The Wild

Chapter III



Cole arrived at the camp to find it empty. He understood right away that something was very wrong. He moved cautiously toward the pen and finally realized what had happened. It was all his fault. By leaving them alone, he had allowed them to escape. However, even as he was berating himself for his carelessness, he also believed that they had very little experience of the mountains, and even at this, it was only what they had seen in the last few days. He was convinced that the white man, thinking himself very clever, intended to follow the money trail, and he welcomed him to it.

Rather than going after the braves, he directed his paces in the opposite direction. He had done more than just spending his nights in meditation during the trip. On one night that he had been particularly bothered, he had thought of the possibility of people coming after them, or that indeed they might try to use this to escape. At the time, he had set up a false trail that would lead them nowhere, but under the circumstances, he figured that he would use what was left of the money to lead them directly to the village. It would take them at least a day to get where he had placed the last banknote, maybe more since they were so inexperienced. By then, he would have finished preparing the trap, and if the braves didn't catch up with them, they would soon be back in their grasp, anyway…

As he walked away from the camp, he began to despise her, as much as he had wanted her before. His anger had grown since the incident, and now, he figured that when they caught up with them, contrary to his previous intentions, he would make her work in the village like the others. They would be no more than the slaves that white men used themselves. Not only had she rejected him, but now she was also causing trouble. His desire for her had been replaced by a deep rage, rooted in his impression that she would reject him only because he was Indian. It didn't matter at the moment that it wasn't entirely true. He didn't want to be a part of her world, had not wanted it for a very long time.

At first, they had followed the trail that they had come from, but it became increasingly harder for them to be certain of the way to go. Leo was relieved when he found the first of his banknote lying there, as he had left it. They had hoped to be able to ride the horses, but they could only do so part of the way, and the trip was just as painstaking as it had been in reverse. Still, they were stimulated by their taste of freedom and not about to stop; at least not until they had put a safe distance between them and the Indians. At some point, Leo wondered why the trail seemed unfamiliar to him. However, given the fact that he had very little knowledge of these parts, he concluded that he must have been mistaken. They went on for twelve hours straight, only stopping to pick a few berries on the way, and also to drink out of a stream, which at least seemed to have clean water. The fear pushed them always further…

That night, they were very surprised and grateful that the Indians had not found them. They stopped out of exhaustion mainly. It was also for the fact that the night was very dark and that they were afraid of getting lost. Leo offered to watch out for them and that they should try to sleep. At first, none of girls thought that they would, but the fatigue and the emotions got the better of them.

It was still very dark when Piper awoke, and at first she was a little disoriented. It was cold in spite of the blanket. She let her eyes get used to the darkness and she spotted Leo. His head had dropped to his chest. She should have been worried that he wasn't watching anymore, but she just felt a surge of tenderness at seeing him like this. She got up, careful not to wake the other two, and then she went to him. Right away she could see that he was shivering, even in his sleep. She wrapped the blanket that she was still carrying around his shoulders, and the urge to kiss him came to her. This time, she didn't feel like resisting, but not wanting to wake him either, she just brushed her lips on his cheeks, lingering much longer than any proper lady would have, she thought with a little thrill. He moved in his sleep, and she stepped back, but when he didn't wake up, she came to sit on the trunk by his side. He looked so sweet in his sleep. She had no doubts that, if she had not already been in love with him, she would have fallen for him right then and there. She put her head against his arm and just enjoyed this rare moment of peace. She had stayed like this only a few minutes when she felt his arm coming around her. She looked up and saw that he had been observing her in silence. He smiled sweetly and her heart jumped. It had been a few days since she had seen this smile.

Without a word, he bent toward her, almost timidly. When his face was only a few inches from hers, he stopped, as if unsure of what he should do. Piper took the decision for him as she moved quickly toward him, opening her lips to his kiss. At first, it was only a sweet kiss. However, very soon, they both forgot about the girls beside them, or anything else for that matter, as the kiss became more passionate. She put her hands behind his head, pulling him to her. He began caressing her hair, then her neck, going down her back slowly. She arched her body toward him and his lips left hers to kiss her face over. She couldn't help the little moan of pleasure when he moved down to her neck. Then he pulled away suddenly and she felt lost.

