Myths and Legends - Beastkin Ch. 01

The Commissioner smiled wide with a row of even, stark-white teeth as he extended his hand toward Jake. Jake took the hand and shook it as the man introduced himself in English with a heavy French accent, his voice sounding like coarse gravel in a tumbler.

"Monsieur Blackburn. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Commissioner Samual Mutombo." Commissioner Mutombo gestured to the female officer as she sat next to him. "This is Chief Inspector Sophie Kasongo."

"Pleasure to meet you both," Jake replied as he sat next to the commissioner opposite the Chief Inspector. "Allow me to introduce my women. This is Jessie Duplantis, Tatiana Blackburn, and Lenore Blackburn, and the tall brunette with the scary eyes is Sestia Blackburn." Sestia blushed slightly at the comment but otherwise ignored it.

"The pleasure is all mine, Monsieur Blackburn," the Commissioner replied with a nod to the women. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice. I apologize that I must reschedule for today, as a pressing matter has come to my attention that I must address first thing in the morning."

"Not at all," Jake replied cordially. "I hope everything is okay."

"Well enough, thank you. Before we get started, I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of ordering for the table. Assuming you have never been to Africa before, I ordered a few different selections that showcase our wide variety of food choices," Commissioner Mutombo commented.

"That's fine with me," Jake agreed. "I really wasn't sure what to order anyway. Is there anything I need to know before the food comes? Such as particular customs or any cultural faux pas I need to be aware of?"

"Nothing to be concerned about, Monsieur," the commissioner waved away Jake's concern with a smile. "The food will come on large plateaux and les serveurs will bring empty plates for everyone. You grab a plate and sample from whatever plateaux you wish."

"Thank you," Jake replied. "I've been to a few different countries throughout my career and always make a point of at least brushing up on the basics of the cultural differences so I don't accidentally insult the wrong person and wind up in a foreign prison. I've heard they're not at all accommodating." He finished his statement with a playful grin.

Commissioner Mutombo laughed heartily in response to Jake's joke. "Nothing so atroce, I assure you, Monsieur Blackburn."

"Please, call me Jake, Commissioner."

"Very well, Jake. Now, what can I do for you? You mentioned wanting to go into the jungle, but didn't specify."

"If you please, Commissioner," Jake replied with a smile. "I never talk business on an empty stomach. Would you mind waiting until after the meal?"

"Not at all!" the commissioner laughed.

"If you don't mind me asking, though, and I hope it isn't considered an insult to ask, you speak with a heavy French accent. Were you born in the DRC?"

"No insult at all, Jake," the commissioner replied with an easy smile. "Yes, I was born in Africa. However, my parents spoke predominantly French in our house, with a bit of Swahili when necessary. I grew up learning both."

"Interesting. Where did you learn English?" Jake asked.

"In L'Académie de Police. I am trying to teach the Chief Inspector here, but it is hard for her. She only knows French and Swahili."

The servers brought drinks for everyone, placing a glass of water and iced tea before each person. Additionally, they placed a large bowl of sugar on the table for anyone who wanted to sweeten their tea. Jake was the first to partake, spooning a generous amount of sugar into his tea glass before stirring it.

"Well, I appreciate you throwing in French words every now and then. Considering I know nothing of the language, it helps me to learn the different words in the context they're meant to be spoken," Jake commented as he took a drink of his tea, nodding to himself that it was satisfactory in its sweetness.

The chief inspector leaned a bit closer to the commissioner and said something in a language that was obviously not French. Jake saw a smirk on Xāda's face before the commissioner nodded and addressed Jake.

"Chief Inspector Kasongo is wondering if you might humor her curiosity about your women," Commissioner Mutombo translated.

"Uh, apologies, Commissioner, would you excuse me a moment?" Jake asked as he looked at Xāda. "That wasn't French," he said to his platinum-blonde girlfriend. "I'm assuming that was Swahili and you understood it. Am I right?"

"Yes," Xāda answered with a knowing smile.

"Perfect," Jake said as he turned back to the commissioner. Before Jake could make the offer, Xāda rose, took up her two glasses, and circled the table to the empty chair next to the chief inspector. With a disarming smile, Xāda started prattling off in Swahili to the inspector, seeing her eyes light up in recognition, and the two women engaged in conversation in the native language. "That settles that," Jake said with a grin.

