Meanwhile, somewhere else on the island
If there was one word to describe their current journey and predicament, it would be 'lost'. To add onto this, it would worth noting that 'hungry', 'exhausted', and 'deeply frightened' were also essential vocab that could be added to the first word.
And that was currently how Tama felt, for Aheti was fast asleep, resting against the mast in deep slumber. Even though things had calmed down considerably since yesterday at the lake, the two's situation was still what one would describe as dire, even hopeless.
Having managed to escape the Gowa from the lake near the mountains in the centre, they had experienced more trouble going down one of the many side rivers that emptied from the lake and disappeared into the environment of the rest of the island. First, their boat had run into some rapids and had been damaged, hence why there were large cracks and holes along the sides of the vessel. Second, once or twice they had seen the 'Slashers' running along the riverbanks in pursuit of their boat; at one time they had even come close to charging onto it when they had come to a shallow part of the lake. A loud roar, however, had made the creatures halt their attack and they quickly fled back into the jungle, squawking and barking out in abject terror at the sound of what was no doubt a larger creature lurking nearby. Though they had been saved from being turned into mincemeat for these creatures, the two had been quick to make a getaway and continue further down the river, hoping that whatever had scared away the Slashers was not going to come charging out after them.
Right now, slowly moving through a section of the river that went through a small canyon, the boat continued on, the current dragging them on towards what Tama hoped was the way off the island. He stared at the wooden floor of the craft, rubbing the back of one hand with the other as if trying to find something to occupy his mind and relieve the tension. His expression showed one of nonchalance, though internally he was terrified – this could seen by his sudden, nervous reactions to whenever a bird flew overhead, or the sound of the island's nature echoed out from outside the canyon they were in. He was half-expecting something to come running over the canyon's edge and jump down onto them and rip them apart. Who really knew? Maybe something was watching them right now, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
As the Skull Islander sat, occasionally glancing at the earth slowly passing by, his thoughts began to drift onto what was yet to come, or what was yet to possibly come. The same questions ran through his mind over and over. Would we get off this island? If so, where would we go? How would we get back to Moana's island? Would we run into anyone else, or not? Would anyone even be alive by now, given that it had been a few days since the attacks? In short: What's gonna happen to us?
Indeed, what would happen to them? Their boat was still floating, and possibly was seaworthy, but what if it was not? Then there was the case of getting out of here. They still had a little while to go before they reached the river that ran through the area where the remains of the village where they had landed was. Thinking of it immediately brought back the images of the gigantic praying mantises that had come and attacked them that night. And who knew what other predators could be there! They still had to get past them and them out to the open sea. From there, it was going to be a case of getting back to Kalea, and Tama knew that Aheti was going to have to do that because he barely knew the way. After all, Kakalina had done all the planning and Kale and Afu and his friends had done all the navigating, and even then it had been by complete chance they had ended up on the inhabited island.
Would they even find it again?
And, of course, then there was the question of how everyone would react if they did get back to Kalea. What exactly were they going to tell Moana's parents? Your daughter is dead along with basically everyone else who went with her to our island because Kakalina didn't tell them what was actually there. Oh, yes! That would really go down well! He could expect to be torn limb from limb by her fellow tribesmen and women, though he could not deny that might be more merciful than them kicking him off the island and force him to find somewhere else to go, leaving him wandering without direction or hope on the endless oceans, begging and pleading for help until hunger and thirst would consume him and leave him as nothing but food for whatever birds came across him.
The latter problems would likely get them anyway; his stomach was growling, and his throat was dry with thirst.
Tama tried to push these thoughts out of his mind. No, no. Stay positive! He had to be anyway. If he started turning into his brother – Koa would kill him if he wasn't already dead – then they would both end up falling victim to this island. It was bad enough they were on their own and had not really spoken to each other much, though this had probably been because Aheti had collapsed and fallen asleep shortly after leaving the lake; the last thing they needed was to fall out. Still, Tama could not help but fear that something bad was in store for them.
As they began to go around a corner in the canyon, Tama looked up at the call of a bird as it glided overhead.
