"Marco...?" Lucas said completely surprised after going so many weeks without seeing someone from the civilized world.
"What the hell happened to you, Luc? You look like shit...", said Marco Andrade, a tall boy with blond hair, brown eyes and dressed in a student uniform similar to the one Lucas used to wear. He was Lucas' grandfather's personal assistant at the university in Madrid and during the expedition. He and Lucas had a long history of rivalry since they were both kids. And now, they were face to face again in this strange land.
"What the hell are you doing here? Where did you get that?" Lucas asked while pointing to the shotgun with which Marco had killed the Onsa.
"Oh this? Well... let's just say a lotta things happened while you were gone. You should thank me, I just saved your pathetic life haha! Come on, let me give you a hand", Marco said as he lowered his gun and walked towards him.
"No, stay away! I don't need your help, don't take another step!", Lucas shouted after raising his knife towards Marco.
"Hey! I'm trying to help you for once, you idiot!"
"I said stay away! Just stay there!"
"Wait... What are you hiding? Who's there behind you?
"GET AWAY!!"
At that moment, the blond boy circled around the corpse of the Onsa and saw the blond girl lying on the ground.
"WHAT THE FUCK...!? Who the hell is she?", Marco asked completely surprised to see that the girl was totally naked. Y'shaati watched the strange boy in bewilderment. Her shoulder and back were still bleeding a little. Hearing the aggressive tone of Lucas' voice, she understood that something was wrong.
"Ook ook ook ook!!!", Y'shaati howled to scare him away.
"Huh? The hell is wrong with her?"
"None of your damn business."
"Lucas... Where did you get this girl? And why the hell is she naked?"
"Goddammit. She... she's just a friend... she lives here in the jungle... she saved me."
"What? Are you kidding me?"
"I'm serious."
"Pffftt... hee hee hee hee... HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Marco began to laugh suspiciously. Lucas and Y'shaati simply watched him. However, the young man didn't take his eyes off the blonde for a second. A very lustful look in his face.
"Damn, Luc. You really outdid yourself this time... I mean, I knew you were a liar, but this is a new level, even for you."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Do you really expect me to believe what you just said? Stand back and let me take a closer look at her... fuck, she is a beauty...", Marco started to walk slowly towards her.
"If you dare to lay a finger on her, I swear you'll regret it, you bastard...", Lucas said completely furious as he stepped in again to protect her.
"Really? Hahaha, I'd love to see that! Bring it on then, tough guy...", Marco said with a cynical smile.
It seemed that a new confrontation between the two boys was about to begin, however, just before the conflict erupted, a third voice could be heard approaching. "Marco! Where are you? What was that shot?"
"Lucky devil hehehe... over here, guys! You won't believe what I found...", replied the blond boy.
"Oh crap! Y'shaati, get out of here!", Lucas said to the wild girl. "Hide in the trees quickly! Don't let them see you!"
"Lucas...?", asked Y'shaati.
"I'll be fine... promise, remember?"
Y'shaati nodded.
"Go now!"
Still uncertain, she had no other choice but escape, so she ran into a tree and climbed it immediately, disappearing in the heights.
"Hey! Where the hell you think you're going, blondie?", Marco shouted as he saw Y'shaati running away. The blond boy instantly ran after her to try to catch her. Before Lucas could do anything to stop him, a group of five men armed with rifles and pistols finally emerged from the foliage. One of them was a mysterious tall, burly man with a brownish beard. He was smoking a cigar. He was wearing a fatigue jacket and pants, black boots and a brown fedora hat that obscured much of his face. Lucas identified the man after a few seconds... the boy was astonished...
"Dr. Faucault, is that you?", Lucas asked.
"Well... what do we have here? If it isn't Dr. Escudero's grandson, safe and sound, hehe! Good to see you, kid...", said the mysterious man. Indeed, he was Dr. Alexandre Faucault, a colleague of Lucas' grandfather, who had joined the expedition group after arriving in Puerto Maldonado.
"Oh thank you! You don't know how glad I am to see you, Doctor! I thought you all died when the jaguars attacked!"
"You're not wrong there... we lost many colleagues that day. Fortunately, there are still enough of us left to survive in this hell. Apparently you were lucky enough."
"Really? So... my grandfather and Dr. Isabel is with you...?"
"I'm sorry son... I'm afraid not..."
"Oh... and what about miss Zé?"
The man remained silent.
"I see. I'm sorry. I was hoping that... damn...", Lucas said disappointed.
"We're gonna find them son, sooner or later I assure you. Don't give up. And put that knife away, you won't need it anymore."
Just then, Marco returned completely exhausted after having failed to catch Y'shaati.
"Dr. Faucault, a naked blonde girl was with this idiot a moment ago, but she climbed a tree and disappeared!" exclaimed Marco to the doctor and the others as he caught his breath.
