Bum's Rush Ch. 08

It took us an hour, but we finally made our way to the shore. Luis' ship had picked a point near the smuggler ship but not within their sight. His team would sit off-shore and wait for either the smugglers to return - or for us to return with them.

We stowed our fleet of canoes in the trees and started following the very-obvious trail that the smugglers had left behind. As usual, we traveled almost noiselessly through the brush. Trace and the other trackers led the way. His wives were near the back of our group. I was at the rear. Considering the fact that I looked a lot different than the other members of the team, they were holding me in reserve - in case we found the other islanders before we found the invaders.

Hal had worked with Joshua and Trace to give them the tactical advice that he thought they would need for any encounters. They had both been - at some point - part of our training groups - as well as having actively participated in previous skirmishes - so they knew the basics of what we needed to do.

We had traveled for about a half-hour when we heard the now-familiar sound of smugglers trying to get captives through the jungle. Joshua and Trace quickly got the team into position. We split our team into fighting units. Each unit had two spearman and a person with ropes.

Our first goal was to incapacitate or kill each of the smugglers. I told Joshua that we should try to leave at least one or two for Luis to question. He had agreed. Our secondary goal was to keep as many of the villagers alive as possible. Obviously, the chance of succeeding at the secondary goal went up more and more with our ability to accomplish the primary goal as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Trace gave a hand-signal that he thought there were a half-dozen smugglers coming down the "trail". It turned out that there were a half-dozen teams. They had bound their captives and - with two smugglers per captive - were trying to frog-march them through the foliage. They were so focused on their prizes that they never even heard us. We killed half of them and knocked out (and restrained) the other half.

We freed the captives. Joshua, Trace, and the women worked to communicate with them that we were planning to return them to their village. Their dialect was slightly different, but it was close enough that our groups were able to converse. The captives informed us that there was a second team somewhere along the path.

We moved the dead and captured smugglers off of the path and left two of the older teens to guard them. They weren't delighted to be taken out of the action but - being junior members of the team - they didn't really have a true voice in what happened. I was very happy not to be told that I would be staying with them.

We advanced for another half-hour before we heard the next group. Once again, we took our places to deal with them. Trace's wives and I were tasked with remaining with the freed prisoners while the battle took place.

After we'd dealt with the second group of smugglers, killing another half-dozen and taking another half-dozen as prisoners, we began escorting all of the freed villagers home again.

As we traveled, the first group began conversing with Trace's wives and me. Of course, they were curious about my presence in the team. I simply explained that I had once been stranded on our island - and chased by smugglers - and had been rescued by the villagers.

Another hour later, we arrived at the village without further incident and returned the captives to their tribe. Joshua and Trace sat with the captives and their elders. Trace's wives brought forward the gifts from Miriam and presented them.

After some discussion, it was decided that Joshua and half of our team would remain at the village. It appeared that they had been raided more than once and this was a different group than before.

I would travel back with Trace, his wives, and the other half of the team. We would set up a rotation of warriors to support this village until we were sure the problem had been resolved.

In the meantime, all of us were tasked with either escorting prisoners or carrying the dead. It took an hour and a half to get everybody back to where the canoes were.

Joshua and his group headed back to the village. Trace and I coordinated with Luis to get the prisoners (and bodies) transferred. The police investigator assured me that we would get credit for the men and half-credit for the ship (which they had taken without incident). I told him that was fine - but I really wasn't sure what we were going to do with any additional funds.

Once the police boat had custody of the smugglers, we boarded the canoes and headed for home. It was after dinner by the time we returned to the village. Miriam and her team quickly found us some leftovers. We had survived on rations but something warm and a little more substantial was welcome after the long day. As we ate, Trace and I answered questions from Micah and the elders. Nearby, Miriam questioned Trace's wives.

By the next morning the rotation had been established and the team that would be relieving Joshua and his group were on their way to the other island. They carried another bundle of gifts from Miriam - flatbread, spices, and cured shark steaks.

~~~ Week 47 ~~~

Megan and Heather were beginning their final trimester of their pregnancies. Their beautifully rounded tummies proclaimed that there would soon be new additions to the village. More and more of the women would stop them, place their hand over their womb, and offer prayers to the island spirits on behalf of the mother and the growing child.

Late in the week, messengers returned from the other island to say that our team had dealt with another set of smugglers. Paul and I grabbed the workboat and headed to the other island. He drove the smuggler's boat and I drove our boat. We headed for the mainland. We met Luis' boat about halfway there and transferred the men and the ship to his care. Paul and I rode back home together.

With things quieting down in the village once more, I decided to check in with Nina. The frames of the housing units were done and they were working on the interiors. The concrete team was pouring the huge swimming pool.

~~~ Week 48 ~~~

We heard a boat, once again, and headed to the lagoon. It was Alma, Macy, and Nettle. Nina had told them to stop by and let me know that they were heading to the resort. I sent them on their way and went to grab Megan to head north. We dispatched Trace to Hestia's village to let her know that her sister was back on the island.

