TOMB HUNTER

The Adventures of Larra Court

Episode 10

Larra’s Indonesian Adventure

Chapter 25 Matsu’s Decision

Matsu sat on a large boulder near the waterfall pool and watched his men dismantling the camp. He evaluated his reduced chances. Outwardly calm, inside he was seething with rage. He could not understand how a veteran group of Japanese soldiers had been so thoroughly humiliated. He was down to only fifty able-bodied men now. About thirty were out of action due to illness and wounds and another twenty had been killed. What galled him was that a number had been shot by their own comrades in the confused and panicked shooting of the previous night.

“What sort of women were these?” He was beginning to think that they were not real women at all, but some sort of forest demons sent to ensnare and destroy him. How had they managed to escape and what was more important how had they managed to find and blow up the ammunition supply?

The loss of the ammunition was devastating. His men were down to the bullets in their rifles and ammunition pouches, and the mortar was down to just a few rounds that had been stored outside the ammunition tent. In addition, the limited supply of medicine had been obliterated.

His men were completely demoralized and it was apparent that if he was to lead them any farther he would have to let them in on the real purpose of his mission. Gold was a powerful motivator provided that Purwanto was telling the truth.

He didn’t trust the sinister Javanese. The man was as treacherous as a caged rat. However, he did trust him enough to believe his story about the gold, and there had been enough evidence of the fact that they were following a large expedition to add veracity to his tale. There was now the matter of the woman. With the flight of the other captives from the camp Purwanto was the only man who had access to the delights of the flesh. The Javanese girl would have to be shared, but carefully, otherwise she wouldn’t last more than a day. Perhaps she could entertain five or six men a night.

He got to his feet. It was time to continue the march. There was no point in informing the men he was leaving behind about the gold. He would wait until this evening and then explain the real motive behind their mission into the wilds of Borneo.

Jia Li watched the Japanese march off. The few men left behind had been left almost defenceless, their ammunition being shared out among the Japanese who had left. She doubted that they had more than a few dozen rounds among them. Her dark eyes gleamed with satisfaction. She would give the Japanese an hour to get far enough away from the camp and then she would signal Amy and Ayashe.

There was no sense of forgiveness in her thoughts as she considered her actions against the Japanese. They had wiped out her family and devastated her county. Now they had brought their war to Borneo. Well, she would make them wish that they had stayed in Dai Nippon. She had already determined the location of every sentry. When the attack began it would be a fairly simple matter for Amy and Ayashe to deal with them, with a little help from Katie and Melissa. She would help also, of course. There was no way that she would be denied the opportunity of taking her revenge against the invaders who had raped and brutalized her.

“Oww, that hurts.”

“What did you expect?” Judy grinned. “The wounds are only partly healed. Why you had to have bones pushed through your nose and ears I don’t know.”

“I told you, it was part of the ritual,” Wallace replied. “I wouldn’t be a Daygana without the decoration.”

“There,” Judy said, removing the last small bone. “You’re lucky they didn’t choose to put anything larger in your ears.” She eyed the small holes with her trained nurse’s eye. “I think the wounds will close in a couple of weeks. The trick is to keep them from getting infected.”

“Mmmmph,” Wallace grunted in agreement. He was looking directly at her and despite the fact that Judy now wore a grass skirt and a top woven from split palm leaves she blushed. It was hard not to remember that he had seen her completely unclothed and wondered what was going through his mind.

She moved away from him and stood up. “Well,” she said breathlessly. “I guess we should get going.”

“I reckon,” Wallace agreed, fingering his lacerated earlobe. He got to his feet, shouldered the pack of food the Daygana had given them, and then moved off down the trail, Judy following.

She was a bit puzzled about where Wallace was going even though he had explained it to her. Something about a group of women he had flown into the middle of Borneo to rescue some mysterious and wealthy female archeologist. It seemed like a strange quest, especially since it was complicated by the presence of the Japanese. The prospect of marching into a situation that would bring her into close proximity with the Japanese was not one she favoured, but she could not very well desert the man who had saved her life. Nor could she pass up the only opportunity she had to get back to civilization. However, she had to admit there was now another reason why she wanted to be with Wallace; one that she had so far tried to conceal.

