, they grabbed him and started to pull him out of the tent.

“NO! Wait, I wasn’t ready yet!” He struggled against them. Brian also voiced his protests from inside the tent.

The girl stepped out of the tent and stopped in front of Nick, glaring at him coldly. Nick stopped his struggles and looked at her expectantly.

“Know your place slave. You will pay for your decision.” She told him, her voice low.

Her words chilled Nick even though he didn’t what she meant. Although, he figured he would find out soon enough. The men that were restraining him began to drag him away and just before they rounded a corner, he saw her head towards the chief and where the rest of his friends were. It gave him a sinking feeling in his stomach. Not even ten seconds later he heard Lizz scream for him, followed by more yelling. He tried to turn around, but the natives increased their grip, forcing Nick further away.

~*~*~*~*~

I quieted somewhat when I realized that they were taking Nick to see Brian. But my fears were renewed when the chief returned from his quarters and regally sat down on his throne. There was no noise at all among the people around us, even the guys were silent now. I kept my head down, but tried to watch him at the same time. He didn’t speak, only shifted his gaze from us to the tent where Brian and Nick were. Only a moment later several natives emerged with a struggling Nick. A girl that looked to be maybe 17 or so, stepped out of the tent. She said something to Nick and then the natives started to drag him off. She started her way over towards us, looking a cross between angry and smug. A streak of panic jolted through me and I jumped up.

“WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM?!” I screamed. Without any warning, I broke out into a run towards where he was taken. I made it about 10 feet before I was grabbed from behind. Panic-fueled adrenaline was pushing me now and I lashed back at the man, kicking him fiercely in the groin. He immediately let go with a howl and I kept running. I was certain they were taking Nick away to kill him. Just the thought of it took my breath away and I tried to push the panic down. I had to get to him. Another arm grabbed at me and I jerked back when a force yanked against my shirt. Before I could struggle, something was slammed into me and I crashed hard into the ground. My head connected painfully and stars spread in front of my face. A man had completely flattened me to the ground, making it hard to catch my breath. A flickering shadow from the torches loomed over me and I craned my head up. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that it was the chief. He looked pissed.

“THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!” He boomed. The native that had me pinned jumped up, not wanting to be near the angry chief. I curled up in a ball, still gasping.

“Where did you take Nick?” I whispered, my voice shaking.

“He traded his life for you and your friends. He is a slave now.” The chief started, glaring down at me. I heard the gasps of the rest of the guys behind me. I wanted to cry. Partly from relief that they didn’t kill him, but also despair.

“Although, things have changed now. We have found another specimen that has captured our interest.” He pointed and I turned my head in the direction of his finger.

I gasped and Kevin looked alarmed. I whipped my head back around to the chief, wincing at how the action made it throb even more. “You can’t! Let me take his place then!” I yelled, thinking fast.

The chief laughed, a loud mocking laugh. Then his face turned hard. “Unfortunately you are not in the position to bargain. You have angered me and your actions have determined your fate.”

I felt the color drain from my face. That girl was standing several feet behind him, a smug smile on her face. What the hell was going on here??

The chief shook his head. “You should have just let the dark-haired one spare you. Now, your life is mine!” He clapped his hands like he had before and two men picked me up. I didn’t struggle this time, too shocked at what had just happened. The guys’ protests in the background barely registered and I felt the world slipping away.

~*~*~*~*~

Lelani smiled as she watched the young woman get dragged away. Things couldn’t have gone more perfectly. The girl had dug her own grave already by angering the chief as bad as she had done. The chief was not one to forget his anger quickly, much to the disadvantage for that blonde little fighter. Lelani was almost impressed that anyone would act so boldly in the chief’s presence, but decided it was just recklessness. A recklessness that would get her killed. Lelani smiled wider when she thought of how her Brian’s friend, Nick, would react. He had tried to save his friends, tried to save his little fighter. And failed.

~*~*~*~*~

“Get off of me!” I yelled as I struggled against the native that pushed my body against the wall of the dark cave.

“You like trouble, you get trouble,” the man spat as he shoved me in the back, causing me to literally fly head first into the cave. I quickly turned myself around and watched in despair as the men placed some type of crude bars across the front and rolled a large boulder in front of it.

