Captured
* * *Author’s Note: This is a ‘jungle story’ I originally wrote for DeviantArt, mostly because I had the urge to write a story about jungle commandos. Many thanks to the DA readers who helped to shape this story, and I hope that you enjoy it as well!
Copyright © 2020 by 321, all rights reserved and such.
Chapter One
Tanya finally stumbled into the village only to find it completely deserted. Personal belongings, scattered among and inside the grass huts, indicated a hasty evacuation. She was disappointed but not surprised. The Serpientes were well known for their brutal tactics, and that was before her team decided to parachute in and kick the hornet’s nest.
Oh boy, did they kick the hornet’s nest.
She could see the black plume of smoke from her current position, miles from where she started. Whatever was left standing at the old Castillo del Diablo would be burned to the ground by tomorrow morning. “Mission accomplished,” she said to the rows of empty huts. “I hope you died painfully, El Víbora. You prick.” She pictured him trapped under rubble as his complex burned around him, flames licking at his feet as he screamed, uselessly, for help. It brought a smile to her tired face.
Things were mostly good. The rest of the team was most likely safe and awaiting extraction at Esqueleto Point, just as planned. I’m the only idiot who managed to get cut off, she thought, cursing herself for her carelessness. The good news was that the bad guys would probably assume that she was dead. A suicidal leap from the top of a fifty-foot waterfall tended to be quite convincing. The bad news was that she was now alone, with no weapon and no radio. The village had offered hope of both, until it didn’t.
A noise. Low, grinding, getting louder. Down the road, a light tan dust cloud heralded the arrival of some kind of vehicle. She immediately ducked and slipped behind one of the huts, waiting and watching. With any luck, it would speed right by the village. No point in stopping when there’s nobody-
She couldn’t see the vehicle—it sounded like a jeep—but she could hear it slow down and sputter to a stop. Two doors, one after the other. Clunk. Clunk. Boots, scuffing and kicking rocks as they went, and low voices. Low voices that were getting louder by the second. Shit. Shit shit shit!
Her hand immediately went for her gun, pressing against damp fabric. She ground her teeth and silently cursed her so-called ‘luck’. Gun, holster, belt, combat knife—hell, even the little Swiss army knife—all sitting at the bottom of the river, efficiently vacuumed out of her by the force of the waterfall that had offered her escape. She was lucky she still had her shorts. And my life. Better unarmed than dead, Tanya.
The math wasn’t bad, two goons versus one commando, and she allowed her panic to subside. Take them out, take their jeep, and I’m home free. There was a broken piece of lumber on the ground by her feet. Not a Colt 1911, but it would do. She picked it up and, almost out of habit, brushed the dirt from it with her hand. It was short and stubby. More importantly, it was also heavy. Probably some old-growth virgin forest that these assholes chopped down. She let that sink in, then glanced around the abandoned village, and pictured the terrified residents running into the jungle. That fueled her anger even more. She closed her eyes and let the anger displace all of her pain, her fears, her doubts. The horse is wild. Its name is Anger. Ride it. Control it. Master it. You are the cavalry.
Get closer, you assholes. She kicked a pebble into the underbrush, and smiled as it loudly rolled over dead leaves and sticks. Here, kitty kitty.
Crunch crunch crunch “Por ahi! Veo algo!“
She pressed against the grass hut and raised the club over her head. In a moment they would slip by, and she could ambush them with a quick chop to the back of the head. The other goon, surprised, would get a kick in the chest or a swinging club, as appropriate. Her muscles tensed. Here we go, Tanya.
She spotted their feet first, then their bodies. To her surprise, one of them immediately turned the corner and confronted her directly instead of blindly walking past her position. Briefly panicked, she gripped the wood and-
Impossibly, incredibly, she faced the big man himself. El Víbora. The boss! Her heart rose to her throat. One hit and she could end this whole operation forever. One hit and... she could... one hit... just... one... one... one... eyes... his eyes... so... pretty...
Eyes eyes eyes eyes eyes
“Drop the weapon, Tanya.”
The makeshift club slipped from her limp hand and tumbled to the ground.
“Look into my eyes, Tanya. Deep into my eyes.”
Eyes eyes eyes eyes swirling colorful magical deeper and deeper and deeper. “I...“
“Deeper and deeper, Tanya. Falling under my spell. Under my control.”
Her upraised arm fell to her side. “Under your control.”
“Falling into a deep hypnotic trance, Tanya. Deep and under my control. Hypnotized.”
Sleep. Sleep. Mindless. Hypnotized. “Hyp... notized...“
“Now, my pretty spy, where are your troublesome friends?”
Answer. Honest. Truthful. Obey. “Esqueleto Point.” The words fell from her lips effortlessly, without hesitation. “The extraction team will meet them after sunset.“
He motioned to a subordinate, who pressed a chunky, heavy field radio into her unresisting hands. “Do you know the correct frequency?”
Submit. Obedient. Slave. “Yes. The frequency is two-zero-alpha-six.“
“Good. In a moment you’re going to dial in that frequency and contact your team. Here is what you will tell them.”
His mouth moved, and words flowed into her mind, but all she saw were those amazing, beautiful eyes. She threw herself into them.
crackle
“Tango alpha? Lost sheep checking in.”
“Tanya? Jesus, where have you been? Ellie saw you go over the waterfall. We thought you were dead!”
“I’ll survive. I gave them the slip. But I’m hurt. Making my way to the extraction point.”
“Shit. Give us your coordinates and we’ll be there. It’s gonna be okay, Tanya.”
Submit. Comply. Obey. “No, it’s too dangerous for all of you to come out here. There are goons all over the jungle. Send Ellie, tell her to bring her med kit.“
crackle “Alright. I’m sending Ellie and Val. Punch in your coordinates and they’ll be on you like flies on shit. Hang tight, Tanya.“
Someone took the radio from her. She didn’t notice.
“Very good, Tanya. Now, you will tell me all about Ellie and Val. What their strengths are, their weaknesses. I want to know how best to use them against their friends.”
Betray. Destroy. Serve. Obey. “Yes, Master.” Pretty Ellie, gorgeous Val. Soon they would be his. She would give them to him. Nothing could be better than that. Nothing else mattered.
He began to walk back to the jeep, and she eagerly followed.