Chapter 4 Law Of The Jungle

A high-pitched scream pierced through my eardrums and brought me back to reality. I greeted the day with Tina in my arms, who was wriggling to escape my tight squeeze. She was the lady in my dream! No wonder the face looked familiar. “Leave me alone, you sicko!” I pointed to the other two girls with my chin. They were also snuggling in their sleep. I told Tina we humans did this out of our primal instincts to keep warm. Tina’s cheeks turned bright red, glancing at my groin area. I looked down and spotted the imprint between my legs. I let out a wry smile. “I swear, this is not on me. I blame the morning.” “What does that have to do with this?” Tina had the usual naive look on her face. On the other hand, Hailey clucked her tongue irritably. Yara protectively pulled Tina to her side and snarled, “Don’t give him any attention. He’s nothing but a perv!” Yara then whispered something to Tina’s ear. The latter let out a gasp as if she had heard the most outrageous piece of information. Her face was as red as a tomato. I couldn’t help but laugh as I led them out of the tent. We walked around the big rock and instantly felt a gust of salty-smelling wind. I was proud of the spot I picked. The rock had shielded us from the cold. If not, we would have turned into popsicles already. Fresh colors brushed upon the sea surface. The girls gaped in amazement as we greeted the red sun that ascended from the horizon. The promise of the rising sun took my worries away. The sudden feeling of liberation drove me to place my cupping hands at my mouth and let out a long howl. “Gosh! What the hell was that for?” Startled, Hailey rolled her eyes at me. “Haha! We’re on top of the world!” I strode forward. “Let’s go get some groceries!” We headed to the seaside. The tide had ebbed, leaving behind little fish and shells on the smooth sand. I unturned a dead coral to show the girls what could be underneath. Two walnut-sized crabs slipped away nervously. “There are crabs under these dead corals and rocks. Be careful not to hurt yourself when you flip them!” I continued walking down the beach after I instructed and disregarded their cries. They were probably clamped by the crabs or grazed by the bumpy stones. After all, they had to embrace that as a part of their daily life from now on. I came to the spot where I had placed the stockings. Supported by some branches, it was a fish trap I had made last night. I walked back to the girls with a bag full of leaping fish while they were busy chasing after a crab. Th crab was the size of my fist, zipping around, enjoying being the center of attention. Although the girls were doing their best to catch up, none of them had the guts to touch it. I let out a sigh. There was no way they could get themselves any food today. I stepped forward to give them a helping hand, bending my knees to scoop up the crab. Holding it at the center, its angry claws couldn’t reach me at all. Our hunt was fruitful today. We ended up with fish, three crabs, and two squids. I placed the seafood into the pot and cooked it all with a bit of salt. It didn’t take long for the aroma to fill the air. I let them each have a crab before picking up a squid for myself. I was ready to chow down until a squeal stopped me in my tracks. I turned and saw Jude again with those four men. I was surprised at how close they got to us. We must have been too distracted by the food. One of them had stepped on the buried pointy branches, hence the squeal. If it wasn’t for that, it would have been too late by the time we notice them. My pupils constricted when I saw the clubs in their hands. Out of all the survivors, only seven were male. Apart from the middle-aged man who got hit, Jude had brought all the men on his side. I had a rough idea of their intention. They weren’t here to play nice or make a deal, judging by their weapons and stealthy approach. “Don’t say a word. Let me handle this!” I instructed softly before meeting the men with my axe. “Are you here for our fire again?” I faked a smile at Jude. Jude’s voice sounded hoarse, apparently parched from not having access to freshwater. Even though he still appeared composed, the men behind him couldn’t take their eyes off our food. “Oh, no. We’re here to invite you back!” Jude took a deep breath and started his preaching, “I firmly believe that we should stick together. What’s the point of division, right? We wanna invite you to our big family!” “What if I say no?” I asked indifferently. Jude grasped his club. He closed in on me and threatened underneath his breath, “You’d better not.” It was apparent that Jude had established