The bantering and the laughter of the two men as they left me in the damp cave served only as a fuel for the anger I was feeling about the situation we all were in. When I stood up and looked around the dark cave, I rubbed my arms as the dampness crept in. Searching the cave walls, I was half expecting to see tracings of buffaloes being followed by stick figures with spears. The only thing I saw was were jagged edges of the cave covered in a light, dewy mist.

I trained my ear towards the distinct sound of dripping water. I was surprised to see what looked like a tunnel in the darkest corner of the cave.

As I walked over to inspect the tunnel, I was torn away by the commotion that was going on outside the barred entrance. My heart lept into my throat as I saw Kevin being roughly escorted by three muscular men.

After hitting the ground hard, Kevin started coughing as he gasped for air. I glared at the men when I knelt down beside my older brother. “Kev, are you alright?”

It took him a few moments to get his bearings and he finally managed a slight nod. He looked around the cave, the bewilderment mixed with anger showing in his eyes.

“How come you’re in here, I made arrangements with---”

“Well your plan didn’t go like you wanted to Nick,” Kevin interrupted.

“What happened?”

“They told us about the slave deal, but I guess you weren’t enough to suit their needs and their chief wanted me thrown in as part of the package.”

“That’s not what I specified ----”

“Ask for a fricken refund then Nick. We’re dealing with natives on some damned island in god knows where, I think they have their own rules.”

I narrowed my eyes at Kevin. “I heard Lizz screaming, what did they do to her?”

Kevin sighed. “She kinda lost it when she saw you being dragged out of Brian’s hut and tried to run after you. She got stopped and stopped hard. The chief got pissed at the way she was carrying on and Lizz tried to take my place when he picked me as another one of his slaves. He said that her life belonged to him now.”

I stared at Kevin, stunned. All my laid out plans were coming unraveled. This wasn’t suppose to happen. I was to be their slave and the rest of them were supposed to be taken someplace like a quarentined area or something. I tried to protect my friends and I wound up making a bigger mess.

*~*~*~*~*~



Howie, AJ and Lizz were led to a secluded area that had a large hut with two natives that were keeping guard of them. Howie and Lizz sat on the straw mat, and rested their backs against the wall as they watched AJ pacing the floor.

“Okay, I can see where Nick would have done that sacrifice thing to save Brian’s ass, but for the life of me I don’t understand why the hell they would pick Kevin for another breeder. KEVIN? They shouldof taken me. God, I just don’t understand this whole set up,” AJ rasped as he paced.

“I guess they just don’t view the package and appreciate it like your fans do,” Howie teasingly suggested.

“I know, they aren’t very smart people, that’s for sure,” AJ replied, not taking Howie’s comment as a joke but rather the truth.

Lizz and Howie cast sideways glances at each other.

“AJ, I think we should worry about more important things at hand here,” Lizz suggested.

AJ stopped and turned to look down at Lizz. “Such as?”

“Such as helping Brian, Nick and Kevin you moron,” Howie snapped.

“Oh yeah, shit,” AJ replied.

“Shit is right,” Lizz added in agreement.

Just as AJ sat down to discuss plans, one of the natives appeared in the entryway of the hut. He pointed a finger at Lizz.

“You.... you come with me, medicine woman needs you,” the dark haired man commanded.

Lizz obediently stood up and walked with the man that had a firm grip on her arm. AJ tried to follow her but was stopped short when another man stepped between AJ and the exit.

As they neared the hut where Nick had been led from earlier, Lizz’s heart skipped a beat. She knew immediately that this was the hut where Brian was. The only thing that was slowing her down was the native’s grip on her arm. She wanted to run into the hut and wrap her arms protectively around Brian.

The man stopped outside of the drape that covered the entrance to the hut. The man spoke the language quickly and waited until the girl inside the hut replied before he drew the drape back and pulled at her arm to indicate his desire for her to go inside.

Lizz could feel her heart beating in her throat as she slowly entered the hut. Her eyes immediately focused on Brian. Fear tugged at her heart when she looked at him. His pale face was drenched in sweat, his lips were tinged light blue. His body was wracked with a coughing fit when she entered the room.

“Oh my god, he’s dying! You’re supposed to save him! What have you done!?” Lizz cried out as she ran towards Brian.

“I’m doing all that I can,” Lelani snapped.

