Africa (Complete)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Gathered together to discuss their strategy, Kam quickly recognized the group was too large for him to manage on his own, so he decided to have them form smaller groups of ten people or so. He then instructed each group to elect one or two individuals to speak on their group's behalf. Now, thirteen individuals stepped forward. Meeting with his leadership team, they discussed their next steps.

"So what's the plan?" one of the group leaders asked Kam.

"I'm going to be honest with everyone here," Kam said humbly. "I'm not the best person to lead the group. I'm not from here, I hardly speak the language, and I have no leadership experience. The one activity I did throughout my life was a solo sport."

"For someone with such little leadership experience, you're doing a pretty good job so far," someone said.

"I agree," another person said. "Being a leaders is not about experience or having a title, it's a characteristic within someone, and you have it."

"I appreciate that," Kam said. "Alright, look. We're all in this boat together," he said. "The majority of us are not from here and do not speak the language. We come from all different walks of life and have different beliefs, customs, and values. We may not look the same or be from the same culture, but at our core, we are all fundamentally the same. We all value security, we all love our children, we all want a brighter future. So we are more similar than we are different. I also believe there's strength in numbers. I don't know what threats lay ahead, but I assure you we are safer together. So while I don't necessarily have a plan, I think we should leave this place as a group, watch each other's backs, and try to find a community that will take us in."

"I'm good with that," someone said.

"I'm with you, Kam. Whatever you want, I'm forever indebted to you."

The rest of the group looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Within each of our small groups, it's important to do an inventory of skills and experiences. We need to know who can hunt, who can fight, who knows about survival, who knows about the local geography and weather forecasts, who can speak the local dialect, who knows about first aid, what plants and berries we can eat, and so on.

"Securing food, clean water, and shelter are our top priorities. Regardless of what elements and threats we may face out there, if our people become cold and hungry, we will lose civility fairly quickly, and we cannot allow that to happen. Our survival as a group depends on the survival of the individual. So look after each other, listen to them, and learn from them. With a little luck, we may be okay."

Kam was unsure about the supposed secret city, but he kept the idea in the back of his mind. As for his immediate plans, he didn't want to spend another night at the enslavement camp so he rallied his squad and prepared everyone to roll out.

Sitting in an old Jeep, Kam had a sudden flashback of riding with Cara. He looked over and saw Ukari in the passenger seat next to him. She looked over at him with adoring eyes, ready to embark on the next chapter of their lives. Tyler and Asia, sat in the back along with their prisoner.

"Does our prisoner friend have a name?" Asia asked.

"He told me his name is Tau."

"That doesn't sound African to me... but then again, what do I know?" she said.

"You of all people should know, his real name is not important," Kam said.

There was only one road in and one road out. Kam led the way with a convoy of vehicles trailing behind, each packed with food, weapons, and supplies.

With his arms and legs shackled behind his back, Tau sat in the backseat as the Jeep jostled down the long and winding road.

Over the next several hours, not a lot was said as they drove down the dirt road through the dense jungle. Kam kept looking around in awe at the bio-diverse plants and wildlife. He wasn't looking forward to camping overnight in the jungle, but with so many people, he felt a little more secure.

"If you could have one wish, what would it be?" Kam asked.

A large smile stretched across Ukari's face. It was really endearing for Kam to see her so happy. It meant a lot to him since he knew she had gone through so much pain.

"Um... I would wish for world peace," Ukari said.

"Alright, pretty standard answer," Kam said.

"It's a great answer," Ukari said. "What's better than wanting to end world suffering?"

"You know the saying 'careful what you wish for'... what if you could snap your fingers and have world peace, but that means all humans vanish?"

"I never thought about it like that. How about this: world peace, but no human is harmed in the process."

"That's better," Kam said. "But what about natural conflicts between people? You know, you have a co-worker who does something to annoy you. In a world where there is peace, can you not tell them how you feel? And what about your inner peace... if someone is being annoying, does that not cause you some kind of turmoil? What then?"

"I don't know. What about you? If you could have one wish, what would you choose?"

"I would want super powers."

"Super powers?"

"Yes, do you know about super heroes?"

"Like Superman? I know of Superman."

"Yes, exactly. He can fly, he has laser vision, he's super strong, super-fast, bulletproof, super hearing... if I had those powers, I could do a lot of good while being completely safe from the three Ps."

"What are the three Ps?" Ukari asked with a childlike sense of curiosity.

"Pests, predators, and people."

Ukari laughed. "Those are your biggest fears?"

"I don't know if they are my biggest fears, but they are definitely high on the list."

"Okay, so you have super powers, what is the first thing you do?" Ukari asked.

"I could fly anywhere I want within seconds. I would never be held captive again. I would have rescued you and the rest of our people long ago. I could put a stop to the bad men and ensure they don't hurt anyone ever again. I may even be able to prevent the meteor impacts from happening."

"You are Superman to me. You have a super power, you just don't know it."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

"You're a hero."

"First of all, I'm no hero. And even if I were, that's not a super power."

"Well, whatever it is. I think you are a hero, a real American hero."

"Like GI Joe."

"GI Joe?"

"Never mind, it's an American thing."