FRANKS, Bill

by JESUIT

  “How long have I been out?” he asked.

  “Over a week, altogether,” answered Ottomier, “but the Sister, here, took good care of you, Gawain. You can thank her for your recovery. She stayed with you night and day. She is a true saint.”

  Ignatious turned to the Sister, who was bending her head in embarrassment at the praise. “Thank you sister,” he said with heartfelt emotion, “I owe you a lot.” He hugged her to him.

  “You owe me nothing Father,” she said, quietly, “I’m sure you would have done just the same for me.” Ignatious wasn’t so sure he would.

  The party set up camp in the clearing, which stretched for as far as the eye could see, following the bend of the stream and into infinity. Short grass covered the entire distance between the foliage and the stream, on both sides.

  The day had passed quickly and it was now time to sleep and recharge the system for the day ahead; a day, which everyone felt sure, would bring them to a village and people to convert.

  For the first time in many days, the party slept soundly, unaffected by the noises of nature going on around. At some time in the early hours, eyes peered through the denseness of the jungle, studying the sleeping missionaries. The watchers did not make any move towards the strangers, content to observe and absorb. As suddenly as they had arrived, the tribesmen left, having spent around an hour in their positions.

  It was seven o’ clock before the first of the party, Sister Vasquez, roused from sleep. She opened her eyes dreamily and lay, staring at the warming sky for several minutes, not wanting to move. However, duty called and she sat up, shook the mosquito net and removed it before leaving her bed. As she started a fire in readiness for the morning beverage, she saw the men begin to stir. One by one, they rose and came to her, yawning and shaking the sleep from their brains. Ignatious was last to arrive, still feeling weak from the illness but a little stronger than before.

  After cleaning themselves up and finishing off their breakfasts, the crew packed up and prepared to go on. As they began to move, a growl stopped them in their tracks; a growl that reverberated through their bodies. In front of them, fifteen feet or so away, stood three gigantic lizards, the type that are seen in old dinosaur movies, with cold, sharp eyes and a flicking, snake-like tongue. None had ever seen lizards so large. They stood about three feet high, twelve to fifteen feet in length, on squat, powerful and scaly legs, with what appeared to be armour plated bodies. The impression they gave was of dragons, which, in fact, they were. The name allocated to these creatures was Cirmundo Dragon. The party remained transfixed in fear and awe.

  The dragons moved slowly towards the humans, led by the largest and, if possible, meanest looking. Its head swung from side to side as it neared, savouring the meal to come. It broke into a slow, lumbering trot, followed by the other two. The small group found themselves terrified and unable to move, knowing they were about to meet an awful death.

  Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the leader halted in its tracks, causing the two behind to collide with it, both veering to one side as they stumbled. Then, they, too, halted.

  First to gather his wits, Ignatious tugged at Vasquez’s arm, pulling her back from the fearsome monsters. Broken from their trance, Christian and Ottomier followed suit, retreating backwards to the jungle edge. It was then they saw the boy. He would be around twelve years of age, covered in only a loincloth, with skin more gold than brown, and bearing shoulder-length jet-black hair. His features were more European than South American Indian and he stood, proud and erect, before the dragons. He stared into the cold eyes, making no gestures or sound.

  After only half a minute, that seemed much longer, the beasts slowly turned away and walked casually off into the surrounding jungle. The boy waited until they had disappeared before turning to the group of strangers. “Who are you and what do you seek?” he said to the surprised crew, speaking in a cultured Portuguese.

  Christian replied in the same tongue: “We are people from the big cities far from this place and we seek to bring word of our God to those who live in such remote places as this and who have been denied the great pleasure of His comfort and guidance. We come in peace.”

  The boy looked sternly at Christian. “You come in peace but you have no right to be here. This is the land of the Incudas, my people.” He folded his arms and spread his legs in a defiant gesture. “Had I not been here, you would now be in the belly of the dragons.”

  Christian was at pains to mollify the youngster. Putting on his best smile, he said: “Yes. We realise you saved us and we are all very grateful to you. How you did it, I do not know, but it is clear that it was you who chased the beasts away.”

  Unmoved, the boy replied. “Every one in our tribe can communicate with the animals, that is why we are still here. We send them back to their homes if they try to attack us.”

  “Yes but how can you do that? You are unarmed.”

  “As I said, we communicate.” Christian found this hard to believe and quietly searched the surrounding area with his eyes for evidence of adult presence. “I told the dragon with my mind to go back and he obeyed.”

  The missionaries looked at the boy in disbelief. Yet, he had saved them and he had no weapons or support of any kind.

  As Christian prepared to ask another question, the boy dropped his arms to his sides and turned towards the jungle. He remained in the spot for a full minute, not moving or speaking. Suddenly, from several places in the undergrowth, men appeared, all bearing short, pointed spears, in the style of javelins. They moved quickly to the intruders and surrounded them, looking menacing.

  Without being told, the four began to walk along the bank of the stream, in the direction they had originally intended taking. They were escorted by the tribe, walking along each side of them and behind, spears at the ready. This was a scary experience.