himself as the figure of authority in their team. He advanced forward, and the other men automatically assumed their positions to surround us from all corners. They came unprepared yesterday, so my axe drove them away. Therefore, their motive was clear when they came back with clubs today—to have me submit to their violence. As for the reason, it was written all over their sunken faces. They were far from being well-rested or well-fed. I speculated that their fire had also died out. They were in dire need of assistance, especially from someone who could start a fire. Besides, let’s not forget that Jude saw me as a threat. It didn’t help his influence when our conditions were better than theirs. Jude was desperate for me to join him before his people turned against him for me. Politically, joining forces with him would give him more power, making him harder to handle in the future. On the flip side, if I refused to cooperate, they wouldn’t hesitate to swing those clubs at us. After taking a deep breath, I stepped back and extended my right leg. Next to my foot, I drew a line with my axe. “If you’re after the fire, pot, and food, they are all yours. However, this is where I draw the line. If you cross it, there’s no telling what I would do. Worse comes to worst, I’ll just bring you to hell with me.” Hailey protested, “Zayn...” I turned back to growl, “Shut it!” Hailey’s body stiffened. She had never seen me like this. Noticing my discreet wink, she pressed her lips together and didn’t say another word. Jude looked at me vacantly, apparently surprised by my reaction. He lowered his eyebrows and considered it for a while. Simultaneously, I gestured the girls to retreat with the hand behind my back. Jude quickly noticed what was happening and signaled with his hand. “Stop them!” “Jude Ford!” I raised my axe. “You really want it to come down to this? I know you have more people. But I’ve got nothing to lose apart from my life! I don’t mind taking one or two lives on my way out. Try me!” Jude approached with the club before realizing the other men only took some half-hearted baby steps. No one was willing to sacrifice themselves! After all, most passengers taking a direct flight to Dubai were accomplished elites. These people had too much to lose and tended to be self-interested. That was another reason I didn’t want to be in their group. “Come on, big guy!” I stared at them with blood-shot eyes and advanced toward them. As a result of my domineering demeanor, Jude stood still and rapidly came to a decision. “Fine. As you wish.” I ground my jaw back and forth as I witnessed them finish the food then rob our gatherings in the tent. When it was over, they left with a burning torch. I could only hear my clenching jaw until Tina’s weeping faded into the background. Tears stained her crumpled face. “Those shameless jerks! I can’t believe this!” Yara and Hailey tightened their fists, glaring at those thieves. “I don’t blame them.” I patted Tina’s shoulder. “You need to understand that we’re on an uncivilized island now. Morality, nobility, or justice don’t apply here. Over here, we follow the law of the jungle. It’s survival of the fittest. An author once said despair could make an animal out of a man. We’re lucky this is only our second day. Imagine them in a week. They wouldn’t think twice to kill us and make jerky out of our bodies. Know this, I’m not making this up to scare you. I’m only stating the fact.” Hailey briefly wrapped her arms around me from behind. “I know you would’ve fought them to death if it wasn’t for us. Sometimes, toleration requires more courage than confrontation.” Hailey was a smart woman. Regardless of her usual mockery, she knew me enough to understand encouragement was what I needed at the moment. I calmed down pretty soon as I put my thinking hat on. “We can no longer stay here. In a few days, misery will take away the last drop of their conscience. I can assure you their next visit won’t be a friendly one. The next thing on our agenda is to find a safer spot.” Yara was bewildered. “What do you mean by that?” “Hard to attack but easy to guard.” I walked away without even bothering to lay my eyes on the tent, which had been torn apart. We were back to ground zero. To create our own opportunity, the only way to go was forward. I took them to a place I had seen birds flying toward last night. That must mean the birds had food and nests there. It was an indicator of a sizable cave. We ventured deep into the island. On the way there, we helped each other climb up and down several towering rocks. To say we were astonished by what came to view next was an understatement.