by Luna Wolf
A snap echoes throughout the jungle as Rosie falls from the tree. Mikala, Derek, and Emerson catch her as a group before placing her on the ground.
She dusts herself off. "Thank you for your help." Stalking over to me, she takes my hand and then Pansy's. "I still have to pee. Come with me."
"I guess we're taking a potty-break!" Octavius comes to trail after us.
Rosie glances over her shoulder with a glare. "You don't have to follow us, we won't go far."
Octavius holds up his hands. "Don't bite off my head, I just thought we could all go together."
A giggle erupts from me at his expression.
He stops following us, but a lopsided grin spreads across his face. "Don't go much farther. Stay safe, Squeaks!"
We don't go much further, just to where the edge of the jungle begins and we can hide behind some plants.
"Tibby!" Vexus’s voice echoes in the clearing.
I pull my pants back up.
"Where did she go?" The panic in Finn's voice makes my body quake. I renter the clearing with Rosie and Pansy behind me.
The quills on Bach's arms stand on end. "I turned around and she wasn't here."
Vex sighs. "I told you not to let her out of your sight on your shift. She's suicidal."
Pansy grabs onto my hand. "I'm sure she just went off to go, too.
We all call for her, but she never enters the clearing.
Herc looks to Arrow. "We have to go look for her. We can't just let her die out there."
Arrow frowns. "We also need to get close to the signal towers, so we can contact base on Earth. If she truly wants death we won't be able to stop her."
What's the right thing to do in this kind of situation? Do we let her do as she wishes, or do we try and stop her for moral sake?
Vex flaps his arms. "We need to at least try. If we don't… I don't think I'll be able to live with myself anymore."
Arrow grinds his jaw. "We're going to have to split up then. You four can go after her, we'll continue towards the mountains, stopping some time tonight to make camp and rest. I don't like the idea of us splitting up. We have no idea what kind of things this place has in store. As a whole group, we're stronger."
Bach taps his implant and the hologram screen appears. "We'll add tracking codes to our implants, so that we can find you. easier after we get her." He punches in several source codes the programing screen and sends them off to our implants. He must be one of the tech geniuses, because I wouldn't have had a clue on how to do that.
"Now, we'll be able to find each other with a basic map and dot to follow. See." Bach pulls up a black screen with several multi-colored dots in the middle. "When we're apart the dots will have distance between them. Very basic, but it will work for now. I can work on more advanced mapping once we're settled and explore the land more."
Arrow taps his implant and sets a timer before copying it and sending it to the four of them. "At least we have something to keep us connected. Please hurry up and find her. If you don't after this timer goes off, come back. We can't risk losing so many people. You all have skills we need. Bach nods. "Understood. She couldn't have gone far, she has a sprained ankle. It was slowing her down before, it'll slow her down now."
Arrow places a hand on Bach's shoulder. "I hope you find her. Return to us quickly and safely."
I frown. Is this the best thing for us to do?
Chapter Thirteen
The Darkness
With Tibby's men heading off to find her in this unforgiving jungle; we continue the path towards the mountains.
I peel my lips apart; my mouth begs for any kind of moisture. I force myself to go on though. We must conserve water. I can't take a drink every time I'm thirsty right now. What if we can't find fresh water in time? We'll all be fucked.
King clears his throat. "Is it just me, or is this path getting denser with foliage and more rocky and inclined?"
Octavius nods. "Yeah. Are you sure we aren't climbing a mountain? Maybe we've made it."
Arrow shakes his head as he cuts through more thick, low-hanging vines. "If we were, my implant would've gone off by now with Earth trying to contact us. The second we get enough signal we'll know."
Sweat glistens on Arrow's biceps, the veins in his right arm popping from all the physical exertion. Why doesn't he have one of the other guys take over with cutting the path. He can't possibly lead us all the way there. With another swipe through a small branch, he steps forward only to stop, we nearly run into his backside.
