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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 didnt 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
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
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
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 dont
know.
I told you, it was part of the
ritual, Wallace replied.
I wouldnt be a Daygana without the
decoration.
There, Judy said, removing the
last small bone.
Youre lucky they didnt choose to put anything larger
in your ears. She eyed
the small holes with her trained nurses
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
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 didnt, 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.
Well 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. Ill 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. Ill 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 didnt 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,
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