The Price of Friendship Chapter 26
With hearts hardened by hate, Marcos and his three cousins watched over the young American lying bound hand and foot in the bottom of their boat, his shoulders heaving as muffled sobs somehow managed to escape through the thick cloth tied about his mouth.
The young man looked up at his captors with red-rimmed, brown eyes that spoke of his loss�the loss of the friend that had been with him. Beneath the sorrow, the cousins could also see fear�unadulterated fear.
The young man involuntarily flinched when one of the men raised his hand as if to hit him then took a deep, uneven breath in relief when the arm was lowered. His relief was short lived though, when another one of the strangers reached out toward him. Chris tried to back away, but found that he couldn�t due to the fact that his back was already against the side of the boat. With fear in his eyes, Chris cringed as strange words were spoken to him.
�You should have reason to fear,� Henry said gruffly in his native language as he grasped the young man�s pale, bearded chin roughly only to laugh when he heard the American grunt in pain and try to pull away. Henry quickly brought his other hand down in a mighty arc and struck the flushed face in his grasp and laughed again when the young man�s eyes seemed to briefly lose focus, before closing all together as his head came to rest roughly with a muted thud on the bottom of the boat.
�Be careful!� Marcos yelled as he pushed his cousin back from the limp form. �He must not be so injured that Mr. Johnson will not reward us handsomely.�
Henry glared briefly at the older man before him, then nodded his head and moved toward the back of the boat.
Marcos turned his attention back to the lifeless form lying at his feet. He kicked at the young American�s body and was rewarded with a low, muffled groan and then nothing.
�Yes�Mr. Johnson will indeed reward us greatly for you�but you�you will wish you had been left to die back on the trail with your friend.�
With a small laugh, Marcos followed Henry to the back of the boat, leaving a barely conscious Chris grieving at the words that he had heard.
Back on the tree lined trail a lone figure sat, tied against a tree, bleeding and battered. With much effort, he struggled to lift his head from the tree trunk that he had been pressed against but found that the effort was proving to be too great for him. With a low moan, Justin sank back into the blackness that he had attempted to hold at bay�his last wakeful moment spent thinking of Chris��please dear God�take care of him��
�Where did Justin and Chris go?� JC asked Lance who was still struggling to understand what was going on around him as he watched through heavy lidded eyes, two men hovering over Joey�s unresponsive form across the cave from them.
Minutes earlier he had awakened to see a frantic JC huddled over him along with the very men who had attacked them a few days ago.
Not knowing that the men were no longer ones to fear, Lance had cried out in terror at the very sight of them and it took several minutes of soothing words from JC and some sort of liquid soaked cloth being placed over his face before Lance had any understanding of the situation. Now, he was trying his best to sit up but found that he was just too dizzy to do so.
�They went down the trail to the left�counting to 1000,� Lance murmured, looking at JC as he fought against another wave of nausea. He closed his eyes and lowered himself back to the dirt floor.
�They left about three hours ago�I guess�I don�t know how long I was out,� he added before opening his eyes to see that JC was looking down at him, his blue eyes full of concern.
�What happened Lance�did you fall or something?�
�I should be asking the same thing about you, C,� Lance murmured as he pointed at JC�s bandaged head.
�I dodged a falling tree and hit a rock,� JC said with a small smile as he fingered the cloth bandage around his head.
�What�s your story? Did you dodge a tree too?� JC asked with a slight chuckle, trying to lighten the atmosphere and he was relieved to see that it worked when Lance�s smiled but he noticed that it didn�t reach his eyes.
Lance gave JC another tired smile as he shook his head faintly.
�No�Joey was having a nightmare�I bent over him, trying to wake him up when he grabbed my arms and pulled me right into the wall�that�s all I remember,� Lance said wearily. �How�s he doing?�
Lance turned his head and glanced over to see that Thomas and Davis were bent over his friend�s still form. He looked back up at JC and was alarmed to see that JC�s face had lost almost all color. Lance quickly reached out and placed his hand on JC�s arm to get his attention. JC shook himself from his thoughts and looked back down at Lance.
�What�what�s wrong, Jace?� Lance asked in small voice, almost afraid to know what was bothering JC�it had to be bad with how shook up he looked.
