Scene 35

The Land of Hekata, atop a tepui

I returned the salute and Pivat quickly saluted the man. “Capin,” he said, “Da Mayja nospeke Engish gud.” He gestured to Miss Stork. “Iss Mes Stork. Shee speka Mayja.”

The Captain nodded to her. “Wecum Mes Stork.”

As Miss Stork continued the conversation, translating for me, we soon developed a trust between us. She asked about the rest of our party and the Captain replied that his men had indeed found several people like us in the jungle, along with their strange animals. He had them confined in a hut nearby.

I quickly asked to see them and the Captain agreed. He accompanied us out of his office and we crossed the village towards a guarded hut. The guards saluted the Captain as he approached and opened the door for us.

Inside, my companions rose as we entered. Everyone we had been separated from at the slave camp was present, along with Jock, John, and Kevin and his dogs. Apparently, Kevin had broken his leg on landing and the other two had found him. They had put a splint on his leg and were making preparations to move out when they were captured by a hunting party. Kevin was still lying on the bed with his leg in a splint.

“How’s the leg?” I asked him.

“Not the best,” he answered. “I had to be carried here and I can’t put any weight on it. The tribal healer has put some sort of salve on it and that has kept the pain down.”

“Have you seen any sign of Ms. Swan?” I asked.

“No,” answered Jock. “The first time we had seen any of the rest of the party is when Greg and others were brought in.”

“We need to find her,” I said, “but first we have something else to do. We found where Todd and the others are being held. At least I assume they are still there. The men and women were separated and Ms. Stork hasn’t seen them since. They are also holding Ms. Hawk there and she has been severely wounded.”

“Where are they being held?” John asked.

“It’s a slave camp. They are forcing the men to work in a mine and the women are being forced to do unspeakable things.” I looked at those gathered around me. “I mean to shut the place down permanently.”

“You know you have our support Dave,” Greg said, “but there are only a few handguns among us and they have rifles.”

“I know, but they will not expect us to attack. Plus, we have another resource they won’t expect.”

I turned to Ms. Stork. “Rebecca, we need to discuss things with the Captain.”