Rune returned to the Mora camp, located in the mountains, his face covered in scratches. When Jayson and Jade saw him without Neptune, they ran over to him.
"Rune, where's Neptune? And what happened to your face?" Jade concerningly asked him. "Is everything okay?"
Rune walked away, heading towards his cave. "I really don't want to talk about it. I messed up. I shouldn't be chief." He got to the mouth of his cave, flopped down on a rock, and started crying. Jayson and Jade shooed the others in the tribe away and walked over to Rune.
"Rune, stop. You're a great chief. Everyone had their flaws. You can't predict all situations, and you may make mistakes, but that doesn't make you a bad chief." Jayson sat down by his right side, and Jade sat on his left.
"You're wrong, Jayson. If I had just listened to you, none of this would be happening. I shouldn't have gone there to find her, even if it was just to scout. Neptune is gone, Kyra is gone, everyone is going to be taken if I don't step down as chief!" Rune put his head in his hands.
Jade looked at him concerned. "What do you mean Neptune's gone? Same question, but for Kyra. Do you mean they're dead?" Her eyes were brimming with tears. "Rune, please tell me they aren't dead."
He shook his head. "They aren't dead, Jade, just gone. We were listening to… well, we were listening to what was being said in one of the rooms, and apparently they heard us whispering. Lucas came onto the roof and attacked Neptune, and I was about to go help when Sokan came and was about to attack me, and he said that we were going to be his captives. Neptune was pinned under Lucas, but he kept telling me to run, and save Kyra. By the time that I could escape, there was no chance I could have gotten her. They have them both, and it's all my fault." Rune lifted his head up and looked at Jayson and Jade. "It's all my fault."
Jayson looked Rune in the eye. "Rune, not even the best of us could have predicted that. No one would have known that you would lose Neptune. It happens, and you have to keep going. Do not let it get to you, okay? We will save them. We will find a way to get both of them as quickly and safely as possible." He stood up. "Come on now. We need to go and make sure that the rest of the tribe is okay." After he said that, he grabbed Rune's hand and pulled him up. Jade stood up as well, and the three of them walked into the Maki, the central part of camp where the meetings happened.
"Everyone, listen up. As you may have realized, Neptune is not with us. We went on a small scouting mission that turned sour fast. I know that some of you may blame me, but let me tell you now that I will do everything in my power to get him back, even if it means I sacrifice myself in exchange for his freedom. There will be some times where I will need some of you to help me find where they are keeping him. Eventually, there will be a time when about 5 of us, myself included, will go and rescue him. We are the Mora! We do not quit, we do not give up, and we battle to the end!" As Rune finished his speech, the tribe started cheering. Even though there were only about 12 of them, their cheers were powerful.
"Chief, I am willing to go out right now with you to go and save him!" One of the boys, a strong, muscular blond, stood up and shouted over the cacophony. Many others joined him in calling out their willingness to go on the dangerous mission.
"Kyron, I understand your sense of duty, as with the rest of you, but I cannot allow any of us to go out in search of our lost brother just yet. The Boka will still be wary, expecting our return to take back what was ours. I promise that when a few days have passed, we will go back and claim our own!" Rune shouted, his spirits once again lifted. People started going back to their assigned duties when a voice piped up over all the chatter.
"Chief Rune, what about Kyra?" Belle, a girl with glasses and dark brown hair, asked him soberly. All movement in the camp stopped, and all eyes went on Rune. He took a moment to collect himself before answering.
"Kyra is still with the Boka. I fear that it may be harder to rescue her than it is to rescue Neptune. I have decided that when the time comes, I will not risk losing anyone else and go after her alone. I know that this plan will be protested, but I can promise right now that I will return from that mission with our Love." Rune walked away from the Maki and back into his own cave, where he sat staring at the fire he had in the middle. It wasn't long before his three closest friends showed up.
"Hey, you know that announcing your plan like that was pretty brave," Chaiia had taken a seat directly across the fire from him. "I hope it works the way you planned."
Rune sighed, watching Jade and Jayson take their places around the fire. "I hope it works as well. I haven't been able to think right since I lost our Love."
"I mean, they seemed pretty shaken up when you threatened them when we found her the other night. I doubt that they'll do anything to her, other than keep her tied up." Jayson remarked, trying to keep Rune's spirits up.
"You're wrong, Jayson. She isn't okay."
"Rune, what do you mean by that?" Jade sat forward, her eyes focused on him.
