Angsty moans were released by both mouths as the boys waded through the cool seawater. It had only been a few hours since they had fist come and already they gravely missed their urban home. Alex's fuse was already automatically singed when he couldn't produce an outlet for his laptop while Jason, who had a short fuse to begin with, had quite the blowout upon discovering that there was no cable TV. Needless to say, the two certainly weren't enjoying their stay.
The beach seemed pleasant enough to them, although not nice enough to rid them of their electricity withdrawal. They were city boys at heart. Although there persona was very separate, their dress was not. Both were currently sporting their preferred hurly tee and cargo shorts. Their shoes, both pairs DCs®, were left on the shore.
Alex watched the fish swim through the water, marveling at the exotic colors and shapes he had seen only in pet stores. But before he could really appreciate the island's beauty, Jason called him over with a look on his face that made Alex tremble.
They knew that they weren't supposed to be here. There was a sign that proclaimed the closed beach, so what Jason had found made no sense to either of them.
It was a single footprint, closer to the shore. It was small enough to be a child's, and beautifully shaped. This may have signaled another illegal visitor if there had been more than one, but the only footprint there besides their own was the single one. It was closer to the shore and underneath an overgrown tree with vines hanging from it as most of the trees had.
They speculated many options, all of which seemed completely unlikely.
They were also completely unaware of others that were speculating them.
Akane was the first to notice the two boys. The girls were traveling through the treetops in their normal manner, climbing the branches and swinging from vine to vine until Akane, who was in front, stopped suddenly. This caused the two girls to slam into her back as a domino effect, until they all fell onto a lower branch. Unwinded, Akane scampered up the tree to the top, gesturing the two others to follow her. Obediently, they both joined her at the top and looked to where her small hand pointed. It was two boys, brothers or cousins of a sort, wearing strange clothes and staring at something on the ground.
Artemis was rigid, her silver eyes full of hate. She silently gestured for them to leave, but Akane shook her head.
“I want to know what they’re wearing! And what’s on that guy’s head? Is it a turtle?”
Artemis shook her head and stayed unmoving, her concrete muscles coiled and ready to spring.
Colleen was slightly interested, but only vaguely so, like examining a bug on the ground before you smashed it with your foot.
Akane watched them steadily, fascination that mimicked a child’s very closely.
In the tribe, all of their clothes were made from animal skin or plant fibers. Artemis wore a hardened leather chest piece and matching leggings, while Akane was dressed in deer fur. The only headgear they wore was helmets for hunting, battle, and training, with flowers or feathers for special occasions. The modern clothes fascinated Akane to the point where she decided that the hat on the skinny boy’s head was hers.
Quickly, with agility none but the best could have matched, she threw a small stone that knocked the boy’s hat off his head, causing him to look up in fear and shock. Akane’s gold eyes met the one green eye revealed by his hair, but then he was pushed away by the shorter, more muscular boy.
They were then gone, crashing through the woods like wounded boars. Their lack of stealth surprised and disgusted Colleen, who snorted.
Akane scampered down the tree and snatched up the hat and examined it closely, and Artemis ran behind her.
“Drop it, Akane. Leave it be.”
“But I want to keep it!” Akane whined, holding it close.
“It’s from one of them, Akane. You don’t need it.” Artemis’s voice was gentle, yet underneath the smooth voice ran a cord of steel.
“But Artemis…” Akane whined.
“No, Akane. Drop it.”
“Fine,” Akane dropped it on the beach, her face screwed up in anger.
“Let’s go,” Artemis said, slipping into the woods with Colleen.
But when no one was looking, Akane came back and slipped the flat brimmed hat into her knapsack.
YOU ARE READING
The Champions of Alma
Action"Alma now had two new villagers." Thus begins Alex and Jason's own personal hell. Alex and Jason are not too proud of their getting stuck on a brand new vacation island that they didn’t even wish to visit in the first place, but they are even more d...
