CHAPTER NINE
Enough already. I’d been here a day and half—that I could remember anyway—and it was time to leave. I’d swiped a few more pieces of fruit at dinner, and since no one sat with me or paid me much attention, it had been relatively easy to do.
I felt like a plague the Hundi tried to keep from catching.
Except for Sali and some curious children, the other members of the tribe didn’t even try with me.
The men of the tribe were sparse and I didn’t know if that was because they were away mounting another attack or if many had died in previous attacks. I didn’t care anyway.
Being here was uncomfortable, like showing up to a party without an invitation. My only objective now was to leave and find my way back to Makia.
I drifted in and out of sleep on my rickety bed, knowing I needed the rest if I was going to make a run for it, but also not wanting to miss my chance to sneak away before everyone was awake.
If only I had my watch! I mindlessly rubbed my wrist, noting the difference of its absence and the comfort knowing the time would’ve brought me.
Judging by the part of the night sky I could see from the opening of the treehouse, it was still a few hours from dawn.
The waning moon had just dropped into the west.
I used the wood stool to sit at the window, propped my arms on the sill, and rested my head on top of them.
How on earth I found myself in this situation, I would never know.
I was just a young nurse, and while, yes, sometimes my job could be exciting and unpredictable, like when I’d worked the ER, now it was mostly mundane-which is what I had wanted.
I wanted life to slow down so we could finally get married and start the next chapter.
But when Greg had made plans to join the team for this trip, I had agreed.
Adventure had always been something I valued, especially with Greg.
Well, especially because of Greg. He was the one that introduced me to medical missions in the first place.
He kept an open tab searching for cheap flights going anywhere on his computer.
He didn’t like to sit still, and his love for travel had sort-of rubbed off on me through the years.
I liked it because he liked it. But, this?
This was not the adventure we sought. This was madness and as the hours passed, began to feel more and more like a nightmare from which I would soon awake.
When I actually did wake up, I could see dawn was already lighting the sky and I had almost missed my opportunity.
I cursed and rose, realizing I had fallen asleep at some point, nabbed my make-shift bag of assorted fruit, and slowly crept down the long ladder, my heart hammering loudly in my ears all the while.
On the ground, it was still dark enough to move without the threat of being exposed and I paused, briefly, behind the massive trunk of the tree which supported the house.
I looked up the way toward the cooking huts and fires where we’d taken our meal the night before, but saw no one.
I looked in the direction that I had chosen last night, a well-worn widening into the forest that edged this part of the village.
I had no idea where it led, but it was in the general route I needed to go.
Sidney, you’re absolutely crazy for doing this. But I didn’t have another choice. Leaving the comfort of the tree I was hiding behind, I made a run for it across the clearing toward the outbound path.
My heart beat wildly as I made it into the thick overgrowth and felt more covered because of it. Jungle sounds rose around me in a buzz of insulation against the noise of my feet.
First obstacle accomplished—but where did this way lead?
I began to descend and was met with the answer by the foul stench of one of the Hundi’s latrines.
Sali had shown me the other latrine on the opposite side of the village, but I’d held out as long as possible before having to use it, arguing I would just use the privacy of the jungle.
But Sali explained how they had built the latrine to work to enrich the soil used for planting and discouraged fouling up the jungle around their village with unwanted pests or disease.
This must be another location. I needed to get off this well-worn way, as soon as possible.
With the light of morning coming, I was sure to be spotted.
I ran back up with a goal to find yet another way out when I collided with a force that knocked me off balance.
I fell on my butt so hard my teeth clattered and when I looked up, a menacing face glared down at me.
It was the large warrior I’d encountered the first time I’d met Jahnu.
My mind searched frantically for his name, thinking if I could find a way to build a bridge to him, he might soften toward me a bit.
Mimeby? Mickem? Mimbeck? Yes, that’s it!
“Mimbeck,” I said kindly, slowly rising and rubbing my sore backside. His eyes widened at his name and I felt his frantic energy as his eyes roamed my body, hiding nothing of his motivation. He spoke in his native tongue, growling words that sent shivers down my spine.
I thought quickly of kicking him in the groin and trying to get around him and run for the village, but knew my plan of escape was crumbling with each unknown word he spoke. Just as I glanced away, ready to kick, he caught hold of my arm with a grip that sent a shriek from my throat.
Mimbeck dragged me from the path and I struggled against his iron grasp as he jerked me over wet shrubs and ferns. I found my voice and screamed a raspy, “Help!” but he slammed me down and covered my mouth with his massive hand, my head wound opened painfully with the force.
Tears engulfed my eyes as I saw the fear and excitement in his wicked expression.
Speaking again and running his other hand down the front of my breasts, he easily pulled the bodice away, exposing me.
I wept against his foul-smelling hand, the sound of my cries muffled, and kicked with all my strength against him as he straddled me. Was this really happening?
Then, just as quickly, a force knocked Mimbeck off me. A flash of flesh tumbled against him and I heard the grunting of men wrestling. I quickly scrambled a few feet away, covering myself. With my head throbbing, I watched in stunned silence.
My rescuer, Jahnu, thwarted Mimbeck. The two battled one another in the wet leaves, their half-clad bodies straining under the effort of the grapple.
They rolled and tumbled in a way I had never seen until finally Jahnu had Mimbeck’s arm and head between his legs squeezing with a strength only visible through the exertion of Jahnu’s red face and taught muscles.
“No, don’t kill him!”—but it was too late. Mimbeck’s body sagged and Jahnu released his powerful grip. I stared in horror from Mimbeck to Jahnu, the shock of what just happened making itself known by the goose flesh that rose on my skin and the chill I felt all over.
“Why did you do that!?” I shrieked, as Jahnu approached me slowly.
“What did I do?” he said softly, as if he were speaking to a scared and cornered animal. I looked like one, no doubt. “Save you from defilement?” He offered his hand to me but I just stared at it.
“You didn’t have to kill him.” Nausea flipped my stomach, not only from the trauma of the sexual attack but also from relief and gratitude for Jahnu’s timing.
“Mimbeck is not dead,” he shook his head. “He sleeps the sleep of the defeated.” I looked over at the slight rise and fall of my attacker’s bare chest, instantly feeling relief and disgust at the same time.
Jahnu pulled me to my feet, his warm hand supported my elbow, signaling more gooseflesh up my arm.
“Are you hurt?” he asked. Those dark eyes so full of concern made me frown in confusion at the way his gaze made me feel.
“There is blood.” He touched the back of my neck and brought his fingers to show me.
I felt I could faint, but steeled myself against the urge and rising nausea, no doubt from hitting my head… again…my subconscious reminded me.
Our eyes locked a little too long, and Jahnu’s hand cupped my cheek, his thumb wiping away the tears that streamed down my face. “You are ok,” he whispered softly, as if trying to convince me. “You are safe. He cannot hurt you now,” he said, shaking his head.
I purposefully looked away, confused by his tenderness, and allowed him to lead me back up the path to the village now in full light and bustling with activity.
Jahnu called Sali from the group of women cooking breakfast and deposited me into her care, speaking something incoherent to my ears.
Sali walked me toward the medical hut and away from Jahnu, but not before I turned to look again at my fierce defender. He stood, his shorts hanging loosely around his hips, watching me retreat, the only reaction of our contact in the flexing of his hand that had held me.