I'm more annoyed at the fresh, new wave of pain pulsing through my body than being in the current situation I'm stuck in.

Between sleeping on the lumpy ground, being hit, kicked, and beaten, my chiropractor bill is going to be through the roof when I get home.

But back to my unsavory, unknown location.

Glancing around the dark space, I allow my eyes time to adjust to the darkness before piecing together where I am. It's weird, but it appears I'm in some sort of tipi- the kind I used to hear about in history with Native Americans and all- it even appears like it's made out of animal skin as well. It's a small thing so there isn't much to look at, but what I do notice lies behind me.

"Nimu," I twist around the best I can with my hands tied behind me to the supporting pole. "Nimu, you awake?"

Hearing her moan gives me hope.

"Nimu, wake up."

I yank her hands a little since our wrists are tied together.

"Wha? What's happening?" She groans, coming to. "Wh-where..."

"We've been captured," I explain.

I decide to be a little more mindful of my volume since there might be someone lurking outside and I'm sure animal skin isn't soundproof.

"What? By who?" She asks, starting to wake up more.

"Not a clue, but it's probably smart to keep quiet, they might be listening in on us."

Now more alert, she tries pulling at the restraints but to no avail.

"Well this is a setback," She grumbles.

"You're telling me."

Every time I think I'm getting ahead there's always some pointless shit to waste my time.

"Where's Lan? And Chasan?" She asks.

I did notice initially they weren't here, but I wasn't all that concern seeing as we're not in a better situation ourselves.

"Maybe whoever captured us took them somewhere else," I reply, still not all that concerned. "We can worry about them after we get ourselves free."

"Right. Well, do you have your sword on you still?"

She's right, we could use that...if only it hadn't been taken.

"They must have taken it," I growl in frustration.

Sighing in exasperation, she rests her head against the pole, giving me an idea.

"Hey, what if we try to move this pole?"

She looks behind at me.

"And do what? The pole supports this structure."

"Get it to move so we can get free of course."

"Moving the pole would draw too much attention."

As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. Back to square one.

"Okay," Now it's my turn to rest my head against the pole and sigh. "What do you suggest we do then?"

"I don't know, give me some time think of something..."

"Not to rush you, but make it quick, there's still a deadline I have to meet."

She mutters something under her breath but I don't bother bringing it up, I'm too much in thought. As we think in that sauna-like tent, I pull at the rope, trying to break free when my hand brushes against Nimu, that's when I get my eureka moment.

I straighten up and twist around to look at her. "Nimu."

She glances behind at me in question. "What?"

"You're a nekojin."

"A what?"

"You're half cat, right? You should have claws. Claws versus rope..."

She gives me a "seriously?" face, but I'm onto something. Even though she doesn't really have claws, her nails might be sharp enough to cut us free.

"I don't have claws nor are my nails sufficient for the task," She flatly replies.

"You never know until you try."

"My nails aren't strong enough for that."

"How do you know?" I prod.

"Because I just do, now let's go back to thinking again."

"We don't have time to sit around and think. We're not in the position to twiddle our thumbs and daydream our way out of here. We are in enemy territory running on an already tight schedule, separated from two other people in our party and you want to sit here and pick and choose how we get out of here when you already have the key to our escape?"

When I hear her opening her mouth to counter this, I jump in again.

"Look, I get that you want to be the practical, level-headed type here, but sometimes there are situations that call for pushing aside thinking for acting in the moment and this is one of those situations."

After a drawn-out second of silence, she finally responds.

"Fine, I'll try, but don't get your hopes up."

I grin victoriously. "You need to insert some positive thinking in your life."

She ignores me and begins filing the rope with her nails- I try not to be in her way as she works feverishly.

Though she told me not to get my hopes up, I'm holding my breath as she continues to work and praying this pays off.

Being taken down by an unknown enemy is a huge disadvantage. See, with Tymos, I can put a face to the name, evaluate the threat and jerkwad I'm dealing with. Here, I don't have anything to run on, just some arrows and a tipi. I'd rather get back in the game by gaining the advantage and freeing ourselves before they come to check in on us.

After a minute or so, I ask, "How's it coming along?"

"I'm not sure."

I glance back at her. "What do you mean you're not sure? You're making progress, right?"

"I would hope but I don't know..."

Oh no, I can hear the doubt in her voice and I'm not having any of it.

I try to get a good look down at the restraints.

"You're doing good just keep going," I try encouraging her.

