Jungle Peril

Chapter Five

Kevin awoke to a strange reality; he had dreamt about getting back with Aviance. In his dream they had a powerful disagreement and they suddenly realized it wasnt worth it. The dream didnt make perfect sense but he got the message. Usually he would have felt bad about the get together but oddly he felt some strange joy as he rubbed his eyes. The dream was contradictory to what he was seeing in reality. The cave ceiling was dirty and black as the previous night; its environment is unpalatable as it had been with bugs doing untold damage to his sensitive skin. Were those bugs or mosquitoes? He couldnt tell but the pain he felt all over his body was letting him know about it. He struggled to his feet, it was clear daylight and Aviance was still sleeping soundly beside him. He crawled out of the cave towards the clear sky. The rain was over and the day was brighter than the other day. The insides of the cave had deceived him with its ever present darkness.

Dont be fooled by the brightness, the rain can start anytime Pabio warned, he had woken up earlier and had brought a bush rat for the team to eat the results of his early morning hunt.

I didnt know you wake up so early, Kevin commented.

Its the only way to survive around here,

We brought food, I mean good food that we could have eaten, he commented.

Its possible but trust me this is better if you cook it well. Nature has provided all we need to survive in it. Food, shelter and all.” Pabio was roasting the skinned bush rat on the fireplace that he had created.

When are we going to make real tents and set up camp? Kevin asked impatiently. Pabio looked up for a brief moment away from his crude cooking.

I will take you to something better. Something most other tour guides dont know about, Pabio boasted as he munched on a part of his meal.

Oh for Gods sake, are we still on that? Kevin busted in his mind.

Do you care for some? Pabio offered.

Not really, he rejected

Come on, try it. I promise you will like it, the tour guide laughed.

Kevin is reluctant. Come on, theres nothing wrong with actually tying it.

Just little, he requested and took tasted the meat.

Come on, its not poison Pabio laughed at Kevins demeanour at the meat.

Kevin is flustered. He managed to munch it without wincing. Wow, this is not bad. He evaluated.

You see what I mean. Bush meats are the sweetest. In fact, it costs more than domestic meat, Pabio informed. Let me reserve some for your wife, the old tour guide offered.

Oh, thats true, Aviance, Kevins face lit with acknowledgement.

“How do you call that name? Its not easy for me trust me”, Pabio was trying to make discussion but for some reasons, Kevin is not in the mood to talk.

As if on cue, Aviance came out of the cave, her face was in a mess. Her entire makeup had been ruined. Kevin could see the same spots on his own skin on hers the aftermath of mosquito bites.

I can see you both had your first taste of the Amazonia mosquito”, his laugh was in mockery.

Do you have any way around that? Kevin asked rather rudely. He was pissed off at this conceited tour guide.

I guess you guys didnt see me rub it on my skin. We slept in the same cave and my skin is as good as normal, he boasted.

What did you do? Aviance inquired; she was equally pissed.

Pabios reply was to bring out a plant from his pockets.

See this here. Its leaves repel mosquitoes, he lectured. Just bring out its juice and rub it on your skin and have a mosquito-free night

Heres the part we left for you, he tossed some part of the bush rats meat towards Aviance. She caught it in mid-air. Like Kevin she winced at the meat but was excited at its taste

Pabio rose up quickly and went into the cave.

Prepare your luggage, we are going to where we will set up tent, he announced.

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Azura and her friends cuddled tightly under a large rock that formed a mini cave for them. The night hadnt been the most pleasant of all nights; even though the rain did not come down in torrents, it did drizzle all night. Leaves of plants and trees above the rock retained some of the water and was depositing it on the skin of the four friends in an unpleasant caress. Azura found it hard to sleep comfortably the entire night; she was worried about the dangers that could assail them as they slept in the not-so-comfortable rocks. They had sat all through the night and had taken turns sleeping but not Lisa, she slept all night but only woke up intermittently to complain about the insect bites. They hadnt brought anything to make fire that would have provided them warmth in the intense cold and now the cold was letting them know about it.

Azura could feel a queasiness in her belly the results of the cold coupled with her need to sit throughout the night while feeling asleep. She checked her wrist watch; it was 6am in the morning. Thank God the night is almost over. She was counting down to day break. She still couldnt shake away what had happened at the slumber party they had in the camp. Did we really have s*x? That was the least of their concerns now; she could hear animals squeal in the forest night. The wild rooster was the time keeper letting the other animals know the morning from the evening. It had awoken already and was making noises in the forest that reminded Azura of the time she had spent with her father back at the farm in Iraq before they relocated to America. They had owned large farms and were one of the richest people in their town until the war. Her father was killed in the process and bombs destroyed all their farmlands with ripe crops still in it leaving them wretched. Azuras Mom had concluded that travelling out of Iraq was the best option for the family and which other place was best to go than the freeman land USA.

