Romance In Paradise

Assault from the Pangrango Clan

      Two staff from the lodge, Mang Udin and Opik was actually uncle and nephew. When they saw the fence surrounding the lodged, they came to Jaka and suddenly bowed their heads and told Jaka that they wanted a special favour from Jaka. Jaka asked them what was it? They told Jaka that if possible all the people from their village wanted to come and stayed at the lodge for a few weeks. Jaka was surprised when he heard this. He asked why the whole village suddenly wanted to stay in the lodge? He agreed if they occupied the lodge for some day but for a few weeks?? What happened if guests were coming? They told Jaka that it won't be happening. Finally they told Jaka their reasons.

       Nearly every ten years there were attacks from the panthers. The villagers believed that the panthers attacking them not from MountGede but from other areas as they saw a group of another panthers defended that mountain area. Whenever the big fight of the panthers happened; they ran amok damaging the houses nearby and because of that many villagers were hurt and some of them got killed as well. The attack that happened a few days ago was just the beginning. When the real fight begun then it liked hell broke loose they told Jaka!! Jaka asked them why they did not alert the authority such as National Park Rangers? Mang Udin smiled weakly telling Jaka that nobody will believe them and Jaka agreed! Mang Udin also told Jaka that previously, the villagers believed that salt can scare off the panthers but he saw that it didn't really work! Jaka wanted to ask how did he know then he realised that Mang Udin and Opik were perhaps the lutungs who helped them that night throwing jars of salt to the panther chasing them!!

       Jaka gave permission to the villagers to occupy the lodge provided they clean it afterwards. The next day, lots of people from the small village came over and started occupying the lodge. Old and young, men, women and children they came with their meager belongings. Strangely they were all vegetarians eating only fresh vegetables and fruits except Mang Udin and Opik whom like to eat rice and the same food like Jaka and Bill. This thing confirmed Jaka's belief that these villagers must be the lutungs. They must be cursed like the panthers and somehow they can co-exist with human and lived like human.

      Jaka liked the villagers as they often interacted and helping each other. Now the lodge was crowded and noisy at noon but quiet at night. Jaka told them to pound lots of fresh chili and mixed them with waters and place them in buckets. They had plenty of buckets they carried from their home. Jaka told them that they can splash the chili waters into the eyes of the attacker and blinded it!! They all laughed and agreed with Jaka. Jaka told them he only bought four water guns and gave three to them and kept one for himself but later on gave away the water gun to Mang Udin.

     Two nights passed by and nothing happened but they were so tense especially at night. Heru left them every night as he had to gather with his clan patrolling the mountain. That evening before Heru left, Jaka asked him to wait and he quickly went inside his hut and gave the pack of medicines he bought a few days before. The packs contains antiseptic to treat the wounds, bandages, aspirin and anti histamines. He told Heru that he may needed these medicine after the big fight. Heru agreed to take the packs of medicine back to his clan. His two cousins were totally healed by now but their prisoners were left untreated as they were scared if they were healed, they became a threat for their safety especially the big panther who seemed to be the leader of the attacker!! Because of their untreated wound all those prisoners became very weak!!

      That night, the atmosphere around the area of the lodge was not the same as before. Somehow both Jaka and Bill can feel the tense and eerie atmosphere hanging in the air!! At ten pm, Jaka heard the roar from the far distance; he rang the bell to alert the lodge to close the doors and get ready! Most of the villagers hid inside the lodge but many of them were standing on the rooftop of the lodge with plenty buckets of water with lots of chili and hot pepper powder mixed with salt. Jaka and Bill also stood guarded at the corner on the roof of their hut with their two rifles. Opik and Mang Udin was with them at another corners with four buckets of chili waters and a water gun plus lots of small plastic bag filled with chili waters. Two petromax lights were on the front roof and another two at the back so they can see the surrounding clearly.