As a competitive runner, I know when I'm losing steam that any sort of encouragement can spur me on towards the goal. I want Nimu to finish what she started and get us free from this so I'll play cheerleader even if I'm not the best.

"Am I really?" She asks cynically. "I feel like I'm going to break a nail."

"I'm not lying, you just have to keep pushing through, alright?"

"Yeah, okay," She grunts, continuing to go at it.

I'm not the nervous type, but I am aware that we could be busted at any time and it could all be over, so I keep an eye on the entrance and keep my ears open for any sounds outside.

As time ticks on, I shift in place, trying to hold out hope that this plan will come through for us. I'm getting just a tad paranoid and antsy that nobody has checked in on us yet and that every second closes the door of escape for us.

I'm just about to ask Nimu to hurry it up a bit (encouragingly of course) but then I hear that sweet, freeing sound of a light snap and feel a new looseness to my wrist.

Pulling my hand free, I hold it up as proof.

"You did."

Even she looks at my hand like she can't believe it.

"I guess I did," She says in awe.

With one hand free, we untie our other hands and finally are free to stand and rub our wrists.

"We need to get out of here without drawing any attention to ourselves," I begin, creeping cautiously over to the entrance to peek my head out.

"We also need to locate Lan and Chasan," She adds, joining me by the flap of the tent.

Oh, right, those two...

"Yeah, yeah, but first we need to figure out where we are."

Taking a brief breath, I gingerly peel back the flap enough where we can both eyeball out the area without being noticed.

From what I can take in, we're in the midst of a tipi village, most of the surrounding ones larger than our own, right in the heart of whatever camp or village we've been taken to. Done surveying the area, I carefully close the flap back in place.

"First things first," Nimu starts. "Whose village is this and why have they brought us here?"

"Probably the same people that trapped us in that net."

"Most likely. I never even got a good look at whoever shot at us, they must have been hiding in the bushes."

"Yeah."

One of the big things hanging in my mind right now is finding my sword. Tymos made me get it for a reason so it must be important to our little feud- I won't leave without it. Right now, I don't exactly have the best plan for this so I'm going with my reckless side on this.

"We need to get to the bottom of this," I state.

"That's a given."

"And I have a plan on how to do that."

Cocking her head curiously, Nimu asks up. "How?"

She's not gonna like it, I already know that much but whatever.

"I'm going to demand to speak to whoever's in charge and sort this out."

"Are you mad?"

I knew she wasn't going to like it. 

"While I'm doing that, you'll slip out in secret and try to find the boys. Got it?"

"No, this is poorly planned- but that's not surprising coming from you."

"It's not foolproof but it should work."

I turn to head out but she catches my arm.

"Joan, please start using your head on this."

I shrug her off. "There's no reason this shouldn't work. Plus, it'll help me see who we're dealing with."

As I try to leave again, she prevents me by blocking the entrance.

"I'm being serious, Joan. This isn't a game to be taken lightly, we're in danger here and that requires practical thinking and planning."

Okay, I'mma admit, she's wearing my patience out with this planning crap, but I understand her protest, most people would have them. What she doesn't understand is the fact I'm not here to waste time on subplots (I thought I already established that). I'm sick of the setbacks and want to be on my way. She's going to have to learn the tough- and only- way about trusting me.

"Look, Nimu, I get it. This is a real situation of life-and-death, but I'm a risk-taker and there's no time to spare, now work with me on this, please."

She opens her mouth to protest again but shakes her head and steps aside.

"Fine, Joan, go and be a risk-taker."

There's some ridicule in her voice but I ignore that like I do from everyone else and face the music.

Stepping outside, I glance around, able to fully survey the area. It's like a ghost town- with not a soul in sight- as I begin wandering the area looking for someone to confront. I need to speak to the head honcho and therefore I need someone to take notice of me.

At last, I hear footsteps marching my way and instead of shrinking into the shadows, I continue to roam the area, staying in plain sight of the incomers.

Hearing a grunt coming from behind, I coolly turn around and look up at the three tall, athletic looking women who all share a hostile snarl at me. I guess spending your days in the jungle would make a body rip. Seeing the three of them bare down on me with spears in hand and a cold expression on their face is making me rethink a little my decision to go through with this plan.

Holding my hands up, I unconsciously take a small step back.

"Hey, I'm unarmed, I just want to talk to your leader or whoever runs this joint."

They continue to approach me, surrounding me in a tight circle of female abs and a not-so-friendly vibe. They speak to each other in low, rough murmurs of a strange, exotic sounding language.

