"(What... is... happening? What's going on...?)," Lucas thought as he floated in the space of his subconscious. Infinite emptiness. Perpetual silence. But then, a small echo began to dissipate that darkness like an ember in the night.
"Lu... cas... Lucas... Lucas..."
The boy began to hear a voice calling for him. A sweet, soft voice guiding him out of that darkness and back to consciousness.
"(Who... who is this...?)"
It was late at night and the storm was at its strongest. A very common phenomenon in the Amazon rainforest. Most of the men in the camp were asleep, while only a few stood guard, patrolling the nearby area in case of a new jaguar assault.
"Lucas... Lucas!"
"(Mhmmm...? Ah...? Is that you... Y'shaati...?)", Lucas asked in his mind as he saw a pair of beautiful blue eyes. The boy finally regained his vision and could see the person in front of him: that wild blonde, completely drenched from head to toe by the heavy rain.
"Mhm... Mhmm? Mhmm! Mhmm, Mhhmm!?", Lucas tried to speak, but he was still gagged. Y'shaati noticed this and quickly removed the gag from his mouth.
"Ahhh.... Y'shaati! How... how did you find me?", Lucas asked.
"Y'shaati follow Lucas.... trees."
"You followed me here? That means... you never left me alone. And I did", Lucas said in a broken voice.
"Lucas friend..."
"Really? My goodness, you really are an angel..... a beautiful angel of the jungle! Hey, do you think you can untie me?"
The blonde stood behind the boy and broke the ropes without any trouble using her teeth.
"Thank you! Oh Y'shaati, please forgive me for leaving like that... I shouldn't have walked away from you... I shouldn't have abandoned you! But I had no choice...", Lucas said. The girl smiled, but at that moment, she couldn't help but worry as she saw the bruise on his face.
"Lucas hurt!?"
"Shhh! Keep your voice down! Don't worry... it hurts, but I'm fine. I've taken a lot of hits like this since I was a kid. I'm used to it. However, she is the one who needs help...", Lucas pointed at Zé, lying on the floor, bound and gagged. The blonde looked at her.
"Who... she?"
"She... human girl... like us. And she needs our help."
"Human... girl?". At that moment, the feral girl began to sniff Zé's body, from the top of her head to the soles of her bare feet.
"Uhm... Y'shaati, did you hear what I said? She needs help, just like me."
"Y'shaati can help!"
At that moment, the blonde girl untied the dark-skinned girl as well while Lucas tried to wake her up.
"Miss Correa, please wake up... Miss Correa!". The brunette slowly began to open her eyes.
"Ahhhh...Ah? Ahhh!!! No, take your hands off me!!! I won't say anything!!! None of you will manage to break me!!!", Zé yelled believing that they would torture her again.
"No no, calm down! It's all right, I'm not gonna hurt you! It's me... it's Lucas."
"What...? Lucas? Dr. Escudero's grandson...?"
"Yeah!"
"By the gods... you survived. You are alive..."
"It's a long story... I was very lucky. But that's not important right now. We have to get out of here, right away!"
"Huh? And who is this girl? And why is she naked?", Zé asked as she turned to look at the blonde next to her.
"(Arghh!!! That question again!?)," Lucas shouted inside his mind. "Her name is Y'shaati. It is thanks to her that I am not dead..."
"¿Y'shaati?"
"Yes. Well, at least that's what she said.... or so I understood... I think."
"Y'shaati... but that's an Amazonian name... from a long-forgotten and very primitive language. If I'm not mistaken, it would translate as... daughter of apes...", Zé mentioned, intrigued. "By the allmother... how is that possible?". Meanwhile, the blonde continued to stare with fascination at the native girl's beautiful hair.
"What? How do you know that? Do you know her?"
"No I don't, but uhm..."
"And why are you wearing those garments under your clothes? Is that a loincloth?", the boy speculated.
"W-well... I..."
