Chapter 13

Nighttime fell fast in the jungle. It cast its shadows on everything and the predators that came out at night had the advantage. It was perfect for the hunt; it was the hunt to bring out the predator. It helped that the storm season was in full effect and the rain was pouring nice and thick to add to the cover. Only the more daring and determined hunters would be out on a night like this.

The village was a stronghold of the Federation. It was supplying goods and 'services' for them and the people were almost broken in spirit. It was easy to exploit it and hundreds of other villages like it. They were in the jungle and a considerable distance from the nearest city or sizeable town; it was perfect for getting things that weren't obtained in legal means as well as other things that no one would raise a fuss about.

This particular village was part of a plantation of some sort. The owners or the patron were long gone but the main house was still there and in pretty good shape. In fact it was one of the reasons why the Federation used it and from the looks of things a fort type structure. The village remained intact more or less and ended up trading one set of masters for another… much like the others that they had come across.

This one though was a doozy. A large shipment of guns and supply was coming this way. It would be a blow to the one that was the primary. It would also free the village and one more step in gaining attention.

"Are you sure about this?"

The boy that was watching through a pair of binoculars looked up at his friend and said, "It'll be fine Paulo. Nobody knows we're here."

"But we were told that we couldn't come on this one."

"Don't be such a baby. We're more than capable of coming along."

"But this one is really dangerous. She said so," Paulo said looking out at the layout of the village below from their hiding spot. He shuffled on his feet uneasily. "I really don't think that we should be here." He brushed the rain from his face even though there was rain pouring down. It was more of a nervous reaction to the fact that they were not where they were supposed to be and was worried about getting into trouble.

"Relax. It's not like we're going to actually go free the people," the other said looking annoyed. "We're just going to watch and see what happens. No one really knows what she does when she does this. Don't you want to see?"

"I do but when I am told I can," Paulo replied. "Come on Guillermo we should go."

Guillermo snorted, "Don't be such a baby."

A rustling caught their attention and they both froze. A pair of boys they didn't know stumbled out along with Cezar and he looked grumpy. He growled, "Paulo, Guillermo, what are you two doing here?"

"We wanted to see," Guillermo replied knowing that to lie wouldn't do anyone any good.

"We did too," the two strange boys commented. "We heard the stories."

Cezar growled a little. "This is no place for boys. Get back to camp you two and take these two rascals with you."

"But we were waiting to see La Fantasma Muerta," Paulo said in a fit of bravery. "Is it true that she will come, Cezar?"

Cezar shook his head. It was already a week, maybe more and the stories were still spreading. It all started with the girls that had been rescued. They told the story along with the two boys that helped and it spread. It was added to when the convoy of weapons for the Federation was taken over and the weapons stolen and it grew from the other villages that were liberated from Federation control. True followers flocked to join the Dead Ghost.

Looking at the boys and the two that he had caught sneaking in to watch instead of hiding with their mothers, Cezar could see that they had a case of hero worship and in truth… he believed too. He lifted his sleeve even though it was difficult to see with the pouring rain, "Someone thinks she will."

The boys looked at the tattoo and scar that was on his forearm. They had heard the story of Cezar sacrificing himself to save their hero and her helping him in return. It was true. They were excited but their thoughts were interrupted by Cezar, his gentle yet firm tones rumbling, "Paulo, Guillermo, you know what the Federation did to your mother and father. Go back to camp and take these two with you. Now."

Paulo and Guillermo would have protested but they knew better than to argue with Cezar. He may be old but he still packed a punch when he delivered a punishment. They nodded and looked at the two boys who reluctantly followed them. They dashed through the jungle to head for the road when an explosion rang out and shouts in Spanish were occurring. There was also the sound of gunfire. They stopped to go and take a look.

The main house was still standing and there soldiers running around and looking for the source of the explosions that littered the main courtyard with debris and what was left of the cargo that was there. The captain of unit was shouting orders at a pair of his men when they were taken out by shots. Suddenly there appeared a figure in black.

The boys crouched on the ledge where they were and watched as the figure ran by. They started smacking each other and pointing as she stood tall and looked at the group advancing towards her. The captain was shouting for them to take her prisoner. They had barely blinked when she jumped away and charged them. The soldiers went down as she passed them with quick speed. She was like a blur and the pouring rain made it impossible to see what she was doing.