"You know how I was telling you guys how I was listening in on what was going on in one of the rooms at the Boka base? I lied about it a bit. I wasn't really listening to what they were saying, but what they were doing. I have to get Kyra, especially after what I heard." Rune's eyes were brimming with tears.
"What happened? What aren't you telling us?" Jayson asked with a look of concern on his face.
"They're hurting her. They cut her skin and… I don't know what else exactly, nor do I want to. I know one thing for sure, we have to get Neptune before her. The way Sokan was talking about him makes me think that he'll be in a worse position than Kyra." Rune stood up and walked to the entrance of his cave. "I have to go. I have to find Neptune and try to save him."
* * *
Neptune sat in a dark room, laying on his back. His arms were tied above his head, and his ankles were tied together. They were tied to a wall, as were his arms. He knew that he was in a room close to, if not partially underground. He heard a few people talking in a hall nearby, and soon the room was filled with firelight.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my friend who betrayed me for someone named after a bird. I guess all you who are named after natural things have to stick together, yeah?" Sokan stood in the doorway, glaring down at Neptune. "Finally decided to stop all that yakking from earlier? It got pretty tiring, especially when you kept calling me a fox. We, as the Boka, know better than to use foul language like that. You're holding your tongue. That's good. I need to talk with you." He sent the two others who were with him out, and didn't start talking until they were alone. "Why? Why did you choose them over me, your best friend? I don't understand. I have been by your side since the beginning, and when I need you, you betray me? Some friend you are." He walked right up to Neptune and kicked him in the face. "All I asked when we were first splitting into the two tribes was your loyalty, and now what's happened? You are here, my prisoner. You have done something I will never be able to forgive you of: you betrayed my trust." He then stomped as hard as he could on Neptune's nose, causing blood to gush out. "I promise you, unless you tell me where the new Mora camp is, you will rot here forever, never to see the light of day again. I'll leave to let you think about it." The door closed behind Sokan. Neptune finally let out his tears, the tears he was holding back as he was getting kicked. He only stopped when he heard something outside of the hut he was in.
"Neptune, is that you? Is anyone around?" Rune whispered quietly. Neptune let out a small cry of relief.
"Rune, I'm down here. I know that there's a small, open stairway around here somewhere. They don't guard me because this room is so well camouflaged that they didn't expect anyone to find it." Neptune quieted down, listening closely. "No one else is around. Hurry."
Rune found the staircase Neptune had told him about. He opened the door into Neptune's prison hold and started untying him. The knots were tricky, but he untied them quick enough to get out of there. As he and Neptune ran off into the woods to the base, Rune started asking Neptune questions.
"Dude what did they do to you? Why are you covered in blood?" As he said that, he handed him the sweatshirt he had been wearing since the plane crash. Neptune put it over his nose to prevent a blood trail.
"Well, Sokan got mad at me for choosing the Mora over his tribe, tried to get me to betray our tribe, and broke my nose. He also kicked me in the side of my head, but who cares about that." They stopped by a tree along a river to rest.
"So you got kicked and a broken nose. Glad I rescued you. At least they didn't use the knife on you."
"Personally, I'd rather have cuts than a broken nose, but thank you for getting me. Let's get out of here." As soon as Neptune had said it, they ran back to the camp. As soon as the others in the camp saw them return, they began crowding around them, asking Neptune if he was okay and thanking Rune for being a good chief.
"Um, guys, where's Jayson? I thought he was here." Rune looked around, but he didn't see his trusted friend anywhere.
"Jayson didn't think it was a good idea for you to run off on your own like that, so he followed you. I thought that he would be back with you." Jade came running up to Rune. "Please tell me he's just a little behind."
"Jade, this is bad. Real bad. I didn't see Jayson at all. I think they may have him."
* * *
Jayson made a huge mistake. He followed Rune, even though he knew he probably shouldn't. Not long after he reached the area they had discovered the Boka camp, he was ambushed and bound. They took him to a large room, where he discovered the greater part of the Boka tribe.
"Well, I guess it's my lucky day," Sokan chuckled, rubbing his hand through his flaming red hair. "I get to have three prisoners from the Mora tribe." It was after he said that when Jayson noticed a bite mark on Sokan's hand.
"I see that you've been bit recently. I hope it wasn't from Neptune. He can give nasty bites." Jayson smiled lightly. "I mean, it looks like it probably hurt."
