Adventures at the Earth’s Core

Adventures in the Lost World

Episode 1

Atawna and the Lost World

Chapter 11 Gift

It was another two days before Lin Yao was completely fit to travel. She tested herself by exercising in the treetops. She stayed away from the ground just in case she ran into any of the tribesmen who had kidnapped her before, but none of them showed up. Either they did not know of the man and three girls living in the treetops or else they were deliberately staying away. In any case no attempt was made to molest them.

Lin Yao watched the two jungle girls, as she still thought of them. She knew now that they referred to themselves as Trelana, children of the forest. They certainly fitted that description as they moved with the grace of the most experienced aerialists. There was no way that either she or James could match them when it came to traveling through the treetops so she prepared to climb down the tree to the ground. The two girls would move through the forest above them while she and James walked.

She ran her hands over her breasts. They were still a little sore from the mauling she had received at the hands of the savages who had captured her as was her nether region, and she could still feel the stripes upon her back. However, she didn’t want to delay her return any more. Mummy must be worried sick by now and it wasn’t like her mother to sit around and wait for things to happen. If she and James did not rejoin her mother’s expedition quickly her mother would come looking for her and Lin Yao wanted to spare her mother that inconvenience. She also did not want Mummy to learn what had happened to her. It was a shameful experience and she wanted to put it behind her. She had already spoken to James about it. Reluctantly he had promised to keep her violation and humiliation a secret.

The two Trelana girls, however, had not agreed to be silent. Neither Lin Yao nor James spoke enough of their language to communicate such complex thoughts to them and the two girls’ knowledge of English was similarly limited. She would just have to hope that Atawna and Chara would not say anything when they all finally found Mummy’s expedition.

It was time to go. Carefully she made her way to the edge of the trunk, grabbed one of the lianas and started the long climb down. James hovered nearby ready to give assistance, but she was determined to do this by herself. She was a woman of the mid-twentieth century and needed help from no man.

It didn’t take her as long to reach the ground as she had thought it might. She felt a sense of pride as she gazed back up the way she had come. It was no easy descent and she had made it without any help from James in spite of the painful stretching of her partially healed wounds as she moved.

“Great going, little sister,” James said as he reached the ground beside her. He grinned broadly. He knew how important it had been for Lin Yao to make that climb without his help. After what had been done to her she was trying to rebuild her confidence and faith in herself. She was one tough cookie and this was a good first step. He turned and headed in the direction he hoped to find his mother’s camp. He moved at a leisurely pace to accommodate Lin Yao. She was recovering nicely, but it would make little sense to wear her out the first day.

Atawna grinned from her vantage point high in the trees. She could just make out James and Lin Yao slogging it on foot through the rainforest. They were so pathetically slow and clumsy. All the same, she found James irresistibly attractive. Somehow she felt that he would make a splendid mate in spite of his inability to climb trees they way she and Chara could. She didn’t know why she felt this way, she just did. Perhaps it had something to do with the strange thunder weapons he carried, or maybe it was because of his powerful physique. He was much taller and more powerfully built than any of the males of her tribe, even if he was completely useless in the treetops.

Now that she knew he had no mate he was even more attractive. She wondered how he felt about her. Did he find her at all interesting or attractive, or was she just as strange to him as he was to her? She knew almost nothing about him other than the fact that he loved his sister and was very brave and handsome. What sort of tribe did he come from and where was it? Why did he wear such strange clothes and how had he acquired such powerful weapons? These were all things she was determined to find out provided he would accept her as his mate. But she knew nothing about the mating rituals of James’ tribe. How did she go about attracting him to her?

These thoughts and many others of a similar nature buzzed continually through Atawna’s mind as she swung from limb to limb. She took her time, but slowly she began to pull ahead of James and Lin Yao and finally she swung on ahead. It wouldn’t hurt to do a bit of scouting just in case there were unforeseen dangers ahead. Quickening her pace she darted ahead, Chara following.