There was a clang going off somewhere and more soldiers started to appear and they were aiming at the figure in black. The four boys looked around and picked up what they could and hurled them at the nearest soldier. It wouldn't have hurt them but provided a good distraction and it did. They turned to look where it was coming from, not noticing something roll in their direction before it exploded.

The captain was beside himself. He was shouting orders but there was confusion everywhere as the people started coming in and ganging up on the soldiers that remained. They were shouting and grabbing the guns. The captain looked ready to start shooting at the people himself until he was pushed from behind on the balcony of the second story of the main house. He landed with a hard thud on the ground as lightning crashed.

It was a woman. That much was clear but she was not like any woman he had seen. She stood tall and dressed in black like a soldier would but she didn't have all the equipment one would have. Her face he couldn't get details for it was painted black like the night sky. He only saw the difference when the lightning struck and he could make out the streaks of what looked like white… or was it red. That didn't matter since she advanced slowly and in her hand was a weapon that looked deadly but it wasn't what had him in shock.

They say that a man's could be glimpsed through the eyes. This was no man though but a woman and the eyes she bore were not those of a man. In normal light they would have appeared darker but there was the reddish tint coming through the brown in her irises. It was like looking at the devil or something. He swore in Spanish as she said perfectly, "Se podría asesinar a personas inocentes sólo para capturarme?"

The captain looked at her. Who was this demon that spoke his tongue? He replied, "Sólo para matar al diablo!"

The woman looked like she was pleased with the answer. It was hard to tell since her face was all black. The captain could just imagine. There was also something else in those eyes as he looked up at her. They were not human for certain. They looked more like those of a wild animal, a predator going in for the kill.

The woman looked at him and then swooped to kneel in front of him and had a look about her face that was curious but could turn deadly in an instant. He tried to reach for a weapon but she grabbed his hand and held it fast to the ground as she brought her weapon down, the blade perfectly between his fingers. His eyes were on hers as she peered at him and said, "Sea un mensajero." She then switched to English, "The hunter will be hunted."

The captain looked wide eyed as she repeated it. He would remember it since it appeared that she would cut off his manhood or kill him if he didn't get it all. She stood up holding her weapon in her right. She pointed it at him and said, "Tell Rorke that. Let Otaktay know that he is being hunted."

He watched as she turned and leapt off the balcony to below. The captain scrambled to his knees and to his feet to look over. He saw her running along the ledge that lines the windows on the first level. The people were overrunning the compound. The only thing that he could do was to escape but he wasn't going to do it without a fight. He shouted in Spanish for whoever was there to shoot the woman and he threatened death.

Gunfire erupted and those that were defenseless like the peasants below scattered, trying to protect themselves from the debris and any stray bullets. It was returned from the jungle by those protecting the woman who was firing a weapon herself.

"Capitan, we can't stay here. They have breached the armory and everything," one of the captain's underlings said as he ran in. "No one is coming."

The captain looked around. They were overrun and the people down there knew it. They were chanting something. It was the name that he had heard in the reports that had been sent. He had dismissed it as childish nonsense since it was improbable. He was concerned that the resistance that was sprouting up was getting too powerful. They didn't need to have turmoil within their ranks if they were to deliver another blow to the north.

That was then and this was now. He looked out at the pouring rain and with the fire making the waves of heat he saw her. She was standing on the ledge and looking at him. She pointed at him as a silent warning. The lightning flashed and then she was gone. The captain blinked as he was being torn away from the balcony since the peasants were starting to throw stones at him or whatever they found. That wasn't possible.

He shook his head as he was led to the jeep that would get them out of there. He hated to run but in this case he had no choice and he had a message to bring. He didn't know if he would be believed or not. After all…

"Who was that sir?"

The captain was silent for a moment ignoring his lieutenant. He contemplated since he couldn't get those eyes out of his mind. Finally he said, "La Fantasma Muerta."

"Que?"

"That was a sign of our doom."

