“Oh thank goodness what happened?!?” said William as he rushes towards her aid. Nakoma and the stranger both walked through the doors of a filming studio set. She looked exhausted, her hands a bit frail and clammy as a wave of nausea and a massive headache overwhelmed her.

“She accidentally got drugged in that crowd of yours, Will.” Nakoma regained her bearings,

“I’m good now, I just...need a moment.”

“Oh christ this is my fault; I need to keep a closer eye on you during this place.”

She scoffed, then the doors behind her opened widely. “I’m here now, wassup?”

“Ah Dwight you’re here, good, now we can get down to business. So Nakoma, do you have any idea what's going on or even what we’re doing?”

She was nervous, she couldn’t tell if the drugs were still wearing off or if she was scared, either way she was hesitant to give a response. With a slight trembling voice she mutters,

“I know that you guys are the terrorists that Jackson told me about.” William looked around and to the stranger that helped Nakoma. The stranger spoke next,

“So, you really don’t know at all?” she shook her head. “Well before we go on, my name is Maxson in case you were wondering.”

“What do you want from me?” Nakoma demanded.

“Feisty one ain’t she?”

“Dwight, that's enough I don't want to hear a single word from you today!”

“Oh c’mon I’m only just-”

“Enough! especially that stunt you pulled today. I don’t want to hear it.” Dwight scoffs and leans back in his chair.” William collects himself, “Look I don’t know what Jackson has told you, but we aren't terrorists despite my son doing that distasteful act towards you I'm willing to repay what he has done but we need your help more than ever.”

Help? Why her? The last thing she remembers the past hour was her being kidnapped and being drugged, what can she even do to help them. The room was eerie, but everyone looked worried and troubled, especially William. She knows it's a bad idea, every being in her body is telling her to leave, but she insisted and stayed.

“What is it that you need, why am I so important to you?”

“Jackson is...a force to be reckoned with. He’s not the person you think he is.” said William. Maxson speaks out next,

“He’s power hungry all the time and a psychopath, lately he's been mellow, but ever since Dwight stirred the hornet's nest, they’ve been nonstop searching the area for the past few hours now.” he looks dead at Dwight's eyes irritated.

“Oh for fuck sake I thought she was working with him. Fuck... can I get a damn break.” he raises his feet onto the table with his arms crossed.

“Look, we need to go to one of his guard sights. There's an informant working for us that claims to have information of some type of secret weapon he had the boys at some lab at Avalon make at Catalina Island. We don’t know where this lab is but it’s somewhere in the island.” said William, Maxson spoke out next,

“He’s one of my closest buddies I personally know so I'll be going to see what he has for me,” Nakoma huddles up in her seat, she can feel the beating of her heart in her ears, the air slowly going into her lungs feeling every second with tension. “What are the things Jackson has been doing that are...questionable?” Everyone at the table looked at each other, then Maxson was the first to speak up, “Jackson...is an evil man, he has oil fields and workers who live in the most horrible conditions. Men, women, and even children working for him. Families work and die at the fields; we got reports of a section called devils pit and that is where the worst of the worst is. Our men and other families who didn’t listen to the rules, or weren't able to do what they were told, were sent to that site. Which is literally hell, the reports called it.”

Nakoma sighed, feeling every weight on her, she decides to make the most difficult choice, “I came to this city for a purpose in life to know exactly what my life really meant, I wanted to know if there was more out there then just living in a forest and believing in some god that probably doesn't even exist. I thought this was the only way to see the real world. If it means to help others along the way then I'm willing to help them, I can't stand here and do nothing."

William gave a big smile, “Very well, we’ll send you back to Jackson, so we have a plan on getting you back.” They huddled closer to the table. The tension in the air was surreal.

“Nakoma, we need you to get back to the tower and regroup with your friends, meanwhile we’ll make the necessary preparations for the operation, we're going undercover in these oilfields. What we need from you Nakoma is to gain access to the security site storeroom and gain access to the information we need. We have some men on the inside and help from Maxson, so we can’t make it look too suspicious.” explained William. This is a big job and a responsibility, but she has to see it through, she doesn't know who she can really trust. She questions him immediately, “wait, wait, what about the story when I do get back, what do I say?” Maxson was the first to set up the details of the plan. “Just say it was a ploy to scare Jackson, he'll believe anything that's against him. We will have to drop you off at the tower, but it's got be really fast and you could get hurt. We’re going to push you out of the vehicle while it's moving as if we're delivering some kind of message, are you up to the task?” taking the time to digest this information she glances at everyone. She sighs, but with every gut wrench feeling Nakoma accepts, nodding her head. She knows the danger, she knows the consequences she’s about to face, but will it be the right choice? Nakoma is at a crossroads, but something inside her built up. Something she didn't understand, but with all the chaos and catching up on literally everything, she needed to stop doubting, she needed to stop being afraid. The only words that came out of her was stern, “When do we start.”

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

The next morning, her and four others are all getting ready for the drop off. She was reminded of the plan before not to draw any suspicion from anyone, especially from Jackson. The others were wearing their ski masks and bandanas. Silence, the ride was quiet, everyone focused on the task at hand. Nakoma mentally prepares for this moment, her hands bound together, her wrists burning and ripping with each movement of her hands. Maxson kneels in front of her and gives some final advice.

“Remember when we toss you out, put both arms up and protect your head okay? No matter what happens, keep your head protected when thrown out.” his arms up demonstrating exactly what he means. Nakoma nods, her foot tapping nonstop, every breath heavy and loud in her ears, the sound of the engine roaring down the street, every twist and turn on every corner. She can feel it all, every sense in her body is increasing with every second. Maxson notices her very tense and rapid breathing, he grabs both her hands and gently squeezes them, “Hey, hey, look it's okay. You'll get through this, just steady your breathing okay count from five backwards slowly and focus on an item to ground you, okay?”