She counts the drop of the water from their shelter to pass time. She could hear a ruffle among the others; Kyle was awake already. I doubt he even slept.

We will soon start to move, he spoke out as if to answer the question in her mind.

Why arent you sleeping? He asked

I dont know. I just cant sleep. I ought to have woken up to pray too, she checked her wrist watch again. He checked his own watch too.

Lets wait till 6:30, he commented.

Azura resumed her counting and other thoughts went through her mind. I cant believe I let Lisa talk me into anything. She fumed. The music festival had been Lisas idea, in fact almost all the vice she had ever participated in had been through Lisas prodding.

I cant believe I lied to my family about where I was going to put myself in this type of situation, she spoke out loud. Kyle laughed gently.

Lisa is a wild girl but she is alright, he smiled

Dont worry, you will back home to them before tomorrow, he consoled.

Few more minutes passed; with each minute her body was getting more familiar with the cold. Finally, it was 6:30 and she gave Kyle a knowing look and he confirmed from his own watch. He got the cue and rose up.

Wake up sleepy heads, he hit each of them shouting out loudly in their ears

We need to get to our warmer beds, he shouted obnoxiously

The sleepers seemed disappointed at the awakening.

Whats the time? Donald asked angrily

Get up lazy bone, Kyle repeated; now he was examining the horizon. The sun was coming up already

Wow thats beautiful,

The entire crew were fully awake.

“We need to move. You can wash up in the river before we continue”, he informed. He went towards the trees and cut himself a branch. He began to prune it till it turned into a sharp peg.

What do you need that for? Lisa asked

“Lets just say guidance and protection. We might run into some deadly antelopes along the way, this will be some form of safeguard. Then again, we can use it to make way in this road-less forest”, he informed and went towards the river. He began to wash his legs and head.

Lets go, he instructed and once again the team set out for the rendezvous which they believe is few hours away.

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Aldrin woke up feeling elated; it took some time to figure out why but after remembering the events from the previous night he knew immediately. He yawned while still lying on his back and looked towards the source of his joy Nicole. No they havent slept together but the cold had become so intense during the night that she had slept on his chest as she fell asleep. Aldrin had lied so still so as not to awoken the sleeping beauty. The sleep had been filled with pleasant dreams of him and Nicole getting engaged and chilling out at a restaurant just enjoying the natural landscape at least until the waiter fought with him. But that was all in the dream. But why do dreams always have some silly elements in them? He soliloquized. He checked his wrist watch the time was 6:30 am. We need to get up now if we want to enjoy the forests first light. There was a rustling beside him she was awake. She turned her body to face him and smiled, he smiled back.

Good morning sunshine, she smiled again.

Good morning, we need to wake up to take picture so the early morning Amazonia sun, he informed her. She scrambled to her feet and together they came out of the tent.

Its beautiful she commented as they both watched the morning sun rise in the horizon.

Nicole went back into the tent to bring out her motion camera and some of the food they had come with. She offered him some

“It is”, he observed for a moment before he begins to dismantle the tent. The day promises a lot of adventure.

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Pabio took the couple past unfamiliar paths. How did the hell does he knew all these places?

Snakes are more rampant towards those sides this time of the day. They love the morning sun, its good for their cold-blooded skin, he explained.

Oh, what kind of snakes are those

Regular snakes of course. Though I will admit there are other species of snakes too that are not common to the outside world, he continued as he cut through the thicker bushes.

I will take you to the river before I take you to the village

Is there a village in this forest, Kevin and Aviance asked simultaneously.

Pabio laughed

There are surplus villages around here, but I only hear about them in the stories my father tells me. He only took me to this one once”,

Sounds interesting. A tour to this village wont hurt.

The village was situated on one of the hills; its walls are made of dried bamboo trees wired with each bamboo sharpened at its upper end made for protection against animals and perhaps enemy tribes. The hill had a cliff that adjoined the sss requiring any visitor to the village to climb the huge hill and this was probably another form of protection. The three could see the houses from afar. The houses were also made of bamboo trees and mud but the muds were so painted as to make the houses white. They were yet to see the people.

