The bright beam of light grew brighter and brighter as I closed in on the Reina tower. I breathed a quick sigh of relief as the gigantic tower was only a stone's throw away. I remained hidden in the jungle’s vegetation as I scanned the perimeter.
I took one step towards the tower, when C.O.C.A.’s CMS chopper could be heard quickly approaching. I paced back slowly in an attempt to remain camouflaged.
What I saw next crushed every cell of hope that remained in my heart. The CMS chopper began to engulf the tower in flames. The aircraft looked like a fire breathing dragon. I felt betrayed by Donald, knowing he was piloting that war machine.
The agony of defeat made me feel lifeless. I crouched down, hidden in the brush and began to cry uncontrollably. Thoughts and memories of my family devastated me. I thought about how I was the happiest I have been in my entire life and how that it was all taken from me in a matter of 36 hours.
As the flames began melting the tower, I could hear the jungle coming alive second by second.
Chapter 23
The Encounter
I woke to raindrops falling on my face. I felt the immediate urge to keep running, deeper and deeper into the jungle. I knew it was just a small matter of time until the officials would go regroup with reinforcements to continue the chase. I’m sure this time with bloodhounds and a dozen more drones.
I continued to lie down on the moist jungle floor, listening for any footsteps or drones. Once I felt safe, I scanned the perimeter and quickly rose to my feet. I wiped my face and proceeded to carry on. I figured that the rain was heavy enough to keep the droids grounded for a few hours of the day. It was hard to hear anything with the jungle being as noisy as it normally was, however, the sound of all the wildlife was music to my ears and calmed my nerves. I always admired the relationship between the rain and the jungle.
Ecosystems are awesome, I thought to myself.
As the search for shelter and food continued, I could hear the jungle acknowledging my presence. I thought about the howler monkeys that Marina and I saw that were walking upright and carrying stones.
Soaking wet, I continued to run, crossing my fingers I’d find a cave or some sort of shelter. My father said he would occasionally come across small abandoned man-made huts that he believed were used in the illegal drug and rubber trades of the past. If I could only be so lucky to stumble across one of those.
I was starving and growing weak. There had to be food around here, a banana, would be ideal. I continued to walk deeper into the jungle. I knew I had to make the best of the time I had with the current cloud coverage.
I found a big branch on the ground that I picked up to use as a walking stick or possibly a weapon. I had wished that somehow, I would have managed to grab a machete from campus or one of the towers.
As I moved deeper into the dense jungle, my mind flashed back to the images I had seen and lived the last 14 hours. They haunted me and forced my research suit to alter my breathing. I could tell the research suit needed to be charged, but was still glad I had it. Even if it lost power, it would still act as a wetsuit and keep me warm.
I wanted to find some sunlight to bask in and charge my suit. I wanted to avoid the river as much as I could. I knew the officers would be patrolling it, especially since they did not have access to the sky because of the heavy rainfall. Not to mention, it seemed like the jaguars of the jungle were always a stone's throw from any part of the river and I wasn't equipped to fight off a tortoise at the moment.
The heavy rain turned into a light mist as I cautiously moved deeper into the dense jungle, looking over my shoulder with every step. I decided to stop penetrating the jungle and to instead listen for any drones or choppers.
The sounds of insects, birds, and other animals could be heard as I looked to the sky. There weren't any signs of C.O.C.A., so I continued my search for food.
My luck began to change when I suddenly spotted a mango tree. The way the fruit hung from the tree was as if it was calling my name.
Small tremors caused the ground to vibrate. I was ten feet from the tree when I came to a frightening halt. I couldn't believe my eyes! My heart was beating outside of my uncharged research suit. Standing in front of me was the most unique creature I had ever set eyes on. It stood on two feet and was just as surprised to see me. The creature’s large black eyes pierced into my soul as I gazed at its beauty. This had to be the creature my father hypothesized about. It was so human-like, yet so far from anything I had ever seen. It appeared to look more like a man than ape but had a lean muscular physique. Some of the physical characteristics the creature displayed were like the replicas we had on campus of hominids of the past, only much different. Parts of the creature had thick hair and made me think that the tuft of hair we found belonged to this very being.
