Trapped : The Island of Torment

Chapter 18 : The Second Cave

Days later

We finally reached the cave Kate had located on the map she salvaged from one of the dead assassins working for Malcolm. Nyssa had been marching alone and away from Richard and Barbara for some unknown reasons, but I decided not to intervene. I can hear the sound of gushing water, indicating that a river is probably nearby. "We'll stay here for at least two days." Philip said. "After that we'll have to get moving until we reach our target." As a former member of South Korea's equivalent of America's Delta Force Philip had to learn how to survive in dangerous survival situations, which is much harsher considering that they would have to infiltrate North Korea when war ever broke out. South Koreans are no strangers to threats made by North Korea, as evident by their missile tests. 

Well... North Korean agents did try to kill me twice, one was when I was an FBI agent, and the second was when I was vice president to dad's president. Suffice it to say, I had my reasons to detest the nation. Candice had her days in the army, where she spent her time studying North Korean intelligence and training to fight the enemy to prepare when the time came. Our grandfather however, had more than one axe to grind with the nation, as his brother was killed at the Battle of Incheon. He had known during his experience in the Vietnam War, that death can be inevitable on the battlefield, but he did not forgive the fact that the North had invaded the South which triggered the war. 

I carried the bulk of supplies, and I spent the next few minutes pitching tents and taking the equipment from the bag. Nyssa continued to start a small bonfire, a source of light and warmth after dark. Even though it was clear that no tracking devices were on the camp equipment I was worried that there might be some hidden tag that would be revealed beneath ultra-violet lights or through Bruce's detective vision programmed into his cowl. They had left water flasks behind, which created some suspicions that tracking devices would have been mixed into any liquid left behind, so we dumped it before fetching fresh water. "It's getting dark." Oliver said, motioning to the setting sun. 

"Time to go hunting." I say, fetching my longbow and arrow. "And to fetch fresh water sources." 

"I'll go with you." Bruce volunteered. 

"Us too." 

"What do you think?" I asked Bruce. Bruce did not respond, as Batman always does. I know that I don't feel that I want to be near the person whose trust in me had been flipped by one woman's lies, but he is still Bruce's adopted son. 

"Fine." Bruce said. With that in mind he marched off to check his equipment while Candice and Philip looked at one another. But I could feel the conflict in his voice when he gave his response. 

"I think the two of you should go foraging." Philip said. I held my bow and arrow in silence, as Bruce returned, having checked his equipment. 

"It's time to go. We need to return before dark." he said. 

"Ok." I say. The four of us left the cave, while Philip looked on in silence. Bruce and I trekked along the jungle path to forage for food. "I'm not sure what we'll get tonight... but I'll try to find as much as I can."

"You don't have to overdo things." Batman said, a hand on my shoulder. "In my eyes... you are already capable of hunting down enough food sources."

"Thanks for your attempt to reassure me, but... I'm genuinely concerned." I say. "Without help arriving at all... I cannot be sure that we can survive for a full week." I hear something moving in the bushes and after a look around to ensure that everyone is accounted for I motioned for everyone to keep quiet. The same sound was heard again and I gave chase, while Batman kept up from behind me. I heard the sound of running water getting closer as we raced down the jungle path. It was yet another wild boar, calmly drinking water from the river as we stopped to a halt. "Don't look, okay?" I ask. "I know you don't like killing but..."

"We had to do what we can to survive." Batman shook his head. "The choice is yours." Taking deep breaths I removed an arrow and notched it onto my longbow, firing it as soon as I had lined up my shot. Granduncle Fabian might have taught me how to hunt with a hunting rifle but Sensei Saito was the one who taught me how to hunt with a longbow. The shot is aimed to be as painless as possible by targeting the boar's heart or vital organs so that it can bleed out or die instantly on the spot when I can retrieve the boar. The boar howled in pain as it doubled over, dying on the spot. "You know how to kill a boar with one shot."

"Sensei taught me a lot of skills aside from sword-fighting." I say. "Last I asked... he still didn't regret turning you away." I said the last sentence in a whisper. 

"If he knows what happened to you... I don't think that he had ever regretted."

"He only knew what happened from my grandfather, well after my training with him was completed." 

"He wasn't too happy, wasn't he?" Batman asked. 

"Mixed feelings." I replied. Opening the flask I filled it with fresh water as some fishes jumped out of the river. "But he wasn't too happy when I informed him that you asked me to marry you." 

"I won't seek an end to our marriage." he said, as I filled the second flask with the fresh water available. "Even though Selina had tried to lie to the family about our relationship."

"I didn't want to end it as well." I say. After filling the third and last flask with water we followed the path back to the cave, thanks to the sonar beacon he left in Kate's care. "My feelings for you will never change, despite what happened that caused me to leave the States." 

"I felt the same for you." Batman, or in this case, Bruce, admitted.