The next chapter is posted! Enjoy:)
Once it started getting dark the group decided it maybe time to settle down for the night.
It really wasn't something they wanted to do, mainly because of these dangerous people roaming about. But they really don't have much of a choice. It just wasn't all that safe navigating these paths in the dark.
A shining example was when they were on one very narrow path with a steep drop off on the right side, Pete lost his footing, slipped, and almost went over. The others almost didn't get to him in time before he nearly tumbled over.
"Wait, what's that over there?" Alan asks, as he points to something slightly up ahead on the left.
The rest of the group shifted their gaze over that way. It was a little hard to make out in the dark. But they did see what looked like a crevice in the side of the rocky wall that lined the path they were on.
The three men peered inside while the two young women lingered behind them.
Pete ventured in a little but couldn't see much. So, he came back out and set his gaze on Kylie.
"Hey Kylie, can you come here for a moment?" He asks.
"Sure." She said.
She went over to where the others were standing.
"Can you come in with me and shine the light around on your phone?" Pete asks in a low tone, not wanting their new temporary traveling companion to hear or see. They didn't think she would understand the tech that Kylie carried.
"Yeah." She says.
Kylie went in behind Pete, while the rest lingered outside.
When they were in enough, she tapped on her iPhone and quickly brought up the flashlight setting and looked around to see how big the space was and if it was safe for all of them to use.
By the looks of it, it was a cave. The area wasn't huge, but still big enough for a small group of people. They heard footsteps behind them and turned to see it was Alan and Galen. They too started to look around.
"Well, what do you guys think?" Kylie asks.
"It may have to do for tonight. It could also keep us pretty hidden from unwanted company like the kind we ran into earlier today." Alan said.
"Where's Elisabetta?" Pete asked.
"We told her to wait outside a moment." Galen replied.
"Ok, let me turn this off and then we can tell her it's safe to come in." Kylie says.
She turned it off then they all shuffled back out of the small cave.
Elisabetta was sitting on a rock beside the entrance. Though she stood up when she saw them all come back out.
"Well? Is it safe to stay in there?" She questioned.
"Yeah, you can come in." Alan told her.
The young woman then followed them back inside.
It was pretty dark in there. The only source of light was through the entrance from the moon shining above. While it wasn't a full moon, it still gave off some light and there were no clouds.
"Shall we make a fire?" Elisabetta asked.
"That may not be the best idea right now. Especially, if those men are still out looking. A fire may give away where we are." Galen said.
The red head nodded in understanding.
"Judging by the position on the moon, I'd say it's pretty late. We should eat a quick dinner than lay down to rest." Alan suggested.
"Sounds like a plan, I'm bushed. Going up and down these mountain trails is a workout and a half." Pete says, as he goes through his bag.
He conveniently left out the fact that they sadly happened to stumble upon the bodies of Elisabetta's father and brother seeing as they went down the path that Elisabetta and her family were attacked, and she ran off of.
Seeing as none of them had any shovels to dig with, Alan, Pete, and Galen had to gather lots of dead leaves lying around and cover them both with that. While Kylie stayed with Elisabetta for comfort as the poor girl silently cried during the whole process.
Either way, they all felt it was better to cover the dead men with what they could find, out of respect, and not just leave their bodies out in the open like that like roadkill.
Elisabetta was pretty quiet and hardly spoke to anyone after the makeshift burial.
Though Pete did strike up a couple conversations with her to help take her mind off of the horrible event that had occurred. There were even a few times he did get her to smile and even laugh a couple times.
Alan wasn't surprised, seeing as Pete was always ever the charmer. Kylie got to know him well enough these last few months to see it too.
At least she was glad he gave up hitting on her a while back. In the beginning, she almost thought the guy would never quit. Though something told her that Pete may have given up because he may have noticed how her and Galen have been around each other.
Either that or Alan hinted it to him and told him to quit for that very reason.
At the moment, it was the least of importance for them. Right now, they wanted to rest and start fresh in the morning. They are hopeful that they will find a way down from the mountains tomorrow.
Pete gave a good portion of his food to Elisabetta who sat next to him.
Kylie has a feeling that the young red head may have taken a liking to him or maybe felt safer around him. It's quite clear she was very afraid of those men coming back for her.