The three walked towards the improvised gate of the village with its bamboo gates. As if they had been sighted two individuals came out of the gates to meet them from a distance. They were dressed in banana leaves as pants arranged in successive layers leaving their legs and thighs bear. Kevin strained his eyes to get a chance at their private parts from their skimpy pants but couldnt. I guess there is something else underneath the leaves. He concluded. The two personnel who Kevin could perceive were guards were bare chested but their chests were painted with terracotta colour paints which he found hard to decipher. Their hats were made of another type of leaves which he also couldnt place. Their faces were firm but their expression welcoming at the same time. How the hell did they do that? They each had sharp pegs in their hands with the sharp ends pointed upward and the blunt part stomped on the ground as they walk. Immediately they saw Pabio, one of them softened up.

What do you want here? one of them asked in a strange language. Pabio seems to understand their language because he spoke back but his tongue sounded less fluent.

Let me meet your king, he replied to the guards. The two guards looked at one another for a moment before the older one replied

Do you have any business with him? He asked.

He is my good friend, Pabio replied with a grin while he reached into his sling bag. As if threatened, the guards instinctively pointed their crude weapon towards the three aliens.

Pabio held out his hand in plea. Wait, wait, I want to bring out a mark of recognition, he explained and brought out a strange dog tag from his bag with his other hand raised up nonthreateningly.

The guards collected the dog tag from him and examined it for a moment. The older one gave it to the younger one and instructed him to go back inside while they wait outside. All the while he kept his weapon pointed at them for his protection. Pabio was ready for a friendly chitchat.

I met you the last time I was here. I am surprised you dont know me. I came with my father, he explained still maintaining an odd grin.

If I were the guard, I would be wary too. Kevin chuckled to himself. He looked towards Nicole and he could tell that she was scared. Instinctively, he reached out to hold her hands in comfort. She looked at him and he gave her a reassuring nod.

The other guard was back and he gave a reassuring nod at the older guard.

You can come in now, he pointed with his weapon towards the gate a cue for the visitors to come inside. The younger guard in front and the older one behind, the two natives led the three visitors into the indeed strange village.

Naked children played outside the huts under the shade of the trees chasing one another in excitement. They stopped for a brief moment to examine the strangely dressed individuals being led to their kings palace.

Some of these children are very smart, Pabio explained as they passed one of such group of children.

I bet they are, Nicole responded and it was more like a sneer than an agreement.

“But where are the older ones”, Kevin wondered.

They are probably hidden in these huts. I guess they had heard about the visitors and that for them means danger Pabio explained. Kevin peeped slightly into one of such huts and he could have sworn he saw a human shape in one of them.

So they leave the children out to die while they hide in cowardice, Nicole replied angrily.

Pabio smiled. Over here, warring villages dont kill the children

I dont understand

Children of enemy villages even go to each others town during war time to play with each other and even eat”

Wow, thats strange. What if the parent of one had killed the other? Kevin was finding it hard to understand such arrangement.

“Its the custom. They value protecting the lineage more than lands and ego”, Pabio replied

You sound fond of these people, Kevin observed

They are nice people, they are closer to nature so they understand life better”, he explained.

We are there, he informed the couple just in time for the guards to point at the palace.

The palace was the most magnificent hut Kevin had ever seen. The hut which could better be classified as a bungalow had different wings, chamber, and a dome ceiling. They entered into middle chamber as directed by the front guard in front of it.

The palace was the more spacious room that the couple had ever been; the insides were designed with fetish decorations which adorned its walls. Statues which were elegantly carved were placed at strategic places in the palace. Guards stood beside each statue and were guarding at least each openings in twos.

The king who was seated on an elevated chair which served as the throne smiled widely at Pabio who smiled in return. The king gave a command to the guards and they receded back to their post leaving the king and Pabio and some kings men in the palace. The king who was dressed similar to the guards except that he had a top clothing made of banana leaves rose from his throne and walked briskly towards Pabio in a show of friendliness. Like his guards pants, his top clothing revealed his belly and covered his shoulder down. His crown was made of the same type of leaves as the crown of his guards except that it had a special design that portrayed royalty. He was also speaking the unknown language as his guards.

Its been a while. How is your father? the king asked Pabio. Pabios expression had changed from an excited to a sad one.

He passed away, he replied and the king bowed his head in sadness.

Been a while you have come to see me then. Are we fighting? he lovingly accused.

Its business, Pabio smiled in return.

Who are these with you?

These are my good friends. They came to tour the sss and enjoy its natural blessings

The king smiled but became cautious as he asked his next question

How do they plan to do that?

They will set up their tent somewhere around your kingdom and go out to observe each location for a period of one week Pabio explained

The king was no longer smiling.

Is anything wrong? Pabio inquired

“You should be careful out there”, he advised.

Is there anything you think will pose danger to us in particular

The king clammed up; he was no longer in the conversation mood. He instructed his guards to help the couple with their bags and lead them to a room for visitors while Pabio remained with him.