Before the girl could respond, a light emitted by a torch suddenly appeared.
"Did you hear that scream? It came from the tent!", said one of the men standing guard outside.
"Crap, they heard us! Miss Zé, we have to escape! Can you run?"
"Owww... my legs... they hurt so much..."
"Oh damn. Okay d-don't worry, I'll help you! Y'shaati, let's go!"
"Ook ook!"
Without wasting any more time, Lucas lifted Zé. The native girl curled in his arms. She was hurt so bad the only thing she could do was wiggle her toes a little bit. Thanks to his good condition and training during the past weeks, the boy was strong enough to carry her. Even he was surprised of his own strength. And so, the three of them went out the back of the tent and hid in the tall foliage. Several men were already on the other side of the tent, but thanks to the heavy storm, they were able to hide the sound of their footsteps. However, walking among the plants in the dark would be no easy task. Getting out of that place would be like looking for the exit of a labyrinth.
"The prisoners are not in the tent!", said one of the men. "What!? How the hell did that happen!? We must find them! Spread out, they couldn't have gone too far!"
"I don't know where to go! How do we get out of here?", muttered Lucas.
"There's... there's a river a few meters from here. When I was brought here, I could see some boats in that spot. Maybe we can use them to escape. They must still be there. I will guide you...", answered Zé. At that moment, Y'shaati stepped in front of them and scanned their surroundings.
"Y'shaati? What's going on?"
"Lucas run. Protect girl...", the blonde said.
"What? No wait! What are you planning to do?"
"Y'shaati protect Lucas... promise...", she replied before running into a tree.
"Seriously?", the boy sighed. "Well... alright then. Please be careful." Y'shaati nodded and climbed up.
"I'm counting on you, monkey girl...", the boy said to himself before continuing with the escape.
Behind them, a couple of men with guns and torches found Lucas' footsteps, so they began to follow the trail very cautiously. These men thought that this was an opportunity to ambush the fugitives. At the same time, the monkey queen was moving silently in the heights, just above them. One caught a glimpse of a mysterious shadow among the trees. As he raised his torch to find out what it was, a thick branch fell straight on his head, knocking him completely out. His companion panicked.
"Oh fuck! Are you okay? What the hell?", the man asked. Before he could do anything else, Y'shaati fell on top of him, landing her feet on his head and neck. The man was knocked down unconscious in a second. Both of their torches went out as they fell to the damp earth. In the blink of an eye, the wild girl disappeared back into the bushes.
"Hey, who turned off the lights? I can't see shit!", exclaimed another guy walking nearby. "Quick, light the... aargh!", the man was suddenly interrupted as Y'shaati savagely rammed him from behind. On the ground, the blonde delivered a hard blow to his face, knocking him out as well. Elsewhere, Lucas and Zé continued on their way, getting closer and closer to the river.
"We are... getting closer... Don't stop, Lucas", stated Miss Correa. "I know, I know... I'm going as fast as I can...", said the boy with an agitated voice due to the fact that he had already been running for quite some time without stopping. Just then, another pair of men managed to spot them in the distance thanks to the light produced by a flash of lightning. "There they are! Catch them!", one of them alerted. "You won't get away, you brats!". Immediately, they began the chase.
However, Y'shaati jumped out of nowhere in front of them and connected a powerful kick straight into the face of one of the guys. "Ahh! What the fuck!?", the other man reacted in fright. Immediately, the man pointed his gun and fired twice without thinking. Y'shaati managed to instinctively dodge them by ducking instantly. Then, she took advantage of her position and kicked the man's left knee, causing him to stumble. Quickly, she grabbed him by the neck and strangled him using a Tahuayo wrestling maneuver. The monkey queen was defeating all the guards in an incredible way, clearing the path for Lucas and Zé.
After several minutes, the boys finally reached the river. What the dark-skinned girl had said was true: three small boats were anchored right at the edge. The river current was faster than usual due to the storm, so the situation couldn't have been more favorable for an escape. Lucas left Miss Correa inside one of the boats to catch his breath for a few seconds.
