At all costs (The Legend of Tarzan)

Nightfall trip

'John! Elizabeth!' Jane yelled the moment she saw her husband and daughter walking over towards her. She quickly jumped up and ran over to them, embracing her daughter. 'Oh thank god you are alright, my dear.'

John pushed Latimore towards Akut. 'Guard him, don't let him escape, but he has to live to face his justice.'

Akut nodded and soon Latimore was surrounded by Mangini.

John dropped his knife and walked towards Christopher. He knelt down in front of him and hugged his son. 'I am sorry I could not keep you from being taken, Christopher. I am sorry I could not keep you from harm.'

Christopher smiled. 'You saved us, father. That is all that matters.'

'I love you, my son. I am so proud of you.'

Jane walked over, Elizabeth by her side. 'I am so happy that everyone's alright. Now the question is, what do we do with those two?' Jane pointed towards Jombo and Bowman.

John looked around and finally saw the scene around him. The men who had ambushed them, had all died. Either by their own stupidity, or by the hand of the Mangini. Their bodies were sprawled across the damp ground of the jungle. Blood, mixed with rain, soaked into their shirt. John thanked his lessing that the men were not ripped apart, or showed any gruesome wounds, as he feared it might have been too much for Elizabeth.

The two men who had taken his children from their home in England, however, were still alive. He took a deep breath and walked over to them.

'It looks like the Mangini left you alive, so now the question is; what to do with you, now?'

'Please, let us go' Bowman started to beg immediately. 'We never knew what we were doing. We just needed the money.'

John looked at him, not believing a word her said, he then turned to Jombo. 'And what about you? What do you have to say for yourself?'

Jombo looked from his feet, to the children and back to John. 'I doubt there is anything I can say to redeem myself. I wanted the money, as I felt it was the only way to be accepted in this world. Latimore needed men who knew this land, and was willing to pay us. I have done a horrible deed, and all I wish for, would be a chance to pay the debt I owe you and your family.'

Beside him, bowman scoffed. 'Kiss up' he whispered under his breath.

John glared at Bowman. 'Both of you will come back with me us to England.' He looked at Bowman. 'You and Latimore will be turned over to the police.' He looked back at Jombo. 'You, I am not yet sure about. I will decide when we get back to England.'

It was early in the morning when Christopher woke up. They had decided to rest there in the jungle, guarded by some of the Mangini. It was late by the time they were all safe, and most of them hadn't rested in a while.

It was still quite dark now, but he heard some birds singing. When he looked around, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from, he saw his father, sitting in a tree.

'Father? What are you doing up there?'

John grinned and jumped down onto the ground. 'I was keeping watch.'

'I thought the Mangini were doing that.' Christopher said, confused.

'They are, but I couldn't sleep anyway.' He looked around. 'How about we go make a little visit, Christopher?'

'Where would we be going, father?'

John grinned. 'The old treehouse.'

About half an hour later Christopher was standing on the wooden landing of what was once a tree house. The roof now contained holes, and some of the walls as well.

'What is this place, father?' Christopher asked.

John placed a hand on Christopher's shoulder. 'This is the tree house my parents built after they stranded here. This is where I was found.' John looked at Christopher. 'Do you want to go in?'

Christopher nodded, and slowly Christopher and John walked into the old tree house. Christopher was surprised by how homely it felt. There were pictures on the walls, there was furniture, though most of those were broken. The piece of furniture which still seemed the most intact, was a crib.

On the floor lay countless books, and sheets of paper. In the corner of the treehouse stood a rocking chair, and close by a small table on which lay a book of fairy tales.

Christopher looked around, clearly in awe of the place. John leaned against a wall and looked at his son, as he looked around the place.

'Father, how is this place still so intact? How has this place not been teared down by the animals?'

John looked around him. 'I asked the Mangini to keep it as it was, as well as they could. This is the place in this world, where I feel closest to my parents. It is the last place I saw them.' He pointed towards the rocking chair. 'That is where my mother held me, as she read to me.'

'From the story book?' Christopher asked.

'Yes.'

Christopher looked at it hesitantly, and then back to his father. 'Father... Could we take the book home with us?'

John smiled. 'If you want to, we can.'

Christopher smiled and took the book in his arms.

'Now, Christopher, do you wish to stay around here longer, or should we go back to the resting place?'

'I think I want to go back. I want to go home father.'

John smiled. 'Then let's go home, son.'

Hey Guys, so there's only 3 parts left in this story, I have some ideas for one shots or maybe a sequel for this story. If any of you are up for it, please let me know in the comments. Thank you all for reading and love you all.