The Native and the White Man (boyxboy)

(10) Captured

Kabandha fell off from Jack, blood pouring out of his chest and mouth. Jack looked to who had shot the native and saw Tommy. Parijat gasped in shock. He did not want Kabandha to die, not even wish it. He just wanted him to not kill Jack and calm down a bit. Kabandha was still one of his people, one of his tribe. Meanwhile back at the tribe, Naomi was telling some of the warriors to go get Kabandha and Parijat since they heard the gun shot. They followed the tracks Kabandha and Parijat left, Sachiv following them as well. Parijat grew angry and guilty. He did not meant for this to happen and was angry that the other white man had intervened when clearly he shouldn't have. Tommy thought he was helping Jack by shooting the native, but it seemed like he only made it worse.

Parijat's eyes glassed over as he fought the urge to cry. He grabbed Kabandha's knife and stood up to charge at Tommy, but Jack stood just in time and held Parijat back as he yelled out angrily, “How could you?! You killed him!” Parijat was stressed enough as it is, Jack knew. He didn't mean for the angry native to die as well, and he was angry that Tommy had to come in and shoot the native, making everything even worse than it is. But then Jack knew the gun shot could be heard from a long way and if the native from Parijat's tribe had been able to follow Parijat, then others would be able to find them as well. He could let them take Tommy.

“Tommy! Go now!”, Jack yelled, keeping Parijat from attacking Tommy even though he knew he'd soon be captured by Parijat's tribe. Tommy hesitated for a while, looking wearily at Parijat. “Tommy, leave!”, Jack said more sternly and angrily. Tommy, begrudgingly, left and ran back to base. He too knew that Jack would be captured by the natives.

As soon as Tommy left, Parijat then felt more at ease a bit. He was still shaken up at Kabandha's death, and that's when he remembered. He turned to Jack with worried brown eyes, opening his mouth to say something, but they had been more faster than his mouth. Warriors from Parijat's tribe came along with Naomi who gasped, looking down at Kabandha who was dead and stained the ground red. The warriors looked at the white man and snarled, thinking it was his doing - thought his gun wasn't present. Two went to manhandle Jack, forcing his hands between his back as another pushed Parijat away as he tried to make them release Jack. “No!”, he cried as Naomi kept Parijat's distance from Jack before they pushed him back to the tribe, his hands binded with thick rope.

Naomi was keeping Parijat from getting near Jack as they shoved him forwards. Naomi wanted to settle her best friend, wanted to calm him down. She couldn't understand why Parijat was reacting so... dramatically to the white man's capture. “Parijat, calm down! They are taking that white man back to the tribe!”, she said.

“They can't! They can't take him back! Father will kill him!”, Parijat exclaimed, tears running down his face.

“Parijat, they killed Kabandha! It's your fault he died also, you know! I told Kabandha to follow you!”

Parijat turned to Naomi with disbelief crossing his eyes. But he knew Naomi did not know about their relationship. But, still, it caused a hurricane in his heart. “How could you?!”, he yelled.

“He was a white man! He also killed Kabandha!”

“Kabandha tried to kill him first! Jack never meant to kill him! He didn't have his gun!”

“Tell that to your father! He won't believe you either way! Why were you having relations with a white man anyways?”

“I love him!”, Parijat exclaimed. Parijat could struggle no more, his body was shaking in tears and was tired to the bone. He wished things wouldn't have gone like this, he didn't even know whose fault was it to begin with. Was Naomi's fault for telling Kabandha to follow him? Was it Kabandha's fault to attack Jack irrationally out of jealousy? Or was it the younger white man's fault who had shot Kabandha, killing him? Parijat didn't know. What he did know was that his father wouldn't spare his life.

Meanwhile, Tommy was running like a mad man back towards camp. He killed the savage and that made Jack's lover angry, and that caused Jack to get captured by the rest of the savages. Tommy kept blaming himself for just running away and let Jack get captured rather than staying and shooting the rest of those savages. But it was Jack who had told him to run so he wouldn't get captured, he thought. But, regardless, he should tell Governor Richards. “He's been captured!”, he yelled as he entered the base. “Jack has been captured!”

Governor Richards took this opportunity. He raised a flaming torch and exclaimed, “You see! These savages are to be eliminated! They already captured one of our best men! I bet they are also keeping the gold! They are savages! Put your backs into it, men! This is war!”