by Sky Winters
“No. I already have one, unfortunately.”
“Who is it?” he asked, seeming a little puzzled by her response.
“A British man named Matt Helford,” she told him.
“Yes, Mr. Helford is an excellent guide, but I understand your lack of enthusiasm.” He laughed. “He is not known for his charm.”
“That is an understatement,” she replied. “Anyway, thank you for loaning me your wife to help me. I really appreciate it.”
Making her way down the street, it struck Tabitha just how far out of her element she truly was. Why had she let herself be talked into this just for the sake of escaping her poisonous reality at home? Now, she was stuck here doing this. She would see it through of course, but that didn’t mean she was going to like it at all.
Tabitha looked around at the shop they entered. At first she thought it was a mistake. It looked more like some sort of massive flea market than a place that would sell outdoor clothing. Then, the woman began picking up items and handing them to her. Looking around, Tabitha realized it was a surplus store. The items here were previously worn and thus, worn in. It made perfect sense. She wasn’t thrilled about wearing used clothes and wondered if they had been laundered properly, but it was less of a concern than proving Helford right by getting chafed or looking like something out of a magazine ad for Chad’s Sporting Goods.
With several bags in hand, she thanked the woman and paid her a fee as if she were a personal shopper. The woman nodded and smiled, heading back to her husband’s shop while Tabitha returned to the hotel. She was pleased to find that everything seemed to fit perfectly. The woman had been spot on with selecting sizes. Hopefully, this would please her ruthless guide.
“Good morning,” he said to her when she met him in the lobby of the hotel the following morning.
“Good morning,” she replied, feeling a big smug as he took in her clothes and said nothing.
She was wearing only some moisturizer and a ponytail to compliment her well-worn gear, with only the necessities the woman had recommended in a large backpack that she had to admit was much more comfortable on her back than the smaller, stiffer one she had previously purchased for the trip. She would take his lack of commentary as a win for her on this particular issue. Apparently, he was only capable of criticism and not so much on praise. It didn’t really surprise her at all.
“Well, let’s get going then. We’ve a long day ahead of us,” he told her.
“Where are we going?”
“Sunderbans National Park,” he told her.
“A national park? That doesn’t sound like much of a wildlife excursion,” she told him.
“Trust me. This isn’t like going to Yosemite.”
“If you say so. I’m ready,” she replied. He wasn’t the only one capable of being snide.
“Let’s get going then, princess,” he quipped back.
Tabitha ignored the barb and climbed into the rover. They began their journey toward the park. She was surprised when they stopped at the park entrance to get some sort of permits and were joined by armed park rangers for the next segment of their trip.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“We aren’t allowed to go down the river without them,” he told her.
“River? What are we doing on the river? Do tigers swim there?” she asked, baffled.
“As a matter of fact, sometimes they do. It’s the best way to see tigers roaming in the wild, as well as other animals, and it gets us closer to our destination without having to go the whole way on foot. I would think you’d find sitting on a boat preferable to getting sweaty on foot.”
“But we will be getting out of the water at some point and on the actual land with the tigers?”
“Yes, w e will be, your highness.”
Tabitha noted that both of the park rangers were trying not to laugh as they looked away to hide the fact that they were amused by the exchange. Great, now not only did she have the uppity Brit to deal with, she had two local park rangers that seemed to have just as little respect for her as he did. This trip was getting longer by the second and she was getting angrier along with it.
Just when she thought she might hit the roof with annoyance, Matt motioned for her to look at a large open pool of water ahead of the boat. Tabitha followed the direction of his finger as he pointed and was surprised at what she saw there.
“Gangetic river dolphins. They swim freely in these waters, along with the turtles you see over there on the bank,” he said.
“They’re incredible,” she breathed, lost in the vision of animals she had never seen in person before.
There was silence as she continued to watch them frolic in the water, passing very close to the boat as they moved through the water and past them. She almost felt like she could reach out and touch one of them as they seemed to chatter happily amongst themselves as she had often heard dolphins do, but this was the first time she had ever witnessed it firsthand.
Chapter Four
The day seemed to pass quickly as they made their way through the mangroves and into the Sunderbans. It was a bit unnerving that this portion of the trip required armed park rangers, but she supposed it was just a precaution rather than due to any real danger. Surely being in a boat in a river was enough protection against the wild animals that roamed the large forest surrounding them.
“Miss Stewart, come look at this,” the Brit called out to her, pointing toward the edge of the water on the left side of the boat.
“What is it?” she asked, but he only waved her over, pointing toward the water again.
Tabitha looked to where he was pointing and caught her breath. It looked almost prehistoric as it sat halfway in the water and halfway on the bank of the wetlands they were approaching. She caught her breath as it suddenly turned, its long tail whipping about as it slid fully into sight on the edge of the water.
“Saltwater crocodile. The ones here are some of the largest you will find in the world,” he told her.
“It’s incredible.”
“Yes, it is. Incredible and deadly. Don’t fall out of the boat,” he said dryly.