The creature had to be five-and-a-half feet tall, at least, and didn’t look more than 170 pounds. It had four limbs and what appeared to be five or six long curved digits on its hands. The creature had a large head, larger than the average human. Its coat, like many animals of the jungle, was astonishing -- built precisely for camouflage. Its body was covered with a layer of hair. It appeared that there were thicker patches of hair around the neck, shoulder, arms and stomach areas. No wonder it had gone undetected; it blended right in.
As it stood there gazing at me, I remained frozen. I wasn’t sure if it was a state of shock or the fact that my heart was beating out of my chest. The creature’s eyes frightened me because they were made up of almost entirely of dark sclera, with just a little bit of white matter.
After about 30 seconds of us both looking at each other, it slowly approached me, making a clicking sound. The research suit did its best to assist my breathing. The creature stared at me and then opened its palm towards me. I remembered talking with a zoologist we had on campus once who told me that it was a sign of respect when an ape opens its palm to you.
As I stood there, gazing at its incredibly dark black eyes, I couldn’t help but notice the creature’s large curved fingers that were held out in front of me. I immediately opened my palms as well. The creature then began to inspect the palm of my hand with its hands before putting them up to its face to smell them. As my hand rested in its hands, I could feel the strength it possessed. The creature then began to inspect the rest of my body with curiosity, making an unusual clicking sound. As it started to move its hands towards my head to inspect my hair, tears began running down my face.
“Please don’t hurt me,” I whispered, knowing that the creature couldn’t understand me.
The creature then stared at me in the face and stopped, releasing my hand. I sensed that it could tell I was scared. The creature then started to slowly walk away. “Please don’t go!” I cried.
The creature then turned its head and stopped and made a short whimpering sound as it did something with its hands.
“I have nowhere to go,” I cried.
The creature again made this short whimpering sound, doing the same gesture with its hands. I then began to understand that it too was probably scared. I wondered if the tremors had terrified it, as well, maybe destroying its home. The creature stuck out its palm again, making the same whimpering sound. I placed my hand in its palm.
“My name is Layka. I won’t hurt you,” I said as the creature just stood there contemplating something.
The creature then let out a mild howling noise and grabbed my hand. The jungle suddenly became silent for a few short seconds. It continued to hold my hand and lead me deeper into the jungle. I wasn’t sure of where we were going, but at this point I didn’t care. I was just happy to no longer be alone.
As we maneuvered through the jungle, it began to rain lightly. A part of me just wanted to give up and die. I had nowhere to go -- no family, no reason to live. After what seemed to be an hour, I felt as if I couldn’t walk any longer. I dropped to my knees, not caring about the rain or mud.
I needed something to eat; I was extremely weak. As I knelt on the ground, t
he creature touched me and continued to make whimpering noises and gestures with its hands.
The creature pointed deeper into the jungle. I could tell it was implying that we needed to move. I wiped the tears off my face and continued to move forward, not for myself but to avenge my family. Somebody had to know the truth.
About 20 minutes into our walk, I could hear a slight roaring noise. I thought maybe it was thunder or perhaps a chopper, but as we inched closer, I gazed on the most beautiful waterfall I had ever seen.
Where am I? I thought to myself. Has this place ever been discovered by man?
I had so many questions. One thing was certain: this was the most beautiful waterfall I had ever seen – even more beautiful than the enormous waterfall of the Electron Territory. It was surrounded by beautiful trees, vines, fruits, and plants. As we inched closer, we stopped next to a few giant trees. They were enormous, the treetops kept the waterfall hidden from aerial view. Maybe that’s why we never saw it with our drones or choppers. I stood in awe for a few moments gazing at the beauty of my surroundings. This was amazing, my parents would have loved this.