The lieutenant said nothing but continued to drive through the mud. It would be several hours before they would reach a more fortified and equipped fort. That was just an outpost. He had no idea how the boss was going to take the news. That was one more outpost overthrown by the resistance and they were the ones spreading ghost stories. There was no such thing as the dead ghost. It was just a story. "It is one outpost. We can get it back."

"No. She won't let it happen. She will come," the captain said. He had contempt for the woman but he was also afraid. He had scolded an angry woman once or twice before. This was different. They would not be getting that outpost back. He murmured, "La Fantasma Muerta."

"More have joined," Cezar pointed out as he walked through the jungle. He was swinging a stick around and had a rifle on his back. The rifle was a precaution and a necessity. He looked around for his companion through the brush.

"As they should. It is their freedom they fight for," the response came from the brush.

Cezar looked in the direction of the voice and said, "The raid last night has given the means of supplying the ranks."

"As I said they would. In order to carry out larger plans the little things must be taken care of." Cezar's companion came out of the brush holding a piece of fruit in their hand.

Cezar watched as she took a sniff and then a bite. Even though she was not overly familiar with the land, she knew how to act in order to be able to survive. He didn't see that at first until she woke up in his village and started looking around with observation. She was of a tribe, that much he could determine, but it was not of here. She was also a soldier and they were taught to survive. He replied, "Your presence has brought much hope to the village and those around us. Many flock to our banner. You give hope."

Tahatanskah looked at Cezar. Her face was streaked with dirt. It was like the paint she had used didn't wash away completely. Then again she was always on the move in the jungle, exploring when she wasn't busy with scouting or training the next few in basic arms and ammunition so they could teach the others. It was like she was a wild person that came out only when her help was needed and for the most part that is what it looked it.

To Cezar that assessment bothered him. She offered to help with their oppression but it seemed like they were taking advantage of it. Where was the benefit to her? He was brought out of his thoughts when she said, "I didn't promise anything to them. I give my help and the rest is up to you."

"Then what is it that you want el halcón?"

"Nothing except to find my way home."

"And where is that?"

"I… don't know." Tahatanskah had started walking and was looking around. She hadn't wanted to reveal her true intentions. If she did that then they would want to help and she couldn't allow that. They helped her, saved her life fair enough but she wasn't going to bring her troubles to them since she already did when she escaped. This was payment. She muttered to herself in Sioux, "Shappa you are chaska…"

Cezar frowned as he listened to her speak. She occasionally spoke in that language that was not familiar to him. Some of the words he figured were names and there was one that she spoke of often with another name just as much. He could only guess that the first was someone very important to her and judging by the way she would get a little sad he was willing to guess her husband.

Tahatanskah was aware that she was rambling and stopped. She only did it when she really allowed herself to feel the loneliness she was feeling. She missed her laughing pup and the others. Mostly she missed her love. She didn't know if he was all right since the last time she saw him he was in pain and in danger of bleeding out.

"We can help you. All you have to do is ask."

Tahatanskah looked at Cezar. The man was basically her translator and go between with regards to her and the villages. He helped out in numerous ways especially when she came close to making a cultural mistake that would have been fatal. She owed him her life since he risked his to allow her some freedom under Otaktay's care. She owed him much but she couldn't ask it of him. She replied, "I could but I can't. What I must do… it has to be done by me."

"A large burden you carry if you feel you must take it alone."

"It is one that I've had since I was born and I didn't know of it until… recent."

They walked through the jungle some more. They weren't in too much danger since the 'rebel camp' was hidden in the jungles of Venezuela. The where exactly was a bit hard to pin down. It was why she really couldn't leave as of yet. She wasn't sure of the direction and she was still trying to match local names for nationally recognized ones. It sucked that she couldn't speak Portuguese but her Spanish was tolerable and she was able to communicate. Mostly hand signs worked too and it added an air of mysteriousness to her default behaviors of survival.

Cezar watched his friend. He could call her that though she would probably say that she shouldn't be called a friend. He said, "When you were a prisoner you seemed to thrive on the suggestion that someone would come for you."

"I did."

"Do you still?"

Tahatanskah paused in their walk and looked at her friend. She raised her brow even though her gaze was almost bland and replied, "It is a hope of mine even though I am not certain he will be able to come."

"He?"

