Carson nodded wordlessly, obviously realizing the seriousness of the situation. Once they were all packed to go, they said their goodbyes to Hiji.
"I hope the ambulance gets here soon," Jack said to Hiji. "If not, hopefully Brendan and Jarod won't be much longer now. When all the others get here, tell them where we've gone and to follow us. We may need help."
"Consider it done," Hiji stated, shaking both men's hands. "Be careful, my friends, and watch each other's backs. N'bulungi is a dangerous place."
"We will, Hiji, we will. See you in a few days."
"I assume you know the way?" Carson asked as they began their trek, shoulder bumping into Jack's playfully.
"Yep. Vivian has taken me to N'bulungi's borders a couple of times. Never actually made it into the region, though. Once we get there, we'll have to depend on keeping our eyes and ears open, and on your Lady Luck."
Carson groaned. "We're doomed."
# # #
Carson dropped on top of his sleeping bag with a relieved sigh. He didn't think he would ever be able to walk again, not without feeling every single one of his muscles protesting vehemently against the day's harsh treatment. But at least they had made good time, reaching N'bulungi around five in the afternoon.
After being entertained for hours with Jack's tales of lost tribesmen and foreigners, Carson had half expected to be greeted by the Grim Reaper himself, or maybe by a deadly thunderbolt, a hail of brimstone, or something else equally eerie.
Instead, they had been met with absolute silence. An oppressive silence, something so unnatural in an African jungle that it froze one's heart until one got used to it. No animals could be heard or seen for as far as they searched. There was no wind or breeze rustling the flora around them. It was as if they were caught inside an invisible bubble, unable to connect with the world surrounding them.
Finding the Isaacs' campsite had taken three hours and the sun was beginning to set as they finally reached it. There were clear signs of a struggle, some blood on the ground, but no sign of Becca Isaac anywhere. Jack had decided they would camp there for the night and try to find the woman's trail--or whoever had taken her--in the morning.
Carson watched as Jack grabbed the coffee pot and made to leave camp. "Where are you going?" he asked softly, almost afraid to disturb the quiet atmosphere.
"I found a small natural well behind those bushes," Jack replied in the same tone. "I'm going to get us some water to make coffee."
"All right. I'll start a fire."
He gathered some wood and by the time Jack returned, Carson had a warm fire going. He couldn't help but be creeped out by N'bulungi; even the usual sound of wood burning sounded too faint to his ears. And now that he thought about it, he also seemed unable to identify its scent or any other smell characteristic of their location. It was unsettling, to say the least.
They sat close together on top of their sleeping bags, practically in each other's laps, eating in relative silence, both affected by the strangeness surrounding them. After a couple of cups of coffee they began to unwind, first talking animatedly about some funny events in their pasts, then laughing almost hysterically, their voices sounding shrill against the thick void.
In the back of his mind, Carson knew this new mood between them wasn't normal. He felt almost giddy, as if drunk, and he could see Jack looked the same. There was no logical reason for him to feel flushed and dizzy, alternating between hilarity and melancholy.
He licked his lips hungrily as Jack got up to refill his cup of coffee, muscles flexing under snug clothes. His eyes abruptly caught Jack's across the fire, and whatever he had been about to say died on his lips. The mood was changing yet again, the air between them becoming charged. Jack's irises were dark, stormy, dangerous and hungry. For a moment Carson was certain he was staring into a black jaguar's eyes, and blinked, startled.
When his vision cleared, Jack was moving towards him, fast, some powerful inner force unleashed. Before Carson could utter a word, Jack tackled him, throwing them both down, his unbridled passion seizing them both.
Soon they were tearing at each other's clothes, both desperate to reach bare skin, their lips locked in a bruising kiss. Carson groaned as Jack's nimble fingers managed to work their pants open and down to their thighs, bringing their hard cocks together.
He arched against the body pinning him down, and then they were moving, sliding against each other, panting into their kiss, thrusting faster, harder, sweat and pre-come aiding their frantic rhythm, until finally Carson moaned Jack's name as he climaxed, feeling Jack's frame tremble uncontrollably as he joined him in release.
