Twenty One

The Nawula natives were hospitable and welcoming. They gave us clean clothes and food to fill our bellies that we weren't concerned with some that we had never eaten before. The roasted bugs aren't my delicacy, but once I pop one in my mouth and crush it in between my teeth, I've tasted the flavor, and it wasn't that bad. Not to bugsy flavor where you can taste the organs, but a bit salty.

We had spoken with the Chief of this village, and to my surprise, he spoke fluent English.

Chief Kapono, the current Chief, was a righteous man and apologized for imprisoning us, saying he had mistaken us for one of the Black Armor men.

He explained in detail that a man came to their villages and offered to seek their jade. Chief Kapono told us that the man was a researcher who wanted to study the Nawula's precious jade.

The Nawulas put their trust in this man and led him to their sacred temple, where the jade was found and worshiped. But as it turned out, the man was cunning and manipulative by chasing the Chief and his people out of their village. And now they are hiding here away from the enemy's base.

Chief explains that half of his people are enslaved and are used for hard labor to get the jade from the cave. So, he tried and sent his people to infiltrate, risking their lives to take back what belongs to them.

But from what I've heard a whole party of five sometimes never make back alive. Some were injured during the fight, and families had lost a member. It was tragic to hear that these good people were chased out of their homes, all because of minerals. It may be important to the Nawulas, but why would anyone go so far as to take someone's home for a rock?

I hear laughter coming from my family as they dance to the music played by the Nawulas. I watched from my seat, Terry not joining in the dance, as we watched

I know we have our priorities, looking for Jo and getting off the island, but we needed this.

I watch my baby sister having a blast and not worried about being stranded on an island. My friends are keeping their minds occupied with these festivities.

A smile formed on my face until I noticed Ares was nowhere to be found. I figured he didn't want to join us in celebrating since Jo's disappearance, and I guess he still feels guilty.

It's better not to coddle him too much. As his older sister, I should respect the boundaries.

"Miss Terry," a Nawula old woman with pure white hair in a single braid, approaches us. She's the Chief's wife, Nele. She also speaks fluent English. "My husband would like to speak with you."

It sounded serious as Nele went to ask for Terry, not the group.

I'm curious.

"May I come as well, Nele?" I rose from the log chair.

"Of course," she politely says with a smile. "Come."

Terry and I followed the older woman to another wooden building, bigger than the homes built here.

Nele pushed the seashell curtains as we entered a large hall with a round table in the center and chairs around it. Chief Kapono was standing, talking to a younger woman. She's maybe around my age.

"Miss Terry. Miss Thea, thank you both for coming." He spoke politely to us.

"You needed to see us," Terry says.

"Yes, it's about your missing friend."

"Jo," I cried out. "Do you know where she is? Is she okay?"

I spit out my worries about Jo, wishing for any news of her safety. I asked Chief Kapono if any of his people had seen a red-haired woman.

"Relax, Miss Thea," he said, placing a hand on the back of the young woman whom he had been talking to earlier. "This is Ten-Ten, my granddaughter. She was with her friends scouting two nights ago after we captured you and your friends. She will explain."

Ten-Ten looks like a warrior than a princess. She had sun-kissed skin and wore light, easy-to-move clothes. Bandage clothes strapped around her arms and legs, her hair loose and red war paint over her face and eyes. She, too, has tattoos on both arms.

I mentioned her being a native warrior, but the one thing that caught my attention was her eyes. They aren't dark like her grandparents but are blue. And I recognize those ocean blue eyes. I'm my suspicions, but I won't conclude until I find out more about Ten-Ten.

"Hello, I'm Ten-Ten." Her English is fluent as well. It's flawless. "My grandfather had told me about your missing friend."

"Yes, have you seen her?" I asked.

"Yes," Ten-Ten says. "After scouting the enemy's territory, we spotted one of their vehicles down by the river about 150 feet from here."

"What were they doing there?" Terry wonders.

"From what I saw, your friend was throwing a tantrum and ran off. I wasn't sure why they were out there. We didn't want to expose our presence."

Terry and I shared a look.

"I have never seen a grown woman act like a child," Ten-Ten stated.

"Jo, she's..." I pinched my lips. "Not well."

"Oh," feeling offended by her sudden worst. Ten-Ten's face fell. "I'm sorry."

"Oh no, it's okay." I clasp my hands together. "I'm glad she's okay."

"Miss Thea, I know how you feel." Ten-Ten approaches. "My father...those bastards took him."

"Your father?"

Ten-Ten nodded. "Yes, the leader of those bandits wanted my father to work for him. Become one like many of our people, as enslaved people, and obtain the mineral from the cave."

I can feel her anger and frustration at the thought of her father being used as an enslaved person.

"No matter how hard I tried to get him and the others out, our plan always failed," Ten-Ten clenched her fist.

"Child, you did your best," Nele approaches her granddaughter for comfort. "If you continue to go after them, you and the others will lose your lives."

"Kapuna, I lost my mother. I don't want to lose my father, too."

"I thought you hated the man," Chief Kapono clarified to his granddaughter.

Ten-Ten stays quiet before she can answer. "I did." She declares. "I did hate the man for breaking my mother's heart. But...after I learned what he did and had to do. I understand why he left. He did it to protect my mother, to protect us. I want to not only rescue our people but my father as well."

Terry and I stand here in this wholesome moment with this family. It seems there is a story about her father being captured by the same people who wanted us dead.

Ten-Ten's father was just like the others who had been captured and worked to obtain the minerals.

Seeing how desperate she was to rescue her father and her people, I can feel a familiar aura coming from her. I would feel the same energy Rex and his brothers would show.

Determination. Bravery.

Oddly, I would see Rex and the boys through her. I feel that they share the same aura and her eyes: the similarities, the traits. I can see a female version of the boys, and it's making my brain hurt.

I don't think Rex and the boys' dad has another affair with another secret child like Don. But Seth told me Don's mother was the only woman his father had a fling with.

But as I take a closer look at Ten-Ten she doesn't look like the boys. She probably has her mother's look, but blue eyes aren't common here.

This is all making my head hurt as I'm so curious about Ten-Ten.