LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Chapter Seven: Confronting the King

In another time, after Jack and Alex had recovered from their injuries, they began planning how to reclaim Noor and Lena.

Jack said, "It seems we've recovered from our injuries. Now is the time to plan an attack on the enemy."

Alex replied, "It's been a week since our injuries, and the wounds haven't fully healed. But I can fight now, and I think your condition is worse than mine because your injury was in the eye."

Jack said, "I'm fine now, I don't feel any pain, but I'm afraid I've lost my sight. I want you, Alex, to examine my eye. I'll remove the bandages and see if the wound is deep or superficial."

Alex looked at the wound and was surprised to find that the injury passed from the eyebrow to the eye, but the wound was superficial. In addition, the iris and pupil were not affected, but the blow was in the white of the eye, which means there is hope for recovery.

Jack rejoiced and covered his eye, then said, "I will certainly avenge Blake and pay him back double."

Alex said, "Do you have a plan to recover Noor and Lena?"

Jack replied, "Well, let me explain my plan to you. First, we are here on an isolated island that appeared ten years ago. Let’s assume that the first people who arrived here survived the storms and safely reached the island, so what will happen to them? Surely they will be like us, barely survived the waves of the sea and lost all their belongings and even their weapons.

Alex said, "Yes, you're right. If they were on the ship and didn't carry their firearms, they would be lost with the sinking of the ship. And if they were carrying them, they would hinder them in swimming."

Jack replied, "That's why I concluded that whoever reaches the shore with his firearm will be among the few."

Alex said, "Yes, only a few will have firearms, perhaps one in ten, that's if all ten manage to survive."

Jack replied, "There's another way for them to bring firearms, like we did when we went to the sunken ship, but this method isn't guaranteed. Not everyone might survive amidst the sea creatures, and even if they do, they might not find firearms on the ship; they might get lost at sea among the waves."

Alex interjected, "That's true, but I want to digress a bit. The day we went to the beach, the sea was calm, and there were no storms, even on the first day when we arrived by ship, there were no storms. Only when we approached the island did the current suddenly change."

Jack acknowledged, "You're right, that's strange indeed, but this isn't the right time to discuss this."

Alex urged, "Yes, continue. What were you saying? You were implying that whoever survives on the island now will be unarmed, and also, those who arrived here ten or nine years ago, their ammunition would have depleted over time."

Jack elaborated, "Yes, that's what I'm trying to say. Those who preceded us to the island will be few with weapons, and as the years pass, all the ammunition will run out."

Alex questioned, "But Blake arrived recently, according to him, it's been two years, and from what we've seen, all his soldiers are armed."

Jack explained, "When we met Blake, he said he aims to become a king, that he wants to control the island. He must have encountered other adventurers and fought with them. Let me give you an assumption of what happened. If Blake has nine soldiers, and he's the tenth, perhaps he has other followers who didn't come with him. Let's assume their number ranges from fifteen to thirty, and I assume he has enemies outnumbering him who he can't defeat in direct combat. In this numerical superiority, Blake would be the weakest, but I noticed he has great confidence in his strength and always boasts about it. So, I think he's the only one with firearms on the island, but he's afraid of running out."

Alex pondered, "So if Blake's adversaries came to the island years ago, their firearms would certainly be depleted, but why do you think they outnumber Blake's group?"

Jack explained, "If Blake's enemies were few, he wouldn't bother conserving ammunition; he would have emptied all his weapons to eliminate them."

Alex understood, "What puzzles me is how he managed to possess this quantity of firearms. Did he dive with his followers into the sea and retrieve firearms from the sunken ships?"

Jack dismissed, "No, I don't think so, that's risky. If they did that, half of his followers would die in the sea because of sea creatures, and if the ship sank, the firearms would be lost at sea. We were fortunate that the firearms remained on the ship."

Alex said, "So, what do you think, how did they manage to bring the weapons? It's impossible unless the ship remained intact."

