by David Holley
Max, who stands over two meters and weighs over fourteen stones, is dwarfed by the giant who has him in his grasp. When the man finally loosens his death grip, Max pushes his arm off defiantly and gives him a frosty glare, before running to his sister. The two men snicker mockingly as the twins come together, holding each other tightly.
“Oh my God Mia, I thought I lost you,” Max says, practically in tears.
“I’m okay, and thankfully so are you.”
“But how? I saw you fall off the cliff.”
“Almost.” A husky voice from behind cuts like a hatchet in the wind.
The twins split apart as they turn to face the dark man walking toward them. He is shorter than Max, with a thick stocky build and eyes as cold and dark as the obsidian that litters the ground. He flips his cigarette, sending it flying in an amber trail until it disappears into a thick plume of tall grass.
“It’s a Maori custom that when someone saves your life, you repay your debt as their servant until they release you.” His lips curl into a wicked smile, revealing a silver tooth gleaming between a row of yellow and brown ones.
“What is he talking about?” Max asks Mia, puzzled.
“Don’t listen to my brother,” Atua interjects. “Maaka is just being true to his namesake, as usual.” During the exchange, Atua has approached them, followed by Noah and Kaewa. He throws a caustic look at his brother before turning to the twins. “He’s lying. We have no such custom.” He smiles and extends his hand to Max. “I’m Atua.”
Max shakes the man’s hand as Mia tells him, “This is the man who saved my life.” She turns to Atua. “This is my twin brother, Max.”
“Twins?” Atua is caught off guard again. “I see.”
Mia smiles as she watches Atua inspect her and Max, searching for similarities. “For twins, you don’t even look related.”
“You have no idea,” Max quips.
The remark causes Noah to smirk at Mia, and her eyes dance back at him. Introductions are made all over again as Max meets Kaewa, Pango, and Maaka. Noah explains that he had Max wait behind, as he wanted to err on the side of caution. When this is revealed, Mia notices Maaka and Pango exchange a look. It is only a momentary glance, but she senses something is meant by it, even if she can’t decipher what it is.
“Atua and his mates are local fishermen who had been at sea for several weeks,” Noah tells Max. “When they came to anchor a couple of days ago, their boat was crushed by the tsunami and half of their crew was killed. They had no contact with anyone for several days prior to the tsunami, and have had no contact with anyone since. Until today, of course.”
“Just like us,” Max points out.
“Just like us,” Noah agrees. “Let me have those binoculars. I want to show them something.” Noah pushes a button on the bridge of the binoculars and then hands them to Atua. “I took this snapshot about eighty klicks northwest of here.”
Atua takes a look. “Blow me!” He hands the binoculars to Maaka. “How long ago did you take that picture?”
“About seventy-two hours ago,” Noah replies.
“Mount Ahi’s revenge,” remarks Maaka, lowering the binoculars and passing them along to Pango.
“What’s Mount Ahi’s revenge?” questions Mia.
“It’s an old Maori legend,” answers Atua. “According to the story, Ahi hasn’t erupted in over 10,000 years —”
“Until now,” Kaewa interjects, the last to see the smoking volcano.
“That could explain why we haven’t been rescued,” Atua concludes. “I’ve shot six flares and we’ve seen neither hide nor hair since coming inland.”
“Speaking of that, we haven’t eaten for days. Do you have any food back at that camp of yours?” questions Maaka.
“We do actually,” says Noah. “How about this... I’ll gladly feed all of you tonight if you lead us tomorrow to the nearest point of civilization. Do we have a deal?”
Atua looks to his mates and then nods. “Yeah, we can do that.” He looks to the sky that has grown black as pitch. “Although I don’t know how were going to get there, now.”
“Leave that to me,” Noah says. “I’ll be back in a jiff.”
Noah breaks off from the group and disappears into the woods, leaving them to stand about while the fishermen shrug at each other and wonder what’s going on. Mia and Max aren’t entirely sure either, but they have grown used to Noah and his ways and expect there’s an answer coming. As they wait, Mia begins to shiver and stands closer to the fire, wrapping her arms tightly around her chest. Atua takes off his jacket and offers it to her.