"PPPPFFFFFFT, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
All the men began to laugh at the blond boy's absurd words.
"What the fuck are you laughing at? I saw her, I swear!!"
"Marco...don't you ever get tired of saying stupid things?", said one of the men in the group.
"WHAT? Lucas, tell them the truth!", the boy ordered.
"Uhh I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about...", Lucas replied with a serious look. The blond boy looked at him with fire in his eyes.
"I should have shot you when I had the chance...", he muttered in a low voice.
"I think the heat of the jungle is frying your brain Marco, hahaha!", said another man of the group.
"Hey, don't make fun of the boy. In this place, nothing is what it seems. You did well to find Dr. Escudero's grandson, Marco. You saved his life...", Dr. Faucault said. "Come with us Lucas, surely you must be hungry and badly wounded after being alone for so long. You are a survivor, kid. You should be proud of yourself."
"Y-yes... thank you...", Lucas said as he looked up into the treetops.
"Is something wrong?"
"No! Not at all. I'm glad I'm finally... safe. Thanks."
"Our camp is not far from here... we have a lot of things to do."
Lucas had no choice but to join Marco, Dr. Faucault and his men. As they walked away, Y'shaati, hidden among the vines, watched them go. She still couldn't understand what had happened. It was all so unexpected. Are these the people who live in Lucas' world? Why do all the people of that world carry such dangerous weapons with them? Concerned for her new friend's safety, she decided to follow them stealthily.
/////////////
Dusk fell once again over the Amazon jungle. After several hours of travel, the group finally arrived at the camp led by Dr. Faucault. However, Lucas noticed something quite peculiar: for a group of survivors, the team was quite large. A little more than 30 people made up this camp. Almost all of them carried firearms and machetes to defend themselves in any situation. The men paced back and forth, some carrying boxes of supplies to resupply and others mapping the area. Clearly the objective of this expedition was no longer for scientific purposes. Everyone had only one goal: to survive and escape from the jungle.
"Carry on with your duties, gentlemen. I'll attend to the boy myself. Brace yourselves, all of you, we're expecting a storm tonight."
"Understood, Doctor!", the men replied.
"Doctor, where did they get all these weapons?" asked Lucas.
"After we were ambushed by the jaguars, a few of us made it back to Mr. Móndelez's ferry. Fortunately, the good captain was well prepared, he had all this arsenal and emergency rations to deal with a situation like this. Unfortunately, he didn't make it. Its thanks to him that we are alive. After that, we used the boat to scour the rivers for survivors. As you can see, we have accomplished quite a lot in a short time. We have found many people, apart from you...", Dr. Faucault explained.
"I see."
"Come, let's get you something to eat and some new clothes. Believe it or not, we need you. Besides, we still have important matters to discuss."
"Alright."
"Marco, I know you love that shotgun, but please put it back in the weapons storage for now... and please don't point it at anyone else. We don't want any more accidents, hehe."
"Yes yes, very funny, Doctor... like if I were such an idiot."
Dr. Faucault took Lucas to a tent where the boy was finally able to get rid of the rags he was wearing and put on new pants and shoes. While doing so, he forgot to carry his knife. After a while, the doctor personally brought him some food. A very kind gesture. However, the boy immediately noticed something strange about what he was about to eat...
"Wait... is this... jaguar meat!?"
"You noticed, huh? I guess you've had to eat this before..."
"No, not really. Well, I mean..."
"Don't be ashamed to admit it... these beasts devoured many of our people. Now we eat them. It's only fair. The law of the jungle, don't you think?"
"I guess so..."
"Believe it or not, those damn animals keep popping up every now and then to attack us. They're everywhere. It's like if we were their target... I've never seen such behavior from an animal before."
"So... you guys taking advantage of jaguar meat... good thinking."
"That's right, I see you're a smart boy! You're keen and astute, just like your grandfather. I hope you can understand the situation we all find ourselves in. This is no place for the weak. If we want to get out of here, we will do it by any means necessary. You should know that better than anyone. And that's why I'm going to ask you to follow all my orders from now on... is that clear?"
"Uhm..."
"Is it clear?"
"Y-yes."
"Good. Finish your dinner. I need to show you something that I'm sure will interest you... it's something about your grandfather."
"Really!?"
/////////////
ONE HOUR LATER...
Intrigued, Lucas quickly devoured his jaguar meat. Perhaps Dr. Faucault had found a clue to the whereabouts of Dr. Escudero and Dr. Isabel. Wasting no more time, the boy again accompanied the doctor to a new location. By this time, night had arrived, so it was necessary to carry a torch to light the way.
They both headed to a place away from the main camp. A place surrounded by bushes, where a single tent was suspiciously located. The boy was eager to know what it was about, but for some reason, he had a bad feeling about it. Spending several weeks with Y'shaati had helped sharpen his survival instincts.
"W-what is this...?"