“He has a heart condition, he needs meds, you’re killing him! His body is going to drown in it’s own fluids.”

At first the look on the girl’s face was one of authority, but once Lizz’s words flew out of her mouth her look took on a different expression. updated:
6-15-01

The young native girl’s expression went from anger and defiance to one of shock and distraught. I’m sure I had to have read that last one wrong. Distraught?!

“I- I don’t know how to fix that...” The girl stammered.

“He needs his medicine. It’s in a green backpack, probably still laying wherever you people kidnapped the other guys from. If he doesn’t get those meds soon, he is going to die.” I spoke quickly and harshly. I turned back to Brian. His eyes were shut now and breathing labored.

“Then you better go find it.” The girl ordered.

I glanced towards the flap of the hut. “What?! I don’t have a freakin clue where the hell we are or what direction our raft washed up! Not to mention it’s dark. You need to send some of your native friends that knows this jungle. Brian doesn’t have time for me to get lost going in circles out there.” I yelled, pointing a finger at her. I was so angry and so scared for Brian. I don’t think he even looked this bad back when Terri and her whacked up family kidnapped us.

The girl glared back at me before turning around and going out the flap doors. I heard quiet words being exchanged, but of course I had no idea what they meant. I focused my attention back to Brian.

“Hang on, hun. We’re getting your meds so you can’t give up okay?” I rested a hand on his forehead, almost gasping at the heat that radiated from his skin. There was a bowl with what looked like water sitting on a small shelf. Next to it was a piece of cloth. I folded it like a washcloth, dipped it in the water, and laid it over his forehead. I slipped my other hand through one of his and squeezed it gently. “God, I wish Nick were here.” I said softly.

“Well he’s not and you aren’t going to stay either.” The girl reappeared back in the hut.

I whipped around. “I can’t leave him! He needs to know that someone is here with him!”

“I’m not going to be going anywhere.” The girl stated flatly.

I snorted. “Somehow I don’t think your presence is going to bring him any comfort.”

She bristled. “How dare you speak to me in that manner. You have yet to learn your place Fighter. You no longer are allowed to speak so freely. You have angered and defied the chief, why he has let you live, I do not understand. But mark my words, Fighter, the chief owns you now.”

I swallowed. “And what exactly does that mean?”

The girl laughed. “You will find out. Maybe you will learn to wish that he would have just killed you. You and your dark-haired friend, Nick, right? He tried to take Brian’s place? His plan failed didn’t it? The tall one is a slave now and you...” She broke off into a laugh.

“Why do I get the feeling that you had something to do with what’s happened to me?” I narrowed my eyes at the younger girl. The angry look that had flashed in her eyes when she mentioned Nick’s name caught my attention. Why would she be so angry towards Nick especially?

The girl stopped laughing, a dangerous glint appearing in her eyes. “Watch your mouth Fighter. You will be leaving now.”

I tightened my hold on Brian’s hand. “I need to stay with him.”

The girl shook her head disapprovingly. “You need a lesson on what your place is and how you are to talk. Triaz!” She called towards the entrance of the hut. One of the natives appeared a moment later.

Lelani?” He nodded, respectfully.

Lelani spoke to him in their native tongue and gestured to me. The native started towards me, smiling. Another followed directly behind him.

I shrank back, suddenly afraid.

“Lizz?”

I looked down to see Brian awake and looking at me. I could tell he was disoriented, but read the fear in my eyes, plain as day. “It’s going to be ok, Bri. They’re finding your meds and you are going to be fine. Hang on for us okay? Do it for Nick, he’s counting on you.” I tried to keep my voice as calm as I could as to not upset him, but it wasn’t doing a whole lot of good.

“Wh-what’s...going on? Where-?” He was cut off by another fit of coughing. I tried to go to him, but the native pulled me away. Lelani stepped between Brian and I.

“You will learn.” She said smugly. Then she looked at both natives and spoke in English. “After you are done, take her to see her friend and the tall one. Palo knows where they are being kept. Then they will learn too.”

“Wait!” Brian called out, the weakness in his voice making me wince.

“It’s going to be okay. You just worry about getting better.” I called out, frustrated at how my voice betrayed me. It was shaking. The native shook me and barked something in his language. I understood it to mean “shut up” so I did just that, my stomach clenching up for whatever they had in store for me.

***

 

 

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