“Okay…” her voice slightly shaken up.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Five”…she looks at the charm on her arm. “Four”…she feels the smooth irregular pattern on the disk emblem with her other hand barely reaching it. “Three”… fixated on the symbol of her bracelet, inspecting the lines that make the shape of the insect. “Two” …the light gray and dark colors pop out standing out on her skin. “One” … the edges smooth and chipped over wear and tear down generations of her family. She looks back, feeling a bit calmer and more relaxed. “Alright, everyone get ready, masks on, we’re nearing the checkpoint.” All the armed men put down their ski masks and bandanas, Maxson stands ready at the door with his m1911 pistol ready.

The man sitting next to Nakoma helps her up at the door preparing her to push her out. “Aight girl, you ready to rock?” excitingly said the man.

“Ready as I'll ever be.” she stammered. Maxson looked at her one last time giving her one last piece of reassurance, “Just stay calm and remember the plan, okay? They won't suspect anything.” She nods quickly, as they put a burlap sack over her head. “GO GO GO!!” the driver yelled with immense rage. They slide the door open while still driving past the curb of the entrance to the main building to Jackson’s penthouse.

All of the armed men in the van immediately started firing at the guards. They all ducked behind the concrete barriers returning fire on the van. Nakoma was pushed out immediately, covering her head and hitting the asphalt hard, still rolling a bit with the momentum of the vehicle. Her ears were ringing with the sound of bullets raining everywhere. One of the armed guards quickly mounted the bed of the truck, cocking back the .50 caliber machine gun and unloading every round in the box. Nakoma is still on the ground covering her head and ears from the sheer sounds of the weapons. The vehicle was hit multiple times but somehow managed to get away in time. Screeching and drifting around the corner of the block. Guards poured out of the building providing cover in case any more of the shooters came back. Two of the men lifted her up from the ground and removed the burlap sack. “It's Nakoma!” the guard shouted. Nakoma's forearms were scraped up badly from sliding on the asphalt. They were bleeding quite a bit, but she couldn't feel anything from all the adrenaline coursing through her.

“C’mon miss let's take you up to the penthouse, you’re safe now.”

They brought her into the penthouse as both Hakan and Makya were standing in shock and rushed to her aid.

“Nakoma! By the gods are you okay? What happened?” exclaimed Makya. Hakan and Makya both grabbed her from the guard and lifted her up, keeping her steady on her feet.

“What happened Nakoma? Who did this!?” as Hakan shouts in a panic. As she regains her balance and winces from the aggressive scrapes and slightly throbbing headache she calmly speaks. Which to the others is a surprise. “I'm… alright, I think… yeah, I'm okay.” They both looked at each other in disbelief, she might say that, but her expression gives another answer.

Makya spoke up, “Nakoma what happened to you, we were all so worried we thought the worst had happened.” Before she could mutter a single word, the elevator doors chimed revealing Jackson speed walking out of the elevator doors, his face all pale and eyes shiny, almost as if he was tearing up but nothing was pouring out. He rushes towards Nakoma and hugs her apologizing.

"My god I am so sorry! Are you alright! What did they do, are you hurt anywhere!"

"No no I'm... I'm alright. Just very exhausted. I just need a moment to rest please..."

Jacksons face was in complete horror but hold in his regret. He takes a deep breath and kneels beside her as she sits on one of the benches of the suite.

"I'll be right back. Rest up for the time being, I need to go make a few preparations after this incident. Don't worry... this won't go unpunished I assure you, on my life."

He walks out of the suite and the three are now all alone. Makya kneels beside her and questions her diligently,

"Nakoma I think it's time for us to go back home. This place is dangerous, and I have failed to protect you. I failed my promise to the elder, we need to go back home."

"I also agree Nakoma. At least we know that there's more people out in the world. But this is too much, even for us."

She looks at Makya and Hakan with such betrayal. She then stood up and walk towards the window looking out into the city. Smog filled the cloudy skies as she can see the streets filled with commotion as guards scram everywhere.

"You guys... we can't just leave..."

"Why not? This whole trip has been nothing but one mishap after another." As Hakan spoke with protest.

"Agreed. At first we were angry when they captured us, but understandable as they explained the misunderstanding and thought we were enemies. Now the real enemies captured you and scare us by attacking and hurting you in the process. This farce has gone long enough. That James person even tricked us into following him!"

Makya voice echoed the lobby as if all the floors could hear is angry shouting. Nakoma on the other hand refused to budge. She turns towards the two and sighs.

"Yeah... you may be right..."

"Exactly! Now let's put this all behinds us an-"

"But I'm not going back home..."

Makya stared at her confused and angry. As Hakan's head exploded with disbelief and horror, "What?! Why not?!"

"Ughhh, guys... when I was taken, they told me something that was... a little worrying. They didn't harm me, technically. They said that Jackson is the one who is responsible for the way this city is being run."

"What are you even talking about!?"

"Think about it Hakan. James being murdered in front of us. The unusual greeting and treating us with unusual luxuries. The fact that the people of this city are all in state of filth and malnourishment. Why do you think that is?"

"Well... I mean-"

"And if they really wanted to hurt me, they wouldn't dump me back here at the tower. I admit I still don't know who to trust but... I have a lead we need to look into."

Makya spoke with hesitant curiosity. "And what might that be Nakoma..."

She clenched her fists tightly and stared back out the window, into the sea of concrete.

"We need to go to site black valley."