"What's the hold up?" Echo reaches out to steady himself against Arrow's back, not expecting his friend to stop on such short notice.
"This path ends on a cliff edge and goes down into what looks to be a lake."
Octavius edges closer to get a better look. I stay back, I don't mind heights, but they weren't my favorite thing to deal with during training.
"This height won't kill us if we jump. It'll save more time than if we were to find a safe way down."
I stare at Octavius with wide eyes. "You want us to jump off this cliff into a body of water? We could break every bone in our bodies if it's too high."
He shrugs. "Let me go first then. If I break every bone it'll only take me an hour to heal. Broken bones are easier than getting a limb ripped off.
Arrow shrugs his shoulders. "If you want to be the test dummy, I can't stop you."
I grab onto Octavius's hand before he can do anything impulsive like jump. "Arrow, you can't be ser-serious? What if h-he da-da-dies?"
Arrow glances over the side of the cliff. "He won't die, if anything it'll just hurt if he hits the water wrong."
Octavius gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, Squeaks. I won't die. Still have too much life left in me, and a lot of unfinished business." He gives me a wink before letting go of my hand and taking the leap.
"Fuck yeah!" he shouts as he falls.
I rush to the edge to see his body splash in the water. I'm going to kill him. If he isn't already dead.
The water stills. My heartbeat thunders in my ears. "Octavius!"
He bursts through the surface of the water, pushing his now silver hair out of his four eyes. "The water's deep and cool. C'mon!"
"I'm going to k-kill you for scaring me like th-that!" I shout before jumping after him. Might as well before I can think about it too much.
The humid air rushes up around me as I fall feet first into the lake. Water envelops me in a second, as I sink into the surprisingly clear water. Fish of all colors scatter and swim around me. The cold of water is a welcome temperature change.
I push myself back to the surface and peer up at the others. "C'mon!"
Octavius pulls me off to the side and into a hug. "That was amazing, right? Don't be too mad at me. I was the top of my class when it came to making stupid decisions on the spot."
I hit him in the chest. "You could've died!" Tears course down my cheeks as someone else takes the plunge. "You're my best friend. I don't want to live without you. I love you!"
He stiffens as he holds me. Shit, did I say the wrong thing? Pulling back, he stares into my eyes. "All my life I've been treated like an outcast for wanting more. I've never had anyone care about me. I'm sorry I scared you. I won't do it again." His fingers push strands of wet hair out of my face before they cup my cheek. "I've been in love with you since we tackled that mutant beast in the hallway together." His lips meet mine in a gentle kiss.
My arms go around his neck. If I'm honest with myself, that's when I fell in love with him, too.
Someone screams as they fall, forcing us to break the kiss and make sure they're alright. Rosie surfaces with Mikala holding her. They must've jumped together. Only Arrow and Echo remain on the cliff's edge.
Arrow takes his best friend's hand and together they jump. I glance around for King, he swims off to the side, staring at Octavius and me.
They resurface and Arrow looks to him. "Are you alright?"
Echo nods. "Just get me onto land.
I don't like not being able to know where I'm going."
The water must mess with his echolocation. I take Octavius's hand and follow the others as they climb onto the shore. The cool water leaves my body as I step back into the humid heat.
Pansy rings out her hair. "I hope there's some place cool to swim by where we're going. That was a needed temperature change from this heat."
The air cools down sending goosebumps up my arms as darkness moves over the land. I can't even see my hand in front of me.
Sounds from the jungle pick up. Chirping, growls, rumbles, and beeps. Adrenaline courses through my veins. What the fuck is happening? This was never in any of our VR training.
The jungle takes on a whole new appearance. The sounds bursting forth form it a thousand times different than when there's light.
More growls surround us, coming from where the jungle stands a few feet away.
Arrow clears his throat. "Everyone, make a barrier around the girls! I don't know what's happening, but we're no longer alone."
Octavius grabs onto my hand and pulls me into an embrace. Someone bigger and taller holds me from the other side, King.
