Valley of Decision

chapter nineteen

“Tao. It’s pronounced Tao. Not Tosh.” spoke the tightly bound miner lying on the jungle floor, tied fast to his now obviously dead friend.

“Tao? That explains a lot,” said Draino out loud.

“It’s a common boys name here,” piped up the man knowingly. Draino waved Tosh over. “Tao,” he said, looking down at the boy. The boys face erupted into a wide, white toothed smile. Interesting, thought Draino. I’ve been speaking his name wrong all this time. No wonder the kid was pissed off?

“How’d you know that?” barked Draino to the miner, who was struggling to right himself from the weight of his dead mining buddy.

“Been here too long, I guess. But I am interested in languages,” replied the miner.

“Can you speak their language?” asked Draino hopefully.”

“Only the local natives, like Tao, and Natty. The others, the totally naked ones, are a mystery?” They seem to be able to communicate with each other?

“Ok, what’s really going on here? I caught a naked Native with gold nuggets. They were river tumbled, round and smooth. No way is that gold from around here, I know that much!” snapped Draino, still scratching his head as to what was actually going on? “Well, I might as well tell you, cuz you’re in big shit anyway? I’m with Red-Oil. We’re an oil exploration team,” replied the man. “Outta California,” he continued.

“Seriously?” replied Draino. “Isn’t that illegal, or something?”

“Big time!” replied the laughing man, as if everyone should know that? “That’s why we pay everyone in gold. Even the locals, that so small errands for us. To keep the illusion of simple mining operation going. The jungle bunnies like the coins for some reason, even though they haven’t a fucking clue of there worth, or what it is for that matter?” “Red owns this outfit? Dam, so that’s why I’m here!” Draino laughed out loud with a surprised look on his face. His guys left me for dead! “You!” Yelled Draino.

“No, never knew anything about you until now.” The pretend miner replied. “I also never knew this company was named after someone. Unless?” “Unless what?” “We did get an unexpected visit from the supply boat, and they took away the crew for a break they said. Which pissed off the boss since we had got to prepare for the flood?” “Ya, well that’s when they must have dropped me off down river? And Reds a fuckin’ criminal! Got a million scams going on. And I’m going to rip his head from his body, the minute I get away from this steam bath shit hole.”

“You know him personally?”

“You could say that! He can’t kill himself, so he sends you away somewhere to die. He didn’t count on them, did he! Added Draino, pointing to the natives. So, where’s the well, and all that drilling shit?” asked Draino.

“Don’t work like that,” replied the miner, oilman. “We can’t drill yet, so we’re here searching out possible oil locations. We’ve discovered hundreds of locations with the help of the Natives. The local friendlies have even lead us to sights where the oil literally seeps from the ground. And we take care of them. I guess everyone loves gold?” Draino reached down with his machete and cut open the vines that tied the two miners together. “You make one wrong move, you’ll end up like buddy here. You got that?”

“Why you letting them run loose? They’re dangerous,” said the man, nodding toward Natty, then leaned his head over to listen for sounds of breathing from his co-miner.

“They’re friends, I’d be fish food without them. So, watch what you say. You kept a child in those conditions, for a fucking week? You’re lucky you’re even standing there. You’re a miserable piece of shit!” The man showed no remorse. “And after they helped you?” “I’m not trying to make points here, but it wasn’t my idea or choice. I never imagined any of this shit when I came here. I just wanted work!” “Don’t bother checking him,” said Draino. “I’ve seen plenty of dead men. He’s in hell waiting for you! And get it straight, I’m not letting you loose, if that’s what you think! You’re still tied up, and walking!”

The miner began to get to his feet, Though the miner was by no means a small man, Drano’s height and bulk towered over him.

“So, you’re just an employee of Red Oil, like me?” said the man, a bit wobblily on his feet, while tenderly rubbing the swelling bump on his head “We’re shutting down. The rivers coming. What ya gonna do then, eh?”

“Get going!” snorted Draino, giving the man a rough shove.

Tao was horrified at seeing the man loose, and up walking around. He came charging over, screaming something, and attacked the man, who easily brushed the boy aside.

Tao, fell to the ground, looking slightly embarrassed. But Draino saw the brave warrior in him and smiled at the boy. Because of the mans recent ordeals, Draino let the mans aggression toward the boy slide, and just shoved him harder forward.

Draino spotted a large plastic jug. “Is that water?”

“Ya. but its not for them. Where ya taking me anyway eh?” demanded the man, seeing Draino offering Tao and his grandparents the water jug.

“You’re taking us on a little tour. And you ain’t demanding anything!” replied Draino.

Tao sniffed the water and looked into the small opening but wouldn’t drink, then looked up at Draino with a confused look on his face. Draino grabbed the plastic jug from him and sniffed the bottle. Plainly it was water, but store-bought water. Tao could obviously smell the chlorine. Draino took a long warm swig. He had forgotten the taste of civilized water and now found it wanting. Tao seeing him drink, tried it and spit it out.

“See! These jungle monkeys wouldn’t know jack shit if it jumped up and bit them on the face? They would actually rather drink pond scum, than real water,” said miner head.

“They’ve obviously acclimatized to it over centuries. And its probably better for you anyway. I’ve been drinking it and I’m not dead yet?” spoke Draino. If you honestly looked at them as the human beings they are, you’d see how much of an asshole you are.”

“You sure about that?” replied the man under his breath.

“What? Say what was that?” yelled Draino, more interested in watching Natty, who, fascinated by the technology, was screwing the jug’s lid off and on again. As Natty felt the insides of the bottle cap, Draino swung the jug over to the beleaguered looking man.

