Chapter 2:
I feel my face tingling as my eyes slowly crack open. Maybe I was drugged, or maybe my brain still doesn't have enough oxygen in it. I always feel like this after taking allergy medication; sleepy and tingly.
The first thing I notice is the fire in front of my face. It's on a spit, and I flinch back violently, pulling a muscle in my neck in the process.
It's too soon to see fire. Especially after the night our camp was destroyed. Much too soon.
What hurts me isn't physically moving of course, it's the ropes that bind me in place. Those gave me a bit of whiplash as I lurched around.
I turn to the side, and notice Alex next to me, tied to a separate tree. He doesn't have any bruising, and seems more frustrated than anything.
When I spot a tall man, towering over Inali, I realise we were abducted by the Natives. It's embarrassing, I definitely should've realised sooner. Who else would there to be to abduct us now that Dominique is gone?
The man says something indistinguishable to Inali, who then turns to me and Alex.
"Listen, it's out of my hands." Inali shrugs, a frown tugged across his face.
I really don't like being unconscious. Jumping in on the middle of conversations makes no sense.
"We don't have her." Alex says. "We only have Lily."
Inali speaks to the man next to him, who barks something back. His tongue lashes out, like a whip.
Lily like the tiger?
"Where would she be Al?" Inali pleads. He continues on speaking in a language I don't understand. I forgot that Alex can speak their language.
"We've got rogues." I tell them. "They could've kidnapped her. Dominique and them, and they are all dead now, so we have no idea where she could be."
"We already went over that." Alex jumps in, shaking his head.
Of course they did. Don't mind me, only trying to be helpful.
"Listen, we just want Walela back." Inali says. "Your people can't keep taking ours."
Walela is the Native girl. Does he seriously think we kidnapped her?
"The boys don't take people." I jump in. "I mean, at least not from you. To be fair, I was kidnapped as well."
Alex shakes his head at me frowning. "Can someone please knock her unconscious? Or let me loose so I can."
I notice all the other people who surround us.
Inali moves closer, until he looks Alex down. "Listen, none of us want to do this. A deal is a deal. A girl for a girl."
His voice is hush, and I realise he's only saying it in English so his people can't understand him.
I really don't like not knowing what is going on. I am so confused at the moment. Never before have I wanted to know what is happening as much as I do right now.
"Alex, what's going on?" I demand, turning to him.
"Questions," he spits, his voice low, "really?"
I roll my eyes, before looking back to Inali.
He says something to the man before me, who repeats it louder for everyone. A woman comes up to me, cutting me loose, as her and another woman grab me roughly, yanking me forward. My hands are still tied behind my back, but at least now I could run if I really needed to.
The shove me to the ground in front of the tall man, who barks something. I notice a man come over with a long spear.
They are going to kill me.
I turn to Alex, whose eyes burn back into me. At least now he looks mildly inconvenienced.
Inali backs up into a teepee, that's practically destroyed. The fabric is shredded, and dyed a fluorescent blue.
They lower the spear up against my neck, and I watch as the man lifts it up into the air.
His hands fly down, and I roll out of the way. The spear embeds itself deep into the earth.
"Wait!" I shout, standing up. "Who did that?"
The man grabs me by my hair, tugging me up into his face. He yells at me before shoving me against the ground.
"Who broke into your teepee?" I demand. "Is that your med tent?"
He doesn't answer, as shouting erupts around me. He lowers the spear again and when I roll out of the way, the spear goes further into the ground. I move back to it, slicing the rope away with my hands.
He shouts at me again, as more people move in grabbing hold of me.
"Was it Lost Boys?" I ask. "Is that where Walela lives?"
When they don't answer I look to Inali, who stares back in shock.
"That blue stuff, what is it?" I demand. "What does it do? Is it poison? I know where it grows."
They bring me down to my knees again, and this time, someone holds my head into the dirt as another person holds my back. The taste of the soil fills my mouth, as I try to make room for me to breathe and shout to Inali.
"I know where Walela is!" I shout out.
The rough grunt of the tall man is let out, as he moves the spear down.
I flinch.
I hear shouting above me when the spear fails to lodge itself into my neck.
When the hands loosen, I feel myself ripped up off of the ground. Inali looks at me, as two woman hold my arms fully behind my back.
"Where is she?" Inali asks.
"Listen, you're a reasonable guy," I begin.
He crosses his arms. "That doesn't answer my question."
I purse my lips together. "First I need some information. That blue stuff, what is it?"
He barks something out in his language, and the woman let me go. The tall man steps in, and begins to shout at Inali. Inali's voice is calm as he answers, and though he is much smaller than the other man he keeps a level head.
The tall man, begrudgingly, turns his back, stalking away.
"He'll let me take you to Walela." Inali offers.
"Tell him I don't go without Alex." I say, turning my head back to the boy.
Alex rolls his eyes. "Just leave. Don't need you to help me. I'd rather have Devin."
That stings, but I roll my eyes back. "Whatever, I'll be back for you later."
Inali steps forward, before waiting for me to follow after him. I turn to look at the people behind me, who all glare as they let me go off with Inali.
"Your people trust you enough to walk with me on your own?" I ask. "Aren't they worried I could take you?"