Sokan glared at him. "For your information, it was that girl you call the Love of the Mora. Kyra is quite the girl, that's for sure. I will say, she might not be as spirited now as she was before. She probably learned her lesson about biting me."
Jayson's smile turned into a dark glare. "What did you do to her? I swear if you killed her, I will kill you."
Sokan laughed, but said nothing. He proceeded to pull out a silver knife covered in blood and started cleaning it. He motioned to someone in the clan, and they gagged Jayson. Sokan continued to slowly clean the blade. It was a long time before he said something again.
"You know, it might do Kyra some good if she had another Mora in there with her. I mean, you would be gagged, of course, and would be in there all the time with her, but at least you would be with her." He sighed, putting away the blade. "I have to go see if Neptune has changed his mind yet. Lucas, take him to the room." As Sokan left the room, Lucas grabbed the knife and clipped it to his pants. He went over to Jayson and yanked him to his feet.
"Don't even try to get that gag off. We learned how to keep you Moras from sliding them off. And you better not cause as much trouble as Kyra did. Or do, it would give me something to practice on." Lucas led him up the same stairs that he had led Kyra up the previous night. When they got to the top, Lucas stopped walking and looked at Jayson.
"I can't ruin the surprise just yet. If you move, pain will be inflicted." Lucas went behind Jayson and blindfolded him. "Okay, if you trust me for a little bit you won't fall." Lucas grabbed Jayson and pushed him into the door and over some ropes. Eventually, they bumped into a wall, and Lucas pushed Jayson into a sitting position. Once he was down, Lucas tied his hands to the wall so they were behind his back.
"Time to see the surprise, Jayson." Lucas removed the blindfold, and Jayson immediately looked away. He never wanted to see what he saw ever again.
"It's rude to look away from a surprise, Jayson. Learn your manners." Lucas forced Jayson's head in Kyra's direction, just as Kyra slightly lifted her head.
"J-Jayson?" Her whisper was barely audible. Jayson gasped, as much as he could, at the sight of Kyra's face. Blood was dried all down her face and in her hair, causing it to appear a reddish-blond color. A deep cut ran across her face from her right eyebrow to her lips, and smaller cuts were all around it.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Kyra. As a treat, we have your friend here! Sadly, he did cause me some trouble, so we have to teach him a little lesson, now don't we." Lucas brought out the knife, causing Jayson's eyes to flash with anger and fear. "Oh, Jayson, don't worry. This isn't for you." Immediately after he said that, he slashed the knife down Kyra's leg, causing a faint whimper of pain to escape from her lips. Jayson closed his eyes, only to hear Lucas's voice once again.
"Wrong again, Jayson! You have to look, or else it will just last longer. Too bad for Kyra that you won't behave." Another slash of the knife down Kyra's back caused a scream of pain to escape her lips. Jayson looked on, tears streaming from his eyes, wondering how any human could be so cruel.
"Well, I guess since she just woke up, one scream is good enough for now. See you later, Jayson. Oh, and Kyra, I look forward to feeding time." Lucas grinned and walked out of the room.
"Jayson, why are you here? Why didn't you stay with the others?" Kyra looked at him, her eyes full of pain and sadness. Jayson shook his head, telling her not to ask him questions. He knew the more she asked, the more he would have to look at her. He never wanted to see her face like that again. They sat in silence until a yell sounded from far away. The yelling drew closer and closer until the door swung open, revealing Sokan. His eyes were glinting with pure rage and he had the silver knife in his hand.
"You Moras just love making me mad, don't you? Too bad for the both of you that Neptune had to escape. I hoped that you wouldn't be too marked up the next time Rune sees you with a knife at your throat, but I guess that won't be happening." He ran to her and started carving letters into her arm. Her screams grew louder and louder until Jayson couldn't stand it anymore. He fought against his restraints until his gag slipped just enough for him to talk.
"Enough, Sokan. You've caused her enough pain. You need to stop. Cut me instead." Jayson's eyes, though afraid, showed a special kind of bravery in them.
"Oh, you think you can handle it, tough guy? Well, I hate to break it to you, but this isn't the kind of thing you share. Didn't you know not to speak out of turn? Otherwise, shut up and keep watching until I leave, unless you want to cause her more pain." Sokan turned back to Kyra and slashed her face, leaving another cut connecting to the other one on her face. Kyra sobbed once again, and Sokan grabbed her chin.
