"On my mark, we race to the beach", the Captain said. Tension mixed with the silence in the air. "Now!" the Captain yelled. The men raced toward the beach where they came from. Arrows flew at them from the darkness. "We are under attack", yelled one of the men. They shot back at all angles. They had one shot each. They could not load on the run. In a minute, half of the sailors were dead. "Shit, shit!" the Captain yelled. The remaining men hid behind different trees. They were scattered across the forest now. The Captain reloaded his pistol. "Come on out and fight you cowards", yelled Afonso as he shot into the darkness while he hid behind a tree. An at grabbed him from above and stabbed his throat.
The Captain heard his men's screams all around him. They were getting butchered. There was no chance for them to escape. He had to think of something. Celso was not far from him. "Torch the forest", the Captain yelled at him. Celso grabbed a bottle of rum in his sack and smashed it on the ground. He added fire, and it began to spread. He threw a bottle of rum at the Captain, who did the same. The fire ignited the forest. It was a crazy idea. They could be trapped, but it also gave their enemies more to think about.
One of the natives peeled off a tree trunk as fire engulfed him. His scream was music to the Captain's ears. "Die, you bastard", the Captain said before putting a bullet in his head. He heard footsteps running in the forest. Something or someone was coming towards him. He poured gunpowder into his pistol quickly and stuck his bullet in just in time. He raised his torch up as he was about to fire. He stopped himself before he pulled the trigger. Frederick ran into his arms with tears in his eyes. "What are you doing in the forest, boy? I could have killed you", the Captain yelled. "They killed them. They are dead. Rupert is dead as well", Frederick said, sobbing. The Captain realised what had happened. They walked into a trap the moment they stepped on the shores of this land.
The fire was spreading fast. "We have to get out of here", the Captain said to the boy. Frederick looked up and pointed at four figures as they appeared from the fire. "Them", he said with a frail voice and trembling hands. The Captain looked towards their direction. The four figures had the shape of men. They were definitely humans. Their faces were covered with large masks with inscribing all over them and eyes carved like that of a demon. Their skin was green or painted green to merge with the forest. Their muscles were well-built. They have grasses tied around their arms and brown clothing to cover their pelvic region.
The native men stood amid the burning forest unfettered. They stared down at their burning kin, which the Captain killed. Suddenly, their masks faced the Captain and Frederick. They were definitely pissed. "Run, boy, run!" the Captain said to Frederick. They were on their hills in the blink of an eye. They evaded the tree trunks, grasses, and ditches as they ran for their lives. They could hear the tree branches shaking. The natives were chasing them from above and behind them. There was a high possibility that they were not going to make it.
There was a hollow tree trunk ahead of them. There was enough distance between them and the native men to hide without being noticed, to hide Frederick at least. The Captain grabbed the boy in his arms as they fled. "Listen, boy, I'm going to lead them away. Conceal yourself for a while and find your way to the ship", the Captain said. "What about you and the others?" Frederick said with tears in his eyes. He didn't want to lose another family. The pain was too much for a kid. "Just listen, kid, if you want to make it out of here alive. Don't worry about me. I had survived situations like this long before you were born, and they ain't getting me today, boy", the Captain said. Frederick wiped the tears off his face. He had to be tough. He knew this.
"Now", the Captain said. He flung Frederick into the hollow tree trunk on the ground, which slanted down to a lower floor of the forest. The Captain threw down his torch and drew his second pistol from under his coat. The forest was well-lit now, and he didn't need the torch to see his path. He turned around and fired both pistols into the space behind him. "Common, you bastards", the Captain yelled before he continued his race to the beach. Frederick stayed hidden in the tree trunk.
The natives were not catching up to the Captain. The fire must have slowed them down. He ventured through the forest till he rushed past the wall of palm trees. He fell to his knees on the beach. He reloaded both pistols as fast as he could. He expected stiff opposition on the beach, but no one was there. He remained alert. They could be hidden in the sand. He ran past his camp. The dead bodies of his comrade caused sorrow in his heart. His sailor had never suffered such loss. These lands must be a graveyard to outsiders. He got his thoughts together and made his way to the shore.
The Captain's knees hit the shallow waters of the shore. His boat was gone, and so was his ship. Were there survivors? They couldn't have left him behind. They wouldn't; he tried to convince himself of his crew's loyalty. "Shit!" he yelled with his hands on his head. He was a goner. Something was coming out of the water. The Captain took his aim with both pistols, but his arms weakened at the sight of the fair maiden who emerged from the water. Her bosom was not covered. Her skin was black like the slaves he encountered at Figueira da Foz a few years back.
Her beauty shone in the moonlight. Her bosom looked firm and well-rounded. She was perfection. Her private part was covered with a thin cloth, and her hair was as dark as night. He was lost in a kind of beauty he had not seen before. He felt like he was in one of Joao's tales. She approached him gently. He smiled as if he was mesmerised by her. She caressed his face gently with her palm. She was not armed. The Captain felt at ease, considering all he had gone through. She caressed his face down to his neck, and she snapped it.
Frederick stayed still in the hollow tree trunk for minutes. It was quiet out there. He was scared of going out. The heat was excruciating. It was only a matter of time before the fire got to him. He had to make a decision fast. A shadow flashed past the entrance of the tree trunk. His mind must be playing tricks on him. The shadow came back and remained at the entryway. Someone or something was standing at the entrance, but Frederick couldn't tell. The trunk hole was just big enough for someone his size, but one thing he was sure of is his mind was not playing tricks on him now. He had been found.
