If you haven't completed part 1 of this story it makes sense to do so!
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It was chaos! The villagers were terrified and rushing about in a panic. The women took the children and disappeared into the jungle. The menfolk were gathering weapons and trying to organize themselves. I told Mei to join the other women and to explain that the helicopter wasn't something alien or godlike and may not pose a serious threat.
I wasn't sure if this was true as we had no idea what had being going on in the world since we arrived here and even just the discovery of the tribe could have serious consequences. I joined the gathering men and soon located the Chief. With the aid of Huan we explained that the helicopter was a machine made by man and that the people it contained may not be dangerous. I made sure Huan stressed that we weren't sure about this and it was best to keep his best warriors close by in case things became violent.
The chief took my advice and asked me to join him in approaching our uninvited visitors. The helicopter was still hovering and now that the village was almost deserted began to descend in the large clearing at its centre. Dust and debris were flying around until it finally settled and the engine cut out. The chief, two of his best men, Huan and I slowly approached as the rotors slowed.
The two people I'd seen earlier were the first to emerge. They climbed out and walked towards us. It was a man and a woman dressed in khaki gear. The man was rather overweight and looked to be in his forties, the woman was slim and much younger. A deathly silence hung over the village, the ticking of the hot engine being the only sound. The strangers stopped a few metres away from us, staring a Huan and I with interest and surprise. The woman was the first to speak and she said something in a language none of us could to understand, presumably Portuguese.
I decided to respond and said "Welcome, I'm afraid we didn't understand what you said. Do you speak English?"
The two of them looked at me in shock before the women said "Yes, we speak English." She had quite a heavy accent but I had no problem understanding her.
"My name is James and around twenty years ago I survived a plane crash in the jungle. The people of this village found me and I've been here since." I paused before adding "The villagers have had no other contact with the outer world and they are terrified of you and your helicopter. Can you tell me what you want?"
The two of them spoke animatedly for a moment and then the woman said "You mean you're a survivor of flight TQ443? From Rio to Miami?"
"Yes."
"This is amazing, my colleague and I are from the University of Curitiba in Brazil and we're investigating the disappearance of that flight! The wreckage was never found and our research led us to believe that the plane may have crashed somewhere in this area."
From her words I realised that this meant no one else had survived or at least had ever been found. I felt quite emotional thinking of all the people lost and how it must have been for their families not knowing what had happened.
"Well, I can tell you something about the crash but my bigger concern is the wellbeing of the people here. This tribe is peaceful and their way of life is unique. It would destroy them if their existence and whereabouts was made public."
The woman nodded and seemed to understand my fears, she said "We have no interest in the tribe, our only interest is in solving the mystery of TQ443."
I nodded and made a decision. I whispered to Huan "Look, I'm going talk to these people here at their helicopter. If it's true what they're saying there should be no danger but for now I suggest that everyone else withdraws."
Huan translated for the chief and he nodded in agreement. The four of them moved away and disappeared into the jungle. Despite not being visible I knew that many eyes were watching us and would intervene at any sign of trouble. "Are there more of you or just you two and the pilot?"
"It's just the three of us. This is a privately funded mission, the Brazilian government spent many millions and five years trying to find TQ443 but failed. My colleague and I managed to raise some money from the families of the victims to continue the search."
"I see, well please sit down and I'll tell you what I know."
They spoke to each other and then called to the pilot who joined us. As we sat down I noticed the woman taking a few glances at my crotch and realised that I was so used to living naked that it hadn't occurred to me that it was unusual for them. I decided to let them lead the conversation "So, what do I call you and what do you want to know?"
"Um, we want to know everything you can tell us! My name is Doctor Izabel Santos, this is Doctor Luiz Romero and the pilot is Antonio Silva."
"All I can tell you is that the flight passed through a violent storm soon after departure but then things calmed down and all seemed well, I went to sleep. I was seated at the rear of the aircraft and woke up to screams and the cabin filling with smoke. The oxygen masks and deployed and there was panic. The pilot said something about a fire in the cargo hold and that they would attempt an emergency landing at the nearest airport."