“Please, take this. I don’t need it.”
“Oh, thank you. You are very kind,” Mia tells him, slipping on the jacket, which fits her like a blanket. She can see parts of his tattoos emerging just beyond his sleeves on his thick chiseled arms. The head of a fish is on his left bicep, while a tentacle of an octopus juts out from the underside of his right arm. She looks across the fire and studies the stark tattoo that covers most of Pango’s face; Kaewa has a small tattoo around her bottom lip that extends to her chin.
“Do all of you have tattoos?”
Atua doesn’t answer and when she looks back at him she notices he’s staring at her oddly and smiling to himself. “Hello? Did you hear my question?”
“What’s that?” Atua blurts. “Oh right, tattoos. Yes. We all have tattoos; it’s a Maori thing, I guess.” He turns away from her suddenly and walks toward his mates.
Mia is confused. She looks to where Atua’s eyes were focused and then realizes the source of his awkwardness. Staring down at his jacket, she places her finger on an embroidered crest that shows the New Zealand flag along with the New Zealand Fishing Company logo and directly below that, in big block letters, is the name “ATUA.” A drop falls on the crest and Mia quickly covers her face with her hands trying to hold back the flood of tears that are welling inside her.
After the moment passes she looks up to see Max staring at her, his eyes as sharp as a razor. “What the fuck Max? You just scared the shit out of me!”
“Oh really? Well now you know how I felt,” Max says bitterly.
“What are you talking about?”
Max gives the others a quick once over before whispering, “What am I talking about? I’m talking about you. I don’t want to fight with you but I saw what you were doing, that little dance by the cliff. I was watching you the whole time before you tried... before you tried to kill yourself.”
Before she can answer, Noah returns with a bundle of cattails, each over a meter in length. The others look on curiously as Noah methodically lathers the end of each cattail with a thick gelatin resembling petroleum jelly from a canister taken from his backpack.
Mia tilts her head to one side as she makes closer inspection. “What do you plan on doing with those?”
Noah turns to Mia and sees Atua drawing near. “I believe the Maori refer to these as raupo. Isn’t that right?”
“It is,” Atua confirms.
Noah nods. “I’m applying flammable gel to the raupo to turn them into torches. These little devils can burn for hours — plenty of time to reach camp.”
Atua smiles at Mia and nods, impressed by Noah’s tactics. That’s when Mia notices Maaka following Max, who has wandered to the very point from which she nearly fell. A queer feeling overcomes her, and she finds herself looking through the eyes of her brother. What the... am I dreaming; is this a vision? No it can’t be. She watches in total shock, unable to comprehend her newfound power. She guesses that she has leapt into her brother’s consciousness.
Max’s vision contrasts starkly with her own. Objects appear warmer, almost rosy, even in the shades of twilight; she has always known the world to be colder, darker, and altogether gloomier.
She also observes that Max is completely unaware of her presence and she serves as nothing more than a casual bystander to what he is experiencing. She practically jumps out of her brother’s skin when she hears the other voice
: “Hey kid, who is that guy?”
Max swivels to see Maaka gesturing toward the fire, his dark eyes fixated on Noah. “He’s a retired captain in the British Special Forces and one serious badass.” Mia gives a mental sigh and rolls her eyes at her brother’s response.
“Badass?” Maaka questions. “And what would you know about that, eh? He doesn’t look so tough to me.” He runs a hand through his oily mane.
Max’s mocking laugh reverberates through Mia, causing her to wince in pain.
“How about this, Maki?” He folds his arms across his chest and tilts his head. “I dare you to go over there and see for yourself. I’ll bet he knocks you on your ass in two seconds flat.”
Max! Why are you provoking this psychopath! What the fuck is wrong with you? Mia agonizes.
Maaka laughs at the suggestion. “You got spirit kid. I like that. I do. Maybe I’ll find out if that pretty little mouth of yours is good for anything else.” He blows a kiss in the air as Max glares back at him in equal parts surprise and revulsion. Maaka walks back to the fire and then, quite unexpectedly, begins howling at the moon.
That guy is fucking gross, Mia concludes.