"I, ah, must confess to some curiosity myself," the commissioner added. "It is not customary for Americans to have so many women, non?"

"No, it's not," Jake replied with a chuckle. "I'll save the more in-depth explanation for later--as it will come up when I explain my reason for being here in the first place--but suffice it to say that I caught their eye and they'd rather live together with me, than separately without me. Right girls?"

The three island women smiled wide as they nodded and Xāda said, "Tout à fait, mon amour." as she winked at me.

"Ah! You speak Français as well!" the commissioner exclaimed, delighted. Then, he looked back at the three island women. "And you? You speak Français?"

Tatiana shook her head. "Greek and English," she replied with a smile.

"The intrigue continues, eh?" the commissioner chuckled. "It chatouille at my curious nature how you came to be with Jake, as your accent tells me you are obviously not American, non? Mademoiselle Duplantis is American, whereas you are not. And you two?" he asked, pointing to Lenore and Sestia.

"We are not," Lenore replied.

"But, now we are," Sestia countered.

The commissioner looked confused at their proclamation as he glanced at Jake. "All in due time, commissioner. After dinner. Speaking of which," Jake said, pointing at the line of servers approaching their table with a plethora of dishes.

"Okay," Jake said as he looked at the different dishes in the center of the table. Three large bowls of what Jake assumed were starch--considering one that he knew was rice--centered the table, with six dishes surrounding it. "What am I looking at here?"

The commissioner pointed at each dish as he named them. "Dongo-Dongo, Poulet à la Moambé, Liboké de Viande, Mayebo, Makayabu, and Mossaka." Then, he pointed to the starches. "Rice, Fufu made from maïs or cassava or both, and Lituma, made from plantains."

He explained the best way to prepare the food before eating, and before long, the seven around the table dug in. Not long after that, almost the entirety of the meal was consumed as the group sat back and sighed contentedly with full bellies. Jake stifled a burp before opening his mouth to speak. However, the servers returned and placed before each person what looked like cake and some milky soup.

"Ah," the commissioner said as he clapped in delight. "This is dessert. We have the Gateau de Manioc, which is a cake made from cassava, and Tshomba Tsha Kabiola, which is basically cassava, peanuts, milk, and sugar. It looks as if they put some type of berry in it to enhance the flavor. You might think of it as a dessert soupe or céréale."

"Well, it looks good," Jake replied. "I don't know if I have room for it, though." He laughed. "I didn't expect dessert and that Dongo-Dongo was delicious!"

Jake tried it anyway, though, and the flavor was so delicious he ended up eating his entire portion. The cake was delectably sweet, with the soup almost like melted ice cream. The island women had taken only token bites of their dessert, leaving it mostly untouched. That wasn't surprising to Jake. They almost always avoided anything sweeter than basic fruit for dessert.

Xāda, though, was overwhelmed in a foodgasm because of the desserts. Her eyes rolling into the back of her head combined with her moans of pleasure caused the two police officers to look uncomfortably embarrassed. Jake wasn't going to deter her, though. The bulge in his pants got just a hint tighter as he thought about her making those same sounds in the bedroom later.

The coffee was served next and the group collectively sighed in contentment as they leaned back in their chairs. The women quieted at the impending conversation between the two men as they sipped their coffee.

"So," Jake said after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "To business, then?"

"Please, Monsieur," the commissioner replied with a wave of his hand for Jake to initiate the conversation.

"What you need to know is that we need to go into the jungle not for any reason you might suspect," Jake began. "I'll explain fully in a minute, but there are more of my people lost in the jungles of the Congo, and are in danger from poachers."

"Ah, oui," the commissioner commented with a sneer of disgust. "There are many in the jungle. I would see them hanged for their atrocité if I could catch them. But, they hunt people?"

Jake glanced at Xāda more for support than permission. Her almost imperceptible nod told him that yes, it was necessary to divulge what he was going to say next.

"Yes, and no, Commissioner," Jake answered. "You see, yes, they are people, but they are also animal-like. Are you familiar with the American term 'Monster-Girl'?"

"Fille Monstre, or Msichana wa Monster," Xāda translated in French, then Swahili.