JC cleared his throat and wiped his hands over his face then looked up at the ceiling before quietly speaking.
�Um�when we got here, we saw Joey standing on the top ledge.�
Lance gasped and tried to raise himself up to his elbows, but JC pushed him back down.
Lance then groaned, �I can�t believe that�man�he could have fallen.�
�He did�� JC replied. �He fell into the pool�we got him out�he wasn�t breathing.�
Lance�s eyes opened wide in disbelief.
�Oh�my heavens,� he gasped as he once again looked over at Joey and was relieved to see the young man�s chest rising and falling with each breath that he took.
�What�how, JC?�
JC swallowed hard and ran his hand over his head before speaking.
�His heart was beating okay, but I had to do CPR�I breathed for him�he started breathing after about a minute or so,� JC replied in a hushed voice, still in a state of disbelief that he had saved his friend�s life.
A choked sob from Lance brought JC out of his thoughts. He quickly bent over Lance and pulled him into a seated position then wrapped his arms around him.
�Sh�sh�he�s okay now, Lance�he�s okay,� JC said as he rubbed his hands up and down Lance�s shaking back, instantly knowing that Lance was blaming himself.
�It wasn�t your fault�the fever got to him�you had no control over what he did�he didn�t either�it�s over�they�re going to help him.�
JC pulled away from Lance and gestured toward Davis and Thomas who were busily wrapping steaming hot cloths around Joey�s swollen right arm.
As they watched Joey being cared for, they were unaware of what was happening to the other members of their group.
A gentle rocking motion was the first sensation that Chris became aware of�that and the strong scent of salt and sweat. Periodically, he felt a spray of water hitting his bare shoulders�his back. He carefully pulled at the ropes binding his hands behind his back and found them to be unyielding as well as those around his ankles. There were voices hovering above him�voices speaking a language that he was not familiar with. It was the voices that caused him to almost become ill�the men behind the voices were the ones who beat Justin so badly...so badly that Chris had not been able to tell whether or not Justin was even alive. With a small shudder, Chris replayed the attack in his mind.
Chris pushed Justin behind him with one arm while gesturing to the four strangers with the other. He wanted to put distance between the guns pointed at them�enough distance that he and Justin could possibly run away, but he knew that that was probably not going to happen.
�Hey�guys�what�s going on?� Chris said calmly, with a smile, in an effort to buy some time for himself and Justin but the men did not answer. They only continued to advance toward the two young men.
�Justin�when I tell you to�I want you to run,� Chris whispered over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw Justin nod his head imperceptibly as he looked around him for the best route of escape. As they both glanced nervously about, the four men seemed to sense the plan that Chris was hatching in his mind and they immediately began to separate and surround the pair of Americans.
Chris felt Justin�s� trembling hands on his shoulders and he reached up to grasp one of them in an effort to reassure the younger man. No words were exchanged between the four dark skinned men, but they moved almost in unison�as one and this unnerved Chris the most.
Chris felt his shoulders tensing up under Justin�s hands as he waited in anticipation of what the four men were going to do. Behind him, he could hear Justin�s breathing becoming quicker�more shallow causing Chris to feel a wave of anger descend upon him. He knew that Justin was probably reliving his own attack and he did not want his friend to have to face that once again.
�What do you want?� Chris shouted angrily at the approaching figures, but he was not answered. �Let us go and we�ll do our best to stay away from you.�
Chris�s words were again ignored jg this time, the largest of the four men reached out and grabbed Justin from behind by the hair and yanked him away from Chris.
Justin yelped in terror and pain as he reached up to the strong hands that had him in their grasp only to be hit in the face by another one of the men while Chris yelled out and jumped to Justin�s defense. He knew his move was foolish, but he couldn�t stand by and let those men harm Justin.
With a scream of fury, Chris charged full speed at the man holding Justin by the hair but a swift kick to his midsection from one of the other men caused him to go down in a heap. As he hit the ground he felt the air rush from his lungs and he lay on there in the dirt, struggling to pull in the air that his body was crying out for�weakly gripping his midsection.
While Chris lay there, he watched through his angry tears as Justin attempted to cower away from the largest of the four men while the man gripping him by the hair yanked the young man forcibly, face first into a nearby tree trunk.