As she watches Maaka saunter over to the others, she notices Noah nudging her arm, trying to get her attention.
Oh shit! Just as quickly as she arrived, she leaves her brother’s consciousness and finds herself standing by the fire with Atua. Noah is handing her a lighted torch.
“Mia…? Sinclair!” Noah snaps twice. “Take the torch.”
“Oh, sorry. Thanks. I’m so tired,” she lies, grabbing the flaming raupo.
“It’s okay. Let’s go. I want to get back to Eve and the others.” But his eyes betray the casualness of his tone — she sees that he is studying her.
He knows!
Mia smiles and nods nonchalantly, still trying to process what had happened. The thought of returning to her fellow travelers had never sounded so good, as they begin their trek through the dark forest under the cover of night. The torches cast an eerie orange glow that illuminates a murky path between the trees. Noah leads, and Max and Mia follow close behind, while their four new companions bring up the rear. Mia is freezing and huddles close to Max who slings his arm over her shoulder as they trudge wordlessly over the uneven terrain.
It takes over three hours to reach the hot springs. Spotting the torches, Jacob and Hiroshi come to greet them. They are relieved to see Noah with Mia and Max, and look curiously at the strangers.
“Is everyone alright?” Noah asks Hiroshi.
“Yes, everyone is fine. We’re glad to see you. What news do you bring?”
“I’ll fill you in along the way.” He turns to Atua. “Can I ask that you wait here while I tell everyone? They were hoping for rescue, and they will be disappointed that we still have so far to go. I will come back for you in just a few moments.”
“Of course,” Atua replies. “We understand. We’ll wait here.”
Just before they are out of earshot, Mia overhears Maaka’s sarcastic bark: “Thank you for speaking on everyone’s behalf.”
They enter the clearing, their torches burning through the mist that hangs thick around the thermal pools. Above the hot springs, Hiroshi has set up a shelter strategically placed on a wide landing that inclines slightly before jutting upward, straight into a mountain. The location is perfect for the cool evening, taking full advantage of the air heated by the pools below.
Luna is the first to see them and calls out.
Evelyn goes directly to Noah, hugging him tightly. “Welcome home,” she quips.
Her mood instantly sours when she sees Mia. “I see you found our little runaway,” she says, incapable of masking her frustration. Mia looks away, and Evelyn turns back to Noah. “Tell me you bring good news.” Her eyes are tired and desperate.
Noah shrugs uneasily. “I do have good news, but maybe not as good as everyone hopes,” he says, trying his hardest to moderate her expectations.
The castaways have gathered around Noah and several of them fire questions at him in rapid succession, one on top of the other, and the cacophony builds to the point where he has to raise both hands in trying to quiet the masses.
“Everyone, please!” his voice booms. “I’ll answer your questions, but first please listen to what I have to tell you. There’s a lot to discuss but you need to understand what we discovered out there.”
As Noah explains, Mia sits alone with her thoughts. She can feel the energy of the others falling precipitously, like the air being sucked out of a balloon. She looks at their tired faces as they try to summon whatever strength they have left for the final push. She too is exhausted beyond words, emotionally drained and dizzy with hunger. She is not quite sure how much longer she can keep going, but she does know that it can’t be for much longer. But she has come to trust Noah more than anyone and knows if they can just hang on for a couple more days, they might just get out of this alive. She tunes out the others as they voice their concerns and looks out beyond the camp to where Atua and his friends are waiting. She is intrigued by the young man who had daringly rescued her, bravely putting his life on the line for the sake of someone he had never met before. She wonders what kind of man would do that for a stranger — only a virtuous one, she reassures herself. A man like Noah or Hiroshi or even her brother Max; it fills her with warmth that she is in the company of such noble men.
Her thoughts shift to Atua’s depraved brother. How could a man like Atua have a brother like Maaka who seems anything but virtuous? She turns her attention back to the group and her eyes meet Evelyn’s stoic gaze. She offers a small smile, but Evelyn has already turned back to Noah who continues to answer the litany of questions. She feels terrible that a woman she trusts no longer trusts her and even worse that she lied to her. She vows to seek Evelyn’s counsel and tell her everything as soon as the opportunity presents itself. She is startled from her thoughts when the group suddenly breaks.