"Non," the commissioner replied. "What is it?"

"Think of them like people, but with animal features," Jake explained. "For instance, take Chief Inspector Kasongo, there." He gestured to the officer with his hand. "Imagine her with black cat-like ears on the top of her head like a panther, and a long black tail. There are other, less distinguishing features, of course, but the premise is still the same. A human female with cat ears and a tail."

"There are people like this?" the commissioner asked incredulously. "How do you know? Have you seen them?"

Jake eyed his women before replying. "I... better start at the beginning." He went on to explain--without going into great detail--that he was a test pilot for the Air Force and crashed the plane he was flying in the Bermuda Triangle. How he woke up to find himself on an invisible island with three gorgeous women--he pointed to the women in question--and a dinosaur with the head of a dragon.

He told how he spent the next few weeks on the island learning about the women, their heritage, and seeming immortality. He also explained that after mating with each of the women, he dreamt of their mothers. He explained how somehow their mothers had given him special abilities, one of which was the ability to locate any surviving members of the Amazon race.

He then explained the vision he'd had with Queen Themys, how three women were hunted in the woods, with one of them being murdered right before his eyes, but not before impaling her murderer with a spear.

Lastly, he explained that with the conjugation with Tatiana, the barrier separating the island from the world had vanished, though his and the women's abilities remained.

Jake studied the commissioner carefully as he spoke, noting the man's expression as it shifted from idle curiosity to incredulity, and finally settling on reserved skepticism. Jake also noted that as he told his tale, Xāda translated in a soft tone so the Chief Inspector would hear it as well.

"That... is... a most incroyable tale, Monsieur," The commissioner hesitantly replied. "I don't suppose you would be willing to provide some proof of your claim? I mean no offense, of course."

"None at all," Jake replied. "Jessie?"

Jessie pointed to the three island women. "I gave it to Sestia," she said.

Jake looked at Sestia and nodded. Turning back to the commissioner, he said, "One of the abilities we all share is enhanced strength." As he spoke, Sestia rose and rounded the table. When she arrived at the commissioner's side, she placed a two-foot-long cylindrical steel bar on the table before him. "If you would, Commissioner Mutombo, try to bend that steel bar."

"I cannot," the man replied.

"Humor me, please," Jake prodded.

The commissioner tried for a few seconds but was unsuccessful in bending the metal. Jake gestured for him to offer it to the chief inspector. As he did, Xāda translated for the woman. While she looked bewildered, she complied and was also unable to bend the bar.

Xāda took the bar from the chief inspector when she offered it, and with little effort, bent the bar completely in half. So quick was her movement that the bar snapped in half in the middle. The two officers' eyes bulged as Xāda tossed one half of the bar to Lenore, who repeated the action and handed the other to Sestia, who had moved behind her.

Sestia bent hers slowly so as not to break it, but Lenore snapped her section of the bar in half as well. She gave one to Tatiana and tossed the other to Jake. Tatiana and Jake simultaneously squeezed and compressed the metal as Jake spoke. "Not only enhanced strength but invulnerability and enhanced healing as well."

When finished, Tatiana and Jake each rolled an imperfect steel ball in the direction of the officers. The commissioner and chief inspector each snatched a ball off the table before inspecting it with looks of incredulity. Sestia sat her section of the bar down, now bent in half with a loop at one end. The commissioner placed his ball down inside the loop of the steel bar on the table and looked up at Jake.

"Enhanced invulnerability?" he asked.

"I'm not saying you should, but you could take out your weapon, shoot me with it, and it would only feel like getting hit with a paintball from a paintball gun," Jake replied. "It would sting and leave a red welt for a few minutes, but it wouldn't break my skin."

"Ajabu," the chief inspector whispered in awe as she sat her steel ball down on the table next to the commissioner's.

"And now, for my final trick of the evening," Jake said with mock flourish as he stood and pointed at the wall behind the commissioner. "This is a topographical basrelief of the DRC, right?"

The commissioner turned and nodded. "Oui."

