Casina awoke to angry voices arguing outside the hut she was in. Groaning, she rubbed her sore neck, uncertainty and nausea washing over her. The last thing she recalled was running through the rainforest with Uri.
She sat up, still rubbing her neck, surprised at the makeshift elegance of the chief's abode. She figured it was his because of all the stuff in it. Only he would have so many pelts on the ground and walls full of weird decoration such as this one had.
Drat. This was not where she hoped to be at the moment, and she wondered where Uri was. In a panic, thinking he had been eaten after all, she hurried to the door flap, only to gasp with dismay as it suddenly lifted and the chief entered. Appalled at this state of affairs, she stepped back, her hand going to her mouth in surprise. Revulsion at thought of being alone with him overcame her, and she swallowed back the sudden rise of bile in her throat. His lips curled as he noted her chagrin.
Casina shuddered at sight of his black teeth and moved farther away from him, not sure of his motives. Slinking toward her with that foul grin, the chief reached for her, backing her up against the wall, lecherously pawing at her. Instinctively, Casina reached behind her...searching for anything she could get her hands on.
His motives now were as clear as rain.
* * * *
Uri paced like a caged lion, wondering how to rescue Casina. Even now he could hear her in the chief's hut. She was speaking words of fury and throwing things at the chief, who was apparently intent on satisfying his hunger in more ways than one that night. At thought of that, Uri growled his frustration, wishing now he had just taken the natives down when he had had the chance.
But a sudden smack, a thud, and a pain-filled moan came to him from the chief's hut, and he knew it was Casina making the sound. Furious, Uri tore through the entrance flap, grabbed the two guards there and slammed their heads together. They dropped to the ground, unconscious. Then he hurried to the chief's hut and did the same with the guards posted there. It had all happened so quickly that no one else had observed his escape, fortunately.
He lifted the entrance flap and bolted inside the chief's hut, glaring at sight of the toady little man standing naked over Casina. She was lying on the ground, rubbing her head, and was unaware of Uri's presence. Until a snarl from the chief at sight of him. The man immediately turned to grab a spear from the wall to defend himself. As Uri came bearing down on him, the chief flung the spear at him, but Uri deftly caught it in his hand and flung it right back at him, piercing his heart with one powerful thrust.
Casina, at the chief's cry of surprise, had turned over, just in time to see Uri fling the spear at the fat little man. She moved just in time to prevent him from falling dead atop her. Grimacing, she scooted away from him, then allowed Uri to help her to her feet.
"Sh," he motioned, a finger to his lips. "We're not out of this yet." She nodded, intent on obedience this time, as he stuck his head out of the hut. It seemed too quiet, so he turned back inside. "Something's not right," he said. "We'd better go out the back." Casina glanced questioningly behind her. As in the other hut, there was no back door.
"But--"
"I'm going to make a way," he said, anticipating her confusion. With that, he moved to the back wall and punched a hole through it, not caring if the loud noise of the bamboo cracking and breaking alerted the entire village. "Come on." With that, he led the way, helping Casina through the opening and into the thick labyrinth behind.
As they made their way in the darkness, they heard the village springing to life as the natives learned what had happened. Cries of outrage were heard and, moments later, Casina and Uri were aware of them noisily thrashing through the forest in search of them.
Suddenly a loud hum, then the intense, piercing blast from an imperial laser hit the ground behind them, along with a bright, blinding light that shone in a wide diameter around the village.
Then...nothing.
At the familiar sound of the laser, Uri had instantly grabbed Casina and pulled her down with him to the ground. He shielded her with his body as he had done in the module, blocking the dangerous beam. When all noise had ceased and the light had dissipated, he moved to help her up.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Y-Yes," she stated, brushing away some leaves and dirt from her clothes. "What on earth was that horrible noise?"
"Jeiel. He's here to rescue us."
A moment later, they heard the Seth's voice shouting for them.
"Here, Jeiel!" Uri responded. He took Casina's hand and plodded back toward the nowdissolved village. When they arrived, it was to see Jeiel and several of his H'Sans searching for survivors. "I think your aim was a bit off this time. You damn near blinded us."
At sight of them, Jeiel grinned. "Well, I had to estimate your location with the trace board when I realized you weren't wearing your com unit." Then he immediately burst into Kathian, to which Uri also responded.
* * * *
Since Casina was obviously to remain in the dark on this part of their conversation, she merely frowned and casually listened to their strange alien words. But the way the two were smiling, chuckling, and casting looks in her direction made her wonder at the content of their talk. It was a shame she didn't know their language yet, but it did give her more incentive to learn it.
She was never to share in any of their conversation. Instead, Uri put a hand to her back and, within a matter of minutes, they were instantly, magically, whisked aboard the Seth's ship. Before she had even figured out how that had happened, they were soon back at TrCasinaar. Home again.