  They walked for a distance of half a mile along and, again without being told, they turned along a very narrow, man-made path leading into the thick green foliage. The animals were once more in evidence, bounding through the trees, whooping and calling, with birds fluttering noisily about. Occasionally, a snake would be seen slithering along and out of the path of the humans.

  Finally, after a journey of around twenty minutes, they came upon the village. It appeared to be a well-ordered affair, with what could only be described as streets, fashioned on a grid system. However, unlike in so-called civilised towns and cities, no shops were to be seen. The streets were lined with dwellings, each with its own plot of land surrounding it. The houses were more traditional to the accepted impression of jungle tribes, in that they appeared to have been made from mud and then glazed, with straw rooves covering them. They were of differing sizes but none could be described as small.

  People emerged from the buildings as the tribesmen passed with their prisoners. Ignatious noted that, like all the other tribes they had encountered, the adult women were naked to the waist with girls of all ages varying between complete nakedness and half nakedness. The same applied to the males but Ignatious’s eyes were drawn to the opposite sex. He would need to concentrate on his prayers if he and his party were allowed to live.

  Going on through the streets, a throng of villagers joining the troupe as they went, they finally came upon what appeared to be a village square. Unusually, though, it was situated at the rear of the village rather than the centre, and it backed onto an ever-steepening hill covered by a carpet of greenery to its top. At the foot of the hill and opposite where they now stood, was a short porch made of natural woods from the area, and this covered a wide door made from the same timbers.

  As they stood, uncertain of what was to come next, the door opened and a very tall man appeared, dressed in a colourful gown that reached to the ground, covering his feet. His skin was of an even more prominent gold than the captors. Again, the features were more European than Indian and he stood around seven feet tall, the average of the tribe being something in the region of five feet ten to six feet. Clean-
shaven, his hair was long and golden and his eyes were a startling blue.

  The man, clearly a leader, spoke, directing his stare to Christian. “You come in friendship and you wish to bring news of your God to the people of this village.” It was a statement, not a question. The amazing part was, that he spoke in excellent English!

  Recovering from the initial shock, Christian confirmed the mission. He then stepped forward, his hand outstretched in greeting, a smile intending to give reassurance. Before he had moved three feet, he was met with a clutch of pointed spears thrust before him, wavering no more than inches from his face.

  The tall man spoke, quietly. “You will never touch any part of my person, Father Christian,” he said, dumbfounding the missionaries with his knowledge of the priest’s name. “You will never visit me, or contact me in any way. Nor will you be allowed to enter this portal or what lies beyond the hill.” The Leader then waved an arm and the tribe began to melt away, leaving Christian and his companions alone.

  “I will allow you to live,” the man continued, as I do not wish to interfere with your mission. I am satisfied that you mean no harm to the people, so you may live here for as long as you wish. You will be provided with suitable accommodation and you may help the tribe with their daily work, if you so desire. However, there are rules to be followed.” He adjusted his flowing sleeves and commanded the group to sit. They obeyed without quibble.

  “Firstly, you must not interfere with the day to day tribal activities. Whatever they do, whether you approve or not, you must not become involved.

  You may preach your religion and seek converts as you wish but no pressure must be put on any person.

  If you wish to assist in any way, you must seek permission from the Elder, who is known as Kaba. He is distinctive in that he stands as tall as myself and he has a short, utterly white beard. You will not accept that he will be aged at 200 years, but that is what he is.

  You must seek his permission on anything that concerns the tribe in any way. He is not obstructive and will allow you much freedom so do not attempt to deceive him. He will spot your deceit immediately.

  If you wish to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh with any, be it male or female, seek his permission. Should you take a partner without permission, the punishment will be most severe and final. In most cases, your request will be granted.

  Food is for all and you may freely share in this, whether or not you have assisted in its gathering.

  You will find this an unusual tribe. While they live generally in the way befitting of such peoples; ways handed down through the centuries, they possess many powers that are above your own civilisation.

  You, in your world, have forgotten how to remember, for instance. You need paper and electronic means. Your early ancestors, not having that facility, had to remember everything and their brains, in that respect, evolved along those lines. The power of the mind is infinite and the people here have developed some of that power and put it to good use. Today, you witnessed a demonstration of that with the young boy. He willed the beasts to go away and they did. Animals are also brought to the tribesmen in the same way and provide food. It is not necessary to arrange hunting parties.

  On a cultural plane, you will find that the people have different values to yours. There are no marriages, for example. People create children that are cared for by the natural mother but she accepts help from other women and men.

  Boys and girls are deemed old enough to indulge in sexual behaviour as soon as they feel ready. Touching of bodies, whether their own or someone else’s, is not a matter of concern but it is carried out in private, as is any sexual matter. The only deviation to this is when indulging in celebrations. It may shock you, due to your cultural restraints, but all females give their virginity up to the Elder in the first instance. He treats them with proper care and teaches them the methods of providing pleasure to the men. After this, they may go with whomsoever they wish, providing permission is granted by the Elder.”

  The missionaries were dumbfounded. This behaviour was totally foreign to their culture and religious beliefs.