They remained entwined together on the sleeping bags, breaths slowing down, heartbeats calming as their passion receded. And it was there, by the fire, that they remained as sleep claimed them both for the night.
# # #
Carson woke up to the feeling of being watched. He could sense the sun shining down on him from behind his eyelids, but no actual warmth from its usually scorching rays. In fact, even that had been missing since they had entered N'bulungi. He opened his eyes slowly, only to find Jack standing by the extinguished fire, drinking a cup of coffee.
Remembering the night before, Carson smiled at Jack, feeling a little shy. During the last days they had done little more than kiss or make out, both wanting to wait until they were back to civilization to further their relationship. But apparently Jack had been too impatient to wait any longer, and Carson couldn't really complain. Brief as their coupling had been, it had left him wanting more.
His smile faltered slightly as Jack stared down at him, his eyes clouded and forbidding.
Before Carson could say a word, Jack gritted out furiously, "What the hell did you do to me last night?"
Carson blinked in surprise. "What?"
"You heard me," Jack spat. "What did you do to me? I didn't want it to be like that. And not here."
Carson felt an irrational anger taking over and struggled to his feet, his pants still wrapped around his ankles. "It seems to me like your mind's a little jumbled, MacKenzie," he retorted in a tight voice, adjusting his clothes as best as he could.
Jack's gaze held his for a second, before traveling to Carson's mouth, slowly wandering down his body, then up again, his expression openly mocking. "Is that right?"
Carson felt his face reddening with embarrassment at Jack's obvious taunting. "Yeah," he said. "As I see it, you're the one who jumped me. You started it. If anyone's at fault here, it's you, not me."
Jack shook his finger at him, his face a sudden mask of rage. "I just know you did something to me, Bodine. And when I find out exactly what, you better watch out. You hear me?"
Carson was taken aback by the other man's words. What the hell was going on? Jack didn't sound like himself, and what he was saying didn't make any sense at all. Things had been a little out of sorts since they had arrived at N'bulungi, but Jack's words bordered on paranoia.
He reached out to Jack, wanting to reason with him, but Jack moved harshly away. "Don't touch me," he hissed.
Feeling more confused than ever, Carson could only mumble, "Jack?"
He sucked in a painful breath as Jack looked away with a disgusted expression. Wanting something to clear his thoughts, Carson reached for the pot of coffee, but Jack's voice stopped him.
"There's no time for that, Bodine. We still have to find the woman, remember? And because of you we're already behind schedule. It's after seven."
Carson considered making a sharp comment, but then decided it wasn't worth it. It would only make things worse between them, and Jack was right; they still needed to find Becca Isaac. He gathered his belongings rapidly, heart racing in his chest, and followed Jack, who was already leaving camp without so much as looking back to see if Carson was with him.
Carson sighed. He didn't really understand what was going on. One moment Jack was professing his love, asking him to stay, and the next he was acting like Carson was something he scraped off the bottom of
his shoe. Did he really think last night had been Carson's fault? Even if it had been the wrong time and the wrong place, it had still been wonderful, at least to Carson. But what if Jack was regretting it? What the hell was Carson going to do?
His mind in turmoil, Carson forced his sore legs to keep going, knowing it was going to be a long day.
# # #
Around one in the afternoon, Carson was ready to collapse from exhaustion. Jack had been keeping a punishing pace since they had left the Isaacs' camp, and Carson's body was still recovering from the day before. If they didn't rest soon, he wouldn't be going anywhere in the near future.
"Jack," he called out to the man walking ahead of him. "We need to stop, at least for five minutes."
"What we need is to find the woman," came the growled reply.
"We won't find anything or anyone if we pass out from exhaustion," Carson tried to reason with Jack. "We both need a break."
Jack turned on him suddenly, his face inches from Carson's. "Are you saying I'm weak?" he asked, in a low, dangerous tone.
