Keira and Zach seemed to have been entirely accepted by the whole tribe after Zach taught them how to make fire. Some of them even looked at him as if he was some kind of G.o.d.
Everyone looked so happy except for one person. It was the young man who they a.s.sumed to be the son of the tribal chief. He now looked like he was in a quarrel with his father and left after giving Zach and Keira a sharp look. "That man is a total jerk," Keira said with disdain as she recalled how rough he was with Mara a while ago.
She could feel that the son of the tribal chief was up to something. Her instincts were telling her that he could not be trusted by the way he looks and moves, especially when it was evident that he regarded them with contempt.
The leader insisted that they eat with them, so they could not leave early. Zach also thought that it was not a good idea to refuse their invitation because it might cause a misunderstanding.
The tribe prepared roasted wild pigs and mountain goats for Zach and Keira. There were also various kinds of tropical fruits in front of the couple. The tribesmen and women seemed to be honoring the fire as they were singing and dancing around it.
It was a sight to see. On the one hand, Keira thought it was artistic and beautiful, but on the other hand, she felt awkward as she watched the bouncing b.r.e.a.s.t.s of the women and the jiggling manhood of the men. She was trying hard to control her giggle.
"I can see you are enjoying the show," Zach teased with a grin. Keira hit his shoulder and replied, "Huh!? Aren"t you the one enjoying it?"
Zach chuckled as he said, "Nah, I only enjoy watching my wife"s perfect body. The s.e.xiest among them all… The most gorgeous breas…"
"Stop!" Keira giggled and put her index finger on Zach"s lips as her face reddened under the light of the big fire in front of them.
Zach and Keira enjoyed the meal the tribe had cooked for them. However, despite how well they had been treating them, for some inexplicable reason, Keira still could not help but feel uneasy.
"We should leave," Zach said in a worried tone, and Keira agreed.
Zach stood up and approached the tribal chief to talk to him once more about them leaving. He tried his best to convey his message with gestures and body movements.
While Zach was talking to the tribal chief, Mara came to sit beside Keira. She looked around anxiously before she s.h.i.+fted her gaze back at Keira while she pointed her finger to herself, then to Keira, then to Zach, and made a gesture of waving her hands away.
Mara"s eyes were glossy as though she was fighting back the tears, while she was holding Keira"s hands, looking like she was pleading.
Keira was trying her best to understand her, and if her deduction was right, Mara wanted to leave with them. Mara was doing a lot of movements, but she would always look around first as if she was trying to hide what she was gesturing from a particular person. But Keira didn"t really understand everything Mara was trying to tell her, except that she looked like she wanted to leave with them.
Zach came back and said, "I don"t know if he understands me, but he nodded his head, so let"s just leave now…"
Keira stood up and held Zach"s hand. The people were busy rejoicing, so they didn"t really notice them leaving. Keira smiled at Mara one last time, as she gestured, "It"s nice meeting you, Mara. We"ll go now. Goodbye."
Keira waved her hands at Mara, and Mara copied her as she bit her lip as if she wanted to say something more, but then she just sighed and showed them where to go.
They walked ahead after Mara gave them one of the torches that Zach made to light their way in the forest. Mara was walking behind them. They a.s.sumed she was escorting them out of their settlement.
"I like her, she seems nice and sweet. I think she wants to come with us," Keira said as she kept glancing at Mara, who kept on smiling at her behind them.
Zach laughed and teased, "You want a sister now? We will be a bad influence on her."
Then he added, "Besides the tribal chief"s son seemed to be possessive of her so there"s no way she can get out from her tribe." Keira sighed, "Yeah, but I think she really wants to come with us."
They were startled with a sudden noise from behind.
Keira could hear they were tribesmen who were talking loudly. They started to pick up their pace while Zach held Keira"s hand firmly. They could feel that there was a sudden change in the air… and it smelled like trouble.
Keira heard a loud whistling. And suddenly, Mara became hysterical and gestured for Keira and Zach to run as she was shouting some words at them.
Keira and Zach ran, but before they could enter the forest, some of the tribesmen blocked their way with spears, bows, and arrows aimed at them.
The son of the tribal chief spat on the ground and shouted at his men, who immediately followed and grabbed Zach and Keira roughly. Zach snapped and raged when he saw the men grab his wife. He moved forward and charged at the tribesmen who came his way. He then saw an arrow hit Keira"s shoulder while she was fighting to get away from those men, and the son of the tribal chief pointed his spear to Keira"s chest.
"No!!!" Zach growled and stopped fighting when he saw the son of the tribal chief gestured for him to stop. He was threatening him, or else he would pierce Keira"s heart. Zach immediately bent down on his knees and raised his arms to surrender as he looked at Keira.
"I"m fine… It"s only a scratch on the shoulder," Keira rea.s.sured him before Zach felt someone hit his back. He fell with his face on the ground and felt a foot on his bracelet wrist. A man spoke and tried to take off the bracelet from him.
At Military Base….
"We have a signal!!!" John shouted from inside the control room. "Oh G.o.d, there"s a signal!" he repeated, trembling as he looked at the screen and checked the coordinates.