A mile or so farther on she found something she had been looking for. It was a bow tree. At least that was what the Trelana called it. It was composed of exactly the right wood for making the compact bow that all Trelana warriors carried. These trees were rare and always sought after. Quickly she swung into the tree’s branches, Chara following. Together they selected the best branches, cutting a length for each of them. They didn’t bother cutting bows for James or Lin Yao. With James’s powerful weapons he wouldn’t need one and neither of them had much faith in the ability of either of the two ground-dwellers to use one properly. Cutting the wood was not easy. The crude knife Atawna possessed was losing its edge and needed to be sharpened. When they found a rock outcrop she would have to find a suitable sharpening stone.

It didn’t take them long to locate James and Lin Yao. They were still plodding along the game trail they had found, working their way through the forest. James had explained that he was trying to get to someplace special. As far as Atawna could determine it was his home village, as that was where his mother was. She liked that. Anyone who thought so highly of his mother was bound to make a good mate.

She frowned as her mind returned to her favourite thoughts – mating with James. What if he didn’t want her? She and Chara didn’t look anything like Lin Yao. What if he didn’t think her attractive enough to mate with? Or perhaps (and this was a truly frightening thought) he already had a mate. She had not thought of that. The Trelana were monogamous and mated for life. She supposed that James held the same values. If only he would give her a sign that he was interested. But he hadn’t. Except for the first time they met he had avoided looking at her. Was she really that ugly?

On that depressing note she and Chara dropped down to the forest floor. It was time for a lunch break and Lin Yao looked as if she could use it. The girl was clearly tired after her week of forced inactivity and the cruel injuries that had been inflicted upon her.

They ate slowly, giving Lin Yao plenty of time to rest and then resumed their trek. That night they camped on a rocky outcrop over the river. James explained that he wanted to follow the river. Apparently his village was somewhere along its banks.

They had camped early, more for Lin Yao than anything else. Although the girl was in tremendous physical condition as one might expect of the daughter of Larra Court, her ordeal had still left her drained and she welcomed the chance to rest. As a result there was still plenty of daylight left and Atawna and Chara put it to good use.

Setting out the bow wood before them they began to work it into shape using Atawna’s somewhat dull knife. It wasn’t a particularly easy task, bow wood was tough and springy and resisted the efforts to shape it into anything useful, but Atawna was especially skilled at this sort of task.

Across from the two diligent girls Lin Yao and James watched as the bow was assembled. Trained in anthropology brother and sister found the complex task of constructing the weapon a fascinating study in primitive cultures.

Lin Yao nudged her brother. “Why don’t you give her your knife? She can hardly manage with that crude blade.”

James nodded. Atawna’s knife consisted of a crude metal blade; although where she might have obtained the steel to fashion it was a mystery. He took out his Bowie. It was a magnificent blade. His mother had given it to him on his sixteenth birthday and he had worn it whenever he could since that date. A foot long and razor edged, it was forged of the finest steel. He looked at Atawna. The girl had saved his life twice and had probably saved Lin Yao from further rape and torture. It seemed a small token of repayment to give her the knife.

Unbuckling his belt he removed the sheath and placed the knife in it. Then holding it out to Atawna he spoke. “Atawna, I would like you to have this. It is yours to keep. Consider it a symbol of my gratitude.”

Atawna looked up as James spoke her name. Intent on her task, she had not noticed James remove his knife until he held it out to her. He eyes widened and surprisingly she blushed, her tanned complexion darkening from her forehead to her breasts.

Beside her Chara gasped. “He offers to take you as his mate!” the girl gasped. Her voice high pitched in excitement.

Atawna’s mouth dropped. She had not expected this. Her heart beat wildly and she was barely able to control her breathing. She did not understand most of what James had said to her, but his offer of the knife was clear. He wished to mate with her. However, there was something about his demeanor that told her she might be misinterpreting his actions. If she accepted the knife it meant that she was bound to him. However, if she was wrong about his intentions she would just be humiliated. For several long seconds she hesitated. Then she looked into James’ blue eyes. There was something there, she was sure of it. Slowly, with trembling fingers, she reached out and took the knife.

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