Because of that, she stuck very close to their sides and looked around a lot during their trek down the mountain paths.
"Thank you." Elisabetta said, as Pete handed her a small plate of food.
"You're welcome. I made it myself." Pete teased.
A small grin appeared on the red head's face at his little pun.
"Really? I haven't noticed. For safety measures, should I feed it to a squirrel and see if it lives?" Elisabetta teased back.
Apparently, she too can be quite witty when she wants to be.
The rest of the group found her reply pretty amusing too and the rest of them sported amused smirks as they all dug into their meals. Despite the day they all had, it was nice to just sit, relax, and bullshit one another.
"Not a bad idea, Elisabetta. That way if the squirrel starts making these odd choking noises, at least you'll know. Either that or will just chitter away at Pete, curse him off, then take a dump on his shoes for good measure, before scampering off." Kylie jokes.
"All probably not in that exact order though." Galen added.
"Look at it this way, better a squirrel defecating on you than a horse or cow. That sadly happened to my brother once when one of our old horses was having stomach issues." Elisabetta joked.
"Wow, everyone here is just so full of compliments." Pete says, rolling his eyes.
"Because we know you appreciate them." Kylie replied.
Alan snorted, "Isn't that the truth." He muttered, as he took a sip of water.
He knew in the past Pete didn't mind having his ego stroked with some nice compliments from the ladies he was flirting with.
Apparently, the others heard what Alan said and chuckled a little.
"Guess, it's not something that is very surprising then." Elisabetta said, with an amused smirk.
"Ehh, don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Pete said, waving it off.
"Yeah ok, Pete. And apes can sprout wings and fly." Kylie sarcastically quipped.
"I don't know why, but that paints a rather disturbing mental picture." Elisabetta says, with a small cringe.
"Yeah, I can't help but agree." Galen adds.
Though while it was fun when he got to fly on that glider Alan, Pete, and himself assembled once to help out a friend, seeing apes with wings just sounded weird.
It was interesting, unlike most of the village women that they have met in the past, none of them really were witty or feisty like the young red head sharing their company. She also seemed pretty smart too compared to most.
They all chatted a little longer, before they finally finished their meals and started settling in for the night.
It was a tad cramped when they went to lay down. But they all managed. The only ones who had a little less space were Kylie and Galen. Which they didn't mind in the least because it meant they can snuggle together. Something they could hardly do while camping out with their friends.
Galen laid down right next to Kylie in a corner. A small smile appeared on her face when she felt him drape an arm over her.
Kylie turned around and scooted in a little closer. Then she tilted her head back a little and pressed a small kiss to his chin before curling into his front.
A soft smile touched his lips, and he knelt his head down to press a soft kiss to the top of her head.
"Good night, Kylie." He whispered.
"Night, Galen." She whispered back.
The group started to fall asleep one by one. Which didn't take very long at all, seeing as everyone was pretty exhausted trekking up and down the mountain paths.
Unfortunately, what they didn't realize, was that they have been closely watched and followed a distance since earlier this afternoon.
The men tailed them quietly to the cave. Then they all waited until they all fell asleep inside. Afterwards, they started going inside the small cave.
They saw what they wanted near the back. Though the two women were sleeping pretty close to the men they were with.
The one girl that alluded them earlier was sleeping next to the dark-haired man in the group. But what surprised them on closer inspection was how close the other woman was sleeping not to the other man in the group, but to the one and only ape within the group.
Though they supposed it didn't matter. Her and the other woman will be theirs soon.
They knew once they try to snatch them, it will alert the men and wake them. But at his point, it didn't matter. Because they had their knives with them.
With that in mind, at least one of them men snuck up to the closest woman, which was the red head that got away before.
Elisabetta didn't know what happened at first. She was asleep, then she was suddenly wide awake when someone roughly grabbed her. They put a hand over her mouth and hauled her to her feet.
She let out a muffled yell when this happened.
At the same time, Galen awoke to someone hitting him in the head. Then a small shout from Kylie as she was ripped away from his hold. The hit hurt quite a bit and surprised him. But it didn't keep him down long when he saw Kylie struggling in the grip of two men.
Alan and Pete awoke to the ruckus and shot to their feet. Thats when they saw the group of men from earlier. They also had both Kylie and Elisabetta in their grip.