I turned over and smiled at the creature. It then made a whimpering noise and grabbed my hand, placing a Guava fruit in it. I immediately devoured it. The fruit wasn’t filling, I still felt weak and sick. The creature then began to lead me to a tree next to the waterfall. It pushed aside a few plants, revealing a hole in the base of the enormous tree. It had to have been four feet wide, the way it was hidden was absolutely astonishing. The naked eye would never realize it was there.
The creature entered the hole, still holding onto my hand. I began to follow into this valley of darkness, only able to hear the mild roaring of the waterfall.
“Is this where you live?” I asked.
I knew the creature couldn't understand me, but I spoke anyway as we continued to move forward into the darkness.
As my eyes slowly began to adjust, I could tell this hole was a chamber leading to a cave directly behind the waterfall. I could see glimpses of the sun from just behind the waterfall. As we continued to move deeper and deeper, I finally felt safe although I was still scared.
“I need to stop,” I said, placing one knee on the ground. Not only was I weak, I also seemed to be delusional, almost as if I was seeing stars -- like the time I was choked out unconscious at one of my Jiu jitsu classes because I was too stubborn to submit.
I closed my eyes for a second, trying to come to my senses. As I opened them, the stars still remained. I needed to rest.
“How much further?” I asked.
The creature whimpered as it grabbed my other hand and we kept moving deeper, inch by inch.
I then began to realize I wasn’t seeing stars. My eyes were locked onto what looked like constellations on the roof of the cave. It was a beautiful sight. I slowly began to realize that the star-like objects were actually glow worms.
I remembered reading about caves that had glow worms and beaches that had bioluminescent algae throughout parts of the world. This was remarkable, I had to be dreaming.
“They are beautiful,” I said in amazement.
We both gazed for a minute or two and continued to move forward in silence. The creature then began carefully grabbing handfuls of the glow worms and placing them on its coat. It then went and grabbed another handful of glow worms, keeping them in its palm.
We walked roughly 15 yards away from where the glow worms were found. The creature knelt to the ground and threw a handful of worms down on the cave floor. The glowworms slowly disappeared. I began to realize then that there was a hidden crevice. The creature was trying to communicate with me and tell me that there was a crevice in the cave. I was in awe of how this creature was attempting to communicate with me non-verbally.
“I understand!” I said in amazement.
The creature then walked back to grab more glow worms. As the creature came back, it grabbed my hand again. I continued to slowly follow. The creature placed our hands on what felt like a thick vine. It then ran back and forth to the glow worms, grabbing handful after handful, repeatedly placing glow worms all over the thick vine until a majority of the vine was glowing. I was unsure if it was the inside of the glowworms that caused the glow or if it was their fecal matter.
Once the vine maintained a glow, the creature then let out a small clicking sound. It began grabbing the vine and started to maneuver itself across to the other side of the crevice. Once it was across, it began to make a light humming sound. I figured this was my cue to follow suit. I quickly gathered the little strength and courage I had left and grabbed the vine. Slowly, I began to maneuver my way to the other side of the crevice. My arms were so weak! As I inched closer and closer, I could hear the creature whimpering. My arms shook as I inched closer towards the creature.
As I scurried across the vine, I reached out my hand. The creature quickly grabbed me and began helping me down. My hands grasped the thick coat around its shoulders as I tried to find my footing. The creature assisted me to an area of the cave where I dropped to my knees and immediately collapsed.
Chapter 24
The Pool
I woke to the earthy smell of the cave and immediately began sobbing. Sitting there, I cried for what must have been the entire morning or night. My sense of time had been lost. My hands rested on what felt like the deepest part of the earth, a damp wet feeling, reminding me that I have nothing left in my life.
I couldn’t stop sniffling as the aching in my heart began to pulsate. My research suit had no power.