"You wouldn't be in so much pain if you'd just listened to me earlier. My offer still stands, you know, but it won't for much longer." He gave her one final slash across the face before leaving. Jayson just turned his head away as Kyra sobbed in pain. He heard someone quietly enter the room. It was Laila, and she was holding a bag.
"I'm sorry, Kyra. They figured since the Moras had so many smarter kids in their tribe, they needed some too. They forced me to join their tribe. They're forcing me to do this now. Please, please forgive me." She took out a handful of salt and started rubbing it into the cuts on Kyra's back, causing Kyra to cry out in pain. After she was done with the back, she gently rubbed more into the cuts on the face. She then moved to Kyra's arms and legs.
"I don't know how they even have this much salt. I guess the people who lived here before us really stocked up the island with the things they found or created. The only thing they didn't do was create a farm, even though there's plenty of seeds stored in places." Laila quietly walked out of the room, leaving Kyra sobbing and Jayson in dismay, refusing to look at his abused friend.
"You know, Jayson," Kyra quietly said in between sobs. "When I first woke up, I thought that they were friends, trying to help me. Now I know how much of a fool I was. When I heard you and Rune that first night, I almost cried in joy. I thought I was going to be saved. So much has happened to me in the past 24 hours, I almost believe I'm stuck in a nightmare. The pain is so real, though, and the amount of time that I've been here proves to me that it has to be real." Kyra sighed. "Try to sleep. Lucas will be back in about an hour and a half, and he's always here for a while at meal times. You won't be able to after he comes."
"What about you? Are you going to sleep?" Jayson finally looked at her again.
Kyra laughed lightly. "I will try. It's pretty hard when you're stuck standing up. I'll probably get about 30 minutes of sleep, not counting the parts where my body is asleep but I'm fully aware of my surroundings." She dropped her head and closed her eyes.
Jayson leaned his head against the wall. How had something he was trying to do to help others backfire so badly? He closed his eyes, willing sleep to come. Eventually, it did.
* * *
Jayson woke up to the sound of screaming. When he looked up, Kyra was sobbing as blood dripped down her arm, and Lucas was standing by her, laughing like a maniac. He had the silver knife in his right hand, and a plate of oatmeal in the other.
"It's feeding time! Kyra first, then Jayson. Oh, don't worry Jayson, nothing bad will happen to you. Kyra, you know what the deal is: you behave and I won't hurt you as much as normal." He laughed and walked towards Kyra with the bowl. He grabbed a handful of oatmeal and forced her mouth open, shoving all the oatmeal in. She coughed some of it up, most of it landing on Lucas.
"That's exactly what will get you in more trouble at the end of this. Don't worry, I won't be gentle." Lucas laughed as he finally grabbed a spoon out of his pocket and finished feeding Kyra. When he moved on to Jayson, he shoved the first spoonful of oatmeal in. On the last spoonful, Jayson looked Lucas in the eye and spat all of the oatmeal on his face.
"Kyra! I promise everything will be okay! Hold on! Please don't lose hope! He will be-" Jayson was cut off as Lucas slapped him on the face and put the gag back on.
"Sorry, Kyra. Your boyfriend here just added a lot of extra punishment onto your after meal." Lucas glared at Jayson before putting his hand on the knife handle. He was about to put the knife through her skin when the door flew open, revealing Sokan on the other side, a face full of fury.
"Lucas! I just found out that Neptune didn't escape on his own, but some Mora tribe member broke him out. Without anyone spotting him! You were the one who was supposed to be heading over to go onto guard duty, but you left just enough time for someone to sneak in, untie all the knots, and run off with Neptune! Give me that knife!" After Lucas handed it over, Sokan walked over to Kyra. "What happened during their meal?"
Lucas coughed and told him. "Well, Kyra was pretty good until she coughed oatmeal all over me. Jayson wasn't an issue, but he spat all his oatmeal on me on the last bite and talked to Kyra."
Sokan looked furious. "I guess that means I get to take all the fun away from you. Get out." Sokan stared at Lucas until he gave in and left. "Now, Kyra, I think it's about time to teach you a lesson." Right as Sokan lifted his arm, Jayson got the gag off of his mouth again and yelled at Sokan.
"Get away from her! Don't touch her, you demon!" He fought as hard as he could against his restraints. "Curse you, Sokan!"
Sokan dropped his arm and started walking over to Jayson. "You, my friend, are going to die today." He lifted the knife so it would have been at a straight course to Jayson's heart when he felt something wet land on the back of his neck. When he turned around, he saw that Kyra had spit on him.