His eyes caught movement up ahead on the left side near a small patch of trees. Tama stood up, feeling his heart begin to race in his chest, his stomach tighten and his breath quieten to barely a whisper. He kept his eyes on the spot near the trees. There it was! Something moved again! It was like a head that stuck out from the greenery and then duck back inside. He glanced over at Aheti, wondering if he should wake her. Whilst he felt the logic in him would tell him the obvious answer in the affirmative, he was concerned that she would panic and try and frantically get them to go back the way they came. And if what he had seen was something predatory, then her movements would be their death warrant, and even if not in the trees, then anything that happened to be walking around above would quickly rush towards them and make a meal of them too.
Looking back, he saw more movement in the trees as they neared them, though this time they did not duck back in once they stuck their heads out. Tama moved to the front of the boat and leaned in, squinting his eyes to get a good look at them.
"Aheti!" She stirred at first, but then shot upright, eyes open wide, fearing the worst.
"What! What is it?! Are we under attack?!" she exclaimed.
"No!" Tama told her, and she looked up and saw him … ecstatic. The expression was clear, and he was smiling a huge smile. "We found other people!"
Her mouth fell open in shock. What! Other people? B-but that was … impossible! How could there be other people here! She thought they were all dead! How could these people be alive, and what were they even doing here?!
She moved up next to him and saw a group of four people standing next to the trees, waving their arms at them in welcome. She could see the relief on their faces, the happiness that they were not alone, that they had found others along with a way out of here.
"Tama!" One of them, a tall man dressed in shorts and sporting a bloodied makeshift bandage around his shoulder. "Tama! You're alive!"
It took a moment of shock and recollection to realise who this was.
"Atoni!"
When the boat neared the shore next to the trees, he jumped down and pulled the man into a hug. The other men rushed forward and two of them grabbed the boat and pulled it close to the riverbank to stop it drifting downstream. The third man helped Aheti off the boat. She looked at the man who Tama released from their embrace. He was slightly shorter than him with a bald head. His back and chest were littered with scars, some looking fresher than others, and his arm, as mentioned, was wrapped in a bloodied makeshift 'bandage' made of leaves. His legs were thin, as was his body, as if he had not eaten for a days, probably even a week or two – a stark contrast to Tama and Aheti, who themselves had not eaten but still looked more well-fed than the people they were with now.
"I thought you were all dead," Tama was saying to the man, who shook his head.
"No, but it almost ended up that way," he replied and looked over at Aheti. "Whose she?" he asked.
"This is Aheti, she's from a tribe of people whose island we found with Kakalina and the others when we left. She came here to help." He motioned Aheti over to them. "Aheti, this is my friend, and the son of one of our elders. Atoni."
She came over, though she was a little nervous. It was not that she was hateful towards the tribe, but it was the last few days; it had made her wary of anything new. The new creatures that had attacked their group yesterday at the lake had really shocked her system. For all she knew, they could suddenly turn into something and go for them.
"Hello there," he greeted warmly, placing his hand on his chest and giving a low bow with his head. "Please, don't be alarmed." He said when he saw her nervous expression. "We won't hurt you. In fact, we're amazed you've survived this long. And I'm sure the others will be as well."
Tama and Aheti looked at each other with surprised looks, then at the elder. "O-Others?" Aheti asked, as if she had not heard the word properly.
Atoni nodded. "Yes. Come with us, we'll show you."
Entering a large cave in the side of the canyon not far from the river was not something that Aheti and Tama had expected. Yet their subconscious had reasoned that such a place was probably the best place to go to as it was likely to give anyone who had fled there some protection from any potential predators.
As Atoni introduced them to the group of people in the cave, the two tribes people were surprised at the sight before them.
There were about twenty people in front of them, a mixture of men and women with a few children, who hid behind some of the adults. All of them looked dishevelled, tired, dirty and thin. The remains of fruit and some animal bones were scattered around the edges of the cave. All of them stared at Aheti and Tama, practically stunned. More people had survived? How? How could they have survived the terrors and monstrosities of this island? Had it been Kong? Or had they just been very lucky? Aheti heard some of them muttering; some were thanking Te Fiti that they were able to have more people join their group; others were still questioning how she and Tama had managed to last this long.
"We managed to survive best we could after we fled from the main village," Atoni spoke up as he led the two into the midst of people. "Well, those of us who survived." He added grimly.