         An hour later they saw figures of panthers coming to the direction of the lodge. Standing on the roof, gave them advantages and felt safer as it was difficult for the panther to climb a house as there were no trees around but yellow bamboo fence surrounding the hut and the lodge. Quickly the figures became clearer and they were six of them, all were big panthers. They sniff the airs and roared and coming closer. Seeing the yellow bamboo fence made them hesitate to come closer. They roared,  hissed and walked around trying to find a hole around the fence.

        The chook were making lots of noise when the panthers came. Bill noticed that the fence around the chook house was too short as it was only a meter long. He wondered if that can stand the attack from the panthers. His fears proven to be right as the panthers leapt and started their first attack into the chook house. Bill fired his first shot followed by Jaka. They missed their shots but made the panthers taken aback. Mang Udin and Opik threw their weapon of plastic bags with chili waters. The chili waters bag hit one of panthers which was angry when its body was wet with those waters!! Bill  aimed that rifle again when suddenly they heard a thud of loud noise trying to break their bamboo fence. A big panther out of nowhere tried to leap over to the back of the hut but was hurt by the spike of the bamboo fence.

          The panther roared and the four of his six companions left the chook house as if that panther called them for help!! This time Jaka aimed his rifle to the panther near the fence and it hit his shoulder. Bill aimed his rifle to the four panthers coming towards the hut and he hit what seemed to be the ear of one of the panthers. Jaka felt terrified but felt lucky that Mang Udin was beside him while Opik accompanied Bill at the other side of the roof top. Both Bill and Jaka kept shooting at the panthers and Mang Udin and Opik threw plastic bags of chili waters at them, he and Opik seemed to have lots of fun doing that. They only had 3 buckets of waters and one bucket full of plastic bags filled with chili waters for each of them.

         Meanwhile the other two panthers stop chasing the chook and attacking the lodge. They got good receptions from the villagers throwing and shooting chili waters at them from the roof which made the panthers to roar with rage. They tried to open their eyes but the more they rubbed the pain becoming more unbearable. The villagers keep throwing chili waters at them till they stopped as the leaders warned them not to finish the waters in case another panthers coming. The two panthers now rolling over at the ground, hissing and kept rubbing their eyes with their paws.

       Seeing what happened at the lodge, Mang Udin aimed carefully to the panthers below with his water gun and shot the panthers, but he missed! While Opik was shouting with joy as he successfully splashed chilli waters to the big panther who was shot earlier by Bill on its shoulder. Bill gave another shot to the head of the panther before Jaka joined him. Bill shot one panther on its leg and at the same time Jaka shot at the stomach of another panther. They kept shooting until four panthers were wounded and only one was still unhurt! Mang Udin using coconut shells splashed chilli waters right to the eyes of the remaining panthers that was unhurt still which made him rolling over in agony. Mang Udin kept splashing chilli waters to the wounded panther. Bill shot that panther at his shoulder and his four legs then he and Jaka shot the rest of the panthers aiming at their legs and shoulders.

       Bill and Jaka kept walking to the other end of the roof, took aim and shot at the other two panthers laying in agony in front of the lodge!! Bill told Jaka to shot at their legs and they both did it easily as the panthers were laying on the grounds!! After these, all of the people on the roof stopped and wait for the next thing to happen. A roar was heard from the far distance but nothing came out from the peak of the mountain.

       All people on the roof still on their guard as they did not dare to fall asleep nor made any attempt to go down. They were still tense and waited in agony. When the chook started to crow, they realised that not all of the chook were dead. They were still on the roof till the sun started to rise spreading its reddish and orange colours. All the people on the roof saw that Heru came with a group of people. They were bloodied and looked ragged! Jaka, Bill and the rest of the people then started to go down from the roof upon seeing them and they greeted each other. They found those panthers on the ground had transformed into men. They look so bloody and seemed wounded heavily! Heru and the men with him took those human panthers with them, tied their hands with ropes. They didn't say much but smiled as if they won the battle which they did as Heru told us later!! Before he left, Heru told us that the fight was over, as the Pangrango clan nearly wiped out!! Jaka asked Heru if any of his clans were wounded. He nodded his head. They shake their hands before parted!!