He shrugs. "They trust my judgement. Besides, with Alex as leverage they don't think you'll fight. Girls are sentimental."
I cross my arms. "That's not a fair statement."
"Where are we headed?" He asks.
"Towards the old campsite." I tell him.
He sighs. "That's hours away. Maybe ten, walking."
"A stream then?" I say. "We've got to follow it to the end."
"The stream?" He asks back. "That's only five hours."
I'm going to lose my mind from all this walking.
We twist around trees, and the sun begins to peek up into the sky. This is going to take forever. Literally forever. I'm losing my mind.
"Anyway," I begin, cutting through the silence. "That turquoise stuff, what is it?"
"Turquoise?" He asks.
"Yeah, it's like blue and green." I tell him.
He nods.
I guess even in a hundred years you can never learn everything in another language. His English is fantastic. Even if he doesn't know the word turquoise.
"I don't know the word for it in your language." He tells me. "We don't get it since it's on your half of the island. It's a plant that with make you disappear. Not literally though. Pan can't see you when you've had it. Through his magic, I mean."
"Dissap." That's how the conspirators have been evading Pan. They've been stealing this from the Natives, and using it.
"Yeah," he tells me. "Once you eat it, suddenly Pan can't see you anymore."
"Why don't you use it all the time?" I ask.
He shrugs. "It grows on a plant called Ketlish Weed. Very dangerous."
That can't be a coincidence. That's impossible. Ketlish Weed is the plant that caused the illness. We're we being poisoned by the conspirators? How could they do that? I can understand them killing us; I've killed people. What I don't understand is how they could slowly drain our lives away.
Then again, Dominique burned away our fresh. Set us on fire, destroyed our home. Maybe the illness was humane?
"Where would she go to hide?" I stop dead in my tracks.
Why would I have thought she'd be in the bushes? And if she is, that's a waste of my time. If her body is there, but her life is not, than what's the point in finding her? Inali will let me escape, that much I'm sure, but I can't vouch for Alex.
"If she were hiding, she'd have come back by now," Inali says.
I shrug. "Maybe she couldn't."
Inali furrows his brow, before taking off running. He's much faster than I am, and much more nimble as well. I only trip once, but he glides through the forest without a problem. Darting around trees, across rocks, over roots.
At least I don't fall to the ground. I'd never catch up to him with one slip up. If Alex died, Harry would never forgive me. He only has Robert and Alex left, and I plan on letting him keep them.
Inali stops, breathing out, before pushing at a rock. Neither of us our strong, but when I catch up to him, I help push it out of the way of the hill of dirt.
As the rock moves, a dirty Walela jumps out with a knife in hand. She loosens her grip on the knife, until it tumbles down, clanging on the rock below.
"Inali." She breathes.
"Walela."
They fall into each other's arms, holding on as if for dear life.
He has tears falling down his face as he speaks to her in their language, his arms shaking. She speaks back to him, breath heavy, as he brushes hair out of her face. He continues to speak, and I feel like an intruder.
When they kiss I turn around. It feels weird to stare at them while they are in a moment, when I have absolutely no idea what's going on.
Inali's hand is on my shoulder and I turn around.
"Thank you." He smiles.
"What happened?" I ask Walela.
She looks at me puzzled. "I caught one of your boys stealing, and when there wasn't enough of what he wanted, he demanded I take him there. Didn't believe me when I arrived. Said it was a field of Ketlish Weed, but I told him it grows the Jaguri-"
"Dissap?" I ask.
She rolls her eyes. "You people and your silly names."
Silly? It makes you disappear, so dissap would be short for that. Jaguri just sounds like nonsense.
"Why didn't you go back?" I ask.
"He told me he'd burn the village down, and then knocked me unconscious." She tells me. "I woke up later in the ashes of our home."
'My home." I correct.
She rolls her eyes. "I figured that out now, thanks."
I return the eye roll, and she smiles, before shoving me back playfully. "I see you've cut the act. It's much better being who you are openly."
Right. None of them have ever seen me as a girl before.
"Everyone's weird about it." I say.
She shrugs. "You'll get used to it. Especially if there are more girls to come."
I gave Walela too much crap before. Being on an island full of boys is awful, and we need to stick together. Even if there are woman in her village, they're adults. As far as I can tell, she's the only girl.
"We should go back." Inali tells me.
"Are you going to let Alex go?" I ask.
He shrugs. "Not unless they get my mother back."
"Lily is your mother?" Of course she is. Of course his mother is the tiger. Why wouldn't she be? Nothing makes sense, everything is magic, and I am always confused.
"Just, talk to Pan." He smiles. "I'm sure we can work something out."
He turns away with Walela, and the two walk back to their camp.
I have no idea how to get back to my camp from here. Absolutely none.
"Pan." I call out.
He appears in front of me, holding on to Alex.
I step back, and he reaches for my hand before I protest.
~~~~~~~~~~
I always update early. Whoops.
Did anyone catch the plot hole? (Don't worry, it's not a plot hole, it's just a yet to be revealed plot). Have faith.
So what exactly do you think happened? Let me know in the comments.
For now, keep on smiling, and I'll see you Thursday.