“I’ll try not to,” she replied, rolling her eyes at him.
Her gaze returned to the crocodile, watching as it slid into the water and swam off. Her heartrate sped up a bit as it headed directly toward the boat. She was relieved when it suddenly turned and headed downstream.
“Intimidating, huh?” Matt said, noting her discomfort.
“A bit. I suppose I best get used to seeing animals that view me as prey where we are going,” she said.
“They mostly view other animals as prey. They don’t usually bother humans unless they make a nuisance of themselves or fail to keep a healthy distance,” he said.
“I fully intend to do just that.”
“Ready for some lunch? We have some sandwiches packed for today. After that, I’m afraid it’s all dry goods, condiments and water until tomorrow, so enjoy the fresh food while you can,” he said.
She swatted at an insect that landed on her arm. “Fantastic.”
“Here. You’ll need this too.” He tossed her a small cylinder with roll-on insect repellant. “It’s warming up, those will be swarming soon.”
Tabitha began coating herself with it while he pulled open a small cooler, fishing out bags and containers with sandwiches, chips, and bottles of water and handing them out to her and the park rangers. It was quite a feat to consume the sandwiches while keeping the insects at bay, but everyone seemed to manage it just fine as the sun bore down heavily on the water that surrounded them.
A short time later, they pulled up to an embankment and the rangers tied the boat off, helping them get their gear off before stepping back onto the vessel. Tabitha watched as they began pulling up anchor, now feeling a bit of alarm at being out in the wild. It was one thing to have been observing the wildlife from afar, from the safety of the boat, but now she would be in the middle of it and alone with an utter jackass for a guide.
&
nbsp; “Ready, princess?” he asked, as if to punctuate her thoughts with confirmation.
“Absolutely,” she replied as confidently as she could manage, though she felt anything but that.
“Let’s go then. We don’t have much daylight left before we’ll need to take shelter for the night. I want to get across this plain and into an area less populated with night life,” he told her.
“Where are the rangers going? To refuel? How will they know where to find us?”
“The rangers? They aren’t coming with us. Their job was just to get us down the river. They’ll pick us up a bit farther along the river in two days to take us through some of the narrow river beds, and then we’ll be on foot again for the rest of the trip.”
“So, we’re staying out here in the open? With the animals?” she asked, somewhat losing the cool she had tried so hard to maintain.
He sighed loudly and looked at her with a huge frown on his face, dropping his bag by his feet and taking off back down toward the shore below them. His voice rang out loudly as he called to the rangers, already well out of sight from where she still stood above him.
“Hey, come back. I don’t think the princess is going to be able to make the trip,” he yelled in their direction.
“I didn’t say that!” she protested loudly behind him.
“Then stop your whining and let’s get a move on. I don’t have time to pet you. You either want to do this or you don’t. Either way is fine with me. I’ve already gotten paid to babysit you.”
“I don’t need a fucking babysitter!” she barked at him, snatching up her bag and stalking off toward the trees in a huff.
“That’s better, but you might want to go the right damned way, Cinderella,” he said in a snarky tone.
Tabitha turned to see that he had begun walking in the opposite direction and followed him with an angry scowl on her face. She was completely frazzled within the first mile of their journey, every noise putting her on edge as she wondered what lurked in the tall weeds just beyond the path they were treading.
“Come here,” he told her. “Stand very still and look right over there.”
She did as she was told, her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she observed her first actual tigers in the wild. Prior to this, the closest she had been to one was at the zoo, secured behind large panels of plexiglass that protected her from the beasts just beyond.
“Oh, wow. They’re beautiful,” she whispered, afraid to speak much louder than a breath.
“They are and lethal. Just keep watching. See the female standing to one side that looks as if she is on alert?” he said.
“Yes,” Tabitha replied, finding being so close to him a little intoxicating despite how she perceived his personality failures.
“Keep your eye on her,” he said.
Tabitha did, continuing to watch as the tiger’s ears pricked upward as she listened to something only she could see. A moment later, something came barreling through the grass and she was immediately on it, pouncing on a large wild boar. The sounds they made were vile, her growls coupled with the boar’s squeals of pain. It took her only seconds to have it pinned down and motionless. Tabitha had to look away as she began to feed on it, several cubs bounding over to share in her victory.
“That was incredible to watch,” Tabitha said, her heart racing wildly in her chest.
“From a distance, yes. You don’t want one coming for you and this area is filled with them. Stay close and stay quiet. They are used to humans traveling through here and don’t usually bother them unless they feel threatened, but we don’t take any chances. Tigers are much like humans, with different personalities and levels of aggression. You’ll be safe with me. Just don’t wander away.”
“I don’t see that happening,” she said, still watching as the tigers surrounded their prey and enjoyed their meal.
“Alright, we’re losing daylight. Let’s go.”
