“WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM?!” I screamed. Without any warning, I broke out into a run towards where he was taken. I made it about 10 feet before I was grabbed from behind. Panic-fueled adrenaline was pushing me now and I lashed back at the man, kicking him fiercely in the groin. He immediately let go with a howl and I kept running. I was certain they were taking Nick away to kill him. Just the thought of it took my breath away and I tried to push the panic down. I had to get to him. Another arm grabbed at me and I jerked back when a force yanked against my shirt. Before I could struggle, something was slammed into me and I crashed hard into the ground. My head connected painfully and stars spread in front of my face. A man had completely flattened me to the ground, making it hard to catch my breath. A flickering shadow from the torches loomed over me and I craned my head up. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that it was the chief. He looked pissed.
“THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!” He boomed. The native that had me pinned jumped up, not wanting to be near the angry chief. I curled up in a ball, still gasping.
“Where did you take Nick?” I whispered, my voice shaking.
“He traded his life for you and your friends. He is a slave now.” The chief started, glaring down at me. I heard the gasps of the rest of the guys behind me. I wanted to cry. Partly from relief that they didn’t kill him, but also despair.
“Although, things have changed now. We have found another specimen that has captured our interest.” He pointed and I turned my head in the direction of his finger.
I gasped and Kevin looked alarmed. I whipped my head back around to the chief, wincing at how the action made it throb even more. “You can’t! Let me take his place then!” I yelled, thinking fast.
The chief laughed, a loud mocking laugh. Then his face turned hard. “Unfortunately you are not in the position to bargain. You have angered me and your actions have determined your fate.”
I felt the color drain from my face. That girl was standing several feet behind him, a smug smile on her face. What the hell was going on here??
The chief shook his head. “You should have just let the dark-haired one spare you. Now, your life is mine!” He clapped his hands like he had before and two men picked me up. I didn’t struggle this time, too shocked at what had just happened. The guys’ protests in the background barely registered and I felt the world slipping away.
Lelani smiled as she watched the young woman get dragged away. Things couldn’t have gone more perfectly. The girl had dug her own grave already by angering the chief as bad as she had done. The chief was not one to forget his anger quickly, much to the disadvantage for that blonde little fighter. Lelani was almost impressed that anyone would act so boldly in the chief’s presence, but decided it was just recklessness. A recklessness that would get her killed. Lelani smiled wider when she thought of how her Brian’s friend, Nick, would react. He had tried to save his friends, tried to save his little fighter. And failed.
“You like trouble, you get trouble,” the man spat as he shoved me in the back, causing me to literally fly head first into the cave. I quickly turned myself around and watched in despair as the men placed some type of crude bars across the front and rolled a large boulder in front of it.
The bantering and the laughter of the two men as they left me in the damp cave served only as a fuel for the anger I was feeling about the situation we all were in. When I stood up and looked around the dark cave, I rubbed my arms as the dampness crept in. Searching the cave walls, I was half expecting to see tracings of buffaloes being followed by stick figures with spears. The only thing I saw was were jagged edges of the cave covered in a light, dewy mist.
I trained my ear towards the distinct sound of dripping water. I was surprised to see what looked like a tunnel in the darkest corner of the cave.
As I walked over to inspect the tunnel, I was torn away by the commotion that was going on outside the barred entrance. My heart lept into my throat as I saw Kevin being roughly escorted by three muscular men.
After hitting the ground hard, Kevin started coughing as he gasped for air. I glared at the men when I knelt down beside my older brother. “Kev, are you alright?”
It took him a few moments to get his bearings and he finally managed a slight nod. He looked around the cave, the bewilderment mixed with anger showing in his eyes.
“How come you’re in here, I made arrangements with---”
“Well your plan didn’t go like you wanted to Nick,” Kevin interrupted.
“What happened?”
“They told us about the slave deal, but I guess you weren’t enough to suit their needs and their chief wanted me thrown in as part of the package.”
“That’s not what I specified ----”
“Ask for a fricken refund then Nick. We’re dealing with natives on some damned island in god knows where, I think they have their own rules.”
I narrowed my eyes at Kevin. “I heard Lizz screaming, what did they do to her?”
Kevin sighed. “She kinda lost it when she saw you being dragged out of Brian’s hut and tried to run after you. She got stopped and stopped hard. The chief got pissed at the way she was carrying on and Lizz tried to take my place when he picked me as another one of his slaves. He said that her life belonged to him now.”
I stared at Kevin, stunned. All my laid out plans were coming unraveled. This wasn’t suppose to happen. I was to be their slave and the rest of them were supposed to be taken someplace like a quarentined area or something. I tried to protect my friends and I wound up making a bigger mess.
Howie, AJ and Lizz were led to a secluded area that had a large hut with two natives that were keeping guard of them. Howie and Lizz sat on the straw mat, and rested their backs against the wall as they watched AJ pacing the floor.
“Okay, I can see where Nick would have done that sacrifice thing to save Brian’s ass, but for the life of me I don’t understand why the hell they would pick Kevin for another breeder. KEVIN? They shouldof taken me. God, I just don’t understand this whole set up,” AJ rasped as he paced.
“I guess they just don’t view the package and appreciate it like your fans do,” Howie teasingly suggested.
“I know, they aren’t very smart people, that’s for sure,” AJ replied, not taking Howie’s comment as a joke but rather the truth.
Lizz and Howie cast sideways glances at each other.
“AJ, I think we should worry about more important things at hand here,” Lizz suggested.
AJ stopped and turned to look down at Lizz. “Such as?”
“Such as helping Brian, Nick and Kevin you moron,” Howie snapped.
“Oh yeah, shit,” AJ replied.
“Shit is right,” Lizz added in agreement.
Just as AJ sat down to discuss plans, one of the natives appeared in the entryway of the hut. He pointed a finger at Lizz.
“You.... you come with me, medicine woman needs you,” the dark haired man commanded.
Lizz obediently stood up and walked with the man that had a firm grip on her arm. AJ tried to follow her but was stopped short when another man stepped between AJ and the exit.
As they neared the hut where Nick had been led from earlier, Lizz’s heart skipped a beat. She knew immediately that this was the hut where Brian was. The only thing that was slowing her down was the native’s grip on her arm. She wanted to run into the hut and wrap her arms protectively around Brian.
The man stopped outside of the drape that covered the entrance to the hut. The man spoke the language quickly and waited until the girl inside the hut replied before he drew the drape back and pulled at her arm to indicate his desire for her to go inside.
Lizz could feel her heart beating in her throat as she slowly entered the hut. Her eyes immediately focused on Brian. Fear tugged at her heart when she looked at him. His pale face was drenched in sweat, his lips were tinged light blue. His body was wracked with a coughing fit when she entered the room.
“Oh my god, he’s dying! You’re supposed to save him! What have you done!?” Lizz cried out as she ran towards Brian.
“I’m doing all that I can,” Lelani snapped.
“He has a heart condition, he needs meds, you’re killing him! His body is going to drown in it’s own fluids.”
At first the look on the girl’s face was one of authority, but once Lizz’s words flew out of her mouth her look took on a different expression.