She was still holding his neck and she tried to pull him back, unwilling to end this. However he resisted, putting his hands on her face and holding her back delicately. She opened her eyes and saw that he was not resisting for lack of wanting her. It was written all over his face that he did. Yet, he pulled even further away:

"Piper, we can't do this, it's not right."

This was like a cold shower for her, as she replied almost angrily:

"You mean because of Phoebe?"

Leo sighed:

"No, not that."

Piper insisted:

"Don't you love me, not even a little?"

Her voice was almost pleading now.

"Oh Piper, of course I do, I love you with all my heart."

"And I love you too, so there shouldn't be any obstacle. Phoebe will understand…"

He had to take a few deep breaths at this. He so much wanted to take what she offered, but she was too precious to be just taken like any girl.

"It's simply that if we make love, I want it to be beautiful and when the time is right."

"What if we don't survive this?" Piper said then. "I don't want to wait any longer. I've never been surer of anything," she added, again going to him and kissing him hungrily, as she was caressing his chest.

She couldn't believe how bold she felt. All she wanted at this moment was to feel his arms around her, his lips on hers. She wanted to feel his love, not just know it.

Leo moved slightly away again, while keeping his lips near hers but not touching them.

"Are you certain?" He asked in a trembling voice that she knew was full of desire now.

"Yes," Piper whispered softly.

Then, he didn't hesitate anymore, as she pulled his hand toward her chest, inviting him to touch her and to make her feel like a woman for the first time in her life. He only stopped long enough to lift her in his arms and carry her a little ways from the others. Then they fell to the ground together still kissing passionately, oblivious to the cold and the danger. His heart was beating wildly against her chest and it just aroused her more. His hands were already undoing her blouse, soon exposing her small but firm breast. His mouth left hers and descended slowly toward them, where he stopped and lifted his head, admiring their perfect shape. This alone was almost as exciting for her as if he had already touched her, but when he did take her nipple delicately in his mouth and traced lazy circle with his tongue around them, she thought right then that she would die of pleasure. She arched her hips toward him, already inviting him in. She had always thought that she would be scared to be with a man, but at this moment, there was nothing that she wanted more than to be his.

He let go of her only long enough to undress and she couldn't help looking at him, his muscular chest and his firm stomach. She gasped, as she looked further down, blushing at her own audacity.

He soon came back down on her, kissing her belly, as he was unfastening her skirt and soon dispatched her undergarment. She felt on fire throughout her body, certain that only his touch could appease her. She pulled him to her, already opening her legs for him. For just an instant, he hesitated some more, as if he thought that even now, she might want to rethink this. She wasn't about to… She pulled his face to hers as she arched her hips toward him even more and he entered her, at first slowly as she screamed a little, feeling some pain. However, he was patient, and waited until she was ready. It didn't take long for the desire to flow back inside her and she put her hands on his back, inviting him to enter further. Before long, she felt the first wave of pleasure exploding from her loins and only his mouth on hers kept her from awakening her cousin and sister with the scream of surprise that she uttered then.

For a long moment, he stayed in her, even after he was spent, just enjoying the warmth of her. He was caressing her hair, her face, barely believing that they truly had made love in this wilderness, and it had never felt better. He pulled their clothes around them in lieu of blanket, and they stayed in each other's arms in silence for a long moment. At last, he whispered in her neck:

"No matter what happens next, I want you to know that I will love you forever. You are the love of my life, I know this."

Piper only now remembered all the reasons why this shouldn't have happened, but she pushed them away resolutely, as she didn't want anything to spoil this perfect moment.

"I'll be yours for as long as you want me…"

She felt him smile in her neck:

"Then, you'll never leave me because I will never stop wanting you."

