Chapter 6

“No ... no...” Sister Nancy clutched at her habit and felt the weight of the object she had secreted there earlier.

“Sister, no!” That was Mary.

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow.

Sister Nancy cocked and leveled the flare gun at George’s back. Then she pulled the trigger.

Jason had turned for one last look back at Allie and Mary, who were possibly pregnant with his children, when he saw Sister Nancy raise the gun. He hurled himself sidelong into George. As he and the tribal leader fell to the ground he felt the heat of the flare on his back...

As the two boys landed hard on the jungle floor, Jason reached back to where he had felt the flare, but there was nothing ... it had missed him!

Then the screaming began. Abe had been leading the way back to the boys’ camp and had been right in front of George. The projectile hit him square in the back and knocked him forward to the ground. Then the phosphorus began to burn in earnest as the boy struggled and contorted to reach back and remove the white hot chemical star that had embedded itself into his flesh.

His compatriots rushed forward to help but it was already too late. Abe’s struggles and cries weakened, and then, finally, he stopped moving. The smell of burned flesh filled the clearing as the flare petered out.

“Protect me!” Sister Nancy hissed as she turned and ran back to the girls’ camp with Rodney’s arm in her iron grip. Allie and Mary leveled their spear and knife, respectively, at the other tribe as they backed away.

George was shaking, holding Abe’s head in his hands as his tribemate took a last shuddering breath. Nobody spoke.

Finally, George jumped up and grabbed Abe’s fallen spear. “She’s gunna fuckin’ pay!” He started toward the girls’ camp but Joan stepped to block him.

“You attack now and you might hurt Allie and Mary,” she said calmly. “They might be pregnant, George.”

George thought for a moment, huffing. After another moment he dropped the spear, stepped to the side, and cupped his hands to yell, “Allie! Mary! Don’t you pertect that murderer! Give ‘er to us and nobody else gits hurt!”

He waited. No answer.

“Fuck...” George stomped back to Abe’s body and looked down at it. Then he paced back to the path leading back to the girls’ camp. Still nothing. “Fuck!”

Joan reached forward to comfort the boy. “I’m sorry, George. Now’s not the time for revenge.”

George felt her strong hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and focused on that sensation, slowing his breathing. Within a few seconds he actually felt a little calmer, more focused. He looked over at Jason and Dylan, who were both crying and holding their partners, Makayla and Tina. Brad was sitting next to Abe’s body, crying as well.

“Yer right,” George sighed. “Everyone, pick Abe up. We a’gonna take him home.”

Rodney was shoved into the cage and the door closed and locked behind him. “Hey, I gotta pee!” he yelled, but the door remained closed. Finally, after a while he peed in the corner.

He fell asleep, crying and thinking about what had happened to Abe, wondering what would happen to himself.

The sun was setting by the time the boys’ tribe returned home. George realized that they weren’t “the boys’ tribe” anymore, now that there were half as many girls as boys. More than half as many, he also realized, now that Rodney was exiled and Abe was...

He sighed. They were the main tribe now.

Though they were exhausted and losing the light, George insisted that they take Abe’s body into the trees for burial. They covered him with loose earth, stones, and palm fronds before saying their teary goodbyes. Then they went back to camp to sleep.

Joan was given Rodney’s hut and Makayla joined Jason in his, though there wasn’t much room so they had to snuggle. Even with their warm bodies close to each other, they did not make love that night. Nor did Tina and Dylan.

Rodney woke as the cage door was opened. Morning sunlight spilled through the gap and Mary stepped in. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of his urine.

“Couldn’t even hold your pee, huh? Get up; Sister Nancy wants to speak with you.”

In the morning, George took a walk in the trees with Joan and they ended up at Abe’s gravesite. Joan waited ... it seemed like the boy wanted to talk about something.

Then he spoke up, “Joan, ah think ah done good with my boys, but ah don’ know much ‘bout gals.”

Joan nodded. Sister Nancy had made sure the entire tribe knew about George’s leanings, ranting about his sinful nature whenever the boy came up as the subject of conversation. She waited.

He sighed. “Ah’d like you to be the go-to gal for ‘em, handlin’ any problems. Ah don’ feel they’d accept mah authoritah anyway, y’know?”

She prickled. “You mean you want me to be the enforcer, just like with Sister Nancy?”

He looked up at her. “Naw ... I mean be their leader, under me. However ya want ... I’ll follow yer lead with ‘em.”

“Oh.”

“And ... shit, this is hard ... I was willin’ to kill Allie and Mary if it meant gettin’ revenge on Sister Nancy fer Abe.” He looked down at the grave. “That was wrong, and you were willin’ to stand up fer whut was right.”