Chris�s mind screamed the words that his body was unable to as he watched a stunned Justin sink to the ground after his hair had been released to lay dazed, blinking heavily as if he were struggling to bring his vision back into focus.
When Chris and Justin thought it could not get any worse, the attack escalated violently in a manner that was unlike anything either young man had seen on television or in the movies.
In abject horror, Chris watched as three of the four men swiftly began to beat the younger man, while the fourth stood over Chris with his foot forcefully pressing his body into the ground. Chris valiantly struggled against the heavy weight holding him down but realized that he was not strong enough to fight against it and lay there all the while yelling at the men, trying to make them stop their assault on Justin.
�Let me go! Don�t touch him! Stop it! What do you want? Don�t! You�re killing him! Stop!�
Chris�s loud, tearful cries were going unanswered and only seemed to further fuel the attack. Chris watched as the three men kicked and hit viciously at Justin�s still body. Apparently, one of the very first blows must have knocked him out since Chris had not heard Justin utter a sound through out the entire attack and with each forceful blow Justin�s lifeless body lifted off the ground or moved limply about without resistance.
Chris cringed with each blow and was horrified to see blood beginning to pour from several wounds on Justin�s face and upper body.
The sound of the feet and fists landing on Justin�s inert body were hollow and the harsh, ragged breathing of the attackers were the only sounds that flooded Chris�s senses. Just as he was sure that Justin�s beating would never end, it did almost as swiftly and unexpectedly as it had begun.
Chris lay panting roughly under the heavy weight of the foot planted in the middle of his back for what seemed like an eternity, just watching Justin for any sign of life. Finally, after several agonizing minutes, the foot pressing Chris into the ground lifted from his back just as the assault on Justin ended.
Chris attempted to make it to his hands and knees to crawl over to Justin, but another swift kick into his midsection took away what little fight he had left in him. He sank to the ground, his hands reaching out for Justin and he quietly moaned out his name only to find, much to his horror, that Justin was not responding.
Through his tears, Chris was almost unable to see Justin�s chest moving up and down, almost imperceptibly. With a quick prayer of thanks on his lips, Chris once again tried to make it to his hands and knees.
�Which one do we take with us?� Samuel asked sullenly as he grabbed a handful of Justin�s curls and pulled his head up to see that the young man�s eyes were closed, his bloody and bruised features lax before releasing his hold, allowing the young man�s head to hit the ground with a dull thud.
Chris moaned the word, �no� as he swiped feebly at the hand that had just released Justin�s bloodied curls and his movement was rewarded with harsh laughter.
�I am not carrying him,� Marcos replied once he had control of his laughter. He gestured at Justin�s still form then pushed at it with one of his fee as he continued to speak.
�He�s too big.�
Chris looked up at the men around him and watched as they spoke amongst themselves�then�he suddenly realized what might be being said�they were choosing�they weren�t going to take both of them with them.
Using his last reserves of strength, Chris once again struggled to move toward Justin but this time the four men only watched with sick amusement at the struggling man. With a deep breath, Chris bowed his head to the ground in order to stop the spinning sensation going on about him�he had to get to Justin�to warn him to stay still�to play dead. After a few deep breaths, Chris made his way slowly over to Justin�s side where he hovered over his lax form and whispered in his ear in the hopes that Justin could somehow hear him.
�Stay down J�sh�stay down�play dead...please�play dead,� Chris said quietly, not knowing that Samuel had heard those words and was going to use them against Chris�to hurt him.
Chris again looked up at the four figures and instantly felt hate overriding the terror that had been there only moments earlier.
�What do you want?� he said in a voice choked with emotion, as he continued to linger over Justin�s still form, touching him in an effort to let the younger man know that he was there for him�that things would somehow be okay.
�Why are you doing this?�
Instead of an answer, Marco reached for a bag that he had thrown down to the ground only moments earlier. He tucked his gun inside his shorts pocket then opened the bag and pulled out several lengths of rope.
�We�want�you,� Marco answered in his broken English as he advanced on Chris.