Their trek through the area around the riverbed led them to a dense grove of trees and an area that was obviously well used for bedding down for the night. There was evidence of previous fires in a pit to one side and simple chicken wire fencing wrapped around the surrounding trees. It wouldn’t be enough to stop an attack if one was going to happen, but it was a deterrent and protected them somewhat on three sides. The fourth was open.
“Is this safe?” she asked.
“No. It’s not safe. If you wanted safe, you should have stayed at the hotel.”
“I didn’t expect it to be perfectly tame, but I wasn’t aware we would be sleeping out here in a tent!” she said.
Matt laughed a little and nodded toward a large building that she hadn’t seen before. It almost blended into the wild just beyond where they stood. He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of her.
“I was just yanking your chain, princess. There’s a jeep in that building that is shared by those of us that are registered guides with the rangers. I never intended to sleep out here in the open, though you can see that some people do. I just needed to get us here well before dark. We’re going to take that down to a juncture near the river. It’s much less populated with wildlife and there’s a small ranger station with a wooden shelter we can use.”
“You are such a jerk!” she exclaimed, glaring at him.
“I know. I love it,” he laughed. “Come on.”
They made their way to the shed and tossed their gear into the jeep. Matt checked out its fluids to make sure they had been topped off and then they pulled out, heading further down the river. Matt flipped a switch that blasted bright lights all over the area around them and Tabitha marveled at all of the animals that bounded back and forth around the vehicle as it moved along in the near darkness. They were about three miles south of where they had picked it up when there was a sudden lurch in the jeep and it stopped, going completely dead.
“That’s not good,” Matt groaned.
“This better not be another joke,” she told him.
“I’m afraid it’s not,” he told her, reaching for a large mag light on the seat behind them. “Sit tight.”
Tabitha waited anxiously as he tinkered under the hood, a healthy spew of expletives flying about as he did so. She wondered if he was even the slightest bit afraid, being out there in the darkness and drawing attention to himself, but she realized that she wasn’t exactly out of danger herself. The jeep was open topped, which was fine while they were moving, but now she had to wonder what might drop in here with her. She was terrified.
When Matt finally came around to talk to her, she didn’t like the expression on his face. He ran a hand through his hair. “We aren’t going any further in this thing tonight,” he told her.
“You’re kidding?”
He grimaced. “I’m afraid not. We’ll have to make camp here for the night.”
“In the middle of nowhere? This is worse than that last place you showed me!”
“I would have to agree with that, but there’s not much else we can do. It’s safer to hunker down here for the night than it is to try to walk out of here in the dark.”
“I don’t believe this!” she groaned.
“I don’t really care what you believe, princess. We’re stuck here and we need to make camp quickly before anything realizes we’re here. I’ll pitch the tent here by the jeep with the opening facing it. If things get too out of hand, we’ll have a bit of safety from larger animals under the jeep.”
Tabitha glared at him. She was having a hard time deciding if he’d planned this or was just doing it to scare the shit out of her.
“Listen, if you’re just screwing with me to try and scare me, you’re doing a great job. I admit that I’m out of my element and don’t belong here, but I was sent here to do a job. I didn’t have a choice.”
Much to her surprise, he put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, looking down at her with what appeared to be a hint of kindness in his eyes. Or was that just the near darkness falling around them playing trick
s on her?
“Tabitha, we will be fine. I realize you haven’t been in a situation like this before, but I have, many times. In fact, I’ve been in much worse situations. If you just stay close and listen to what I tell you, you’ll be fine. I promise. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said uncertainly. The imprint of his hand seemed to burn against her skin, more a sexual reaction than an emotional one she realized and it caught her a bit off guard. Sure, he was gorgeous, but he was also cocky and rude. She was quickly reminded of this by his next statement.
“Besides, if you get eaten by a tiger, I have to give the ridiculous amount of money they paid me to be your guide back to them. Probably get sued for whatever I have on top of it,” he joked.
“That’s not funny,” she said, laughing despite herself.
“No, of course not. Stop laughing. We have a tent to set up.”
“Wait? Tent? Singular?”
“Yes. One tent. Don’t worry. I won’t bite and I’ll sleep on my side.”
“I guess,” she said. Part of her was anxious about being in the same tent with him, but the better part of her felt safer that she would be. Then again, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that there was definitely a part of her that hoped he would take advantage of the situation.
“In the morning, we’ll get up and hike back to the shed where we got the jeep. I know what’s wrong with it, but I don’t have what I need to fix it tonight. Then, we’ll get you back down to where you need to be to take photographs before we get back on the boat to head downstream toward the sanctuary you wanted to see.”
Tabitha got out of the jeep, closing the door quietly, not wanting to attract the attention of any animals. “If I don’t get eaten by tigers.”
“Precisely,” he laughed, pulling the tent from the back of the jeep. He had it erected in a matter of moments.
Tossing their packs and bedding inside, he motioned for her to get in. Tabitha slipped into the tiny bit of space between the front of the tent and the jeep and ducked inside, gathering up a blanket and resting her head on her backpack as a pillow. It wasn’t exactly the kind of camping she was used to, but she supposed it would suffice.