Her brutal treatment at the hands of Churba had made her fearful of intimate contact, but she knew that she was strongly drawn to the outgoing Aussie. The fact that there was a considerable difference in their ages made no difference, Wallace was much more of a man than any twenty to twenty-five-year-old she had encountered. She feared, however, that she might react the wrong way if Wallace showed any interest in her and so she kept her emotions concealed. Sooner or later, however, she would have to declare herself. If she didn’t, she risked losing him. With these thoughts in her mind she trudged after him, trying her best to match his long strides.

“Here it is!” Katie announced triumphantly. She held up a tan canvas bag of no particular distinction. Quickly she set it down and undid its straps. She pulled out a clear glass bottle. “Just one left,” she said. “Looks like the Japs broke the others. We’ll have to be careful with this.”

“Perhaps we should save it for Lisha,” Melissa ventured.

“No,” Katie said, “I think we all need it. There will be enough. I’ll ration it. You first.” She poured a small amount into the cap of the bottle and offered it to Melissa as if it was liquid gold.

Melissa took the cap and looked doubtfully at the clear liquid. Then she raised it to her lips and gulped it down. She was immediately swept up in the feeling of warmth and power that flowed through her body. The mystical water Larra had found in the Lost World still held its magical properties. She knew that Katie and the other “older” women drank the water regularly. It slowed the aging process, accounting for the fact that Katie, Amy, and Larra all appeared no older than twenty five. But the real power of the water was its healing ability. It could repair any injury and she could feel the bruises and abrasions she had received at the hands of the Japanese mending after only a few seconds.

Amy drank next, then Ayashe, and even Jia Li, although the Manchu girl certainly appeared to be the healthiest of them.

Katie drank last. “Alright,” she said as she finished, “now we have to look after Lisha.”

The women began to follow her out of the camp, all except Jia Li. When Melissa stopped to see what was delaying her, the dark-eyed beauty spoke. “Go ahead. I’ll be with you in a few minutes. I just want to make sure.”

Melissa nodded her understanding, but shuddered. The assault on the Japanese camp had been a slaughter. She and Katie had provided covering fire while Amy, Ayashe, and Jia Li had picked off the any Japanese soldiers that attempted to fight back. In just a few minutes they had killed all that were visible and then Jia Li had gone into the camp and methodically checked every body she found, using the two bayonets she carried to give the coup de grace to any who still lived.

She had even bayoneted those Japanese who had been too badly wounded to join in the fight, but no one made any effort to stop her. All of the other women knew her story, and after their own violations at the hands of the Japanese, none were likely to interfere.

She followed the small party of women back to where Lisha still lay unconscious and where James and Lin Yao also waited. “What a horrible thing for a little girl,” Melissa thought. It was also no doubt horrible for James as well, but the boy was so tall and composed that he seemed much older than twelve.

The women gathered round as Katie administered the healing water to Lisha. James stood back, as was appropriate considering the Lisha was almost nude. Melissa watched intently. She had never seen anyone as badly traumatized as Lisha healed before and was extremely interested in the process.

Katie didn’t bother with the cap this time. She held the bottle to the lips of the African beauty. Lisha moaned, but she swallowed. Katie kept on pouring until half the bottle was gone and then capped it. She covered Lisha with a blanket looted from the Japanese camp and then stood up. “Nothing to do now but wait,” she said.

Two hours away, Matsu turned and looked in the direction of his camp. The sound of shooting had died down. Whether that meant the few defenders he had left behind had beaten off the attack or whether they had been overwhelmed he had no idea. However, he had no intention of going back to check. None of the men he had left behind were fit for duty. As far as he was concerned they were on their own. If they survived so much the better for them – if not…. He shrugged, and turning back up the trail, he waved his men forward.

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