Jungle Peril

Chapter two

Perhaps for the first time in a long while, Aviance actually agreed with him on something the trip to the sss. It gave him a feeling of happiness once again. At least he is still on track on what pleases his wife. It was a good start. He had laboured tirelessly to sell out the idea to her painting it as the perfect get away they needed. Perhaps what gave him joy the most was the smile that crossed her face as she watched him sweat. The smile was not a smirk as previous smiles had been, instead it was a genuine one that came from the depth of her heart a hint that she still loves something about him.

It was only a day after the agreement and they were already talking to the travel guide. Kevin surveyed the travel guides office as he listened to the mans advice.

Actually, the sss is a wonderful idea for a getaway,

Ehm, whats your name again? Kevin asked absentmindedly as he looked at the different artefacts that decorated the office.

Call me Stephen, the travel guide sounded excited. I bet they dont get too many customers like us daily. Kevin smirked

Yea, Stephen, tell us about what we actually need for the camping,

Eureka! How long do you plan staying there? Kevin and Aviance looked at each other before looking at Stephen. His response does sound bizarre.

One full week” the couple echoed

Stephen seemed happy within himself as he jubilates as if for them

You guys are so in luck. I just happened to have the full kit you need for your perfect camping, he stood up and opened the door for the two.

Gosh, thats just great.

Pardon? Aviance was equally alarmed at the mans intense extroversion.

I want to take you shopping in my newly acquired camping supermarket, he laughed.

I guess every travel adviser talks like this.

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Stephen had taken them to a rather small-sized shop. The camping kits available there looked outdated and archaic but he was their advisor.

This camping kits are the legendary ones used by great travellers from all around the world. All assembled in this small tight shop, he laughed.

“Nice”, Kevin muttered. Oh I wish we can just get out of here already.

The first thing you need to get before any camping kit is a travel guide based in the sss. No, No, No, just any travel guide wont do it but the one really resident and experienced about the place,

Hmm. So where do we get a good one?

There are many of them in brazil. They know the locals; they will take you to the desired spots. They know the dangerous places too, Stephen was practically dancing in front of them while trying to keep them excited.

“Dangerous?” Kevin and Aviance replied simultaneously.

No, No, No, dont be alarmed. Countless tourists visit the place yearly and they have been fine. But to be sincere with you I have heard things about the sss that I can start sharing. But I can assure you its one of the best places in the world. I have been there myself and I loved every bit of it.

Wait, how many times did you say you have been there Stephen?

Once, but it was the experience of a lifetime! without giving them time to ruminate successfully, he led them to the cabinet. Most of the items were covered with dust.

Just once? A new train of thoughts began to hit them like a wave. How can we believe someone who had only been to the sss just once in his lifetime?

Stephen seemed oblivious to their train of thoughts. He was showing them the items they needed to buy.

“First thing you need for camping isnt tents. No not at all. What you need to think about first are lights! Yes lots of lights. Camping can be very dark and adventurous and trust me, you will be scared even if you are in your tents”, Stephen does have a sweet mouth.

When I say lights I dont mean the regular lights you know. I am talking about LED lights, flood lights, long-lasting battery powered lights and many of them, he dashed to a section filled with different types of LED lights.

I have the best for you here. See these ones here, very durable, something about the way Stephen said the words very durable made Kevin laugh silently.

The couple were allowed to take their different pick from the array of lights before them while being guided by Stephen.

Yes, now you need tent. I have the best ones here; solid, durable, flexible, portable, and easy to set. Trust me when you get tired, you will need to assemble your tent a little faster, he rushed to one particular set of tent.

Look here is the fastest you can ever see in the market. Trust me on that,

Sounds like this guy wants us to trust him on many things.

