Africa (Complete)

Chapter Thirty-One

Ukari sat with Kam. "What do we do now?" she asked.

There were now more than four hundred freed slaves — most were broken and hungry, but all were lost. Without hope, a sense of purpose, a vision to live a better life, people were listless. Kam recognized the power he had been given. Everyone was looking at him for leadership, but to suddenly have a small village depending on him for guidance and survival was a lot to handle. Especially given the circumstances, with no place to go, not a lot of options, and in an environment that was completely foreign to him.

"I say we do it democratically," Kam said. "We can have a kind of town-hall meeting and see what everyone wants to do. Some may want to branch off on their own, form their own colony. Others may want to come with me."

"Where are you going?" Ukari asked.

"I'm going whichever way the wind blows. And right now, it's blowing in the direction of some secret city."

"So you believe him now?"

"I don't know what to believe," Kam said. "It could be a trap, it could be a figment of his imagination, or it could lead to something or someone that could benefit me.

"All I know is that I don't want to stay here, and I don't really want to be on a boat. Food and water will eventually run out on a boat. Plus, you will be exposed to attack from pirates. Not to mention the unforgiving sea. I think survival will depend on the size of our army. But with that, comes a large scale administrative task of feeding, housing, and keeping everyone safe. If we don't find an adequate supply of food and water, it could get ugly pretty quickly. People will turn on each other.

"What about you?" Kam, put the question back on her. "What do you want to do?"

"I'm with you," she said with smile and linking her arm with his.

"That means a lot," Kam said, looking back at her with the same affection. "You've been so supportive throughout all this and I just want to say thank you. I grew the closest with you over the last year or so. You taught me a lot, and lifted my spirits in ways you don't even know. I don't think I could have lasted this long without you, so I just want to say thanks."

"You did the same for me," Ukari said. "I hope we can continue our journey together and try to make a better life for ourselves. It doesn't have to be a rich life, a simple life will do. As long as we have each other, I know we will both be happy."

"I would like that very much."

Kam rallied everyone together. The huddled masses of sorrowed faces were free, but their problems were far from over. Not just from a physical standpoint, but also an existential one. They eagerly awaited to hear what Kam had to say. Standing atop an elevated platform, he addressed the crowd.

"I called this meeting so that we can discuss our next plan of action," he spoke loudly. "As I see it, you have two options: you could either stay here, or you can leave. If you leave, you need to then decide where you're going, and who you will be going with.

"While there is plenty of food here, the water has been poisoned, so you would need to find another water source. You may also encounter dangers that are beyond what you or your group can handle. There are both known and unknown threats out there such as wild animals, environment, but most dangerously of all... other people.

"We have some weapons, but not enough for everyone so we need to decide how we allocate them. The larger the group, the safer you will likely be from attack, but, you will most likely give up some of your influence. 

"Also, the larger the group, the more of challenge it will be to feed everyone. With smaller groups, you will have more influence, but you may be less secure. Going off on your own, you will have all the influence, but relatively no security.

"If anyone has anything they would like to say, please speak up."

Someone from the crowd stepped forward. "What are you going to do?"

Kam told the crowd what he had told Ukari. A part of him wanted to go on his own and not be burdened with leading so many people, but he also wanted the companionship and the sense of security.

"How do we know this city even exists?" someone from the group asked. "The guy could just be saying that to save himself."

It was indeed a valid question, one that Kam had thought about. Kam took a brief pause before answering. "Your concerns are valid. I'm weighing the risks versus the reward. Yes, he could be leading us into a trap. But there's four hundred of us. We are armed. We are resourceful. We are determined. We have been through a lot of struggle and hardship, and we will prevail regardless of any situation that comes at us. If he is right and there exists a civilization somewhere that has modern amenities, then we may be able to recapture some of what we lost."

"You said, four hundred of us, that's assuming we all want to go," someone shouted.

"Let's do a vote, shall we?" Kam said. "All those who prefer to stay here, please move to my left." He paused, scanning the crowd. Not one person moved. "Very well, I assume you all plan to leave. Are there any of you who wish to go off on your own, or with a small group? If so, please move to my left."

Some feet began to shuffle and eventually the crowd began to part. Nearly a third of the group broke away and formed another smaller group. Within that group, people began to sort based on shared values and familiarity with each other, forming several smaller groups ranging from five to twenty people.

The remaining 130 people were content on sticking together under Kam's leadership.