"A few hours ago you asked about Miss Zé, didn't you? Well... I wasn't entirely honest with you. I had to make you trust me at that moment, hehe. And now I trust you will understand this...", said Dr. Faucault with a mysterious smile.
"What do you mean...?"
"See for yourself."
What the doctor showed him was simply abominable. Inside that tent, Miss Zé was lying on the floor, bound and gagged. Almost naked, barefoot and badly hurt. Her beautiful curly hair covered a large part of her face, which was also beaten. However, she was conscious. She barely had the strength to moan and look at the two silhouettes watching her.
"Ahhhh!! Miss Zé!!", shouted Lucas scandalized. "W-what happened to her...!?". Lucas tried to approach the girl, but Faucault immediately stopped him.
"Don't be taken in by what you see, son... she's not who she says she is. We were all fooled by this woman."
"What? What the hell are you talking about?"
"This woman is the cause of all our misfortunes upon arriving at this place. This bitch set a trap for us! She deliberately led us to the area where the jaguars live so that they would attack us during the night. She knows the jungle better than anyone. That's her job, after all."
"What!? And how do you know that?"
"When we visited the village of the Huaorani tribe, several of my men observed Miss Zé talking to the aborigines behind our backs. She conspired with them to get rid of us. We were never welcome in this place. She is still one of them. She may be a studied and civilized girl, but deep down... she is still a savage..."
"No... that can't be... that doesn't make sense! How could she do all that?"
"Come on, think a little, son! Who was the one person who happened not to be with us the night of the ambush? She disappeared without a trace a few hours before that. Oh, but that's not all! There's still the grand finale to this whole damn mess!"
"No... Please don't go on..."
"After the slaughter, when I had a chance to hide from the jaguars, I caught a glimpse from afar of this bitch petting one of those damn beasts! She fooled us all as if we were children, hahahahaha!!", Faucault laughed as he applauded.
"That's enough! Why are you telling me all this!?"
"You still don't get it? She wants us all dead! And that includes your dear grandfather and Dr. Isabel. At that moment I knew: I couldn't let her get away with it. She controls the animals! I don't know how... but I am convinced of it! That's why they keep attacking us at night, while we sleep! And for that... she must pay for all her atrocities in the same way! Fortunately we managed to capture her a few days ago. She knew from the beginning that we were looking for that place.... Mura Nunka, do you remember? Therefore, I am absolutely sure that this woman knows where it is! The natives don't want us to find out their secret!".
"No... what the hell did you do to her!?", the boy asked as the deranged man put his hands on Lucas' shoulders and stared at him.
"Son, look me in the eyes and tell me for the memory of your grandfather that you don't want to know what's in that place... it could be the discovery of the century, damn it!!", Faucault said as he saw Lucas with an ambitious and sickly look. After that, the doctor bent down and held the girl by her hair and spoke into her ear.
"Come on, tell me once and for all! Where is Mura Nunka... where is the Amazonite!?"
"WHAT? Of course not! Don't you dare mention my grandfather's fate! Is this what it's all about? Did you convince all those men to find Mura Nunka? The Amazo-what? You are out of your mind! And I don't believe a single word you said! And even if it were true... this is not the way to punish someone! This is torture, not justice!!", Lucas shouted angrily.
"You really think so...?"
"Don't even think I'm going to be a part of this...", Lucas said as he took a few steps back.
"Well gee... I'm terribly sorry. I guess I was wrong about you...", Faucault said disappointed. Just before the boy could get out of the tent, one of the Doctor's men was already behind him, blocking the exit.
"Ah! What the...?", Lucas exclaimed just before the man punched him hard right in the face. The boy fell to the ground.
"Arrgh!! Ahhhh... y-you bastards...", Lucas muttered as his nose began to bleed.
"Oh, don't feel bad kid, this is all my fault... Marco warned me and he was right. I guess you're just a coward with no vision!", the man said before brutally kicking the boy's stomach. Lucas groaned in pain. "Arrrgghh!"
"Now pay attention, ok son? You're going to stay here and keep Miss Correa company for a while... and you'd better not try play the hero, did you hear that? Clearly you don't have what it takes to be one, hee hee hee! Hey, gentlemen! Tie this brat up tight, please."
Just then, two other men came into the tent, grabbed Lucas and began to tie him up in the same way as the dark-skinned girl next to him.
"N-no... y-you're not gonna get away with this... s-son of a bitch...", Lucas said in a weak voice as the sound of a thunder rolled.
"Oh? But you're the one who's going to help me with that, son! I have a lot of plans for you in the next few days... I'm already counting on it, hahaha!"
Faucault and his men headed for the main camp. The jungle gradually turned into darkness and rain. A great storm was about to begin.
"Are you sure about this, Doc?", one of his men asked Faucault.
"Of course. Everything is going according to the plan..."
As the men walked away, Lucas gradually began to lose consciousness until he finally passed out.