You might need cameras and radiophones. Trust me the network is screwed up there. You cant use your regular phones, you might need to communicate with radiophones but first you need to charge them well and that takes me to batteries. You need durable batteries to charge all your devices. I have the perfect one for you here,

The couple became zombies as Stephen led them through the items they will need for the camp; hiking kits, new shoes, umbrellas, and even defecating containers. At the end of it all, the cost they incurred for the materials alone was very substantial.

Kevin was beginning to reconsider the sss trip.

Is there a way we can eliminate some things from all these materials? he finally managed to ask.

No, No, No, you cant eliminate any of it. They are all important. You will see, Stephen protested

I mean, I am not sure we have enough money to buy all these, maybe we can leave it to come back later, Kevin explained.

No, I can give you discounts. Lots of discount, Stephen made good on his promise and by the time he had discounted all the items, Kevin was beginning to feel like a fool. I didnt know it can be as cheap as this.

So, my dear travellers. I wish you all a safe journey to the sss. Dont forget to take pictures,

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Aldrin and Nicoles shopping was less dominated like Kevin and Aviances was. Unlike the couple, they knew exactly what they needed to buy, thanks to the expertise of Aldrin. In fact, he had brought Nicole not for advice but for company and indeed was good company.

They laughed at dumb things as they walked past the array of camping kits but since they werent going just for the camping but to tour the sss, their kits were a little different from what Kelvin had gotten.

and yes, we are going to need this too, Aldrin reached out to pull a sizeable battery and dumped it in the cart they both pushed through the mall.

Nicole was beginning to feel useless, Aldrin had refused to sought her advice with most of the items but she trusts him. All she did was tag along.

So whats your plan for the sss? she asked if at least to be updated

We are going to get a tour guide but trust me; we arent going to need them. They might come handy so we can identify good places to tour in the sss but aside from that, they will just be a tag along,

Was this confidence or pride? It was hard to distinguish which that Aldrin was displaying.

I already purchased a map around the area. We are going to be following this map and it will lead us right to where we need to reach,

How long is the journey going to take?

By the distance I calculated, I think it will take us about seven days, he informed as he watched Nicole smiled at him. He was the type to get things done and she found that attractive about him.

Since the trip will be taking such length, we are going to be setting up camps everyday by six in the evening because of the dangers I have heard about the forests, he continued

What kind of danger?

Same, same for every jungle, snakes, wild animals, and poisonous trees. We will need to see everything with adequate light. But dont worry, you are safe with me, he smiled.

They walked past two couple or are they siblings, it was hard to tell

Oh my Gosh! they both exclaimed

Aldrin and Nicole were puzzled.

Are you Aldrin and Nicole? the couple/siblings inquired with excited eyes

Yes, we are, Aldrin replied with a long smile.

Oh my Gosh, I cant believe this! This is my sister and we are your diehard fans, he jumped.

Oh thats great, they are siblings not couples

Oh, its a pleasure meeting you both. We didnt know we had fans, Nicole replied humbly.

We follow you on f*******:, Twitter, i********:. We know about all your escapades. I love your jungle survival skills and my sister here loves Nicoles pictures. She is a photographer herself, he chattered while jumping excitedly. He sure sounds genuinely excited.

He was creating a scene; every eye was now towards their direction

“Dont tell you me you are preparing for another adventure”, he inquired again with more excitement

Yes we are, Aldrin and Nicole replied simultaneously with a wide grin.

I cant believe I just knew that! now he was jumping again, his sister was equally excited.

They ran behind the couple and brought out their phones for selfies.

All the duo could do was grin behind the camera.

Thank you so, so much. We will look forward to those videos and pictures,

We will post them, the duo smiled again

Can we have your personal contacts too? Please, the siblings requested

Aldrin and Nicole looked at each other and shrugged.

The next minutes were spent typing numbers on phones and calling to validate them.

Thank you so much! the siblings said again.

They were about leaving when the brother turned back

We think you can further your escapades by hosting a TV show. The show will show the adventures you have been on. Please, there are people who will pay heavily just to watch your adventures, he advised.

