Chapter 4: The Menehune

As they continued their walk back to the wayfinder camp, silence often filled the air. Neither could really find something to say. To Tyler, it was the most awkward moment he had ever experienced, well, maybe except when he actually met her. But, for both of them, it was uncomfortable nonetheless.

Moana glanced at her surroundings as they were walking, a forest on her right, the sea on her left. The sky was clear, and it was a beautiful night.

Finally, Tyler decided to say something to break the tension.

"Do you know if this island has a name?"

She looked and him, and said:

"Not yet," she smiled, "we actually have been trying to come up with a name. It's been kinda tough, do you have any possible ideas?"

Tyler looked at the cliffs, it reminded him of the pictures of Kaua'i he saw in a travel brochure. He then realized that he was 2,000 years in the past, and there probably wasn't a name for the island yet.

"How about Kaua'i?" (See what I did there? ;) ).

Moana considered the name, and she replied,

"I like it. Kaua'i. Has a nice tone."

Tyler imagined a scoreboard in his head, with a large number one on it after that one.

So they continued to walk along the shore, with less tension than before, as both began to talk a bit. Moana began to notice more and more that Tyler really looked quite a bit different than others she had met before. He was light skinned, but was somewhat tan, and had brown hair. He was taller than she was, but he wasn't exactly tall either. He had a slender frame, and brown eyes. She was intrigued by the clothes that he was wearing, as it was designed like nothing she had seen before.

"Where did you get those clothes?" She asked him.

Tyler had another mini panic attack when she asked him this again, he thought:

"Oh God, if I tell her I'm from the future, she'll think I'm crazy. But on the other hand, if I lie and then she finds out later, then she'll think I'm a liar and crazy."

It seemed to be a lose-lose situation either way, but, as he thought: "What the hell, I'm a terrible liar anyway, might as well tell her."

But as he was about to say that, they heard something move behind them. As they looked back there was nothing there. They then heard the sound again, this time near the forest, but again, nothing there. They both looked at each other and laughed nervously. As they faced forward, they stopped dead in their tracks.

What they exactly saw wasn't alarming, but surprising. What stood in front of them were an army of little men, armed with spears and fire. They looked to be about three feet tall at most, probably what most see today as "midgets."

"Uh, what are those?" Tyler asked Moana

Moana looked at them, they looked at her in silence. She then remembered what they were, for he grandma had told her of them in her stories.

"Those are menehune." She said, "they are little people who are said to live deep in the forests of islands, away from everything else."

"Are they dangerous?" Tyler asked.

"I'm not sure, but from looking at them, they don't seem so dangerous. Right guys?" She projected to them.

The menehune started chanting in an unknown language towards both of them, and starting walking towards them with spears pointed.

"Well, I think that answers your question Kileki. So, if we are smart, we should probably run." She suggested.

"I think that's a great idea." He responded, and they took off.

So, Moana and Tyler took off down the shore, with a horde of dwarves chasing after them. The two looked back, and still saw them with their spears pointed towards them. They saw that the rest of the shoreline was blocked by cliffs not too far up, so they turned left, into the forest.

As they ran into the wooded area, the hid behind two trees. They waited there for awhile, hoping that they had lost them.

"Did we lose them?" Tyler asked.

"I think so!" Moana replied, as she snuck her head around the tree.

When she poked her head out, a spear whizzed past her head and into the tree.

"Never mind!" She said, "Run some more!"

They took off deeper into the forest.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!" Tyler screamed as the menehune began to throw their spears at the two. With spears barely missing the both of them, they ran into a dead end.

"Great! Where do we go now?" Tyler yelled in fear.

"I don't know! They are surrounding us!" Moana replied back.

The menehune were circling in on the two, chanting louder than ever. Getting closer and closer to them, with spears drawn.

Neither had any idea what to do, and both thought that they were about to die. That is, until Tyler had one last resort to try. He had remembered the stone that he "stole" from the two mysterious men, for he still had it on him. He took it out of this pocket, and grabbed Moana's arm.

"What are you doing?" Moana asked, wondering why he took hold of her arm.

"Just trust me." Tyler said, as he held the stone in his hand. He thought of the shoreline, and grasped the stone firmly. It began to glow brightly again, and it vibrated in his hand. The world spun before both of their eyes, as a blue light appeared, and before they new it, they fell onto the shore, away from the menehune.

