Cameron was lost. The Life-Giver? What the hell did that mean? But the pair holding arrows to their heads didn’t seem to want to explain much further, so she slowly dropped her weapons to the earth beneath them and raised her hands. The liquid around their neck. Blue. [i]"Ah. The life-giver."[/i]

“Look, see? I’m unarmed,” Cameron said as she kept her eyes trained on the primitive man and woman. They were in better shape than she was, that was certain, and possibly even more paranoid than her as well. 
“Those same people, the ones who keep coming here, they burnt my village to the ground. Killed everyone. His too,” she raised a hand to point to Justin, but that caused their stances to widen as if ready to attack. “Whoa, whoa. Please, take it easy,” she panicked, putting her arm she had moved back in the raised position. 

The man began to approach her with stealthy footsteps, bow still in position, as the woman kept her eyes and weapon on Justin.  Cameron squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the man’s presence slowly circle her, as if to observe her.

“Please,” she whispered. “We don’t want any trouble, we just need to – “

[b][i]Thump.[/i][/b] Darkness. 

The man had butted her in the back of the head, rendering her unconscious.

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Once Cameron’s blurry vision cleared, her stomach sunk. Her mouth was gagged and hands bound behind her back. She looked up to see a makeshift cell-door, twigs overlapping each other, which she figured was to keep them from escaping. Darkness and stars peaked through the branches. A single torch lit the large, dug out prison on the opposite side of Cameron and Justin. Justin! He was a few feet to her left, gagged and bound like she was.

With as much strength as she could produce, her legs pushed her up against the dirt wall until she stood, and she quietly walked over to Justin, turned around, and leaned down so that she could try to remove the cloth band from his mouth with the hands behind her back. An apology was attempted for their close proximity, but it just came out a muffled grunt. Cameron tugged until she felt the cloth, wet with saliva, come out of his mouth, and a smile, or the best she could do, appeared on Cameron’s face. She knelt down in front of him so that he could return the favor when voices were heard above them. She nearly fell over as she attempted to scurry back to the position she was, and as soon as she plopped down, the door above them swung open.

A rope-and-pulley system was used to lower a small pail of water and some sort of charred meat. A small knife carved from stone was on the tray as well – both to use on their gags and bounds, and to eat the food provided. Once the meal hit the floor, the rope was dropped, and the cell door closed once again with a large rock moved to sit on top of it. Cameron looked to Justin with wide eyes and grunted again, this time hoping he’d get the hint to cut her loose. Her mind was exploring ways on how to get out of the hole, but she was coming up short.

It was roughly 15 feet deep and 10 feet wide, and the dirt walls had been mixed with other elements, making it hard and smooth, so climbing it wouldn’t be possible. They had a torch, a rope, a pail, a wooden tray, and a knife. The wheels were turning in Cameron’s mind, but before she decided their escape route, she would need to see if Justin was holding up. As stoic and seemingly strong as he was, a person can only take so much in such a short time.

Now, the real question. Why didn't they kill them when they had the chance? Based on the soldier's body they had seen on the highway, this group didn't shy away from killing an outsider. Brutally. They must have needed them, either for answers or to barter with. That could mean, Cameron realized, that the pair could be handed over to Omega's attackers - maybe as a last-ditch bribe to keep them out of the savages' territory. The thought of what would be done to them if they were handed over sent chills down her spine.