Aldrin and Nicole took some moments to ponder about it

We will think about it,

Oh Gosh, that will be very great! he shouted again and ran towards his sister

That was enough to leave an impression on the minds of the adventurers. The rest of their shopping was spent discussing on the number of fans they had gathered.

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Azura was having a good time with her new acquaintance Donald. They talked about their other two friends.

Sometimes I wonder what kind of relationship they have with each other. I cant call that love, Donald laughed

Do you know they each have ended each others relationship? Azura laughed too

I know. I dont like being around them when they are in that mood, Donald mocked.

Me too. She once threw his phone into the swimming pool

Are you kidding me?

I am serious they laughed.

Thats definitely not love. But I know they prefer each other. I just wish they stop the games and enter a serious relationship Donald commented. Azura took some moments to reflect on those words. Donald had a point. Love sometimes must be enjoyed while its there. She couldnt help but remember her father and how he died. But that was not the concern now. Donald was taking her around the festival venue.

The festival was situated on an enormous spread that covers multiple little lakes, forests, and fields. The stages ranged from the enormous main stage situated at the bottom of a sound-funnelling hill with the space for hundreds of thousands of people, to little magical stages floating on the water for 30-200 people, to a tiny little brick rave cave cut into a hill, to pretty big tents decked out in decorations. The other stages also had an enormous opera theatre-looking stage, a decked out circus stage, a huge mechanical-looking scorpion, a magical mirror stage, a tiny stage set inside a little brick tunnel in the hill. Even the one or two tent stages had all decked out to the central theme with flowers hanging from the ceiling or shaped like a flower.

Even though DANCE NOW festival houses more people than any other festival I have ever been to; it honestly never gets get crowded Donald commented while taking Azura around one of the little lakes. The scenery was beautiful. Every inch of the festival grounds were completely decked out in magical and colourful decorations. There are flowers floating on the lakes that spew colourful streams of water, there are lights and decorations hanging in the tress, and none of the stages are just normal stages, they are all really cool artistic creations. o

Why is that? Azura couldnt help but notice the truth in Donalds words.

I guess they have figured out the flow of crowds to a tee. They have certain pathways like that one over there that walk one way and this one that walks in opposite directions, once again Donald was right. The arrangement of the flow of crowd worked like a well-oiled machine with all the people flowing in a constant direction along the insanely picturesque festival grounds. Its brilliant.

Another thing that stood out in the venue was the people. They are from different parts of the world. The people looked excited to be there, they knew they were lucky to be there and they were acting accordingly. Many of them brought their national flag and were taking pictures with each other even if their countries are currently at war with each other.

Come, let me take you to the central stage, he held her hands and dragged her alongside as he ran.

The energy was high at the central stage, the music is good, the vibes are as positive as can be. Unlike other stages that had huge butterfly that spews bubbles, little floating stages with plants all over the place, the main stage was magnificent and had a feeling of a magical forest.

Its not always like a magical forest. In the past years, they had used incredible mountain structure with waterfalls and foliage that had water streams in multiple places, colourful fog, and fire. There was a time they used an incredible clockwork creation with all sorts of gears and knobs and screws all working together like a machine and yes it also had a waterfall.

Suddenly, there was silence as the music ceased at the main stage. A magician looking character came up with a telescope on a huge platform in the middle of the main stage. He did a little act, release hundreds of balloons and introduced the next DJ. Everyone went hysteric and the vibe increased tremendously.

The noise was too much for Azura who right now wished she had held her ear muffs if at least to reduce the decibels of music that blasted her eardrums. It was what made the festival more fun for the people.

Tomorrow is the last day you know, Donald informed

Yes I do

There will be a drinking party back at our NATUREWAY center,

Everyone will drink to stupor but dont be fooled. Its a trap and if we dont wake up earlier tomorrow that night we are not going to see transport back home, that got Azura scared.

Lets see what happens tomorrow then. She soliloquized.