At all costs (The Legend of Tarzan)

The Congo

It was around 4 'o clock in the morning when John was standing on the deck of the boat, leaning on the railing, staring into the darkness of the night.

'John...'

John turned around and stretched his arm out towards his wife. She took his hand and came to stand beside him.

'What have you been thinking of?' She asked.

'Elizabeth and Christopher, of course. How could my mind be focussed on anything other than that?' He looked down at his hands. 'My two dear children... I let them down, my love. As their father, it is my duty to protect them, but I let them be taken by horrible people, with worse intentions. I failed as a father.'

Jane wrapped her arms around her husband's arm. 'You haven't, John. You haven't failed as a father, and you know that. We will find them. They are being held in the country you grew up in, surrounded by animals you can communicate with. There is no way we will not find them, for there is no place for them to hide which you do not know of.'

'I wish I had your confidence.' He looked out into the distance again. 'I was once feared among those lands, thought to be an evil spirit, who could kill any human who crossed his path and protect any animal from harm. Now I can't even protect my own family.' He said as he looked at her.

'I fell in love with a man who was raised by dangerous apes. It was a miracle you were alive when I found you. Since then you have proven time and time again, that you are stronger than many dangerous animals. Nor by evil men, who fight using politics and dirty tricks. You are never easily beaten, and you never give up. You are no normal man, my dear. And I know you will be able to find our children.'

John smiled slightly. He was still mostly worried and sad, but his wife was so lovely, he couldn't help but smile at her. He took her hands in his, and gently kissed them.

'I will do whatever it takes, Jane. I will find our children, no matter the cost.'

It was 9 in the morning by the time the boat docked in The Congo. Jane and John got off the boat quickly, took their luggage, and made their way to the Kouba village.

'Tarzan! You're back!' Wasimbu yelled as he saw John and Jane walk into the village, and embraced his friend. 'It is great to see you, my friend.' He looked at Jane. 'And Jane, of course.' He smiled. 'What brings you back? And where are the little ones?'

John sighed and looked down. Sadness overtaking his expression. 'They are the reason we are here Wasimbu. Someone took them from us, and took them here, to the Congo. We need to find them. We need to save them from whoever is keeping them captive.'

Wasimbu's face was over taken by determination, sadness glinting in his eyes. 'Then we will help you, my friend. We will send some of our fastest men with you, to help you find them.'

'Perhaps multiple searching parties would be more effective...' Jane suggested. 'We could rendezvous at the end of the day to share our information.'

Wasimbu nodded. 'She is right. I can spare 6 of our men, how do you want to go on, Tarzan?'

'Two groups of 4, me, Jane and two of your men, the other 4 go searching as well, at the end of the day we regroup to share what we know, and rethink our strategy if necessary.'

'Alright. I'll warn the others, and we'll leave as soon as possible.'

While on the road to the secret hideout, the sun had started to come up. Christopher's stomach had become very sore from all the bouncing up and down, onto the man's shoulder bone. They had been walking in the bright sun for nearly 3 hours now, and he was thirsty. As he looked over at Lizzie, he could see her head beginning to turn red. The heat, and lack of water was getting to her. He had played and run around in this sun as a young child. His father often made him wear a hat, to keep him from getting heat illness. Lizzie, on the other hand, she never played outside in this sun or heat. She wasn't used to it, and he was worried about her.

'Stop!' he eventually yelled.

The man who was carrying Lizzie, seemingly the one in charge, stopped in his tracks and turned around. He moved so that he was able to stare Christopher in the face. 'You think you can give out orders now, you little brat?!' He slapped Christopher. 'We're not stopping until I say so.'

'I don't know what you want with me and my sister. But I am guessing you need us alive, and in relatively good health. That won't happen if you keep going!'

The man scoffed. 'Nice try, kid. You just want a chance to escape.'

'Look at her! She is getting heat illness!'

The man set Elizabeth down and looked at her. 'Alright, so why isn't it affecting you like it is her?'

'Red haired people are more sensitive to the sun and its heat...' He wasn't sure how sure his argument sounded. What he did know, was he wasn't going to talk about his growing up there. So far it seemed like these men had no idea who their father was, and he wagered it wouldn't be a good idea to let them know.

'Fine, we'll go over to the edge of the jungle and rest in the shade for a while.' The man sighed before picking up Elizabeth again. Once she was once again strapped over his shoulder they started moving towards the trees.

They walked a small distance into the woods. Far enough to get into the shade, but close enough to still see the savannah.

'Don't move too far into the jungle.' The man holding Christopher said. 'There's a lot dangerous animals in here, and in this area they'd have the advantage.'

The other man scoffed. 'I still have a gun. That's all the advantage I'll need.' He set Elizabeth down against a tree, and sat down against a different tree, himself.

Christopher was lowered against a tree too. 'You are a fool if you think if that firearm of yours will protect you against the animals in this jungle. Let alone the spirits.'

It was in that moment that it first hit Christopher that, the man who had been carrying him, had a slightly darker skin. He spoke like the people in kouba village had when he was younger. The man had probably been raised around here, among another tribe.

Now the other man laughed loudly. 'Spirits?!' He laughed again. 'Now I am sure you lost it, Jombo. There are no spirits.'

The man, apparently named Jombo, helped Elizabeth drink some water, and checked if she had a temperature.

'You have never lived here. You haven't heard of the spirit called Tarzan. He protects the animals, and hunts the men who try to harm them. He is ruthless, and never been seen.'

'Didn't he turn out to be some British lord or something, who got raised by gorillas?'

Christopher tried to hide his grin. It was obvious that this Jombo was afraid of the Spirit. He knew there was none, but he could still use it to his advantage.

'No, he was a fake.' He suddenly spoke. Both of the men looked at him. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the confused look, his sister gave him. 'My father knew someone who knew some of the tribes here. That lord only pretended to be Tarzan. Even after the lord left, the spirit was still in the jungle. He hates guns, and kills everyone who he sees as a threat. You are better of starving to death in the jungle, than to kill one animal for dinner, because he will know. And he has no mercy.'

The white man gulped, and Christopher hid his grin. 'Jombo, give them something more to drink, and then we're leaving again.'

Thedarker man nodded and gave both of them some more water. He then reached intohis bag and pulled out a cloth which he wrapped around Elizabeth's head. 'Itwill protect your head from the sun.' he said, before throwing Christopher overhis shoulder once again, and getting ready for the journey to their hide out.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, thanks to all of you who have been reading this story, I really appreciate it, and I have loved writing this story so far, which is why I have uploaded a lot. But unfortunately I won't be able to upload for a while, because of that I made this Chapter a long one. I do already have a lot written, so as soon as I get the chance to upload again there will be another part online. But for now, please bear with me, while this story goes silent for a bit.