"We survived!" Moana yelled triumphant.

"How did you do that? It was amazing!"

Tyler was about to answer until he got a hug from Moana. His face turned a bright red, but since it was night out, it was hard to tell.

As he was about to explain, the ground began to shake again, as a blue light appeared in the sky. Tyler knew someone else was coming, so they hid behind a rock that was on the shore.

"Come on! We need to hide!" He said.

When they got behind the rock, two figures appeared out of the blue light. When Tyler saw who they were, dread filled him, as he began to feel cold.

It was the two mysterious men from before, the two that, in a way, had caused him to be in this predicament in the first place. He peeked over the rock, and the two stood scanning the horizon.

"That kid came here, as this is the last known area of activity of that stone. So he's here somewhere." The shorter one said.

"Why do we need to get him, he's own his own most likely, and is probably scared out of his wits! Do you really think he can do anything?" The taller one said.

"That 'harmless' kid you are talking about, has one of our stones, and he heard what we are here for. He knows everything, and if he figures out how to use these properly, he can become dangerous Aukai!" The shorter one said.

"Ka'eo, he won't, instead of wasting time here on this pointless island, why don't we focus on finding the Heart of Te Fiti, and then get out of here." Aukai told him.

Behind the rock, Moana heard this, and her eyes widened.

"The Heart of Te Fiti is a huge deal! That precious artifact will allow us to control all creation! We will have the world in our hands if we take that stone! And I am not about to let some damned kid ruin it Aukai!" Ka'eo yelled in anger.

Moana, whispering, said to Tyler,

"They are trying to steal the Heart of Te Fiti! The heart of life itself!"

After she said that, she went back to listening.

"Ka'eo, you really need to calm down, there's not sight of the kid here, he's probably out somewhere crying for help, he has no one at all. He will go crazy before learn how to stop us, anyway, he's a dumb kid from California anyway, he's clueless about what any of this is." Aukai consoled.

"Ugh, fine! We need to get out of here anyway, I want to get that Heart!"

And with that, Aukai and Ka'eo disappeared.

Tyler and Moana rose up from behind the rock, and she was furious.

"How dare they think they can just go and steal the Heart of Te Fiti. I am the one who returned it, and I am the one who needs to make sure it stays where it is!" She yelled.

"And is this kid they are talking about you? Are you the 'kid' who stole their rock. Is that what's in your hand at this very moment?"

This tirade of questions was thrown upon Tyler like a lightning storm, and so he finally answered:

"Yes, I am that kid, I'm from the future. I was on an island not too far from here, when I found the stone in the sand, and when they saw me, they chased me until I activated the stone and got sent back here." He told her.

Moana couldn't believe what she was hearing, but after seeing whatever just happened moments ago, she believed him.

"So you are not from this time? You are from time that has not happened yet?" She asked.

"Yep, I'm from a city called Los Angeles, on the mainland, quite far from these islands." He told her.

"So why were you on the islands?" She asked him.

"I guess, to escape the fast pace at home, and to slow down and enjoy this place." He replied.

Moana seemed interested in this new aspect of Tyler she did not know about, but she now had to ask him to do her a big favor.

"Well, since you are here, and are most likely stuck here now, do you want to go with me on a journey? To save the Heart of Te Fiti from whatever those guys are?" She asked him enthusiastically.

Tyler was excited when she had asked him this. This was his chance to get closer with her, and get to know her even more. Nonetheless he could brag that he saved the world, he couldn't deny it.

"Of course! Let's do it!" He replied back happily.

"Alright then! Let's head back to the camp, we can head out in a few days to sea. But first, there is someone I want you to meet. Come on!" Moana said as she started running back to the direction of camp.

"Race ya!" She said, and she continued to run.

"Wa-wait!" Tyler said, as he chased after her.

"Who is this person you want me to meet?"

A.N:

Hello once again! I hope you have enjoyed reading this so far! I know I have enjoyed writing it. This story had helped me to learn more about Pacific Islander Culture, and incorporating the menehune was fun because I never knew about them before, and writing about them was fun! Anyways, I've been trying to lengthen the chapters, since it was suggested, so this one is a bit longer. Thanks for reviewing btw, I like reading what you guys have to say. And btw, who do you think Moana wants Tyler to meet?

See ya!

-TOWO