Tahatanskah paused realizing that she had revealed that part of herself that she kept a secret. While she knew that Cezar wouldn't reveal her secret unless it was necessary, she didn't want too many to know. Otaktay knew of her relationship to Matoskah and his sons and she didn't want him to have any more ammunition to use though she was certain about the fact that he had witnessed all of their behaviors on the beach. She knew though that she couldn't evade otherwise Cezar would give her the look; the same look that Matoskah gave her a couple of times. She replied, "Shappa. He is…"

"Husband?"

"No." She searched for the right way to describe it. True they both told each other that they loved each other though she wasn't sure how much that applied. She wasn't angry for what he did; she long forgave him for that. She wasn't sure if he was alive and if he was, would his feelings have changed? She finally decided on, "Novio." She gave the Spanish word for boyfriend but implied sweetheart.

Cezar was puzzled at her hesitancy and he didn't really buy the sweetheart description but he wasn't going to press too hard on it. It was obvious she cared for him and if this Shappa cared enough for her, he would be looking for her. He replied, "Why aren't you certain?"

Tahatanskah swallowed a bit as she remembered that day. She answered, "It was the day we destroyed the Federation weapon in space. He and his brother were injured. His were the worst and Otaktay would have killed him and I found them and… tried to save them." She turned to look in no particular direction. "I was taken. Now I'm here."

"But you don't know."

"It is why I have hope."

Cezar took a moment and studied the pensive look on her face. There was more to it and it probably had to do with her time at that place. She wasn't going to talk about it though and he was going to follow the wisdom of not saying anything more of it except, "Then God willing he will come and you can find peace."

"I just want to survive and live," she replied with a slight smile. "And try and save a soul from being condemned."

"You refused to torture those you deemed innocent."

"And you told me to give you that," she countered as she pointed to the scars on Cezar's forearms. "So I'm on the way to damnation. I am just glad that Sungmanitu didn't share the same fate as me. The best I can do is just go after the one that torments your people because of me."

"You are not a burden el halcón," Cezar replied with sincerity. "Without you, we would never have gotten the courage to do what we are doing. Consider this redemption." He gave a slight smile.

Tahatanskah couldn't help but smile with Cezar. He was right and it made her feel better. She gave a hum of a chuckle and turned to head back to camp. She took a different route to see if Cezar paid attention. She didn't doubt it but she liked to test the man and she tested herself. They made it back with her chuckling and Cezar muttering in Portuguese about her damned tests. The walk made her feel better and she felt even better when the gaggle of children ran up to her.

They were orphans or young boys who were in training. They stayed in the camp since they weren't really a part of any village. They all had their chores but they always had a chance to talk to the Fantasma Muerta and she would tease them and play with them like a joke. It was then that one of the men said that they had something.

The tent where meetings were held was where all plans were made. Tahatanskah looked at the informant while Cezar patiently translated everything. She listened and asked her questions accordingly. When she was finished, she thanked the informant who smiled sheepishly and backed out to head back to his post. She put a hand to her chin and started thinking.

"I know that look," Cezar said once the informant was gone. "You have a plan already in the works." He gave a knowing look in the direction of his friend and a slight smile. It was the same way every time.

"Not really," Tahatanskah replied with a slight knowing grin. She started walking out of the tent and through the camp. Drills and other chores were going on. In the span of a week the first recruits from the village that rescued her learned how to handle the guns she collected from the first couple of jobs.

"What are you thinking my friend?"

"That we're moving camp and heading in the direction or Maracaibo," Tahatanskah replied. She looked at Cezar and added, "The Federation is planning something big to recoup losses from the satellite destruction. There's a reason why they have been pressing on the villages and moving supplies through. There is an expected shipment at a midsize town there."

Cezar nodded knowing what that meant. "I'll have the camp pulled and I assume that you'll be scouting ahead?"

"You know me well my friend," she replied.

~0~0~

Translations: Se podría asesinar a personas inocentes sólo para capturarme? (You would murder innocent people just to capture me?); Sólo para matar al diablo! (Only to kill a devil!); Sea un mensajero. (Be a messenger); el halcon (hawk) Spanish. All translations are approximate.

A/N: Looks like trouble is going on for the Federation and plans are moving forward. More next time on The Hunt...