I took a moment as the disturbing memories of that flight passed through my mind. "I remember descending rapidly and that it was dark outside, then the engines made a strange sound and the interior lighting went out..."
Dr. Santos was making notes in her notebook and I waited until she stopped writing before I continued. "When I woke up I found that the plane had broken apart, the tail section had remained partially intact but we never found any trace of the rest of the aircraft. Fifteen people survived the initial crash, some injured quite badly and some, like me, with minor injuries. As we had nothing we decided to form a team to look for supplies and help. The badly injured and a nurse were left at the crash site. "
We soon realised we would not cover enough ground and made the decision to split into two smaller groups and then meet up again at the same spot one hour later. Our group of five found a river and a clean supply of water. Instead of all of us heading back, Tom, who had military experience said he would return to get the other group and bring them to our location. That was the last we ever saw of him. We waited a long time but he never returned and we decided we had to explore and try to find help. Then we were found by the villagers and brought here. It was about a two or three day walk."
Dr. Santos continued writing and then asked "You said there were four in your group, did everyone survive?"
I nodded and said "Yes, it was a Chinese family, the parents and their daughter."
"Are they still alive?"
I nodded.
"Did you ever go back to the wreckage or try to find the rest of the aircraft?"
"I once joined a hunting party and we tried to locate the site but never found it again."
"What about finding civilisation or escaping from here?"
"No. You have to understand that the situation in this village was unique and leaving was not an option. After a while it became home and we had no desire to leave."
She looked at me in wonder and said "You mean you want to stay here? Even now, when you could easily leave with us?"
"Well, if we had guarantees that we could return here whenever we wanted we would go back just to see family and friends but we never want to live anywhere else."
The two began an animated discussion and I took the opportunity for a closer look at the pilot. He seemed nervous and I didn't like the way he was looking around. I decided to ask some questions of my own and during a break in their conversation said "So what do you know about what happened to the flight?"
Dr. Santos said "Well, there's not much to tell. The flight disappeared from radar shortly after hitting the storm you mentioned. There was no further radio contact and not a single piece of wreckage was ever found. There were many theories, including terrorism, pilot suicide and catastrophic system failure but nothing could ever be proven."
I nodded and said "Well, I can't rule out terrorism or system failure but pilot suicide seems very unlikely. So what happens next?"
I could see she felt uncomfortable as she said "I was just discussing that with Dr. Romero and we would like for you to come back with us and then a new search mission for the plane can begin focusing around the area you described."
The thought of a large scale search operation so close to the village was disturbing, if people found out about the existence of this place it would be overrun and destroyed. I would need to discuss this with my family and with the rest of the tribe and hoped it wasn't already too late to stop it happening. "I see. We'll need to discuss your proposal first. You should stay here and meet the villagers, tomorrow I will give you my decision. OK?"
I could see that Romero wasn't happy with my response and they began to discuss it in amongst themselves in Portuguese after which the pilot gave me a hostile look. Despite seeing he was armed with a sidearm I wasn't worried, I knew that the moment any of them showed any signs of aggression they would be hit by darts that would immobilize them instantly.
Dr. Santos shook her head and said "Thank you for your offer but we would prefer to leave now and for you to come with us."
I smiled at her and said "I think you misunderstood, it wasn't an offer. You have no choice but to stay until we decide what to do."
Silva sneered and jumped to his feet saying something in Portuguese, Santos spoke to him sharply but he ignored her and reached for the gun at his hip. I watched calmly as a dart hit his neck. He instantly raised a hand to the point of impact but before it even got there his legs gave way and he fell to the ground.
Santos screamed and Romero jumped to his feet. I calmly said "Don't worry, he'll wake up in an hour or so but I advise you not to make any threatening moves."
When they calmed down I said "OK, now I'll have to ask you to remove all your clothes."
They looked at me as if I was crazy. "I'm sorry but this is the way of life here, no one is clothed and you must respect our traditions."