“You’re an old sod,” the man said to Draino, after taking a swig and returning the jug, Draino passed it on to Natty, where he immediately screwed the lid back on. And walked it over to the old woman, where they investigated it together.

“I want you alive with a clear head for now. I knew you weren’t sharing that stink hole with them. Better show me your hideout, or I’ll start shooting, starting with your knees,” threatened Draino. “It’s in there a bit,” he replied reluctantly, pointing into the jungle, away from the river. Then for some reason quickly turned his head, to survey the jungle on the other side of the river.

The man said nothing, just swatted flies away. Draino wondered if he saw or heard something, and wasn’t saying? He lifted his rifle and fired blindly across the river. A loud explosion of screaming hidden animals and birds filled the air. Natty, Tao and the old woman dropped to their knees. He relevered the firearm and fired again a few feet over from the last shot. Three magnificent red parrots flew out, from across the river and disappeared into the foliage on their bank. All they could hear was the rushing river.

“Lead the way,” directed Draino, with the muzzle of the 3030. Then he said to Tao, “Go get this!” Motioning with his gun and nodding his head in the direction of the 22. Tao understood and ran back and returned with the rifle. Draino shouldered it, and they began to follow a beaten path into the steaming hot jungle. The others stood back, then reluctantly followed, staying well behind. Draino could tell they were torn between the jungle and him. When Draino turned a minute later, the other naked man had joined them. Within a half mile they started to see a structure built high above ground. It was a large shipping container on steel poles with a welded ladder leading up from a small platform to a makeshift hole that had been cut open for the door.

This was a famously bad place, for any local native. They had hundreds of terrible stories, and legends surrounding it. Told over and over again, so that it was now a place of demons, spirits, and killers, that Draino hadn’t a clue about. To his new friends he was walking into hell itself. To Draino it was just a filthy whitemens pig sty.

Draino fired a round into the doorway. Making everyone jump again! There was no reaction. “I’ll kill anyone that doesn’t show themselves now!” he yelled, looking around at the small clearing. After the jungle noises settle back to normal, no one spoke. The only sound was the mysterious motor hum.

“Jesus Christ man!”

“What?” snapped Draino. “I’m fucking serious. Until I know who and what the fuck is going on around here...” Draino stopped talking when he spotted a messy ball of twine laying on the ground and began tying the complaining man to the railing. Doubling up his lengths. “Just sit and shut the fuck up, killing you would be a lot simpler, you’re slowing me down. Remember that’s what I did for Red.”

The oil man took him seriously, as he felt the cold-hearted man bind him.

Draino, stood surveying the clearing from the deck, then climbed the rusting steel ladder, smooth only at the handle grips. With an arm through a large handle and holding the muzzle out in front of him. He peeked into the container. Satisfied it was empty, he climbed then stepped into the steel room and disappeared into the dark chamber.

Then reappeared, looking far out over the clearing. Then screamed out like Tarzan, as loud as he could, holding out a jar of peanut butter. Drano loved peanut butter and he hadn’t had it in long while. He had an empty revolver gun belt tied around his waste. “Where’s the gun, jerk off?” he shouted down.

The man looked up. “Its there somewhere?” he yelled, not even bothering to look up. His body and mind were aching, all he wanted to do was curl up into a ball somewhere.

Draino saw Tao, and the others standing off in the clearing, and waved for them to come in from the edge of the jungle. They were having nothing to do with the place. They were terrified of it! Even standing where they were frightened them. The cavern between them might as well have been two thousand miles.

“They’ve been here before, at least the old man has.” Offered the man. “They came two days after I arrived about ten years ago,” said the man, nervously. Probably fearing Draino’s reaction. “About 20 of them showed up, right where their standing now. They looked to me like they wanted to talk and were acting peaceful at first. They all just stood there swatting at insects, and chanting. “I was a rookie then, and they laughed at my observation.

They told me half believable stories about their barbarism and invented demeaning names for them. Some one fired over they’re heads, and they freaked! I don’t think they had ever heard or seen a gun before. At least not in this situation?”

“Go on?” snapped Drano. Thinking this guy might come in handy.

“They all jerked, then froze at the sound of it, not realising where the terrible sound came from? Until the boss fired again, and they all fled into the jungle. I think they equated us with the planes high above, because some of them were pointing into the air. They spent almost a week surrounding the camp, shooting arrows that barely made it to the container, from the forest edge. They would not dare to enter the clearing.”

“Where’s that asshole now?” demanded Draino.

“You killed him!” “Good,” yelled Draino to the bound man. “Save me the trouble, of doing it again!”

“No one could come or go, work ceased for a week. My coworkers started taking pot shots at them when they could see them. Eventually they gave up and disappeared. Ever since then, we would see them periodically, and it was always hostile. The first crew were especially bad on them. Head office, I guess. Red sent a message that they were to be shot on sight when he found out that they were holding up work.

The man was now being driven insane with flies, unable to swat at them. He had to weave, and jerk his body, to find any relief. “At least throw me some mosquito netting?”

“Tao,” yelled Draino, ignoring the man, from the container doorway. “Come here!” Tao broke away and ran to the camp platform. When Natty saw that no harm came to the boy, they timidly followed. When the boy reached the steps to the platform, he took a wide birth around the oil man. Draino waved for him to come up. The boy willingly climbed the rungs. Drano noticed a naked young woman had joined the others. The little troop couldn’t stand it any longer, and turned on their heels, half way across the field and fled back into the jungle.

Dan Ger