�Why me?� Chris asked as he slowly began to back away from Justin in an effort to protect himself. � If he was taken�who would take care of Justin?� Chris�s mind screamed.
�Let me take care of Justin first�then I�ll go with you�I swear I�ll go with you!� he shouted in a near panic as he looked from one dark face to another.
�Please�let me take care of my friend.�
Samuel knelt down in by Justin�s motionless body and instantly Chris lurched at him.
�Stay away from him�leave him alone�haven�t you done enough!� he hoarsely cried as he swiped at the larger man�s hands.
Samuel pushed Chris away into Henry�s hands, who then pulled the struggling man up against his chest in an effort to still his movements.
Samuel then knelt back down beside Justin and brushed his hands over Justin�s still body�his neck, then his chest and finally held his hand over Justin�s face.
With an inward smirk, he stood up and stated calmly, �He�s dead,� all the while knowing that the young man was clinging to life�barely, but the other man didn�t have to know that.
With those two words�he�s dead�Chris came unglued and in an instant became too much for Henry to handle. Henry shouted over Chris�s screams and two of his cousins jumped in to help him.
�NO! He can�t be! He�s not!� Chris screamed in disbelief and horror as he strained against the strong arms holding him back. It took three of the men to now hold Chris back�Henry, Jordan, and Marco before he was wrestled face down to the ground, his arms pulled behind him and tightly bound, but Chris was not aware of that. He total focus was on the still figure lying almost 10 feet away.
�No�he can�t be dead�Justin�J�no�Jumphtm,� Chris cried out through his tears until a cloth was pulled forcibly into his mouth, effectively muffling his tortured cries. As ropes were added to his ankles, Chris could feel darkness beginning to push its way into his senses as he continued to stare at Justin�s body�willing it move�praying that something would happen to prove the strangers were wrong, but nothing happened. Instead of fighting against the encroaching darkness, he allowed it to creep further into his being.
�Why fight it?� he thought. �J�s gone�why fight it?�
The hands tying Chris felt his body growing limp and Marcos saw the young man�s eyelids begin to briefly flutter before his eyes rolled to the back of his head. With a low moan, Chris gave into the darkness and became dead weight in the hands holding him. As soon as he lost consciousness, the men shifted their attention to the beaten and battered body of Justin.
The young man was pulled, unyieldingly over to a near by palm tree then pushed up into a seated position. His legs and arms were spread out and his chest was pushed roughly against the trunk of the tree while his loose limbs were made to encircle the trunk. Ropes were wrapped tightly about his wrists and ankles and a gag was placed around his mouth.
�Why did you tell him he was dead?� Jordan asked Samuel in their native language as he gestured toward Chris�s limp figure when they stood up from their task of tying Justin.
�Torture�pure torture, my cousin,� the man answered with a twisted smile.
Jordan leaned his head back and laughed out loud and was soon joined by the rest of the group.
Minutes later, Chris�s limp form was slung over Jordan�s shoulders and he was carried away from the figure left helplessly behind.
�It is nearing darkness,� Davis said quietly to JC as the pair stood outside the cave in the hopes of seeing Chris and Justin returning from their search for JC. �We must go in search for your friends.�
�I know,� JC answered. At that moment he was torn as to what he needed to do�Joey and Lance needed him, but Chris and Justin were out there, somewhere in the darkening forest.
Davis seemed to sense JC indecision and he tentatively placed a hand on JC�s shoulder and was relieved to see that JC didn�t flinch or move away from him.
�My brothers will watch over your friends�they seem to trust them,� Davis quietly explained. �If my brothers and I went alone in search for your other friends, they would not understand our motives�they would become fearful and possibly run from us.� JC nodded his head in understanding as Davis continued to speak. �You must go with me�it would be the best thing Joshua.�
�Okay,� JC quietly replied as he kicked a stone from the ledge with his bare foot. �Let me explain things to Joey and Lance then we can go.� JC turned from the man and made his way back to the cave�s entrance. Before walking through the waterfall, he turned to look back at Davis.
�I�I just want to let�to let you know�that I appreciate all the help you�ve given us Davis,� JC stammered. �Thank you.�
With that said, JC quickly ducked through the waterfall and entered the cave, not seeing the stray tears escaping the eyes of the dark skinned man behind him.