Sarah and Alice approach her then, anxious about the newcomers. “So tell me about these fishermen,” demands Sarah, sounding annoyed.
Mia shrugs. “I don’t know much. Atua seems really nice.”
“Nice?” Alice sounds disappointed. “What else do you know about them?”
Mia shrugs, unsure of what she is asking. “I dunno…. One guy is named Pango and he’s the biggest man I have ever seen, and his friend Maaka is scary and really creepy.”
Sarah rolls her eyes. “Wonderful. This just keeps getting better and better.” She walks away shaking her head.
Alice isn’t put off so easily. “Tell me more about the creepy guy,” she demands. “Did he do something to you?”
“What? No. Nothing like that. He’s just creepy and he stared at me, leering. He also said some things that were really ignorant and his teeth are totally disgusting.”
“Really?” Alice sounds strangely happy.
What a fucking weirdo, Mia decides.
Mia watches from afar as the shipwrecked fishermen join the lost travelers. Atua and Kaewa are quick to warm to the others, while Maaka and Pango hold back and say little. She watches their eyes shift from one person to the next, as if they are sizing up each individual, one by one. Luna prepares the last of the morning’s crayfish catch and all that is left of their quinoa, rice, and vegetables. The new members eat everything handed to them, and Atua graciously thanks them all for their kindness. Atua assures them that he will guide them safely through what’s left of their journey and, more importantly, to rescue. His words are greeted with a smattering of applause.
After their meal and before everyone retires for the night, Maaka and Pango have an after-dinner cigarette, much to the joy of Hank who has made it known to anyone who cares to listen that he would do anything for a smoke.
“Could I trouble you for one of those?” Hank asks hopefully.
His question is greeted by a cold stare from Pango and a cruel laugh from Maaka. They carry on with their conversation, ignoring him completely.
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Visibly taken aback, Hank asks again, this time louder and more direct. “May I have a cigarette?”
Maaka turns his head sharply. “Fresh out, mate.” He exposes his dirty silver tooth and blows a long stream of smoke in Hank’s face.
You could hear a pin drop as everyone watches in astonishment.
Hiroshi shoots Noah a look, it was just a look, but this time, Mia knows exactly what it means.
Chapter 17
In the cool hour before dawn, Noah walks among a row of willows with the wind howling at his back. A large rabbit dangles by its hind legs from his belt; he carries a parcel of herbs and wild mushrooms under his wing. He finds Evelyn on her knees, bent over a rotten log that she has just split open to expose dozens of gigantic yellow grubs with black spotted heads. They wiggle spastically and attempt to burrow further in the decaying wood.
“Jackpot!” Noah’s voice cracks through the night.
“Look at the size of these buggers!” Evelyn cheers. Her eyes grow wider than the moon.
She looks up at Noah, the fresh kill staring back at her. “And what do we have here?” Her delivery is slow and deliberate, as she inspects the long-eared rodent, her nose pointed upward.
“Hasenpfeffer breakfast is in your future my lady.” He taps the dead varmint softly on the side. “My snares have finally yielded something worthwhile, which we can enjoy with a side of those.”
She pulls a long fat maggot from its burrow, analyzing the larvae as it gyrates in the palm of her hand. “These fine fellows are huhu grubs, and it appears your prophecy has come true my dear husband.”
“How’s that?”
“Your dire prediction of eating creepy-crawlies has never sounded so good.” She smiles mischievously and winks.
The Lockhearts prepare an exotic reveille for their fellow trekkers. The aroma of stewing meat hangs in the air, a welcome wake-up call for the hungry. One by one, they stagger out from their shrub-stacked bungalow, scratching and squinting in the early sun. With the new arrivals, the sleeping quarters were cramped at best and even though Hiroshi expanded the floor space, many wake to stiff necks and sore joints. While breakfast is being prepared, Sarah suggests one last soak in the thermal pool. Josette, Patrick, Alice, Kaewa, Max, and Mia join her. While some industriously lather Luna’s makeshift exfoliate of clay and plant material, most sit quietly submerged with only their heads visible through the steam.