Though Kylie was fighting hard to get out of their grip.
She lifted her right leg and slammed her foot into the side of the man's knee next to her. He gasped in pain as his knee buckled a little. He ended up letting go of Kylie's right arm.
When that happened, she did a quick turn and slammed her fist hard into the man holding her left arm, in the stomach. The air whooshed out of his lungs a little as she sucker punched him.
It loosened her his hold on her left arm. Then she quickly pulled it back and took advantage of his bent over position and elbowed him in the face.
While Elisabetta slammed her foot down into the foot of the man holding her from behind.
At the same time Alan, Pete, and Galen started fighting with the other men in the group. Though it was a little hard to see with the limited light they did have.
The tussle didn't last long, before all the men pulled their knives out and held the weapons in front of them.
"NO! DON'T!" She yelled.
Alan, Pete, and Galen saw they were surrounded and had large knives pointed right at them.
"Don't hurt them!" She pleaded.
They all shifted their attention to her for a brief moment.
"Please, if you let them all go unharmed, I'll go with you. I won't fight or try to get away. Just please, don't hurt them." She said, trying to reason with them.
"Kylie, no!" Galen protested.
One of the men held the knife to his neck when he tried to push through them.
"Let him go! Don't hurt him! I swear, I'll go with you, just let them all go!" Kylie continued pleading, by now a few tears left her eyes.
One of the men shifted his gaze to his comrades, and he gave them a swift nod.
Afterwards they pulled away a little and put away their knives. Then the one who ordered them to put away their weapons shifted his steely gaze back to Kylie.
"You and the other girl will come with us. If your friends try to pursue us, we'll kill them." He threatened.
"Let Elisabetta go with them, and I'll come." Kylie tried bargaining.
"No, we require both of you. We need every woman we can find that comes into our territory." He said, denying her request.
Pete went to make a move, but Elisabetta quickly grabbed his arm. His gaze went to her, and she rapidly shook her head. Then she turned her gaze to the group of men.
"I'll come quietly too. But you must give your word that they go free and unharmed." Elisabetta said.
"What are you doing!?" Pete hissed.
She held up her hand, silencing him.
"Well?" Kylie inquired.
There was a brief moment of silence, before anyone spoke.
"Alright, you have our word. Come with us now and we'll leave them be to go." One of them said.
This was the same one who did most of the talking and had the others put their knives away. Perhaps, he was the leader here of this group.
Then he shifted his gaze back to his men.
"Take them, and let's go." He ordered.
One man grabbed Elisabetta by the arm and started hauling her off. She didn't struggle or fight him, for fear of them turning around and hurting the others.
While two men grabbed Kylie by her arms and started leading her out.
Before exiting, the leader turned around and stared at Alan, Pete, and Galen.
"If you try and follow us, then my word is null, and void and you will be killed." He warned.
Afterwards he turned around and started trailing behind his group.
The two men and chimp can't believe what had just happened. They felt helpless watching Kylie and Elisabetta getting taken away. Galen especially was very upset. He tried to dart out of the cave and go after them despite their threat.
"Galen, don't." Alan said, quickly grabbing the chimp's arm as he tried rushing past.
The chimp quickly shot a glare at his friend, then roughly shrugged out of his grip. But he didn't make another attempt to leave.
"Why? We cannot just stay here. We need to go out and tail them from afar before we lose them." Galen snapped.
"We know, but we need to be smart about this. Otherwise, I don't doubt that they won't try to filet us like a seabass if we are caught following them." Pete told him.
They knew Galen was angry and scared for Kylie. But this was one time he cannot afford to be rash. It wasn't like him to be so.
"Let's just get out of this cave. Maybe we can still at least catch what direction they are going." Alan said.
The three of them cautiously left the cave, making sure to look around for the men if they decided they were to jump them again.
Thankfully, they weren't. But sadly, they didn't see which way down the path they went from the cave.
"I hear footsteps leading away in that direction there." Galen told them, pointing down the path to the left.
The three of them quickly and quietly made their way down that part of the path.
They all followed closely behind Galen who was leading the way and looking around as he continued listening to the faint footfalls of the men. From what it did sound like, they were walking and not running.