Justin woke with a start and moaned painfully into the gag that surrounding his mouth. He felt his body being pressed painfully against an unyielding surface and it took several moments before he fully realized that he had been tied face first against the rough bark of a tree. His arms and legs were wrapped around the trunk of the tree and he was bound tightly hand and foot, effectively keeping him in place.
He could barely make out his surroundings due to the fact that not only was it getting quite dark, but also his eyes were nearly swollen shut from the severe beating he had received some time earlier.
The memory of the beating suddenly descended upon Justin, nearly taking his breath away, which would not have been that difficult seeing that his ribs and sides were painfully bruised and battered. With a small shudder, Justin tried desperately to look about him for Chris, not knowing that his friend had been taken away some time ago. As far as Justin knew, Chris was still somewhere around him�somewhere�but where?
Justin tried to turn his head, but the movement caused stars to brilliantly burst in his sight and he felt darkness on the peripheral edges of his vision. With a tiny moan and a slow, uneven breath, Justin relaxed his body, allowing himself to lean limply against the tree and willed himself not to black out. He had to stay calm if he was to find out where Chris was.
Once the darkness had fully retreated, Justin raised his head from against the tree and pulled in as deep a breath as he could.
�Criff!� Justin called out, his voice muffled by a thick gag. �Criff!�
Justin again tried to turn his head, but found that since he was pressed so closely against the tree, his movements were very limited. With a frustrated sigh, Justin wearily rested his head against the tree and allowed the darkness that he had been fighting off to slowly swallow him. Just as his head lolled to the side, voices in the background could be heard calling��Justin�Chris�where are you?!�
Chris struggled against the hands pulling him toward a large, stately house on the other side of a tropical garden. Chris voiced his protests through his thick gag and tried valiantly to resist the forward movement, but his efforts were ended when one of the large men swiftly hit him over the head. Chris felt an intense burst of pain radiate from the base of his skull down his spine and, almost instantly, his feet became to heavy to lift, as did his head. As he dropped his head and felt his knees buckle beneath him, Chris felt strong hands lift him up and roughly place him over someone�s muscular shoulders.
With a groan, Chris closed his eyes as he became vaguely aware of how high up he was and he struggled against the black wave that threatened to overtake him. He wanted desperately to remain conscious�to know where he was and what plans lay I in store for him. He needed to be ready�ready to escape�somehow�someway.
He slowly opened his eyes and tried to look over his shoulder to see where he was being taken, but was hit heavily once again. Apparently, the four men who had kidnapped him had some reason not to let him see where he was being taken.
With another groan Chris allowed his head to drop back down and was instantly alarmed when felt rough hands tightly tying a cloth over his eyes, effectively blocking off his vision.
He screamed mutely against his gag as terror began to settle in�without his sight, Chris felt totally defeated. He could handle the helplessness of being bound and gagged, but with his sight was also being taken away�that was just too much for him to bear.
He began to twist in the arms holding him�then kick with his knees�he even managed to get in a few, albeit, weak blows with his hands, which were bound behind his back, but all of his struggles were proving to be fruitless. He was only exhausting himself. He finally stilled his movements and decided to play dead�maybe if he pretended to go out on them, he would learn more than trying to struggle against his captors. With his decision made, Chris gave a few more weak struggles, making sure that with each movement he would seem to be losing consciousness. Then, with a small moan, Chris finally let his body go completely limp in the large man�s arms. He heard words being spoken and hands lifting his head, then his blindfold.
He allowed one of the men to lift his eyelid and Chris gave a small moan and barely rolled his eye. His eyelid was dropped and with an inward grin, Chris felt the blindfold being lowered back over his eyes and the words��he is not awake,� being said in thick English.
�Now,� Chris thought to himself. �Now I have to just keep my head�I�m gonna make it�I�m gonna make it for J. Jace will find me�Joey will find me�Lance will find me�J�I�ll miss you J��
Thankfully, the blindfold caught the tears that escaped Chris�s closed eyes�tears for his friend that he thought was dead�beaten to death. With quiet resolution, Chris vowed that he would somehow retaliate against the men who had caused Justin�s death�he would kill the men that had murdered his friend.