She didn't answer, only wanting to believe this with all that she was.

The Indians had been very puzzled when, not long after leaving the camp, they found many spots where the fugitive had seemed to leave the trail and then come back to it. In the end they concluded that they had tried to confuse their pursuers by starting other trails along the way. So, rather than follow the tracks, they went down the usual trail, determined to wait for them at the foot of the mountain. This had been the only reason why the girls and Leo had not been recaptured. The many detours had in fact been Leo looking for his banknote, so that when they actually began following the trail that Cole had prepared, it only looked like one more detour to the braves.

For the first time in four days, Phoebe woke up from a dreamless sleep just before dawn, and was surprised that it disappointed her. She turned at the sound of horses neighing. There she saw Piper and Leo, already awake and apparently in deep conversation. Although nothing seemed amiss, she sensed that there was something different about them. Nevertheless, at the moment, she was too tired and nervous to probe further into this. She got up to find that Paige was awake as well, and without a word, they all started down the trail again, or what passed for a trail. Leo had been wondering for a while already about the differences between their first trip and this one. Of course, he had to admit that the climb had been hard, and that they might not have been paying enough attention to their surroundings. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were somehow going in circle. Yet, he was finding the banknote along the way just as he thought that he had left them and they continued on, convinced that short of this, they would never find their way back. Later that afternoon, he finally thought that they had made progress when they started a steep descent. "Who knows," Leo thought, "maybe we are closer to civilization than I thought."

The only problem was that now they couldn't ride anymore, as they had been able to since the morning. At least, it had been a more pleasant going for a while and they were all grateful for that.

The descent was much more difficult for the horses and it slowed them down considerably. It was almost nightfall when they found themselves on a plateau. The sight should have been a reassuring one, but it puzzled Leo even more. He knew that they could have made a better time on the way down, but he still thought that they should not have reached the bottom so quickly. However, he didn't want to alarm the girls and suggested that they took some rest.

That night, he decided to take the risk and make a small fire under the cover of a large boulder that they found at the edge of the plain. Phoebe stayed close to Leo that night, as she was looking for some comfort, but she noticed her cousin staring at her this time, and wondered anew about them. Again, she was too tired to worry about it however, and they soon decided to get some sleep, as they knew that they would have a long way to go in the morning before they found civilization, or at least someone to help them, they hoped. They had barely fallen asleep before a faint sound alerted Leo. He worried that they had chosen some animal's home for their little camp, and stirred the fire to revive it. However, as he was doing this, he was turning his back to the intruder and never had a chance to react before a blunt weapon hit him on the head, knocking him unconscious.

Cole looked at the girls, who were still unaware of his presence, with a little smile of triumph. It didn't hurt that hitting Leo had been somewhat satisfying. He had even had time to go back to the village and assemble a few more men to help him bring back the prisoners, just in case. This time, he would not be hiding. The braves were coming behind him and he still had to shake a malaise as he watched at her. He knew that he was angry with her, and yet, the longing remained strong inside him. This irritated him greatly. Seeing his expression, the men hesitated at length. Cole finally saw their hesitation and he ordered them to pick up the still unconscious Leo and then to wake up the girls. These screamed of fright and surprise at seeing the Indians again. They had so hoped that they were out of their grasps, that this caused them even more despair than their first capture. Piper, in particular was looking around anxiously, searching for a trace of Leo. Suddenly angrier than scared, she asked:

"Where did you bring him? What did you do with Leo?"

She was not exactly expecting an answer, as they had already established that none of them spoke English, yet she had to try.

This is why she jumped at Cole's voice:

"If you're talking about the white man," he said with a hint of disdain, "we already took care of him," he added cryptically, unwilling to reassure them.

He was still standing in the shadows, but the voice was unmistakable, and Phoebe recognized it immediately for the man who had intervened to help Paige a few days earlier. She strained to get a better look at this man, who had never showed his face to them. Let alone told them that he understood their language…

He took a few steps toward them, and when Phoebe finally saw him, she opened wide and unbelieving eyes. "How could this be," she said aloud, believing that she had just been thinking it.