"Ahhh... ahhh... ahhh... geez. That was pretty close don't you think? Ahhh... we're almost..." he sighed.
"Lucas!! Behind you!!!", Zé screamed. Surprisingly, a man appeared and caught Lucas, holding him by the arm.
"Did you think you could run away? Dr. Faucault is gonna make you pay!", the man exclaimed with a smug grin as he struggled with the boy. "No! Get off me, you bastard!", Lucas ordered before delivering a knee straight to the man's crotch. The guy fell to his knees. Unexpectedly, Y'shaati appeared just in time, swinging on a vine and kicking the man brutally in the chest, knocking him into the river.
"Y'shaati! You did it! Way to go, monkey girl!", the boy cheered. The blonde howled and thumped her bare chest with proud. "Quick! Get in the boat, we have to go!". She had never seen an object like that before, but without a second thought, she didn't hesitate to accept the proposal. Unfortunately, a loud gunshot could be heard at that very instant.
"Don't move an inch, you fucking brats!! I've got you right in my sights!! One false move and I'll put a bullet in that girl's head!!", warned a last man who had finally managed to catch up with them. Y'shaati turned to look at the guy with the rifle. Her expression changed in a second. Now she was absolutely furious.
"Wait, Y'shaati! Calm down!", said Lucas placing a hand on her shoulder. The wild blonde's body began to envelop itself in the emerald aura that characterized her.
"What the hell is that thing!?", the frightened man asked.
"(That green glow! It's exactly like... I can't believe it...)," Zé thought as she watched in amazement. Apparently, she had noticed something unsettling about the blonde girl.
Just then, to everyone's surprise, the man with the rifle was shot in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Someone had attacked him from behind. "Aaaaarrgh, shit!!", the man cursed. The unknown shooter emerged from the darkness, walking slowly until he reached him.
"Marco...? What the fuck you think you're doing, you little... aaargh!", the man moaned in pain.
"I'm sorry... I couldn't let you do that... it's nothing personal", the blond boy said before hitting the man in the head with his gun. Lucas and the others couldn't believe what they were seeing. Even Y'shaati's aura faded instantly.
"Marco!? what the hell are you doing here!?", Lucas asked angrily.
"Let's just say I got tired of these guys. Any place is better than this camp full of assholes," Marco replied. "I'm not staying here now that I know what they did to that tour guide... uhm, can I come with you?"
"And how on earth did you find out about that?"
"Oh, for God's sake.... Does it really matter? Do you want me to explain EVERYTHING right here, right now?"
"Lucas... we need to leave this place at once, there's not much time... please...", said Zé in a worried tone.
"Grrrr... argh, dammit! Why just now!? Alright, get in the boat, geez...", Lucas said resignedly.
"Awesome. I hate to say it Luc, but that's the second time I save your ass this day. You owe me two now, hahaha! Greetings ladies, no need to thank me!", the blond boy boasted as he boarded the boat with the others, Y'shaati included. Both girls watched him suspiciously.
"Grrrr!!", Lucas grunted. After that, the boy released the boat and the water immediately began to carry them downstream.
"Step aside, I'll row. I'm stronger than you and I'm experienced at it. I'm the leader of the canoeing team at the University, remember?", Marco appointed.
"Could you stop bragging for once in your life and just do it, please?"
While the boys were still arguing, Zé kept watching Y'shaati with a serious look on her face. The wild blonde didn't notice this, as she was too busy observing how this strange object they were in allowed them to travel on the water. As they advanced, the current became faster. The rain and lightning never stopped, and the river became more and more turbulent and violent due to the large number of rocks in the way. Fortunately, Marco knew how to navigate quite well, just as he said, so there was little risk of an accident. It was a difficult crossing, but these four had managed to survive an intense chase this very night.
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