Goodbye to the Jungle

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

Over the next few hours, Jahl discovered the name of the leader was Dank and the man who had cut his loincloth free was Garth. There was a tall, willowy man called Bede, and the stockiest man was Keng. He had yet to hear the name of the fifth man.

They returned across the grasslands, and as they walked, Jahl kept his eyes to the front, though when he sensed no gaze upon him, he glanced into the trees, where somewhere his parents and the rest of his family were going about their business, unware he had been captured. Only later that afternoon, as the sky turned from brilliant blue to burnt orange with flecks of gold, would they eventually realise something had happened. They would certainly send men to search for him, but by that time, he’d be long gone.

Sadness filled his heart as he thought about his mother and how losing him would break hers. They’d soon realise what had happened, as men and women had been taken from their village before. It was one of the dangers of going out alone, so far from the protection of the village. Had it not been for the wounded antelope he had speared, he wouldn’t have made himself so vulnerable. It had been a stupid mistake, and one he would pay dearly for making.

And while he walked with his shoulders back and his chin up, a proud, defiant representative of the Hamica people, his soul felt heavy inside his skin. It knew that only misery and ill-fortune lay ahead. It understood that unless he could escape, flee his captors and return to his village, there would be no more days of happiness.

They returned to the jungle with Dank in the lead, and Garth just behind Jahl, prodding him every now and again despite the fact he was walking as fast as everyone else.

“We’re gonna get a good price for ya,” snarled Garth, his voice low so the others wouldn’t hear. “A specimen like you will go for at least two bags of gold.”

They spoke a language similar to Jahl’s, although there were certain words and phrases whose meaning he didn’t understand. He comprehended enough, however, and the information had an unsettling effect. They’d sell me to whom? What for? Surely not to be eaten. Surely not even these men would stoop to such depths.

He recalled the wise ones saying that knowledge was power. But knowledge, he was beginning to realise, could also be terrifying.

“Why?” he asked. He didn’t turn his head, and asked the question fully expecting it to be left unanswered.

“Why what?”

“Why are you selling me?”

Garth laughed. “Ta make money, of course. Even a dumb savage like you should understand that.”

Jahl tensed his jaw. He balled his hands into fists. “I meant, what will happen to me after you sell me?”

Garth continued chuckling. “Why? Ya worried?”

Jahl refused to dignify the question with a response. He’d rather remain ignorant to his fate than humour an imbecile.

When Garth realised Jahl wasn’t going to play the game, he provided the information anyway. “Can’t say for sure. Some buy for labour. Farm work, or house work, if ya lucky. Some buy for s*x. Some buy to sell on.”

Jahl received the information with silent contempt. At least he knew that, should any escape attempt fail and he was indeed sold, it wouldn’t be long before an opportunity arose when he could flee back to the jungle, back to his family and those he had grown up with.

The men pushed through the jungle, moving along a crude path often used by slavers. Jahl and his entire village knew about the path and kept a wide berth. Children were warned from an early age not to stray too far from the village, and under no circumstance were they to go near the path.

When the shadows grew too long and too dark to navigate with any degree of ease, the men stopped in a small clearing and got a fire going.

“Secure him,” said Dank. “And you two”—he pointed at Keng and the nameless man—”get us something for dinner.”

Garth removed the rope he’d been carrying over his shoulder and tethered Jahl’s wrists, then squatted to tie his ankles together.

The rope was a little too tight around his wrists, but Jahl refused to complain, to show any sign of weakness. Similarly, he made damned sure the slaver’s hot breath bursting against his naked c**k as the man secured his ankles would have no effect, as he suspected the man meant it to have.

Garth pushed Jahl into a sitting position, his back against the tree. Then Garth tied the rope around the base of the trunk. “That ought to hold ya,” said Garth before joining the others around the growing campfire.

Soon, the aroma of meat cooking filled the air. Jahl’s stomach rumbled. If they gave him food, he’d eat it, but he wouldn’t ask for it. He needed to keep up his strength and he’d gain nothing by refusing sustenance.

Only after they had eaten their fill did the tall skinny man, Bede, bring a chunk of roasted jungle antelope to Jahl. “Thirsty?”

Jahl had already bitten into the meat and could only nod. He’d nearly finished his meal by the time Bede returned with a wooden cup half-filled with water.

As the flames of the campfire began to dwindle, and some of the men drifted off to sleep, Jahl waited. His energy renewed by the small meal, he felt ready to attempt an escape. He’d chew through the rope if he had to, though he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. But as Jahl began to twist his hands in an effort to loosen his bonds, he noticed Garth collect his spear and walk towards him.

“I’m on first watch,” he said, looking none too pleased.

Jahl slumped against the tree, frowning.

“Aww. Did ya think we were all gonna fall asleep and leave ya alone so ya could escape?” He started snickering.

“Would ya shut up!” shouted Dank, unseen in the shadows.

Garth knelt by Jahl. “We didn’t hunt ya all day just to let ya slip back into the jungle. You’re worth half a year’s wages, you are. None of us’ll be giving that up in a hurry.” He leaned closer. “So best ya forget any plans ya had of runnin’ away. I’m here now.”

Jahl let his head fall against the trunk. He tried to make himself as comfortable as possible, stretching his legs in front of him and relaxing his shoulders. Garth sat on a clump of wild grass, positioning his spear between his legs and using it to lean on. He rested his chin in the crook of one arm.

“And don’t worry,” said Garth. “I might look like I’m sleeping, but don’t be fooled.”

Jahl rolled to one side, urinated into the leaf litter, then slumped against the tree. He closed his eyes and let sleep take him away.