When Megan and I arrived, we found Nettle to be almost a completely different person than the one who had left the island all those weeks ago. It appeared that her attitude had been tempered by a realization that there was a huge world out there that would swallow her up and spit her out and not care. She stood in front of my sister and I, bowed her head to us, and thanked us for our part in helping her with her transition.

We hung off to the side as Nina started walking Macy and Nettle through what they would be doing. This was, apparently, the first time that Nettle had learned that she would be leading a group of island girls and women who - like her - wanted a little more than what the island offered - but weren't quite ready to take on the world itself.

I left Megan with them and wandered around the resort. Everything that I could see looked like it was ready. Since the resort wasn't open yet, I assumed the cousins were still finishing up the interiors and other details. There was a team working to tile the pool. They were creating a beautiful mosaic that covered all of the bottom of the thing and worked up, into the walls, as well. The design kind of looked like the reefs we had explored in the bay when we had skinny-dipped with Johnny and his sister.

Once Megan finished conversing with the others, we went to the outpost village and waited for Hestia to show up. The young princess arrived well after the evening meal that night. She left her escort at the outpost. Megan and I went with her to the resort. We found Nettle and Macy at the liaison quarters. Nettle hugged her sister - showing far more emotion than we had seen from her in the past - and a lot more maturity.

My sister and I left the two of them to catch-up and returned to the village. We had a small fire going. We sat with Hestia's escort and chatted. Hestia and her guard had eaten rations as they had traveled to the resort, but we offered him some of the fruit that we had with us.

Hestia returned an hour or so later and we helped her get settled into one of the empty huts. She said that she would be bringing some girls from their village to start working with Nettle and Macy to get the basics of their education taken care of. After that, they would start figuring out what positions the girls would be helping with at the resort.

After spending time with her sister - and meeting Macy - Hestia said that she was thinking about joining the group that would be learning from the pair. Hestia wasn't interested in working at the resort, but she thought that the knowledge and experience would be helpful for her down the road. She was also very interested in Macy's project to create a written language for the tribes. Hestia immediately saw the value in having the ability to transcribe their people's stories and histories.

The next morning, Hestia went to tell Nettle goodbye and then she and her escort headed back to their village. She planned to bring her mom for a visit in a day or two. She would also be escorting the girls who were interested in being a part of the team of villagers who worked at the resort. Since the princess didn't need us anymore, Megan and I headed back home. When we got there, I updated the chief and the elders on what was happening. I assumed that Megan did the same with Miriam as well.

Micah said that things had been quiet at the other island. If the week went by without further incident, he was planning on calling our warriors back from guard duty. Hal had begun passing instructions along with the rotating teams on setting up training sessions with the males of the foreign tribe - to get them up to speed on managing their own defenses. The chief said we might have some visits - back and forth - as our arms-master continued to work with them on tactics and other things they needed to know to be a little better prepared to deal with ill-intentioned humans. Their warriors had hunted - and dealt with predators - but this was a different kind of a fight.

~~~ Week 49 ~~~

When I visited the resort again, I found that we had visitors. I hurried back to the village to get Megan. Miriam came with us. She gave Megan a moment to greet our parents and then she joined the conversation, telling our mother how nice it was to see her and how excited she was that her belly was showing the coming arrival of Megan's and my sibling. Mom's face was glowing as she visited with my sister and our chieftain's wife.

Dad and I left them and went to look around the resort. Everything was ready. Nina had brought our parents down early so that they could be settled before the big grand opening. It was also a chance for mom to get to see the facilities and grow more comfortable with the idea of having the baby here, on the island. Dad said he was happy with whatever decision she came to - but agreed that it would be nice if mom could have the baby here - so that Megan and I would be nearby.

The pool was now filled - with the filtration system running. It was one of the coolest pools I'd ever seen. All of the lounge chairs were in place around the perimeter - waiting for sunbathers to invade. There were a couple of large communal hot tubs. If I remembered correctly, each of the guest quarters had their own, private Jacuzzis - but this would be a place to meet with others.

Dad took me to the "hut" where he and mom were staying. It was one of the nicer ones, but I knew all of the guest lodgings were going to be fabulous. Nina never did anything half-way. Their hut was a really cool place - with lovely views of the open water around the island - and all of the amenities that anybody could want. The décor definitely had a vibe that fit with our island - but it had (of course) been carefully designed to bridge the gap between the primitive and the modern world.

When we caught up with the girls again, Miriam and mom were touring the medical facility. Nina gave mom all the details about the staff and the equipment - trying to reassure her that she would lack for nothing if she decided to have the baby here. As Nina spoke, Nettle, Macy, and Megan were translating for Miriam. It was nice to see the prickly princess being helpful. She actually seemed super-excited to meet our mother and learn that she was thinking about giving birth to our sibling here.

Macy pulled me off to the side and told me that Nettle and the other island girls were turning several heads among the male cousins that were single. She laughed and said that Nina was already having to put strictures in place to govern the "dates". Macy was now - in addition to her other duties - also a part-time chaperone for meet-ups between the visiting bachelors and the island girls.

I asked her how things were going on her project to develop a written language for the islanders. She told me that Hestia and her mother were super-excited about the idea. Brook (Hestia's mom) was already talking to her brother about bringing that technology to his village too. I told her that, for our village, I was confident that Miriam would be a powerful ally in getting our tribe to sign-on to the idea as well. She said that Nettle was helping her develop the system of pictograms that would represent the words for the written language.

Once Miriam and Megan were done visiting with mom, we took the now heavily-worn path back to the village. I found Paul planing and sanding boards to build more dining tables for the central fire. I grabbed some tools and joined him.

