Africa (Complete)

Chapter Forty-One

With his stomach perpetually growling, Kam trudged on, pushing his way through the dense forest, carving his own path.

It was midday when a heavy downpour washed over the forest. Kam took a moment to rest. The trees sheltered him from much of the rain and provided a cooler temperature, which was always better than hiking in the heat. Puddles formed on large leaves, allowing Kam to stay hydrated along the way. Since being in Africa, his immune system had become icon clad. If he did ingest some kind of parasite, it was a secondary concern.

Looking up at the sky, he thought he saw a plane, but dismissed it.

Just then something else flew by him at high speed — an insect no doubt. He heard the whistling sound as it grazed his skin. "Ah!" Kam said, immediately slapping his neck. It felt like something had bit him.

Removing his hand, Kam noticed a small trace of blood. "What the hell was that?" he said to himself. Almost instantly, his vision became distorted and he felt a little disoriented. With each step, his balance and vision worsened. He staggered forward. His head swirled and his dizziness became so bad that he could no longer stand. After a few laboured steps and failed attempts to grasp onto nearby branches to prevent his fall, Kam dropped to one knee before falling face first into some mud. Without intervention, he would surely die.

Unconscious and with no awareness of passing time, Kam was completely defenseless. The next thing he experienced was the steady drip of rain hitting his face. His eyes slowly opened and he had no recollection of where he was or how he had got there.

Looking around, his eyes slowly regained focus. He was surrounded by several tall figures. When his vision fully returned, he noticed they were all women. But this was not some fantasy dream he was having, they were a tribe of ruthless killers who were looking at him like they wanted to eat him alive. Some had really short haircut close to the scalp, while others wore headbands. Their faces were dirty as if they had been crawling in mud. Nearly all of them had long wooden spears.

"Amer... American," Kam muttered. His faculties were still a little slow to return.

"This ain't America," the leader said, standing over him.

The more Kam came to his senses, the more he started to realize the predicament he was in. His hands and feet were bound by rope and his satchel was missing.

"Looking for this?" one of the women asked. The leader held out the glowing blue rock in one hand while the satchel was held loosely in the other, touching the muddy ground.

"What is this?" she asked.

"I don't know," Kam replied. "I found it."

"Found it where?"

"I don't know. I've been hiking for months. Sometimes I come across things of interest, and I pick them up and take them with me."

"What does it do?"

"It doesn't do anything," Kam said. "It just glows. It gives off radiation too. I feel sick just being around it. I'd be delighted if you take it off my hands."

"You're feeling that way because of the poisonous dart we hit you with."

"What do you want from me?" Kam asked. "I'm just passing through. I don't mean you any harm."

"We are not concerned of you harming us. We are quite capable of taking care of ourselves. You also don't have anything to offer because we just took everything you own. So what good are you to us?"

"Let me join you," Kam said.

The women all seemed to find that amusing.

"Perhaps you are still not seeing straight," she said. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't have men in our tribe. Men are the enemy."

"Alright look... you said you took everything from me and that I have nothing to offer. But that's not true. I have knowledge... very valuable knowledge."

"Typical man, thinking you know more than us."

"No, I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way. What I mean is, I have knowledge of a secret city. A city unlike anything you have seen before. Locals call it the forbidden city. You will not find this city on any map. If you fly over it, you will not see it. You could be looking directly at it and not even know it. There is something very special about this spot. Due to its position in Earth it has magical qualities. Some say it contains the foundation of youth. Others say it is where your wildest dreams can come true. And you will never find it without me."

"You have seen this city?"

"Seen it?" Kam scoffed. "I'm from there. Where do you think I got that rock?"

The leader thought about it for a moment, looked at the others, then said, "Get up."