Tim rushed down to the riverbank and with Toug's help, yanked the body out of the water. It was a lady and she had no clothes on. She must have been carried by the water and luckily it brought her to the shallower part of the river.
Toug looked at the lifeless body in wonder. Indeed, her utterly naked figure was paler than the natives. Obviously, she did not hail from here. Tim wondered if she was like him who entered through the wrong door.
"Is she dead?" Aliyah said, putting Pali down to check the girl's breathing. "She's alive!"
As if on cue, the lady breathed in deeply, her stomach caving in. She opened her eyes slowly, shifted her head so slightly then as if in peace, shut them close again.
"Shall I carry her?" Toug volunteered. He tried to sound older but his voice was still too pitchy for an adolescent.
Tim gave him a sharp glare, shaking his head. "No young man, I think she's too heavy for your tiny back."
"I'm not tiny."
"Yes, yes, where's the cave?" Tim took off his uniform and put it on her to cover at least half her body.
The entrance to the hideout did not seem very welcoming. It was a vertical slit on the side of the waterfall itself. Toug would not have trouble crawling in but Tim would have to squeeze through. And he had an unconscious girl on his back.
Her skin felt cold against him. He could feel her breasts pressing on his back with every breath she took. And with his hands clasping both her thighs, he was afraid he was already blushing red. Toug could not help glancing at her. Tim understood why.
"How big could the cavern be?"
"More than enough for us."
"I'm hungry," said Pali, frowning.
"I'll look for some berries," said Aliya with a brave sigh. "Toug, hold Pali for a moment."
"Will you be okay?"
"I know the forest."
"And if they see you...?" If they saw her, she could not lead them here. Tim knew that. Aliya knew that.
"Then they are in your care, Timothy."
Toug crawled in first, then Pali who started to cry and refused to go any further. "I don't want to! It's dark!"
Toug had to go back out again, to console his sister. "Shh. Shh. Listen. There are no monsters in there, okay? Here, here look. I found this pretty stone inside and there are many more in there. It's pretty, isn't it?"
Pali nodded and took the necklace in her small hands.
"You can have this but we need to go inside or else the monsters will come for us. We need to hide, Pali. Or they'll take you."
Pali finally calmed down and went in after his brother. Tim had a bit of a problem how to carry the lady in so he called Toug to help him pull her in. "Careful on the rocks." Luckily for him, the passage only grew wider with each step. But it was too dark to see how big the cavern was.
He sat down on the corner, finally having the time to rest. He heard Pali sobbing and Toug telling her a story.
Then there were brisk footsteps and a voice that announced, "It's me, Aliya." She brought food, berries that tasted like nectar. But it only made Tim hungrier and thirstier.
I don't like this darkness. Tim thought.
"I heard them in the forest," Aliya said. "They did not see me but I heard them."
"Why did they attack, Aliya? What did those bastards want?"
"Food."
"What? Are they nomads?"
"No. They are the In-las. The sea dwellers. They worship Amilo, the Dire Sea. And once every year Amilo grows hungry and sweeps the land looking for food with water so tall that only the Hanir mountains could thwart him. To spare themselves from Amilo, the In-las rave the other side of the Hanir to acquire people to sacrifice to him."
Tim gaped, dumbfounded by her story. "They're savages believing in a myth."
"A myth? What is a myth?"
"A story that isn't true. Surely, you don't believe in a sea god. Do you?"
"We worship the Hanir, Timothy, not Amilo."
Of course, this was a different age. This was the age of myths and monsters and savagery. "The mountains, you believe these mountains have a mind of their own?"
He felt Aliya scoot closer, as if scared. "I don't believe it. I know it."
"But if Hanir is your god then how come he did not help us? He could have easily swallowed up those In-las."
Aliya sighed, "That's not how gods work, Timothy. Where could you have come from? Must be a peaceful island, I envy you. Here, gods don't bother with the likes of us. They just act when they're hungry. And we are nothing but food to them."
If Aliya was telling the truth, then Timothy was wrong. This place was not far from hell at all.
"When does Hanir eat?" Tim asked just out of curiosity.
"Whenever he likes."
Then like a flash of lightning, the crystal in Pali's hand lit up in the cavern. A pale blue light that was suddenly blinding after being in the dark for too long. One by one, specks of crystals shone with a glow that seemed to originate from inside them. Aliya run to Pali's side.
Toug whispered, terrified, "He is watching. Hanir is watching."