Great, they probably don't even know what I'm saying.

One of the females roughly grabs my wrist, and it takes everything in me not to yank it free as she starts dragging me along with the other two flanking her side like a cliché trio of mean girls.

So either A) they understood what I said and are bringing me their leader, B) they have not a clue what I said and don't give a crap, C) they misunderstood me, or D) they're leading me to the slaughterhouse. I'm gonna try that positive thinking shit that Nora's always going on about and believe that option A is what's happening.

Just to make sure I'm not seconds away from being a human sacrifice, I try to get some clarity.

"You're taking me to your leader, right?"

All I receive is stone faces and silence- not good.

"I really need to speak to whoever is in charge here because I think there's been some kind of mix up and I kinda have to be on my way..."

Yeah, these women couldn't give a crap about what I'm saying so I don't waste my breath and let them escort me to wherever they have in mind- I'm already crafting an escape route just in case (see, I can plan).

I'm taken to a guarded yurt thing where I'm roughly shoved inside and left on my knees.

"Well, this is nice?"

At least I'm not dead, but I might not be out of the woods yet. Glancing around, this place is as dark as an asscrack but it smells like spices and sweet stuff- so far it hasn't got me too on edge yet. Getting up, I allow my eyes time to adjust to the dimness of the room. This place is much nicer than the cramped, smelly tipi I was previously trapped in, this has a more relaxed, luxurious feel to it with the plump, silk pillows on the rugged floor and decorative incense holders with their good smelling scents floating through the place.

Still, as nice of a place as this might appear to be, I can't let my guard down so I slowly walk into the place expecting anything to pop out at me. My wariness turns out to be warranted as a second later a cool, yet invigorating voice fills the room.

"You may approach," The voice booms from the center of the room where the silhouette figure sits.

Didn't remember asking for permission but whatever.

Still on guard, I slowly approach the figure but don't sit down across from her. Instead, I stare down at her and speak first.

"Hey, yeah, I'm not looking for any trouble or anything, I'm just wondering why my friends and I were attacked. Like, were we too close to your territory or something? I just thought I deserved to know."

The woman lights a match or something and in turns lights a small candle which illuminates her face better. I can see now that she has the same Amazonian warrior features as the three chicks that brought me here. Not only that, but she wears an array of piercings in her face and ears, along with some expensive looking gold plated jewelry around her neck and precious gem rings on her fingers- she's definitely the head bitch here.

After lighting the candle, she flicks the match out and sets it in a small clay bowl beside her before looking up at me again and gesturing for me to sit, both hands neatly folded on the table like a good little schoolgirl.

"Let us sit and talk."

"Yeah, I'm on a tight time schedule and there are only twenty-four hours in a day so I'm hoping we can make this snappy. Plus, not anything against you per say, but I'm not comfortable enough to sit, you get my drift?"

"I understand."

Suddenly, she stands up. She didn't look it when she was sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor, but she has to be at least 6 foot something- and I'm talking like more than five inches. At this point, I physically have to step back so my neck doesn't snap trying to look up at her.

"We can be on equal talking terms standing instead."

Don't be intimidated, don't be intimidated, do not be intimidated.

"Uh," Dammit! "Yeah, equal talking terms."

I clear my throat, needing to get this back on track.

"Like I was saying, I'm kinda confused why we were brought here. Could you help fill in the blanks?"

Setting her shoulders back some adds another inch to her goddess-like stature.

"You were encroaching on our territory and we were alerted to your presence by our traps."

"Oh, okay, well, sorry about that. Kind of new to the area and I'm following some footprints so it's not like I know the full route of where it's taking me so yeah. Didn't mean to intrude, just a misunderstanding."

"It would appear so."

Though she looks like she could pick me up and snap me in two, she sounds so cool and collected that I'm actually kinda hoping that my plan might go off without a hitch.

"So, could my friends and I bounce? Like I said, twenty-four hours in a day and I need to be able to see those footprints."

She nods. "You and your female companion may leave, but the other two stay."

Well, things almost worked out perfectly.

"Uh, yeah, I kinda need them too."

Believe me, it wouldn't bring a tear to my eye to leave Chasan behind, but Nimu and Lan are buddies and I know Nimu won't be in favor of leaving him.

The woman's face hardens a bit at that.

"That is non-negotiable. They stay and you may leave."

"Okay, why do you need them to stay but we can leave?"

She slowly walks around the table, causing me to back up some more to keep eye contact with her.

