I tried to stay conscious but was unable to do so. I started to lose the strength to even keep my eyelids open.
With a loud thud, I collapsed to the ground. It was like having the TV suddenly switched off; one moment it was high-definition TV, the next moment everything just went dark, and silence ensued.
I felt my brain in a daze, and then there she was: Amy Lee standing in front of me, looking down at me.
Looking around, I saw the rest of the crew lying down, unconscious or dead—I couldn't tell.
I wanted to check on Bobby, but before I could stand up, Amy Lee knelt and pushed me back to the ground.
"They are unconscious. It's our chance to kill them and keep everything for ourselves," she said. "After that, we can go on to live our life together. I can get away from Huang Bao Kun."
I got confused at what she was saying. Why would she want to do that?
Seeing my reaction, she smiled and leaned down on me.
She came close, her face next to mine, and whispered into my ear, "I know you want me. Take me, do whatever you want. I will obey."
I froze as I could smell her perfume. Knowing what it could do, I closed my eyes, quickly took a deep breath, and then held it in my lungs.
I tried to control myself, saying to myself repeatedly, "I shall not let the perfume take control of me."
She teased me with her fingers, slowly brushing them from my face, then lowering them to my chest, and then lower down.
Sensing that I was able to control myself, she frowned for a moment and grinned.
She took my hand and held it to her face.
She made it touch her delicate features.
I could feel her nose bridge; slowly down it went to her lips, and then it was all wet, soft, and warm.
After a while, she continued to lower my hands.
I felt her collar bones and then her bra through her soaked t-shirt.
I tried to break free of her grip, but her strength was not what I had expected.
"Give in. You know you want it," she said and then let my hand go free.
I opened my eyes; she was taking off her shirt.
"Now there's no obstruction," she said.
I quickly turned my head to the side and closed my eyes again.
I tried to calm myself down, thinking of what had happened.
The Dayak man, all of us unconscious, then Amy Lee's weird behavior.
Her seduction, the perfume.
Wait a minute.
The Perfume!
She didn't have any perfume on all this time during this expedition.
Why was I able to smell it just now?
I then knew the answer: I was in a trance, most likely from whatever the darts had in them.
Knowing that I was in a trance, I pinched myself hard, trying to wake myself up.
"Sam, time to wake up. Wake up," I heard a voice and opened my eyes.
Amy Lee was looking at me with a concerned expression.
I looked around, and the others, except Firecracker Tan, were standing all around me.
My eyes darted around, and Bobby noticed it and started to grin at me.
"What happened?" I asked, trying hard to clear the vivid imagery from my head.
"We got hit by a man; the blow darts had some drug on them that makes you hallucinate," Amy Lee explained. "Luckily, I had powder to make me stay awake and also this." She then showed us her pistol in her hand.
I nodded, and slowly the pieces clicked into place. The Dayak man must have followed us all this time, taking his time to stalk us and strike at the right moment.
Too bad for him, Amy Lee had an antidote to his drug.
Just as I was taking it all in, Firecracker Tan's voice burst out loud: "All of you shall die!"
I quickly looked in his direction.
My heart nearly came out of my mouth.
He was brandishing his glass jar of explosives at some imaginary enemy.
Firecracker Tan's eyes had no focus, like a zombie in the movies. He kept mumbling to himself.
He was still in his trance and most likely battling with 'us' in it.
Sea Snake Fang quietly slid to his back.
I took my backpack, opened it up, and tried using it to catch the glass jar, in case Firecracker Tan threw it.
Amy Lee took out a small packet of red-colored powder, met Sea Snake Fang's eyes, signaling him to make a move.
Sea Snake Fang went into action, his hands hugging Firecracker Tan, trying hard to contain him.
I quickly jumped in and used my backpack to wrap the glass jar and his hand with it.
Amy Lee blew the red-colored powder into Firecracker Tan's face.
Firecracker Tan stopped struggling to break free. He closed his eyes, and after a while, his eyes opened.
Now they were focused and normal like ours.
"What happened?" he asked.
Amy Lee then briefed him with the same information.
I passed him the glass jar, very slowly and carefully.
"No need to be so delicate; it wouldn't explode so easily," he laughed and took the glass jar away from me.
With everyone conscious, we decided to take a break and hydrate ourselves.
Amy Lee went up to check on Kurnawan.
The Dayak man must have been very skilled to be able to get past Kurnawan.
Kurnawan got the same treatment as us; he was all right after Amy Lee treated him.
"So, what did you see in your trance?" Bobby used his shoulder to nudge me and sheepishly smiled at me.
"Me? Nothing," I replied.
"Really? I saw all the beautiful nurses doing it with me. You sure you didn't see anything?"
"No, I didn't. I only saw how everyone backstabbed each other and wanted to keep the treasure for themselves," I shook my head and replied.
Speaking of treasure, I looked at the coffin, waiting for us to open it.
One more step to getting all the gold, or so I thought.