20 The Rescue

Marx was drenched in sweat as he struggled to dig out a few centimeters of soil from the mound. Amaya worked much faster than him as the soil dug deeper on her side. Marx was embarrassed so he tried to apply more force which tired him out.

"Let us just ask the rescue team to help us with the digging." He said helplessly. His hands were callused from handling the shovel-looking tool.

At lunchtime, Marx finally spotted the ship approaching the shoreline. It stopped around two kilometers. He saw small boats coming towards them. He looked at Amaya and thought that her dress was too revealing.

"Aya, can you change into your protective clothing? There will be people coming soon and it will not be appropriate for them to see you in that." Marx explained awkwardly.

Amaya looked at her vest and skirt then she threw a blank stare at Marx. Eventually, she put on an inner garment, her arm sleeves, and the protective clothing on her legs up to the thigh. She looked like a warrior princess.

A few boats arrived at the shore and several men came along with a camera team who were tasked to document the rescue. When the men saw Amaya, they were dumbfounded and gawked at her.

"What are you all looking at? Start moving things to the ship." Marx fiercely glared at them and the men started moving but they kept stealing glances at Amaya.

Marx led four men to the mound where he and Amaya were digging earlier and instructed them to continue. It took them less than an hour before they finally exhumed a huge golden coffin from the ground.

The eyes of the men including that of Marx widened.

"You made this?" Marx asked Amaya in surpirse.

"Yes. It is just a wooden box. Then I melted a lot of gold and poured them inside and outside the box to protect Daddy's remains." She said with a sad expression.

Amaya dusted the coffin with her hands. She then weaved a thick hemp rope around the box to ensure that the lid will not fall off.

The men carefully carried the golden coffin to a boat and ferry it off to the ship a few kilometers away.

Soon everything was moved to the ship and nothing was left in the cabin. Even the big water jars and the crude-looking tools were moved. The milagrosa and other precious medicinal plants and exotic plants which she carefully dug out from the backyard and wrapped in woven leaves were also carried to the big ship.

Amaya whistled and waited. She was looking towards the forest. She whistled a second time but nothing appeared.

The earth shook and this time it lasted more than a minute.

Amaya howled and growled. Soon two tigers, two wolves, and an ape came out of the forest and went toward Amaya. They looked agitated. The rescue team was anxious. Some of them draw out their gun and pointed at the wild animals.

The tigers and the wolves growled and bared their fangs at them.

"Draw back your gun. Don't hurt them." Marx commanded tersely.

Amaya growled and created strange sounds. She was talking to them and explaining that they need to leave the island and go to the boat.

"Aya, we can't move them unless they are sedated. They are still wild after all." Marx commented.

"Will they get hurt?" She asked anxiously.

"No. They will just go to sleep." Marx replied. She nodded.

Marx gave his go signal and soon a few darts flew and hit the five animals on the body. They were out on the ground in no time. The men carried them one by one to the ship.

"Wait here!" Amaya sprinted to the forest with her bow.

"Hey come back!" Marx's warning was too late but Amaya was soon back dragging a dead boar. An arrow was still lodged in the middle of its two eyes.

"Their food!" She said matter of factly.

Marx assisted Amaya to board the last boat. Amaya was melancholic. She studied the island that was her home for fifteen years and committed everything to memory and her heart. The mist above the volcano has thickened and there was a golden glow on it.

What a beautiful sight to behold. She saw the island shake and the jungle turned into chaos. She heard the howls and growls of the animals and her heart ached. Tears started falling from her eyes.

Marx saw her sorry state. He hesitated before reaching out and comforting her by patting her on the back.

Soon they reached the ship and Marx was welcomed by the captain. It was Skylar's state-of-the-art naval ship that doubled as a research facility.

"Welcome aboard Sir. We are very happy that you are safe." The captain said respectfully. He then looked at Amaya and looked back at Marx.

"This is Amaya Rocas, Captain. She survived the plane crash fifteen years ago and was trapped on that island."

The captain was dumbstruck.

"Impossible! I saw the clip of that plane. It exploded mid-air!" The captain blurted, unbelief still written on his face.

"She survived, as you can see. She is also my savior. I could have died if I did not come across her on the island. We need to freshen up." Marx sounded impatient.

The captain returned to his senses and called a steward to accompany Marx and Amaya to their cabin.

Marx opened the door and led Amaya in. The room was not so big. A single bed was attached to the wall and there was a door leading to the bathroom.

"You can freshen up in the bathroom." He showed her inside and oriented her on how to open the faucet, flush the toilet and use the shower. Amaya was very curious as she watched Marx with childlike interest.

He led her back to the room and took out the clothes from a bag that the steward handed him. It was a tee and matching skirt panty and a bra.

Marx contemplated for a while. He was thinking about how to teach Amaya the proper way of wearing undergarments especially when he remembered how the buttons were removed from his shirt. Eventually, he passed her a tablet where he did a search for a tutorial on how to wear a bra correctly.

"I'll check on you after taking my shower." He said and left the room.

Amaya studied the video. 'So this is how it is being done.'