Chapter 14: Rescue

I woke up when the daylight started coming through the windows. I'm not sure how, but sometime during the night the center 'driver's' seat got laid back. It wasn't all the way back like our 'beds', but it was far enough to rest an arm on. My arm was resting on it and so was Karen's. What surprised me though was that she was holding my hand. I started to pull my hand away when she woke up.

"Good morning Andy. Thanks for letting me hold your hand. I slept better."

"Uh. Good morning Karen. Yeah, sure. Anytime. Um, let's get dressed get something in our stomachs. Then we'll see if we can find Etala and Taabo"

"Good morning to you two, too. Did you forget about me?"

"I'm sorry Mallie, I did. I'm just not used to someone being around that I can't see."

"Same for me, Mallie. You're not what we're used to."

"You make me sound like a ghost, Andy. But I forgive both of you. So, what's the plan?"

"The first thing we need to do is take care of nature and get something to eat. Then we'll figure out how to find our friends."

"I'm glad you said 'friends'. I think Taabo is a pretty nice guy. Besides, Etala didn't seem to want to chop him up, so he can't be too bad."

I figured we could have a small fire for cooking. I set up a fire ring and got started on ham and eggs. We talked while we ate.

"Mallie, can you tell where we are in relation to their camp?"

"Judging from your signal and the range to their smoke, I would say you're about a mile or so from them. I can't give you exact distance, but that's close enough. I wouldn't suggest getting too close with the vehicles, unless you plan on using them when you get there. Etala and Taabo should be within 100 yards of the camp if they did what they talked about. It didn't sound like it was set in stone when they left. In any case, make sure you have your armor on and weapons handy. The natives aren't all like Etala or Taabo. Probably more like the other brothers."

We decided to ride just a bit further before continuing on foot. I figured the hunters wouldn't be heading this direction since we hadn't seen any animals on our trip here. We stopped about a half mile later and armed ourselves. We secured the vehicles and started the walk towards the camp. I thought we were doing a good job being quiet. I couldn't hear Karen at all. I must not have been as good. I found out the natives are quiet too, as a hand closed over my mouth.

"Andy! You've returned! I did not expect to see you!" Etala whispered excitedly. "Are you trying to alert the camp that we are here? You make as much noise as a la-aru!"

I didn't know what a la-aru was, but I figured it had to be noisy.

Etala quickly dropped to a fighting stance as Karen approached 'escorting' Taabo.

"Etala No! She is an old friend. She is called Karen. She does not want to hurt us. Karen, I see you found Taabo. This is Etala." Etala relaxed somewhat. I looked Taabo over. "I think you can let him go." When he was free, She relaxed completely.

"It is good to meet you properly, Andy. Your friend is very quiet. And fast. I did not know she was present until her blade was at my throat. Where did you learn to move like that?"

"I'm not sure. I just do it."

"If I could move so, I would be the best hunter in the tribe instead of..." he drifted off.

"We know you have come to retrieve your mates and the mates of your brothers. We..."

Taabo spat on the ground. "My brothers were Eng-da droppings. I am glad they are gone. I could not leave their mates for Goraabo to use. Now that you are here, you can claim them as yours. I would ... Etala has said..."

"What did Etala say? What are you trying to say?"

He stood to his full height. "I find that we share the belief that women should not be mistreated or abused. This camp, under Goraabo, has become a place of pain. Women who have lost mates are treated as slaves. Unmated women and those who are not yet women are taken and used for pleasure by many men here. I have seen those that are not yet men taken by Goraabo and my brothers as well. Many have died while in their furs. I know it is not for the woman to say such things, but Etala says you would take us into your camp." both women snickered. "So I ask you. May I bring my mate and join your camp?"

I studied him closely. He showed no sign of deceit. I thought back to his behavior while he was our 'prisoner' and could not remember him being aggressive. Saabo had talked of what the two would do, but Taabo had never, as far as I could recall, spoken for himself. I decided to take a chance.

"Taabo, I would welcome you and yours to our camp. But I warn you, if you are deceiving me, your fate will be worse than what all of your brothers suffered."

"I understand. How shall we proceed from here? We had planned to wait until darkness to sneak in and rescue our families. Do you have a better idea?"

"I don't yet, but I do not think sneaking them out will be a good plan. You would have to get to your mates quietly, then keep them quiet as you prepared to leave, then sneak out silently as well. There is too much opportunity for someone to make noise and alert the camp. Maybe the easiest way would be for me to go in and demand all the mates as my own. Etala..."

"You would take my mate from me?"

"Taabo, listen. I would not be taking your mate. Etala would tell them that I killed all of you and, in accordance with custom, have come for what is now mine. If they are smart, they will allow me to gather them all together and depart, at which time your mate would find you alive and waiting for her. If they are not smart, then I will have to call the thunder just as I did when you attacked my camp."

"I recall the thunder and the pain. I would not wish to feel it again. There will be many who follow Goraabo who would fight you, even Goraabo himself. He does not like to give up what he has taken. And he chooses which rules he will follow while demanding that you follow all of them. It will not be easy."

"Who will lead when Goraabo is dead?"

"If you do not claim leadership, a new leader will be chosen, probably by combat."