  “There are things in this place that you may find incredible but, again, you must not become involved. The people here live a happy and contented life. Apart from my group, to whom the tribe will refer to as Gods, there is no social status except for the Elder. As a consequence, there is no envy, no jealousy and, therefore, happiness reigns. Now, go in peace and may you enjoy your time here.”

  At that, the door swung open and the ‘God’ disappeared back into the hillside. As the door closed, the bewildered group stood and turned towards the dwellings, stunned and amazed at the incredible man.

  As they began to walk, a figure appeared at the perimeter. It was the Elder. Again, it had to be said, the man presented a striking figure. Tall and erect, walking at a casual pace, he wore a long, flowing white gown. The golden skin was more of the shade of the tribe but the eyes were blue!

  As the missionaries neared, he spoke: “Welcome, friends. You have had the rules of our society explained to you and you will be expected to adhere to them.” His language was a strange mixture of Portuguese and Spanish, but could still be understood. “Come with me and I will show you to your accommodation. After you have settled, you may meet the villagers and, after that, you may do as you please.” He turned and led the visitors away.

  Ignatious turned in his sleep and muttered something unintelligible. He turned back and then again, ending up on his right-hand side, his expression serene.

  Life in the tribal community was good. The missionaries gradually formed regular daily meetings where they were able to tell of their Christian beliefs and encourage the villagers to convert to His faith. They seemed to have no particular religious beliefs except that they constantly referred to their Gods being here with them, in the form of the extraordinary Leader and his company who resided over the hillside in an area forbidden to all except in dire emergency, such as life-threatening illness or threat of battle. The tribe could ably account for themselves in any battle, using the power of their minds but it was not considered to be a total defence against weapons such as those used in modern warfare. The best defence was the one that existed – the fact that the tribe was undiscovered.

  Although Sister Vasquez tended to the sick on occasion, the tribe seemed to provide an excellent medical service of their own. Injuries received from accidents when in the jungle, were amazingly dealt with, cures being effected in days when in modern society they would have taken weeks or even months to cure. Broken bones were a matter of three days in the fixing, ending as good as before the break. Fevers were of no real consequence, recovery coming within hours due to the injection of some fluid into the arm, or leg, by means of an extremely fine hypodermic syringe fashioned from delicate reeds found near the clear-water stream. Cuts and gashes were treated by a fine gauze soaked in some oily liquid being laid over the injury and covered with bandages. Depending on the severity of the damage, the wounds were completely fixed within one day to a week, leaving no scar! Vasquez got the idea that her services were used merely as a good-mannered, token gesture. The villagers themselves tended to all injuries and ailments, with no need for a medical service or hospital.

  Even with the fantastic knowledge, deaths did occur, mostly as a result of age, which the Elders did not interfere with as it was accepted as nature’s way of keeping a balance. In rare cases, illnesses suffered by children and young people could not be cured and deaths resulted from this, also.

  Burials proved interesting to the missionaries. All bodies received a respectful funeral, being dressed in their finest, colourful garb. For females, a small bunch of humming bird feathers tied together, would be placed against the left thigh, whilst with males, the bunch would be placed against the right thigh. It was firmly believed that the bird, which had so many abilities in flight, assisted the soul of the person to enter their heavenly place. All were cremated.

  However, even the cremation was s
omething of wonder in that the heat generated in the crematorium was of an unbelievable intensity. The body would be placed into a pod measuring seven feet by four, made of hardened mud and sealed by a lid of the same substance. The pod, a permanent fixture, stood on top of a similar structure, this being the furnace, standing three feet from the ground and slightly longer and wider that the pod. This would then be filled with timber together with mixtures of earth locally gathered, and then sealed.

  A shaft, protruding from a place about half way down the furnace and containing a central groove filled with dry timbers, would be ceremoniously lit by the Elder and the whole pushed back in. After a few seconds, the fire within could be heard humming and roaring, building to a heat that caused the exterior to glow a dull red, then white. A loud ‘whoompf’ and the cremation was complete, the people then dispersing to their homes. The whole cremation would last no more than three minutes! No ashes were saved and there were no markers to honour the dead.

  Ignatious worked hard at conversion but even he had no success, the tribe seemed content as they were and saw no reason to defect to another God. This strange new God of which the visitors spoke, was invisible; there was no evidence of His being. Nor did He offer much protection; the priests were more vulnerable to the rigours of the world than were this small band of people living in relative isolation. At least the Incuda’s Gods were here, within reach.

  Over time, Ignatious and his companions grew into the new society, still trying to convince the tribe to accept the Christian God but realising that theirs was a lost cause. Whilst Ignatious remained celibate, using the power of prayer to resist the many and easy temptations, his companions fell into that part of the village life with ease.

  Ottomier, the American, seemed to have found an outlet for his hidden lusts as he regularly took young girls into his dwelling, girls as young as twelve and thirteen. The Elder was quite willing to grant his permission, this being nothing out of the ordinary in his society. Even Christian had allowed himself to indulge on a regular basis, the lure of young flesh being irresistible to him, although his choice was girls of more maturity. Vasquez, too, after resisting commendably for several months, began to throw herself into what Ignatious saw as sinful perversion, in that she started to entertain the young of both sexes.