As much as Kam didn't want to admit it, he had become Tau.
He had taken lives and justified despicable actions under the guise of self-preservation, he held a man captive, and now he had literally used the same excuse to get him out of being killed. He had convinced a tribe to spare his life and escort him to a mysterious city that may or may not exist. But as long as the women believed him, it would buy him some time before he could escape, which is exactly what Tau had done.
The rain began to subside, but it left the air thick and muggy, making it difficult to breathe. The group headed further north with Kam as their prisoner. He knew they would eventually discover he was lying about the city. Once that happened, they would surely kill him, most likely in a horrible manner. He was mere days away from meeting that demise. He figured if he had any chance of survival, he needed to establish a bond with them. Trudging along with his hands and feet bound, Kam tried to make conversation.
"So where do you all come from?" Kam asked.
"Russia."
"What has the last year been like for you?"
"We survive."
"Same. It's crazy what happened, huh? We're really all in this together. If we want to have some semblance of a normal society, then we need to find a way to all get along, you know? Be less hostile toward each other and learn to trust—"
"No more talking," the leader said, cutting Kam off.
As they set up camp on their first night, Kam was commanded to help out. He went around and gathered small sticks that could be used to start a fire. Observing the women, he noticed they functioned like a well-oiled machine. There was no jockeying for leadership, no aggression, and no plans to conquer. They each knew their role and were much more communal than what he was used to. Before each meal, they would sit in a circle around a camp fire and hold hands, bowing their heads in silence.
Kam was off to the side being a passive observer into this all-women tribe.
Later that night, just as Kam was nodding off, he felt a hand cup his mouth. Startled, he shot up and was seconds away from waking the others. In the dull glow of the fading flame, he saw a face. He couldn't quite make out who it was, but could at least tell that it was a female. His initial thought was Ukari or Asia had come to rescue him.
Kam was grateful and couldn't wait to get as far away from these women as possible. The woman carefully untied the ropes on his hands and feet, ensuring not to make a sound. Once the ropes were loose, Kam was free. He rubbed his wrists together and then stood up. That's when he caught a full view of the person who was rescuing him. It wasn't Ukari or Asia at all. To his surprise, it was one of the tribeswomen.
He looked around and saw everyone was sound asleep. The crackling fire and random jungle sounds provided enough cover for the two to slip away undetected. Although the women did not harm him, he was still their prisoner, so he was happy to have escaped.
Guided by the flame from a small torch, they disappeared into the forest, away from the others. When they got far enough away, Kam thanked the girl for setting him free.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Tessa."
"Thank you, Tessa. I really appreciate you helping me escape. Honestly, I'm not sure I could—"
Before he could finish, Tessa cut him off. "I'm not helping you escape."
"You're not?" Kam said with a look of confusion. "Then what are we—"
Kam stood dumbfounded as Tessa removed her shirt and exposed her breasts.
"What are you doing?"
"A woman has needs, you know?" she said with a seductive grin.
"Hey listen, I'm really flattered, but we can't be doing this out here. I have a girlfriend and I want to remain faithful to her."
"This doesn't need to be anything emotional," the woman said, now unbuttoning her pants. "It's purely physical. You wouldn't believe how worked up I am surrounded by a bunch of women for the past year. Then as fate would have it, a gorgeous man such as yourself stumbles across our path. I knew from the moment I saw you I couldn't wait to get you alone."
"Hold on," Kam said, motioning to her to stop undressing. "You are a very attractive woman and under a different circumstance, I would be totally down. But I made a commitment to someone else and I have to honour that."
"There's no one around, but us. It can be our little secret."
"Or you could just let me go."
"What would be the fun in that?"
"What's to say I don't just run?" Kam asked.
"It's pitch black and you have nothing. I'm not at all concerned that you will run away. Plus. I assure you, you won't make it very far. But, in case you were thinking about running, I will call the girls. We will hunt you down and kill you on the spot."
"You're pure evil."
"So what's it going to be?"
"I don't believe this is happening," Kam said, stalling for time and contemplating what he should do. "This is like one of those #metoo situations."
"We're living in a different time and in a different place. And right now, for you specifically, women have all the power. Now take off your pants, I don't want to be out here all night."
"Fine, let's get this over with," Kam said begrudgingly.
Kam stripped off his clothes, exposing himself to Tessa. As she came forward, he said, "Wait, wait, wait." He then pulled up his pants.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I, uh... I changed my mind. Yeah, I can't do this," he said.
"Suit yourself, but you've made a big mistake. When I tell the girls, you're a dead man," Tessa said in a huff.
"There's just one problem with that," Kam said.
"Oh yeah, what's that?"
"Look," Kam said, pointing over her shoulder.
Just as Tessa turned around, a fist emerged from the shadows and smashed into her face, knocking her unconscious.
"Whoa, what a punch!" Kam exclaimed in an excited whisper, delighted to see a familiar face.
"I hope we weren't interrupting anything," Asia said.
"Not at all. You just saved me from making a terrible mistake. This women was forcing me to have sex with her against my will."
"Who rapes a man?" Asia said.
"Ever been to prison? Happens every day."
"Oh boo hoo, cry me a river, Timberlake," Asia said. "Now come on, let's get out of here."
Kam and Asia got as far away from the all-female tribe before eventually stopping.
"I have so many questions," Kam said.
"I was afraid you were going to say that," Asia said.
"First, are you by yourself? Where is everyone?"
"That was two questions."
"I'm not by myself, I'm with you. As for where is everyone, I'm not sure, you'd have to ask them."
"Why do you always have a snarky answer for everything I say?"
"Because, I'm snarky."
Kam let out a deep breath. "I appreciate you rescuing me in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, but I have to know, and please give me a straight answer, how on Earth did you find me?"
"I followed your scent. Seriously, dude, I can smell you from miles away."
"Are you not going to answer any of my questions?"
"Okay, look... I'm not who you think I am."
"So you're not an annoying 14-year-old Asian girl who mysteriously shows up in the middle of the night out of nowhere... twice?"
"Okay, I guess I'm exactly who you think I am... but there's more to me that you don't know. I'm from a city, some would call it a secret city."
"You're messing with me," Kam insisted, unsure whether he could trust what she was saying.
"I know it's on-brand for me to mess with you, but in this case, I'm telling you the truth."
"Wait, what are you saying?" Kam said, trying to wrap his head around what he was hearing.
"I know intelligence is not your strong suit, but try to keep up," Asia said. "I – am – from – the – secret – city – that – YOU – are – looking – for. Do – YOU – under – stand?"
"I have a million questions."
"You only get one, make it count."
"What? Why only one?"
"Because it's late and you're annoying me."
"You can't just drop something like that on me and expect me to not have questions."
"You get one question," Asia repeated.
"Can you take me there?"
"Yes."
"Wait, one more... what's the name of the city?"
"It's called 'Goodnight'. It's right next to 'I'm going to sleep', in the province of 'You still stink.'"
Kam persisted and wouldn't allow Asia to brush him off so easily.
"Asia, I have more questions, and I'm not going to sleep until I have answers."
"Fine. I didn't want to have to show you this, but I think you should see it."
"See what?" Kam asked, intrigued.
"See this?" Asia said, taking out a small device with a glowing blue stone.
"The rock?" Kam exclaimed. "Where did you get that?"
She waved it around and Kam's eyes naturally followed the light. "This will keep us safe. This will protect us. This will guide the way. This will..."
Asia's voice trailed off as Kam entered into a hypnotic trance and slipped out of consciousness.