He was standing there, just like in her dreams. Although now, he was wearing the skin clothing that was common among the Indians. A fact which had become obvious to her during their few days of captivity. Be that as it may, she couldn't mistake him, as she had seen him so many times in her dreams. Neither could she mistake the piercing blue eyes that seemed so out of place on an Indian's features. For a fleeting moment, these seemed to soften as he stared back at her. However, they quickly turned cold and she felt that she had lost something, without knowing how or why. No matter what she had thought of those savages, his obvious anger hurt her.

"Enough of this," Cole said curtly, "we still have a way to go."

He signaled to the men that it was time to leave, and they rudely grabbed the girls, pulling them out of the shelter and into the open.

Piper immediately saw that Leo had been thrown across one of the horses' back and she tried to get to him with a scream of fright.

The man who was holding her had to finally hit her across the face to stop her. Her head snap from the hit and it quieted her momentarily. However, she couldn't stop worrying about Leo, and as soon as she had regained her balance, she tried to escape the brave again.

Cole saw that he should intervene then.

"He is not dead, stop whining."

Piper turned to him with fire in her eyes:

"What did you do to him?"

He just stared at her coldly and turned away without another word.

Piper still wanted to protest, but somehow, she knew that it might be dangerous and wouldn't help Leo at any rate. Therefore, she chose to hope that he would recover shortly, as she finally let the man lead her away…

While the Indian who had taken a hold of Piper didn't let go of her, just in case, the others were simply urging Phoebe and Paige ahead. Phoebe couldn't take her eyes off the leader, still incredulous about his being real. "How can this be," she thought again, this time for herself. "How can a dream come true?" However, she had to admit that this wasn't anywhere near the dreams she recalled. It was rather a nightmare. She should simply have been angry and hateful toward this man who lived with murderers, but all she could do was wishing that he would look at her once more with the loving eyes that she remembered.

Paige interrupted her musings by whispering:

"What is it Phoebe? Do you know that man?"

Phoebe understood that she had been too obvious, and she turned slightly toward her:

"No, not at all," she half lied. How could she tell her that she believed she had known him for weeks? At least in her imagination…

"Then why did you look so surprised when you saw him?" Paige insisted.

"I don't know, maybe it was those eyes…"

Paige glanced at Phoebe in puzzlement:

"What about them?"

"He has blue eyes, unlike all the others…"

"I had not noticed…"

As they were talking, they had slowed down, and the Indians behind them said something in the language that they couldn't understand. However, when they felt their hands on their back pushing them rudely, they didn't need to.

"Let's talk about this later…" Phoebe whispered nervously.

Paige nodded weakly and then they walked faster, afraid to anger their captors further.

Cole had to struggle with himself not to look back. He was puzzled by the girl's reaction. She had not seemed to recognize him from the night before, but rather to be surprised at his presence there, as if he was totally unexpected to her. Still, he was sure that he had not been mistaken about her rejection. And no matter how much he wanted to believe that she might not hate him, he refused to entertain such a foolish hope. The pain had been great when he had figured out how stupid he had been. He didn't want to go through this again.

It only took them a few hours to arrive at the village, but to him, it had been torture. Then, he saw Noayak coming toward him with her beautiful smile, and decided again to forget about the white girl.

She threw her arms around his neck and questioned with a little pout:

"Why didn't you come to me last night, Jolon? They say that you were here…"

"I had something else to take care of… but now, I'm all yours," he added with a smile.

She lifted herself toward him and kissed him possessively. He felt good in her arms, but his mind again played tricks on him, as he believed for a moment that Phoebe was there, not Noayak.

The Indian girl sensed his sudden reticence and pulled away from him, a puzzled look now on her face.

"What is it?"

Before he could answer, she noticed the new arrivals, and taking in the girls, she frowned.

"Who are these?"

Cole turned the way she indicated:

"They are our prisoners…