"What exactly happened at the villages?" Tama asked. "And are you really all that's left?" he added the second question to the first.
Atoni looked at him with a sad look. "To answer your second question, yes. Unless there's anyone else out there, then we're all that's left of the tribe," he paused to let his words sink in, and to make sure the two did not become overwhelmed with shock or anything like that. "As for what happened," he continued, turning to Tama "One night not long after you left with Kakalina, we were rushed by several of the Kamacuras and they tore everything apart, and then she came and-"
"Wait!" Aheti interrupted, terrified at the prospect of where this was leading. "Do you mean … that Gowa creature came with them?"
Atoni nodded, sighing heavily. "Yep. She's a literal demon, one who can control other creatures with a growl or the tip of her claws." Another pause as he cleared his throat before continuing. "Anyway, she came with them and attacked the camp. Many of the people there were devoured. Anyone who survived ran into the woods – no doubt they were picked off by any other predators in the area."
"And there was nothing you could do against her?" Aheti asked.
"Aheti, what can we do?" Tama spoke up. "What I said at the lake wasn't just for effect; she is an 'Alpha', the top of the food chain here. The only one who can even have some degree of a chance against her would be Kong." Tama looked at the others, all eyes in the cave now on him. "Did he intervene?" he asked in a hopeful tone.
"He did," one of the men in the group informed him. "But she forced him down and threw him into one of the main huts, knocking him out, and then ran off to go after some of the people from the tribe. After that, we don't know what happened. For all we know, he's dead now."
"No, he's alive!" Tama exclaimed. "He attacked two Sharpteeth at the lake when we got there last night."
This made everyone exchange glances with each other, once again stunned upon hearing those words. Kong was still alive? Wow! Looks like he wasn't so easy to take down after all. Still, it did little to comfort them. Aheti watched some of the adults give positive words to the kids, reassuring them that Kong would save them, and they would all be alright.
It hit her deep. Here were the survivors of a devastated tribe, a lost people, practically a civilisation in their own way that was now reduced to what she had heard were their ancestors long before them. People who were dwelling in caves, scratching a survival off rocks and sticks, hoping that the next day would not mean the end of their kind. Such stories from her childhood had shocked her; how could people survive like that? Did the gods not help them?
Clearly, they did not, and it was being repeated here. These people were literal refugees, their homes gone, their livelihoods crushed to ruin, their fellow tribesmen and women devoured by the array of terrifying creatures that roamed across the island, and those who had been lucky enough to survive were now waiting for a way out. Waiting for that one small ray of sunshine, that one gleam of hope, that one outstretched hand from the gods to take them to safety and away from this living Lalotai.
"So what happened to you and your people?" Atoni's question snapped her out of her trance. She saw all eyes now turned towards her. "What brought you all here? And where's Kakalina?"
With a glance at Tama, she sighed and began to recount everything that had happened. A brief history of her parent tribe, the arrival of the Skull Islanders, the journey here, the village, the attacks and the running across the various dangerous places of the island, the evading of the predators, the attack at the lake and the arrival of Kong and Gowa, and the death of her chief. When Atoni had inquired again about Kakalina and the others who had set out with them, Tama had answered heavyheartedly that they had all been killed – his brother Koa he had to state was "likely dead now" given the time that he had last seen him along with the grave reality that was this island.
When they were done, Atoni nodded, lowering his gaze to the ground, wondering what there was to do now, and what could happen to them all next. Indeed, what was going to happen? They were all on the run, all terrified, starving and with more of their numbers down, there was a chance that the next move could be their last. Going outside was a very strong certainty of danger. Then again, as one of the women had said earlier before the two arrived, so was staying here waiting for them all to either starve to death, or for a predator to find them and turn them into a banquet.
"So, what do we do now?" one of the men asked.
Atoni looked at him, then at Tama and Aheti, then at the others. As much as he hated it, the next move was a life-or-death decision.
"We'll get on the boat and carry on back to the village," he said. "If there are still any boats out there as you mentioned, Aheti, then let's hope we can find one and get off this damn island."
As the large group began to gather together and leave the cave, Tama, Atoni and Aheti all hoped that they were making the right decision.
This was the final part of their journey now. What happened next, no one knew.