Stuck to the cave floor, I began hearing a warm whimpering sound from the creature, almost as if it was letting its presence be known. I continued to sniffle, but my tears weren’t as rapid. Suddenly, I heard the creature’s clicking sound. The sound was soothing...peaceful. It slowly began to settle me down.
As I scanned the dark areas of the cave, small splashing noises could be heard. I paused for a second, trying hard to focus on what could be making the sound. Suddenly, I set my eyes on a beautiful pool of sparkling bioluminescence. The pool couldn't have been bigger than a small pond. The glow had to be some type of microorganism, perhaps algae. I recalled my father telling me about his experiences with caves in the eastern world that had bioluminescent microorganisms.
The pool was breathtaking. The way it reflected off the cave’s wall was hypnotic. I remained defeated on the ground, gathering my thoughts. I was so weak and didn’t want to burn any unnecessary energy if I didn’t have to.
My attention turned solely on the creature. What a beautiful being! Just observing the intelligence and attention to detail the creature possessed separated it from anything ever recorded in the animal kingdom.
Although I felt lightyears away from home, I felt safe and secure in the presence of this creature. It was kind, not aggressive in the slightest bit. The light whimpers and clicks it occasionally let out were comforting.
The fear of the unknown is what scared me the most. I wondered if anyone besides C.O.C.A. knew I was still alive. I hoped Donald would come to his senses and inform Marina of the truth.
Seeing the reflection of the pool again drew my attention to the creature. It seemed to focus intensely on the bioluminescence of the pool. It slowly lowered its body next to the water, swishing its hand in the pool. The brightness of the glow started increasing as the creature continued to rotate its hand. The glow began to provide a night light of sorts.
The glow inside the cave was enough to allow me to make eye contact with the creature. The pool’s glow reflected off the big black eyes of the creature, piercing my soul.
We stared at each other for what seemed like minutes. The movement of the water and the glow that the pool provided looked absolutely stunning on the walls of the cave.
The creature then made a clicking sound again, this one unlike any other it had made before. The sound reminded me of a dolphin.
This couldn’t be happening, everything still seemed so surreal. The creature then remov
ed its hand from the water and slowly made its way to a vacant corner of the cave, quickly returning with what appeared to be a stone of some sort.
The pool began to dim in the creature’s absence. The creature immediately crouched back down and began swishing its hand in the water, reviving the glow. Then, with its free hand, it gently offered me the stone. I remained frozen to the ground.
“No, thank you,” I said. I was too heartbroken to have any desire to play with a stone.
The creature offered me the stone again, this time making a mild humming like sound; the melody was very welcoming. I rose to my feet and walked toward it. The creature’s jet-black eyes continued to house the reflection of the pool. I crouched next to it, our shoulders practically touching. The creature then made the same humming sound and offered me the stone again.
This time, I respectfully accepted it, saying thank you immediately.
Once I had a second or two to assess the stone, I quickly realized that it wasn't actually a rock, it appeared to be a fruit. Maybe a pomegranate or avocado. The fruit was a little bit larger than a grapefruit but had a dark casing.
The creature’s sense of empathy surprised me. Its self-awareness and intelligence were extremely hard to believe. I fought back an urge to hug the creature, as we remained crouched by the pool, but couldn’t resist. Suddenly, I wrapped an arm around it. A weight off my shoulder had immediately been lifted. I finally felt safe. The creature showed no emotion, but did not seem to be affected by my hug.
I then began observing the fruit. It had smooth skin -- almost like an avocado, but stronger. Its thick skin made it hard to open. I tried squeezing the fruit with both hands, but to no avail. I tried again. Sensing my struggle, the creature grabbed the fruit from me and squeezed the entire fruit in its hand. The creature possessed so much power! Once the fruit softened, the creature handed it back to me.
“Thank you,” I said in a soft voice.
I quickly bit into the fruit. Its juices quenched my thirst and hunger all at once. The texture of the fruit was like that of a pomegranate. It was the most satisfying thing my taste buds have ever encountered.
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