Echo clicks nears us. Where is he? I wish I could see him.
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end as something enters our space. It's not one of the other guys, I can tell.
More growls and then a howl. A shiver of fear shakes my body. Are we dealing with wolves of some kind?
"Don't worry, Squeaks. We'll protect you." Octavius's hot breath ghosts over my ear.
Something cracks and an orange light floods the area. Someone got out one of the eternal glow sticks. They can light up a thirty-foot area and stay lit for weeks before dying.
My eyes widen as what paces next to us becomes visible. A body of a wolf, that stands taller than me, but not as tall as the guys. Fur covered holes take up the place where its eyes may have been at some point during its evolution. A long tongue slithers out of its sharp-toothed mouth, touching the skin of both Octavius and King's arms. They hold onto me tighter. I almost can't breathe.
Another glow stick cracks. I peer around. Several dozen of the things surround us. All tasting us with their tongues.
A man screams with pain. I jump, who got hurt? I search for Arrow, he's the only one not with us. Please don't let it be him.
The sounds from the jungle amplify, as if they're cheering on the creatures who attacked us.
"Attack them!" Arrow shouts.
Echo takes his bow off his back and clicks his tongue once before shooting the one near us in the head. It falls to the ground. He shoots several more as King turns his back on me, keeping me barricaded from anything that may come at us. His throwing knifes in his hands.
King growls. "Let's roar at these mother fuckers! On three! One, two, three!" He and several of the others let out deep roars that vibrate in my chest.
Several of the wolves in my view take a step back, unsure of how to handle the sound.
More fall as the others attack them back.
Arrow hits one in the head with his ion-pistol. "Do that again!"
They roar in unison. The still alive wolves turn tail and dart back into the jungle.
Someone continues to scream. The glow sticks holders move toward them. Emerson holds a bleeding arm where one of the wolves bit him, at least they didn't take a chunk with them.
Arrow looks over the wound. "These are shallow, I can heal them with some spray. Do you feel strange? Does their bite have any venom to it? I don't want to seal a poison inside you by accident."
Emerson shakes his mane of hair. "It just hurts like a mother fucker. No burning, dizziness, or anything else."
Arrow takes out the spray and heals an artificial layer of skin binds it all together, stopping the bleeding and taking away the pain.
"Thanks. I wasn't expecting it to bite me when I wasn't moving a muscle."
Arrow shakes his head, before he motions for one of the light holders to follow him over to where one of several dead wolves lie.
"Whatever they are, they aren't intelligent and peaceful like those tentacle beasts. They look like they evolved for the dark. If we see these again, don't hesitate to kill on sight. I think the only reason they hesitated before attacking is because they'd never smelt anything like us before and weren't sure if we were prey or not."
King chuckles. "Yeah, our roaring showed them who's the top of the food chain."
I shiver as the adrenaline wears off, reminding me just how cold it's become since the darkness fell over us. I hope the others found Tibby before all this.
Octavius rubs his arms over my back, trying to warm me up. "I think we should take some of the plants around us and build fires. Velma is freezing and wet still."
Arrow sighs. "We should really keep moving."
"No." Rosie shakes her head. ""I'm not going in that place while it's dark like this! Do you not hear the murderous sounds coming from in there?"
"I second that," Pansy chimes.
King pats his stomach. "I'd love to be able to eat something. We have plenty of meat here now, just need to cook it."
Another sigh from Arrow. He's being overruled and hates it. If it were up to him we would continue walking until we got a signal. Breaks and the need to eat be damned. "Fine, but only gather fire kindling from the edge of the forest. Once we have them started we'll just keep feeding them until the light returns."
King takes a step from me. "I'll work on getting the meat from one or more of these things!"
I move out of Octavius's embrace. "Let's help get stuff for the fires." I shiver at the loss of his warmth."
Rosie and Pansy stay in the middle of the shore. Equal distance from both the lake and the jungle. "I'm staying right here. No more adventures for me today. And you stay with me, Pansy, I'm not going to lose you."