"My tribe enjoys a very prosperous yet tranquil way of life out here, and we greatly value that, and although we pride ourselves on being self-efficient there are some things we cannot do on our own."

"Good for you but how does this relate to us...?"

"We do not often have very many males passing by, especially such young males as your companions, so we consider it a sign from Etris when they do present themselves."

I really hate it when I ask a very simple question but then somebody gives me an answer that gives me more questions, like seriously.

"So you're keeping them because you don't get guys here very often?" And they're like rare Pokémon cards? Well on that note, thank God I didn't have Brent here or else they might have kept him too (hell, maybe that's why that sicko Tymos took him- guys and boys are like novelties in this part).

The woman replies coolly, "More or less. Males can be useful for one service."

I mean, I wouldn't know, the guys back at home are something else, all of them. Sometimes they're-

Oh, how I hate when it's one of my slow days.

All female tribe (from the looks of it), two random guys, one service...yeah, I think those hits to the head are adding up because it's clear to see what's going on here.

She continues her casual reply, unaware of the gears turning in my head.

"Now you and your female companion may go. I wish you safety and good travels on your-"

"I am most definitely not leaving without my other two peeps."

She starts to harden again. "We had an agreement. You may leave this village but your-"

"Yeah, no, we never agreed on jack. You just gave a flimsy explanation about why you wanted to keep them here and assumed I'd be cool with that, but funny things happen when you just assume."

Now I can tell I'm getting on her bad side- which is honestly not the side I want to be on- but as shitty of a person as I am, I'm not going to let this shit fly, regardless if it involves Chasan or not.

"You will leave immediately or else be removed," She warns ominously.

"Can I at least get my sword back?"

Like a rehearsed scene from a movie, two females come in as their leader calmly walks back around the table and retrieves my sword. Instead of handing it over to me, though, she passes it to one of the women behind me then says something to them in their own language warranting a nod from both of them. She then addresses me.

"You will receive your possession once you leave the village. As I said before, I wish you safety and good travels on your journey, wherever it may lead."

And just like that, she turns her back to me, ending the conversation, and I feel the presence of the two warriors behind me as they step closer to me. This may seem over but it's far from it. For now, though, I'll play along.

Lingering a moment to narrow my eyes at her, I then turn on my heels and indignantly march out of the tent and begin to head out of the village. I'm mindful of the two stoic warriors behind me as I make my trek along the narrow path till we reach the edge of the village. I can't act unless I have my sword as backup so I just go with the flow until we're out of the village and they hand over my weapon.

With their task completed, they curtly head back to the tent village while I sulk on the outskirts.

It seems I'm right back at the disadvantage. Firstly, I don't have a clue where they're holding Chasan and Lan, and secondly, it's an entire village guarded by ripped, kickass looking female warriors hungry for some D action, it's pretty much a suicide mission at this point- there's going to have to be some sort of plan at this point.

As I pace a bit, hoping to jog some creative juices, it occurs to me that Nimu's still in there searching for the guys. A part of me wants to go barreling back in there to get her so we can make a true gameplan (because she seems to be good at that), then there's that part of me that's just like "eh". I, being a genius, go with the latter because I know I can't be wasting more time than I already am.

You know, I'm a saint for doing this, I really am.

I am really. Joan from a day ago would have just left their asses, hell, Joan a couple hours ago did that very thing, but look how I've improved.

"Okay, I just gotta go in, blend into the background, find the guys- and maybe Nimu along the way- and sneak back out unnoticed."

It seems so simple talking it out to myself, but reality is never simple and I know I'm going to have to fight life on this a bit.

Firstly, the blending in part won't do. It doesn't take an expert to figure out my white sticky self is going to stand out among a tribe of tan-skinned, eight-pack warriors. I'm going to need a distraction- a big enough one that will draw all of their attention and effort.

With this in mind, I hurry off to locate a nearby creek we passed on the way here- it wasn't as impressively wide as the other river, but it might have exactly what I need.

Finding the creek no problem, I get to work scrounging the riverbed for rocks that fit my criteria. I have to hold my breath and pray that what I need actually exists here. Thankfully, I don't have to search long before I find the glossy rock I need and return back to the edge of the village.

Kneeling, I hold out my sword and take out the rock. I can thank my dad for this crafty trick he taught me. Checking to see if the stone is legit, I quickly strike it and on the first time it produces sparks- it's flint alright.

