They stepped out of the trees and onto the orange clay. He looked around, checking all the shadows. From inside a hut came the sound of a baby crying, then a woman’s voice singing. He saw no people.

When they reached the hut, they pressed close against the outer wall as they worked their way around to the front. Doctor Myers tapped on the door, and seconds later, Ayo opened it. When she saw the doctor, her eyes widened, and she looked over her head and all around. “Come in,” she whispered, “quick.”

Inside the hut, Tadeas sat at a wooden table with an old woman who had dark skin and gray braids. She wore a bright-orange dress that wrapped around her frail body and tied together over one shoulder.

Doctor Myers hugged Ayo. “There are roadblocks and bridges being watched. We can’t move until nightfall.”

Ayo spoke in French to her grandmother, who remained still and stoic. She watched Rick with dark, serious eyes.

Tadeas stepped forward. “Can we help?”

“We don’t want to bring danger to your village,” Rick said. “We’re going to set up a camp in the jungle. But we need intel, if you have it. Have any of Chukuwereije’s men come through here?”

Tadeas nodded. “They’re just looking for you, though. They searched each hut but left without further incident. We worried they’d recognize Ayo or me, but they didn’t.” He looked around as if assessing their safety. “We hid the boys. One of the huts has a hidden floor. Whenever the men come, we can hear them driving down the road. So far, we’ve had time to get the boys gathered and into the space.”

Rick tightened his fingers on the pistol grip of his weapon. “How often do they come?”

Ayo answered. “A couple of times a year. Sometimes more.”

“They never wonder why there aren’t any boys?”

Tadeas shrugged. “It’s different men each time. They’ve depleted the male population in hundreds of kilometers in every direction.” He put his hand on Ayo’s shoulder. “We will provide any assistance we can give to defeat the evil that is Chukuwereije and everything that he stands for.”

Rick glanced at Doctor Myers. She stared at him with a thoughtful expression. He would love to know what she was thinking. “We’ll stay outside of the village and be gone before daylight.” He raised an eyebrow. “Ready, Doctor?”

As they walked out of the hut, Rick glanced around. He could feel eyes on him but couldn’t see anything. Briefly, he entertained paranoid thoughts of a sniper in the trees, spies in the village, a hostage situation, but he wanted to believe Doctor Myers would say something if she detected anything not quite right with her people.