Octavius and I work quickly with a few of the others to gather things to burn. At least there were some thick vines that we could cut down to help it all last longer. Before we set it all up for a bon-fire. Arrow ignites it with his ion-pistol. The flames erupt to life filling the area with heat and a light. Now I can see everyone better. Things watch us from the edge of the jungle. Their eyes reflecting in the fire light. Nothing dares to step onto the shore with us though.
The fire pops in front of us, the heat drying our cold, damp clothes. "W-why didn't th-they tell us it would g-get dar-dark like this out of nowhere?"
Pansy shrugs. "Maybe this doesn't happen in the parts they were going to send us to."
Rosie rocks back and forth on her butt. "I just want the sounds of the jungle to shut up!"
Pansy pulls her sister into a side hug. "Rosie doesn't like the dark."
"It'll be o-okay. I think we scared anything else from be-being confident enough to attack us again tonight." I hope my words ring true. I don't think I could handle anymore monsters right this second.
"We can spear the meat with this and cook it over the fire." Derek walks past us over to King, holding several of the collapsible, metal spears in his hands.
Dark red blood covers King’s hands and arms, all from butchering the mutant wolves. He doesn’t take the spears. "Good idea. Here are the slabs that are ready to cook." He motions to the meat near the fire. He then stands to go to the lake.
"Wait, King!" I call as he kneels at the water's edge to wash his hands.
He stops and peers at me as I hurry over to him. "What if the water has changed, too? The jungle changed in the dark. Who knows what blood will do to the fish in there.
A smile spreads across his face. "Thank you for your concern. I'll just use the shallow water right here, see you can see the rocks still. And if anything tries to come up for a bite I'll jump back."
I frown, but nod. I stay close as the blood runs off his arms and into the black water. Nothing makes an appearance as he stands. I pull him away from water and into a hug.
"You guys are scared about losing one of us girls, but I'm equally scared of losing one
of you, too. What if a massive water dwelling creature smelt that and wanted you as its dinner?"
He holds me close. "They'd have to really want me. I'm not going down without a fight. I also have too much to live for to die now."
"You're mad if you think that's okay. Echo, tell him he's insane!"
I pull away from King at the rise in Octavius's voice. He sounds pissed.
"I agree with Octavius on this. It's not a good idea. I know you want to lessen the worry for your father, but you need to stay here with us. Think about this rationally."
I take King's hand before going to them. "What's going on?"
Octavius frowns at me. "Our noble leader wants to go off by himself, so he can reach the signal towers faster. Let dear old dad know he isn't dead."
I shake my head. "No. You're not going alone. You either take me with you or you don't go at all. All three of you need to stop needlessly putting your lives in danger."
Arrow doesn't meet my gaze. "I'm not taking you in there with me."
I let go of King's hand and fold my arms over my chest. "Then you'll just have to wait for the light to come back like the rest of us."
He runs a hand over his hair. "I don't take orders well."
I take a step toward him. "Arrow, you go in there alone and you're asking for death. We didn't know about the darkness and we didn't know about those wolves. If they hadn't been curious one or more of us could be dead right now. If you die, then your mission in the first place will be for not."
"I should be trying at least."
I reach up and place a hand on his neck. "I'm sorry to be doing this to you, but I can't have you doing something foolish because your alpha leader brain can't see reason. King, catch him, he'll be going down in a second."
"What did you--" Arrow's eyes roll into the back of his head before he begins to fall. King catches him and cradles his body in his arms.
Octavius stares at me wide-eyed. "Woah, I didn't know you could do that!"
"It's a mild poison that I can produce after it builds in my system for a bit. It won't kill anything, but it does send them to sleep. They put an eighth of komodo dragon genetics in with the chameleon; I’ve never admitted that to anyone until now. They were always testing to see if I had other abilities, but nothing came of it for them. I learned about this one on accident, but they never found out, so I didn't say anything. I didn't want them to up my combat training."