"No," Carson replied, meeting the man's glare straight on, feigning a calm he didn't feel. "I'm saying that after about six hours of this forced march, you might need to rest. I know I do. The few times you slowed down were just to drink some water. You must see that we can't go on this way for much longer."
Jack gave a disgusted snort. "You city folks are all the same. No stamina. What's the matter, Bodine? Can't keep up with a real man like me?"
Resisting the urge to punch Jack was difficult, but Carson managed. Barely. "I can keep up with you. I just don't want to. This isn't a competition to see who can outlast the other, Jack. As you yourself pointed out, we've got to search for Dr. Isaac."
"You know, I'm getting tired of your constant complaining," Jack said, eyes narrowing dangerously.
Carson raised his eyebrows incredulously at those words. "Constant? This is the first time we've spoken since we left the campsite!" He softened his voice, eyes pleading with the other man. "Jack, there's something terribly wrong at work here. We're not ourselves, especially you. These strange mood swings we've been experiencing since last night aren't normal. Something has altered us. We've got to stop and try to find out what's causing it."
Carson refused to believe anything else. The morning might have been hard on his body, but his mind was finally clear. There had to be a reason why N'bulungi claimed so many lives, something that affected the mind. It was the only explanation for Jack's harsh words and erratic behavior. This Jack had nothing to do with the man Carson had spent the last weeks working with, with the man who had shown him the waterfall, talked to him about the stars and held him so tenderly the last few nights.
He couldn't bear to think that this might be permanent, that Jack might stay this way forever. But Carson had also felt off-kilter last night even though he felt better today, so maybe whatever caused this madness eventually left the system. He fervently hoped so.
"There's nothing wrong with me," Jack stated through gritted teeth. "Unless I was right and you did do something to me. What was it, Bodine, huh?" He grabbed Carson by the shirt-front, pulling him closer. "What have you given me? Did you put something in my food, was that it? You decided you couldn't take me down like a man, so you resorted to trickery? You want to see me dead, is that it?"
Carson pushed him away, horrified. "No! I haven't done anything to you, or given you anything! Jack," he said softly. "You've got to realize this rage you're feeling towards me isn't rational. Think, for God's sake!"
They stood frozen for a long moment, inches apart, looking into each other's eyes, breathing fast and unevenly. Carson felt his blood turn cold as Jack's hand moved slowly down, closer to his sidearm. It was clear there was no reaching the other man; if Jack wanted him dead, there would be no escape. Whatever agent had affected them was strong enough to cloud one's judgment and perceptions, to turn friends into fierce enemies.
He remained still, hoping his lack of movement would break through to Jack. Three shots abruptly echoed in the silence, and for a frightening second Carson thought Jack had actually fired at him. But as his eyes focused, he saw that the other man hadn't unholstered his gun.
They exchanged a brief look of startling clarity, then they were both running towards the sound, their fight forgotten. When they pushed through the last of the foliage to see the source of the gunfire, Carson blinked at the sight that greeted them. Geils was laughing hysterically while standing near the body of his man, Benzin, holding a gun in his hand. It wasn't hard to guess that the mercenaries had also been trapped by N'bulungi's fatal power.
A few feet away from Geils, sitting on the ground, bound and gagged, was a woman who Carson assumed to be Becca Isaac. He was heading towards her when Jack lost control again.
"Geils," Jack purred, stalking closer to the other man. "I've been looking for you, you bastard."
Geils gave him a nasty smirk. "Well, you found me, MacKenzie. What are you going to do now?"
"Lose the gun and I'll show you."
"It'll be a pleasure." Geils threw his gun away. "Come and get me, MacKenzie."
Carson watched with a heavy heart as the two men circled each other carefully, eyes cold and intent, obviously ready to fight until death. Forcing himself to act, he walked over to the woman, his attention never straying far from the fighters, lest they turn on him. It was clear both men were unstable, to say the least.
He crouched down, cutting through the ropes holding the woman captive. "Are you all right?" he whispered, after removing the gag.