~~~ Week 50 ~~~

Megan and I went to visit the resort again. The grand opening was getting close. We discovered that Hestia's mom (Brook) had come to visit Nettle. Hestia was with her. Megan told Nina about the period of solemn silence that was coming with the arrival of mid-summer. Hestia said their village followed that tradition as well. She said that was one of the reasons that Brook had chosen to visit the resort this week - to be able to spend time with Nettle before the spiritual celebration began. We told Nina and mom that we probably wouldn't be back until after the next full moon. We said our good-byes and headed home once again.

Back in the village, there were a few tasks that needed to be taken care of before we began the time of silence, sacrifice, and abstinence. Megan and I had never been a part of the ceremony before. In some ways, it was exhilarating. The village had been in the middle of this spiritual holiday when we arrived on the island - almost a year ago.

As Megan and I laid in bed, snuggling after making love, we talked about everything that had happened over the last 50 weeks. I rubbed her belly - distended with my baby growing inside of her - and kissed her. Neither of us had any desire to abandon what we had found here. Our work was meaningful and fulfilling, our friends were our co-defenders, and things were simple and straight-forward. Life was more rugged here - but there was a visceral satisfaction to it that more than made up for the challenges.

~~~ Week 51 ~~~

Micah and the elders performed a ceremony that began the time of silence, abstinence, and sacrifice within the village. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as it began. I really couldn't tell you why it was affecting me so much - but the combination of thinking back to our first days in the village - as well as the seriousness with which the villagers approached this time. It was emotional for me.

Megan and I had promised each other that we would honor the celebration - even within our own hut. It wasn't like our neighbors wouldn't hear us talking in bed - so - in some ways - there wasn't really a decision to be made - but we entered into it willingly - with full intentions of honoring the traditions of the people that had come to accept us as part of their family.

At breakfast, the following day, I got cheek-kisses from Miriam. It had been a while since she had greeted me in this way. I had to assume that it was because she was thinking about my sister and I coming to the village a year ago. The food was more meager than usual and I realized that this was part of the sacrifice.

The rest of our daily duties were performed in silence. We often used hand-signals for different things in our normal village life, but it became the only method of conversing for the next couple weeks. I was amazed - again and again - as I watched the villagers function and interact in silence.

Sexy-time with Megan was a big change. We held each other as we laid down - and she would let me give her a quick peck on the lips - but everything else was off-limits. As the days wore on, I found myself anxiously looking forward to being able to be with her - intimately - once again.

As much as I was now looking forward to the end of this time, there was something amazing about the whole experience. I began to watch others in the village. Everyone's mood seemed to be bolstered by the focus that was created by the silence. It wasn't just me. I had already noticed that Megan's smiles seemed brighter. Now I saw that in others' faces as well. It was a little crazy.

~~~ Week 52 ~~~

The following week would be the actual anniversary of my sister and me coming to the island - and (a day later) the village. The continued operation of every normal function within the tribe - as we all honored the vow of silence - was amazing for me to watch. Pretty much everything that happened before continued to happen - only now it took place without anyone speaking.

All of that normality took a hefty turn in the middle of the week. Heather banged on the door of our hut and we already knew why she was there. I gave Megan a quick kiss as she headed to follow her friend. It was time for Naomi to deliver her baby.

There really wasn't anything that I could do to help - Miriam was administrating - as always. I stood to the side and let her know that I was available if she needed me.

I hadn't noticed this event taking place before - although I was sure that several children had been born in the time that my sister and I had lived here. Like most activities in the village, there wasn't an assumption of privacy like we had back home. Home. Was it really home anymore?

I discovered that they had a special hut that was open on three sides. The "head" of the hut was closed - giving the birth-mother some protection from sun, wind, and rain. The rest of the shelter was open to allow Miriam and the midwife to do their work - as well as for others to help and attend.

I stood to the side (out of the way) and watched as all of them worked in absolute silence. I was, again, amazed at how it all took place - and how spiritual it felt.

A cry rent the silence in the middle of the dark night. Miriam held the tiny boy aloft for all to see. Micah nodded and headed back to bed. The women cleaned up the baby and Naomi. Petal hugged her adoptive mother and kissed the baby's forehead. Paul held his wife's hand.

When Naomi released Paul from the hug - as they prepared to move her to the family hut - he came over. I cuffed him in the shoulder. He grinned broadly at me. I don't think I've ever felt closer to another male than I did in that moment. My friend and coworker - life-sharer? - had a son! I gave him an arm-grip greeting and patted his shoulder as he headed off to take his family home.