"While you can't see, and neither can my girls so don't feel left out," Jake explained as he pointed at a section of the map just north and slightly east of Kisangani, in what appeared to be an uninhabited portion of the forest, "There is a glowing dot right in this area. That shows me that one of my people are right here and they haven't moved the whole time we've been in this room. There was another one over here," he said as he moved and pointed to the northwest corner of the map, "but it disappeared some time ago while we were eating. Can you tell me what's in that direction? The next major city in the area, perhaps?"

"Uh, Bangui," the commissioner replied. "It's a city on the border of the DRC and the Central African Republic."

"Right. So the other woman is moving in that direction. She may be making her way to the northern part of the continent, maybe wanting to disappear into the desert. I have to get to her before she does that. Being exposed out there will be a death sentence for her, whether by other poachers or the desert itself."

Jake moved back to the spot where the glowing dot was. "Can you get me here?" Jake asked.

"Oui, Monsieur, but you must realize the amount of good you could accomplish with your abilities," the commissioner replied excitedly. "You could help so many people, like Super--"

"I'm not interested in being a superhero, commissioner," Jake interrupted, a dark scowl briefly flashing across his features. "That's the one downfall of my personality. I only care about one thing: saving my people. Know this--and this is not a threat, but you can take it for what you will--I will go through literal hell and back, as well as through whoever I have to save those women."

The commissioner audibly gulped.

"I don't want to do this the hard way. I want to do this the right way. I want to cooperate with the local authorities. That's why I came to you first. But I have no problem whatsoever with skirting the law to achieve my goals. I'm asking for your help, commissioner, and I will all but beg you not to make me force it out of you."

The man turned back around in his seat and sighed as he rubbed his hands over his face. The chief inspector said something to him in Swahili and they began to bicker back and forth in short bursts of speech, the conversation becoming heated as Jake returned to his seat. Multiple times the commissioner motioned to the steel remnants on the table as they argued.

Jake looked to Xāda for translation. "She told him he should arrest you for threatening a police officer."

"As if he could," Jake snorted with amusement.

"Now they're arguing about who is going to accompany us to where our sister is," Xāda continued to translate. "The commissioner is adamant about going because he has to go that way anyway, and she's telling him that she wants to go, too. He says she needs to stay because she's the highest-ranking officer while he's gone but she's saying someone else can fulfill that role just as easily. It's just a bit of banter back and forth about who's going and who's not, at this point."

"At least he's agreeing to let us tag along," Jake replied. "I wonder why she wants to go so bad?"

Before Xāda could answer, the commissioner slammed his hand down on the table, startling everyone but Jake. The man fumed at his subordinate before exhaling a reluctant sigh.

"Tomorrow," the commissioner replied. "We will go to the village of Kole. That is why I had to reschedule our meeting. The locals are reporting a nightly occurrence of wailing deep in the woods. An hour after sundown every night, a haunting wailing can be heard whispering through the forest. The residents are terrified of the sound. Rumors have spread of La Llorona returning to the area to reclaim her lost children."

"Have any children gone missing since it started?" Xāda asked, concerned.

"Non," the commissioner replied. "But that doesn't matter to believers of folklore."

"How long has this been going on?" Jake asked.

"For the last fortnight or so, from the information I was able to gather."

"Then that will be a good place for us to start looking," Jake replied. "Do you have any paper maps of the area, detailed or otherwise?"

"I have a few. I will bring them in the morning. I fear we will have to take two cars as I don't have access to a vehicle large enough for all of us."

"I'm sure we'll be fine. Thank you, commissioner," Jake said with an apologetic smile. "Have you ever heard of the term, 'Sorry, not sorry'?"

"I do not believe so."

"In this instance, it simply means that I'm sorry that I'm not sorry I had to resort to threats because it got results. That being said, I truly don't like having to bully people into doing what I want because they can't retaliate in any meaningful sort of way. So, for that, I do apologize."

"Apology accepted, Monsieur Blackburn," Commissioner Mutombo replied with a smile as he stood and offered Jake his hand. As Jake stood and grasped the commissioner's hand, the ladies at the table stood as well. "I will be here an hour after dawn and we can be on our way."

"We'll be ready," Jake said as the women began to file out of the restaurant.

After the two groups said their goodbyes, Jake and his women made their way back to their rooms.

"Do you think it could be one of our people?" Xāda asked as she walked hand-in-hand with Jake. "La Llorona, I mean."