It wasn't long at all before the path they were on opened up more into a more wooded area.
Galen paused and quietly pointed down to his left. His friends followed his outstretched arm, and they could see the men with the two women several yards away and below them. It seems they left the path and were now cutting through the woods.
"We'll still try to follow them, but not closely. Let's just hope these trees and bushes give us enough cover as we do follow them. Since they are armed though, we cannot ambush them. We may have to just follow them back to this village of theirs and try to get them out there. It will be tricky and dangerous. But perhaps, we can come up with an effective course of action as we tail them." Alan explained.
"While I agree with following them, I'm not sure it is best to wait until they reach their village. Remember Borak? Their village could be heavily guarded and if women are that important to them, they will be guarding them very closely." Galen told him.
"He's right, Al. For all we know, we could be walking head on into a lion's den. No doubt they will be guarding the few women they may have like hawks." Pete surmised.
"I'm aware of that, guys. But let's get moving and start following before they get too far. As I said, we'll think of something on the way." Alan said.
The three of them started making their way downhill and off the path. They ran down to catch up and keep the group of men within their view, so they don't lose them.
Then they quickly and quietly started weaving in between the trees, maintaining a distance behind the group of men without being seen or heard.
With the group of men, neither Kylie nor Elisabetta said a word as they were being hauled along with their captors. A couple tears did roll down Elisabetta's cheeks. While Kylie was trying to be tough and not show how scared she truly was.
While she was relieved that these men didn't hurt or kill Alan, Pete, and Galen, the predicament she and Elisabetta found herself in couldn't be short of a nightmare. Her gaze swept across the group as they pressed on.
She was afraid to ask what was to become of them. But Kylie felt like she needed answers and needed to know what was in store.
"Just...what do you plan on doing with us?" Kylie hesitantly asks the man to her right holding her arm.
He sighs, then his gaze shifts to her.
Most would find him to be quite handsome, with his short black hair and light eyes. He also had a nice build to him, sculpted from all the hard labor he must do. She noted many of the men here were quite young and in good physical condition.
"You are to be brought back to our village. You will be chosen to go with one of the men in the village, who will take you for his own. Then you will start bearing children to help start bringing up the population in our village like the other very few women we already have." He told her.
Kylie was starting to wish that she didn't ask. These people actually mean to bring her and Elisabetta back to act like some kind of twisted breeders and give them many children.
She was silent for a moment, before speaking.
"Listen, I am deeply sorry for what happened to your village. I'm sure it wasn't easy losing a lot of loved ones in that landslide. But this isn't right either. All these women you have stolen, they had families and loved ones as well and they are probably missing them greatly and going out of their minds wondering what happened to them.
And not just them, but Elisabetta and myself. Don't you understand what you did was wrong? You killed the only family Elisabetta had. Took her father and brother from her. You also took me from people whom I really cared about too." Kylie said.
She thought she saw guilt in the man's eyes.
"We didn't mean to, nor did want to hurt them or anyone for that matter. Normally, we don't. But...Alek became angry when the old man and the young one refused to give her to us. Before either of us could stop him, he...drew his knife and stabbed them." He admitted, in a low tone, so the leader at he very front of the group didn't hear.
It was the truth too. They only had the knives to deter and scare the travelers with women, so that they could take the women. At the most, they would rough up the men in the traveling party and knock them out, then make off with the women.
But he will agree, their leader, Alek, went too far this time. He and the rest of them could've just knocked the old man and young man out before taking the other woman they currently have with this one.
For some reason though, Alek became angry when the young one broke free, attacking and hurting a couple of them in the process to get to the young woman. Afterwards, Alek drew his knife and lunged for him, stabbing him in the gut.
Then the old man broke loose and tried to stop him and that's when he turned around and stabbed him too. It was during that time the woman broke loose and ran.
"And you didn't try and stop him." Elisabetta grounded out, as she glared at the man, talking to Kylie next to her.
His gaze shifted from Kylie to her, and he gave her a sympathetic look.
"I'm truly sorry, it all happened so quick. None of us knew he was going to do such a horrendous thing like that. We were shocked by his actions. By the time any of us could think to do something, it was too late." He told her, in a hushed tone.
Elisabetta let out a bitter laugh.