"Yes, thank you," she replied, pushing a few strands of blond hair away from her face. "I'm Becca Isaac."
Carson nodded. "We've been searching for you. Your husband was found by the Durak tribe yesterday morning."
"Is he okay?" she asked anxiously.
"I don't know," Carson replied honestly. "According to one of the elders, he was badly beaten. The village healer was with him and they were waiting for an ambulance to take him to the town's hospital. We left before it arrived. What happened to you?"
"Geils and his man attacked our camp at dawn yesterday. He didn't say any names, only that he had been hired to kill us, to prevent us from doing our research. John managed to escape, but Geils' man went after him. He returned hours later saying that he'd caught up with John, but that John had managed to give him the slip and disappear into the jungle."
"Not that I'm complaining, but why didn't they kill you?"
She grimaced. "Geils decided I was a good 'catch' and that I might be worth some money on the black market. They were taking me back to their camp, but they began to fight over who would 'have' me first and Geils ended up shooting his man."
Carson regarded her cautiously. "If you don't mind me saying so, you don't sound affected in the least with whatever seems to cause people to go insane around here."
She grinned. "That's because I'm not. That's the research John and I were doing here." Her eyes turned to the two men still fighting not far from where they stood, and Carson followed her lead.
So far both Jack and Geils had restrained themselves to throwing a punch or two, measuring each other's strength and technique. Even as Carson turned to watch, Geils suddenly lunged, throwing himself at Jack. Jack evaded him easily, punching the man's stomach violently, then as Geils doubled over, he reached for the man's neck and twisted it.
"Sweet Jesus," Carson whispered as he heard the bones snap.
He hoped Jack was too far gone to remember any of this, although he didn't hold much hope. Geils might have been a criminal, but Carson knew Jack would feel guilty for killing him. It was one thing to want to see a man behind bars, but to kill him so matter-of-factly...
Carson held his breath as Jack threw Geils' body aside with a grimace, eyes scanning around the clearing until they settled on him.
"We're not done yet, Bodine!" Jack shouted. "Don't think I've forgotten you!"
"Please, don't make me do this," Carson chanted unde
r his breath. "Please, don't make me do this, please, don't make me do this..." He rose slowly from his crouch, his whole posture non-threatening, allowing Jack to come closer. "Jack--"
"You're mine, Bodine!" Jack barked.
Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Carson made his move. Before Jack could do anything, Carson punched him on the jaw, putting all his strength in his arm, exhaling softly as Jack collapsed unconscious on the ground.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, fingers brushing over Jack's jaw lightly, making sure he was okay. "You didn't give me any choice." He dropped down next to Jack, shaking his bruised knuckles.
"Are you all right?" Becca asked.
Carson sighed. "Yeah. I just wish that hadn't been necessary." He forced himself to concentrate on matters at hand. "You were saying about your research?"
"The Jawaran government hired us to discover what causes the madness you mentioned. John and I made camp and by the end of the first day we knew there was something wrong with us. Between the two of us, we went through several behavioral phases; exhilaration and giddiness, anger, and a murderous rage, all in a matter of hours," she said. "It took one hell of an effort, but we managed to put our heads together to figure out what caused it."
"What did you find out? I've never seen anything like this before."
"Well, we'd brought our own food, and we had no wounds caused by the flora that might have been infected with some foreign substance. That left the water. We'd brought water with us, but not enough for the whole stay, so we decided to save that and consume the water from the numerous natural wells in the area. John didn't drink that much, so he never really got to the more violent phases. He was the first to realize that something was off, and thankfully he had enough self-control to fight it. I, on the other hand, spent the day drinking."
"So, what's in the water? Some kind of poison?"
"A toxin. We hadn't gotten very far when Geils interrupted us. We don't know if it's man-made or if it's natural. All we know is that it has spread to all the wells, streams, creeks, whatever, we sampled. It's all over N'bulungi, but for some reason has never made it past its borders to other regions. My husband and I had only begun to map the region's water table when we were attacked."
The Ripple Effect Page 10