He slid down the hollow trunk till he came out of the other side. The trunk was quite long. Frederick fell into a muddy stream. Mud splashed all over his face. He was panicking. He could die at any moment. He wiped the dirt off his face and pushed through the muddy stream. He heard splashes behind him. They were on his tail. His heart was beating even faster now. He made it to the other side of the stream and ran as fast as he could.
Tears rolled down his eyes. Memories of his parents began to flash through his mind. This was the end of the road for him, he thought. Something tripped him. He fell on his face, and there was smoke all around him. He screamed at the sight of Afonso's dead boy. His corpse tripped him. The sorrow in his heart was unbearable, but he had to keep running.
The tree branches above him kept moving. Something was moving pretty fast along the bushes as he ran. No human should move that fast, he thought. At that pace, whatever was moving should have caught up with him. He felt like it was just moving around him. It was toiling with him. He looked back as he ran to check for his oppressors. He looked forward to seeing the path he was running through, only to run into the grip of one of the masked men. It was a native. The masked man jacked him up with one hand. His muscles were so pronounced it was scary. He had a shiny ring on one of his fingers.
Frederick struggled to free himself while he screamed, but his captor was too strong. "Let me go! Let me go!" the poor child yelled, but his captor didn't bulge for a second. The native man held a knife in his other hand. This was it for him, Frederick thought. "Duro, duro. Ma pa (Wait, wait, don't kill him)", a voice said in Yoruba from a distance not too far from them. The native man caught them in no time. "Please let me go, please!" Frederick cried as he wiggled in his captor's grip.
Another hand with a shiny ring touched his shoulder, and he was still. It was as if he was paralysed. He lost control of every part of his body completely. His mind remained intact, but his body won't listen to him. What sought of a trick is this? He asked himself. The masked men removed their masks. His captor placed him on the floor. Frederick could see them, but he just couldn't move.
They were black, like the African slaves he had recently encountered in several European ports. They were in Africa, after all. The native men argued in a language he couldn't understand. The forest fire lit up their surroundings. "Omo kekere ni (He is a child)", Akingbade said; he was the leader of the group of warriors that attacked the sailors. "Nigbayen nko? (and so what?)", Ogunde said. "Abi oti gbagbe idi ti afin pawon (Or you have forgotten why we kill them)", he added. More warriors gathered around Frederick.
"Boje omode ni, boje agba ni, ajeji o le koju okunkun towa nile yi (Whether child or adult, a foreigner cannot resist the darkness in this land)", Ogunde said. "A kin pa omode, oti gbagbe pe jagunjagun owo olodumare niwa. Olodumare o de kin ko omode sile (We don't kill children, you have forgotten we are warriors of the Hands of Olodumare and Olodumare does not forsake children)", Akingbade said. "Ilepa egbe owo olodumare ni ki a se idaniloju pe okunkun oni bori wa mo, ki ise awon babanla wa ma jasasan. Okunkun o le pare sugbon a le je ki awon ti okunkun le lo mi nile yi (The goal of the Hands of Olodumare is to ensure that darkness does not reign over us again, and for the efforts of our fore-fathers not to be in vain. Darkness cannot be eradicated, but we cannot let those the darkness can use easily to breathe in our lands)", Ogunde said with a firm tone.
What could they be deliberating? Frederick pondered. Why was he still alive? With the slaughtered body of his mates he had seen, they were cold killers. Why are they hesitating now? Frederick thought, and it made no sense.
"Wa na Ogunde, a ti pade omo won ri o, okan omode si moju ti agba lo. Ese omode ko dele to tagba. E je ka se pele pele pelu oro yi, jagunjagun imole niwa (Come first Ogunde, we have not encountered their children before, and a child's mind is purer than that of an adult. The sins of a child cannot weigh as much as an adult. Let's treat this matter carefully. We are warriors of the light)", Ajaka said.
"Omode lon dagba, lojo iwaju, omo yi asi bosi owo okunkun. Ewu yi ose fojudi (It is a child that becomes an adult. In future, this child will still fall into the hands of darkness. This risk cannot be overlooked", Akinseye said. They pondered for a while. Ogunde and Akinyele had strong points. The risk was too significant. Surely they would not choose the life of an outsider over the safety of their own people.
"Okere ju ti a le se ni ki a so sodo ki oma jiya bi awon ebi e. E fobe le. E jeki iseda pinnu lori ayanmo e (the least we can do is throw him into the ocean, so he does not suffer like his kind. Drop the knives. Let nature decide his fate)", Akingbade said. Ogunde was satisfied with the decision. "Oda, awon omo yemoja o le ro bi e se ro yi (Very well, the children of Yemoja cannot be as soft as you are), Ogunde said.
Akingbade picked Frederick, who could not move a muscle still. The child wondered what they were going to do with him. They came to an understanding. Whatever it was, he felt they were up to no good. They were not moved by the burning forest throughout their discussion. Heavy rain began to fall, and the fire was extinguished in no time. Whoever they were, Frederick was sure they had supernatural powers. Akingbade carried him until they reached the edge of a cliff that extended beyond the forest.
The terrifying sounds of waves hitting the rocks at the bottom of the cliff resonated in Frederick's ears. His fate became evident. He hoped the bright side of his current paralysis was that his death would be painless. He could see lightning light up the sky in the rain; such terrifying beauty. Akingbade threw him with all his might far into the ocean.
Dark water engulfed his sight. There was no way he could swim in his condition. Even if he could, his chances of survival were slim. He realised that he wasn't sinking. A short miracle, maybe. It was only a matter of time before he hit the bottom of the ocean. Something was in the water or someone. A head appeared to be just above the water. It was hard to tell for sure. It was so dark, and his sight was fading. His eyes turned black before he passed out.