"Well, Jayson, looks like no one is dying today. Just some major pain."
Jayson knew what was coming, and he looked away as the screaming started.
* * *
Rune was in the infirmary cave, trying to fix up Neptune's nose as much as possible. It had been about 2 hours since they got back, and he had no idea how to set a broken nose. He eventually got it so it was straight and his airways weren't blocked. As they left, Rune looked at Neptune.
"Did you hear anything else about Kyra after I had gone?" Rune looked at him with a pleading expression.
Neptune's expression darkened. "I don't think you'll want to know. For one, Sokan called you a pretty boy. He also… well, never mind. You'll know when you see her again."
"Neptune, don't spare me of the details. What did Sokan do to her?" Rune stared Neptune down until he submitted.
"He cut her face. On purpose, and as deep as he could go so it would leave a scar. The last thing I heard before Lucas took me away was her loud, constant screams of pain. He hurt her badly." Neptune looked away. "I really didn't want to tell you."
Rune's expression fell. "Why would he do this? Why is he so cruel? He's probably treating Jayson the same way he treated you. I need to save them."
Neptune looked at him, confused. "I saw Jayson as we left. He was going into the middle of the forts, all alone. When he got ambushed, Sokan mentioned possibly putting him with Kyra, so I have the feeling that he isn't getting the same treatment as me. I thought you saw it too."
Rune looked furious. He stormed off into the center of the camp, grabbed a few berries, and went as far as he could in his cave. How could Neptune think that it was okay to just ignore the fact that one of their tribemates, one of their friends, was being kidnapped? It was then that he noticed his fire in the front of the cave was starting to burn down. He went, grabbed a branch, and grabbed some charcoal. He went back to where he had been sitting before and started drawing on the cave walls. After about 3 hours, his plan was finished.
Later that night, as everyone was asleep, Rune snuck out of the main camp. He left a note written on the inside of Jade's cave that she was in charge until he came back. He had no idea if he would return as he planned, but he knew he had to try. He would sit close enough to the hut where Kyra was that he could still hear what was happening, but far enough that they couldn't see or hear him. He walked slowly so he didn't attract any extra attention, waiting patiently as scouts for the Boka passed. Eventually, he made it to the tree he had planned and climbed up to the top. He sat right next to the hut, his ear up against the wood, and listened.
"Jayson, please sleep. Lucas won't come in the night. I learned that last night. You need to rest. Don't worry about me." Kyra was silent for a while, and then continued again. "What do you mean? You don't have to try and fight them. You literally can't, especially since you have tried to stop them twice. You won't be able to do anything." A quiet sob sounded from inside. Rune knew that he needed to find out what was going on. He gave a quiet hoot, one like the owls of the island. A long hoot, a short one, long, long, and finished with a short one. He heard nothing for a minute, and then he heard a small gasp.
"Rune? Are you there?" Kyra's voice was barely a whisper, quiet enough that only Rune would be able to hear. He sounded another short, quiet hoot to let her know that he was there. He heard a tense whisper too quiet for him to hear, and then he heard Kyra speaking again.
"You know, Jayson, if someone from our tribe was waiting to find the perfect moment to rescue us, they really should wait back at the Mora camp. You know, wait for about two weeks or so. No one would be expecting them then." Kyra paused, catching her breath. "Only-" Her voice was cut off as a door slammed open, and an angry voice was heard.
"You've been yakking away for too long! I've heard the whole thing, and Sokan and I are sick of it! You really don't know what's good for you, do you?" A crack of a rope was heard, shortly followed by Kyra's screams. "Sokan finally told me I could use a thin rope to whip you into shape, and I intend to do just that." It was then that Rune recognized Lucas's voice as the one speaking. He felt anger well up inside of him, and it was all he could do to stop himself from breaking into the room and slapping Lucas.
"Jayson, I thought you would have known the rules by now. Look away, close your eyes, and you just add to her pain. You can try to break through those ropes and knots, but we know what we're doing. You won't escape. Now, I think Luna has some work to do." Rune paused, confused at who Luna was, when he heard a knife be unsheathed and slashed across skin.
"Oh, this good old silver blade here does such a good job at cutting through human skin. That's why I call her Luna, because the full moon is so good at cutting through the darkness with her silver light." A cry of pure pain followed another slash. Rune heard something about Lucas leaving, and he heard a door shut. The only noises that were heard after were Kyra's cries of pain and Jayson's struggle against his restraints.