"And if I appoint the new leader? Would there be problems accepting him?"

"There would be problems with Goraabo's followers if you do not select one of them, maybe even if you do."

"Is there one in the camp that all would follow?"

"Except for Goraabo's men, all would follow one called Anton. He is a wise and fair man. He is said to be the oldest in the camp. Some even say as many as six double hands. I do not believe he is that old. No more than three double hands."

A sixty-year old native that only looks in his late 20's? I had to meet him.

"I will make sure Goraabo's men do not cause problems. Once he and his men are gone, I will put Anton in place as leader."

"Anton may not like that. He has refused leadership many times when he was asked."

"I will meet with him before I make him leader.

We decided that it should just be Etala and myself that entered the camp. Karen would pick anyone off from out here if needed. Etala had brought the skin of the gempo, the big cat I had killed, hoping to show how great a warrior Taabo was. That could have backfired very badly if someone challenged him. Now it would be used to prove MY skill. I carried the M-14 on my back and used the KSG as my 'walking stick'.

As we approached, the women ran further into camp and men came towards us. Etala said the man wearing a necklace of what looked like a tiger's teeth was Goraabo. I held my hand out in greeting.

"Goraabo, I am here to collect what is mine. Naabo, Jaabo, Saabo and Taabo attacked me and I killed them. In accordance with custom, I come to claim their mates and property. I have already claimed this woman, Etala whom they were after."

"I am Goraabo, and I do not believe you killed my sons. They are all good hunters and have never lost in battle. How did you kill four skilled hunters? You do not even carry a spear!"

"I did not need a spear. I captured the woman and when they came after and tried to take her, I called the thunder and they died."

"It is as he says, Goraabo. He is a powerful shaman. He used the thunder to kill this gempo as well!"

There was a collective gasp as she unrolled the skin. There was no doubt to what had previously worn it.

"If they are dead, then where are their bodies? You bring nothing of them to show!"

Etala was ready for that. She reached into her pouch and pulled something out. "But we have brought something. Something that once belonged to Naabo!" She threw Naabo's most prized possession on the ground at his father's feet.

Goraabo turned red with anger "You have removed his 'chuka'! You will die for this!"

"Where I come from, we call it a cock. And he didn't need it anymore."

He screamed with rage and charged. I brought the KSG up and pulled the trigger. The thunder came and Goraabo flew backwards. His chest had pretty much disappeared. He was definitely dead.

"Are there any others who refuse to give me what is mine?"

Two of the men that had been with Goraabo started forward. Thunder came from behind me. One man grew a third eye and fell. The other stabbed me with his spear and drew back in fear when it didn't penetrate. I didn't get the shotgun fully up before I fired again. He screamed as he fell, his groin destroyed by the 00 buckshot.

"Anybody else?" I saw several men leaving the camp in a hurry. "Bring me what is mine! If these fools had mates, I claim them as well!"

People ran to find my new mates. One man looked at me and shook his head. He walked towards me. When I started to raise the shotgun, he spoke.

"You can put that away, Andy. I've been waiting for you for a long time. My name's Anthony. These folks call me Anton but my friends called me Tony. You're going to make me the chief, aren't you?"

Well knock me over with a feather!

"Wha ... how ... when..."

"Just take it easy. Let's sit down and I'll tell you all about Anthony Bell." He led me over to a log by the main fire pit.

"As you may have guessed, I'm not from here either. I know I look like they do. That's because I wasn't a 'biological' transfer. In November of 2015, I was 23 I had just gotten off work and was heading home when a riot broke out. There was a bunch of looting and shooting. I got caught by a stray 9mm and was in a coma for 3 months. When I came to, I was completely paralyzed. Other than my head, nothing worked anymore. I had to have someone watching me 24/7. After 2 months I decided I couldn't live like that. I wanted to end it all. It hurt watching my family having to care for me, even wiping my ... but I couldn't do anything. Conversation on my part consisted of blinking. I couldn't take it anymore. I screamed in my mind to let me die and Laarusk showed up. He offered me a full life here if I wanted it. He gave me a choice of being 'repaired' and sent as myself, or to be placed into the body of a native. You can see my choice. It was weird waking up in this body. The original owner had fallen into the river and drowned. When I was brought back to his camp and recovered, his people were happy. Unfortunately, I didn't remember anything they wanted to talk about. I didn't even remember my 'sister'. She was HOT! I wanted to ... anyway. I decided to make a new life as Anton and left that camp. I wandered around for a few months, got laid a few times, and ended up here. These are a great bunch and I decided to stay. That was almost 45 years ago. I've seen leaders come and go and turned down the position more than once. Most have actually been decent guys. Then Goraabo showed up and everything changed. Suddenly women were 'things' to be used and discarded. Whoever he wanted, he took. It didn't matter if it was male, female or child. He's been terrorizing this camp for over a year. We tried to force him out, but his followers made it difficult. You managed to take him and his sons out, as well as two of his top aides, but there are at least 15 others that will cause trouble. When Laarusk sent me, he said I could live as I wanted, with two exceptions. The first one was, when you appointed me as leader, I had to accept and do the job to the best of my ability. The second thing was the strange one. He said 'tell Andy everything will be fine'. He wouldn't say anything else about it."