Jack replied, "That's correct. I think their ship didn't sink and reached the shore."

Alex expressed concern, "But in this scenario, it means Blake is very dangerous. We won't be able to overcome him."

Jack reassured, "Blake is lucky; his ship didn't sink. I believe it reached near the shore, so they were able to take all their weapons and perhaps even other equipment. But there's something that gives us an advantage."

Alex inquired, "What advantage do we have against Blake?"

Jack explained, "Blake arrived here two years ago, and I believe he initially used his weapons against the other adventurers he found on the island. But he preserved some ammunition and only used it when necessary. I'm confident he has a shortage of ammunition, and I believe each weapon carried by his followers has only half the ammunition. So, if a rifle holds seventy bullets, I think their weapons now have fewer than seventy bullets, and the weapon that runs out of ammunition won't find any more bullets."

Alex acknowledged, "That's all true, but they still outgun us."

Jack analyzed, "Blake is overly confident. He's attempting to control the entire island and intimidates his enemies with firearms. If he wastes ammunition against us, it weakens him against his other adversaries. Therefore, I think he'll try to deal with us without firing and wasting bullets."

Alex asked, "Your assumption is logical, but what makes you confident that Blake has enemies?"

Jack replied, "It's just speculation, but I think Blake enjoys exerting control over people, and because of that, he'll make enemies. Additionally, if he finds the island empty of people, he'll use his weapons for hunting or killing predators. And over two years, the ammunition will deplete, and he won't carry firearms but rather swords or spears. But since he still has ammunition after these two years, I think he's trying to preserve it and never uses it. He must leave it to intimidate the rest of his enemies."

Alex concluded, "If you're right, he'll surely come back here and take our weapons."

Jack questioned, "Do you know why Blake didn't take our pistols, Alex?"

Alex responded, "Of course, he's trying to show Noor and Lena that he's not evil or a thief. He wants to show that he's interested in the girls and not concerned about theft and murder."

Jack agreed, "Perhaps that's the reason, but I'm sure he'll come back to take the pistols, but he'll regret it. He doesn't know that we have two rifles in this cave, fully loaded with ammunition, possibly more than he and his soldiers combined. And fortunately, we left the rifles in the cave earlier and only took the pistols. Without this, he would have taken them and become stronger."

Alex concluded, "Then we must hide all the weapons before he comes and takes them."

Jack replied, "You're right. My plan is to ambush him suddenly with firearms, but if he finds out we have a machine gun and if he takes the weapons and ammunition, the plan will fail."

Alex suggested, "Let's hide the ammunition and the machine gun now before Blake returns."

Jack responded cautiously, "No, we won't hide the pistols. It would be strange to hide them after he's seen them. That would raise suspicion and make him wonder if we're hiding something. Instead, we'll empty the pistols of bullets and leave one or two inside, and we'll only hide the rifles and ammunition. Those are our keys to success. We'll catch him by surprise where he least expects it."

Alex, laughing with excitement, exclaimed, "When Blake comes, we'll hand him the pistols and pretend to be obedient, as if we don't plan to retaliate, but he doesn't know we'll be the ones to defeat him!"

Jack, confidently, replied, "Yes, Captain, we will prevail against Blake."

Alex, enthusiastically, responded, "Let's go, Jack, let's quickly hide the ammunition and rifles outside the cave. We must bury them under the dirt."

Jack, pondering, said, "I think it's better to wait until nightfall. There might be spies watching us on behalf of Blake."

Alex, worriedly, asked, "But what if they come today? What will we do?"

Jack and Alex were planning a secret place to hide the firearms. Silence filled the cave, with only the faint echo reverberating off the rocky walls.

Suddenly, the silence was shattered by approaching footsteps. With each step, the tension in the air grew.

A stranger entered the cave, it was Mickey. Jack and Alex's eyes tracked his every move, feeling anxious and tense. They didn't know who Mickey was, but they felt fear and apprehension, especially when they realized he might be one of Blake's followers.