"You're sorry? Is that supposed to make everything alright? My father was the kindest man who never harmed a soul a day in his life. And my brother, Joshua, he was only eighteen years old. There was a girl back in our village he was engaged to. They were to be married come the Fall Solstice. My mother died several years ago. You took away the only family I had left and you're sorry!?" She said, becoming louder with each remark.
The more he heard, the more guilty the man felt. Not just him either. The other men in the group heard what she said too, and they too started to feel quite guilty
"You won't be without a family for long. You're going to make a new family and do what's good for the village." The leader, Alek said, obviously hearing her words seeing as she said them rather loudly.
"I rather die than let any of you swine touch me." She spat.
"Elisabetta." Kylie said, gaining her attention.
The red head snapped her gaze to the petite brunette walking with her.
Kylie just shook her head, "Don't engage him."
"If it means anything, the men in our village are decent and kind. They will treasure you and not harm you." The man still holding Kylie's arm assured her.
Kylie shook her head, before shifting her gaze back to him.
"I already have someone my heart belongs to. And you all stole me from him." She said, as one lone tear finally escaped her eyes.
"Yes, though it's surprising to see it was an ape you gave your heart to. It is strange and for the most part unheard of. We saw you seeking warmth and comfort within his arms as you all slept in that cave back there." He mentioned.
"That maybe, but in the end, it doesn't matter that we are not the same on the outside. What we share, is the same on the inside." Kylie stated.
The man nodded, "I see. And... you love him?"
Love.
Galen and she shared many special moments with each other. Many secret and stolen kisses. He made her feel alive, happy, safe, and special. She also knew she made him feel the same. How his face would brighten whenever he saw her and made her laugh. How she thought it cute when he would wrinkle his nose every now and then when he was inquisitive about something or confused.
Unfortunately, she never got the chance to tell him that she loved him and now...she worries she will never get the chance to tell him or possibly see him again. It left a gaping hole in her heart.
A couple more tears left her along with a shaky exhale.
"Yes, I do love him. Very much. And what's worse, I won't be able to see him again to tell him." Kylie confessed.
He swears the more he heard, the more he was tempted to let both women go and tell them to run. But he knew he couldn't. Not without risking his leader's wrath. Not only that but the other men here too.
He understood her pain. He too lost the ones he loved as well. Though unlike her, his loved ones were dead. He lost his wife and three young children in that landslide along with many other women and children that fateful day.
A good portion of the men only survived because quite a few of them were out hunting in the woods that day, including himself.
"Believe me when I say, I understand your pain. I lost my wife and children in that landslide, and I loved them very much." He told Kylie.
"I'm sorry." She said.
As much as she wanted to hate these men, she really couldn't help but feel sorry for them. They must've all lost someone they love during this horrible natural disaster.
There was silence between them for the next couple minutes. Until Kylie asked another question.
"What's your name?" She asks.
His gaze shifted to her briefly before looking back ahead.
"Merrick." He replied.
She was silent for a moment, before speaking again.
"I'm Kylie." She says.
"Nice to meet you. Just sorry it's under these circumstances." The young man known as Merrick said.
"Me too." Was all she said.
"I must say, I was surprised at what you did back in the cave. Those moves. Never seen a young woman fight like that before. Was rather impressed." He says.
"Had a lot of practice." Kylie told him.
A small, lopsided smirk appeared on Merrick's face.
"Yes, I could tell. Darrin is still not walking right, and I think Lucius's nose is still bleeding. You hit pretty hard." He said.
While most would frown upon a woman for acting in such a manner, Merrick didn't mind it. Hell, his own wife was a fiery spirit and wild one. It was in fact one of the things he loved about her and drawn him to her.
In some ways, this young woman Kylie reminded him of her. Just as tough and independent.
He really does wish he can help her. The question was, how?
Meanwhile, Alan, Pete, and Galen were still following the group of men that had Kylie and Elisabetta. The wooded terrain they were going through was getting tougher to trek through. But they were eager to get to them.
Galen especially, was not letting this challenging trek stop him. He was determined to get o Kylie and find a way to get her back. He and his friends have always been able to think up something and pull a plan off. He likes to think this will be no different.
'Just hang in there, Kylie. We're coming.' He thought, as he and the others push through the woods.
Until Next Time ;)