Before anyone from the village can spot me loitering, I hurry to the side of a tent on the edge, carefully cut a piece with my sword, then tie the cloth around the end of a stick I picked up. Lying it down, I take back out my flint again and light that sucker up, willing one of the sparks to catch. After three attempts and blowing on the flame, I get my torch going.

And now, the fun part.

I wouldn't consider myself a pyromaniac, but you probably wouldn't guess it seeing how fire happy I am right now lighting their village ablaze. I need as big and consuming of a distraction as I can get so I quickly move from tent to tent- not too concerned if there's anybody inside- watching as each tent catches before moving onto the next one. I lose count of how many I set ablaze, but I definitely have their attention now as activity begins to stir in the village. Discarding the torch in one of the pathways, I hurry away from the fire to slip in unnoticed.

I will say, my plan is working fabulously so far, I'm crossing my fingers it stays that way as I weave between tents searching for the one that holds Chasan and Lan- hopefully both together. Possibly in my fire happy mood, I might have accidentally set their tent on fire, but I figure it's a somewhat slim chance of their tent being on the edge of the village instead of in the core like I'm assuming it is.

It's great, though. Everyone's attention is focused on the raging, ever-growing fire so it's practically a skip in the park for me.

It takes some trial and error- though I certainly have the leisure to make mistakes repeatedly- but I finally locate the right tent or least I assume judging from how the entrance is guarded. Apparently, they're not taking any chances, so even a fire consuming their village isn't enough to sway them from their post.

Though I probably should proceed with caution, I've thrown caution to the wind a long time ago so I choose a more non-sophisticated way of entering the tent. Going around unnoticed to the back, I use my sword and split right down the middle and slip in.

It seems it's my lucky day.

Not only are Chasan and Lan chilling here, but Nimu also looks to have found them, though seeing as she's currently tied up in the corner the mission wasn't a complete success. Chasan and Lan are both shackled to a thick, sturdy pole in the center while Nimu's practically hogtied and gagged. Upon my entrance, everyone's heads snap in my direction.

"Have you guys been having all the fun without me?" I tease.

Apparently, their humor- which was minimal to begin with- is all dried up, so all I receive is glares and blank looks. Though Nimu's thankfully gagged, Chasan's still free to speak.

"What took you so long?" He harshly whispers, being mindful of the unaware guards still outside.

"I had to create a distraction, geez, don't get your panties in a bunch."

"You need a key to get us out of these shackles," He hisses, still irritable.

Nimu makes muffled noises from the corner, trying in vain to be heard.

"Okay, cool your engines ladies and gents, I'm here now and I don't need no stupid key to get you outta here, just trust me. That's all I ever ask of you guys is to trust me."

Chasan still looks annoyed- why? I don't know, I'm kinda saving his ass from being a reproduction factory right now so yeah- but Lan gives me a relieved and hopeful look.

"These ladies are the worse kind of women I've ever met in my life," He says as I go to inspect their shackles. "I know the women in my village aren't much for the sore eye but at least they don't handle you like slabs of meat."

If only you knew, buddy.

I don't think they understand the situation here, but ignorance is bliss so I'll let them have that.

Use my sword to jimmy the lock, I concentrate on my work.

"What are you doing?" Chasan questions critically. "A sword won't work, Joan, you need the actual-"

And just like that, the cuff pops off Lan's wrists and I arch an eyebrow at Chasan, daring him to say anything else. He doesn't and remains silent as I free him then move onto Nimu who's fairly easy to free. Seems I should have kept her gagged though as she's a raging bull when I finish with her.

"This was what I was worried about!" She seethes. "I got captured because you wanted to go separate ways instead of simply making a plan. This is what you get when you're a risk-taker."

I'll let her have her moment because she's right, technically speaking, I screwed up by having us split, but when will she learn I don't live in the past.

"You done 'cuz we need to bounce," I gesture toward the rip in the tent that I came through. "We got deadlines to meet."

Though she's still hot, we all agree that the threat outside is more important so we exit through the back, the guards no wiser and hurry through the village. Seems the fire has spread rapidly and the others have just noticed this development.

"What happened?" Lan gasps.

Nimu catches on quicker. "What did you do?"

I pull them along. "Told you, I created a distraction."

Truthfully, I don't care I ruined an entire village- screw female empowerment- these women deserved what they got.

Just as we weave through the path out, a beckon of hope returns in the form of the ghostly footprints guiding our way away from the mess I made- it's as if it knows when we aren't in danger anymore and ready to follow it again.

We continue to run even as the village disappears from view and we're swallowed by the dense, humid jungle.