Serpent's Kiss
An Alternate Timeline Real Adventures of Jonny Quest Fic
by Time Guardian
Chapter 7 - Siege in the Jungle
Anya checked on their prisoners, and then returned to the computer to look over her father's notes. She had managed to make radio contact with the plane carrying the flowers they needed, and was told that they would arrive in a matter of two hours.
The two way radio that she had clipped to her belt flared to life. "Mistress Anya!"
The voice was of one of her field spies. She and her sister had recruited numerous men that had served their father faithfully. She grabbed for the radio, and quickly activated it. "What is it?"
"We have found a camp about two miles from here. Dr. Quest is here!"
Anya smiled. So the father was coming to finish what the son could not - this could benefit them quite nicely.
She spoke into her radio. "Send the disciples to pick up Dr. Quest, and have them bring him back here."
A pause, and then an acknowledgement. "Yes, Mistress Anya."
She smiled as she placed the radio back on her belt. While Anya had spent their first few days there deciphering the clues within the pyramid, Melana had taken the control drug that Zin had used on Jonny Quest and strengthened it. They had tested it on some of the prisoners with some interesting results.
She smiled as she turned back to reading her father's notes. -Let's see the good doctor fight against our disciples.-
--
Jonny edged his way just outside of the clearing and listened intently. Sporadic bursts of gunfire could still be heard all around them.
He turned to Race, speaking low. "I don't suppose you brought a gun with you?"
Race shook his head wryly. "I thought I was going on a quick recon."
Jonny grimaced. "My stuff is back at camp too. Felix had told me he brought three men with him. Those two hooded guys I was speaking with earlier were part of his group. Maybe we should get back to camp to get some weapons so we can help them out."
Race nodded in agreement. "We can help level the playing field a little, but we will need to keep it quiet. We don't need to be drawing too much attention to ourselves."
--
Dr. Quest had been asleep when the gunfire came.
He sat straight up from a sound sleep and listened intently. As his eyes got accustomed to the moonlit night, he realized two things - Race and Tomas were gone, and he wasn't alone.
Rustling noises from the surrounding trees unnerved him, and Dr. Quest scrambled to his feet quickly. His pack was right beside where he had slept, and quickly searching through it, he found a large flashlight and switched it on. He used it's broad beam to help guide him as he stepped outside of his shelter, sweeping his flashlight beam across the area.
Nothing. The rustling he had only heard seconds before had died off, along with the gunfire he had heard.
Dr. Quest walked a few more steps and then stopped. No doubt about it, Tomas and Race were nowhere in sight.
He decided to chance calling out for them. "Race! Tomas!"
Still nothing.
All of a sudden, Dr. Quest felt a hand grab each of his arms, and he dropped the flashlight in surprise. He tried to struggle, but it was as if the people that were holding him had a grip of iron. "Let me go!"
No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free. Dr. Quest weighed his options, and much as he hated to admit it, there were few choices left for him.
He took a breath, and then reluctantly allowed his unknown captors to lead him away.
--
Jonny led the way out of the clearing and back onto a small path as he and Race started back towards camp.
They had only gone a few feet when two men attempted to ambush them. Armed with machine guns, they had stepped onto the path on either side of them, effectively cutting off their escape.
One of the men chuckled. "what luck we have tonight."
"Indeed," the other one replied. "Now, you two aren't going to going to give us any trouble are you?"
Jonny turned to the one behind him, backing himself up until he and Race were back to back. "Oh, I don't know. We usually aren't that much trouble, right Race?"
He heard Race chuckle. "Nah, we're no trouble at all. We will still kick your butt just the same. Jonny, now!"
With that, Jonny unleashed a high kick that quickly disarmed his guy, while Race went for a left hook that dropped his guy to the ground.
The man that faced Jonny cursed as a wave of pain went through his arm from where he was forced to drop his weapon. "I'll make you pay for that!"
Jonny smiled at the taunt. "Bring it on."
Enraged, The man charged him blindly. When he was in range, Jonny unleashed a roundhouse kick that sent the man hurtling backwards to the ground unconscious.
He turned around. "Are you ok, Race?"
Jonny saw that Race was massaging his fist, but his friend and mentor was all smiles. "Nothing that some ice wouldn't cure. That guy sure had a stone jaw."
A noise from further up the path then caught Jonny's attention. He motioned to Race, and they quietly proceeded forward on the moonlit path.
A few yards ahead, the path branched off. Jonny stopped for a moment and listened. From the left hand side of the branched path, it sounded like multiple people running through the forest.
He led Race quietly for a few minutes down the left hand branch of the path until they just caught sight of two figures running away quickly. The men both seemed to be armed, and in a big hurry.
Jonny shook his head and tensed up. "Those mean aren't with Felix. I don't like this, Race. If they are this close to us, that means they might find our camp. We need to head them off."
Race saw what Jonny was about to do and tried to hold him back. "Jonny! Don't!"
However, he paid no heed. Jonny ducked under Race's arm and on ahead. He tried to be mindful of his surroundings, knowing that unnecessary noise would ruin whatever chance he had to take the two men down.
Jonny followed the two for a little over a mile before he noticed that they had stopped ahead. He then quickly stepped off the path and out of their view. As Jonny leaned against one of the taller trees, trying to think of a good way to surprise them, he noticed that a cluster of long vines were hanging from the massive tree that he was leaning against.
Smirking, Jonny came up with the makings of a wild and crazy plan.
--
Race headed in the direction that Jonny took off in, making a mental note to have another conversation with the boy in terms of his impetuousness. He had to admit though, Jonny's conditioning had left him astounded. He had covered nearly a mile in the jungle by his estimation and Race still had yet to catch up to him.
He was keeping his eyes out when he saw the two men ahead that had been the subject of their chase. Their backs were to him, so Race dived towards the trees to the right hand side of the path before they could turn around.
Race caught his breath, and tried to quickly assess the situation. Jonny was nowhere in sight. He could take one down easily, but the other-
The low growling voice from behind him interrupted his plans, along with the gun barrel that someone kept nudging into his back. "Hands up."
Seeing little choice, Race stood up, and then stepped back out onto the path.
The guy holding the gun on him called out to his other two comrades. "Hey! Lookie what I found in the bushes."
As the other two turned around, Race could hear a sound above him. He looked up, and his eyes widened.
A few trees over, he could just barely make out something or someone swinging their way, and the sound was getting louder as well.
"Slammmmmmmmminnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!"
Before anyone could react, the figure had careened wildly into the two men in front of Race, sending them both to the ground.
Race grinned as he realized who the swinger was. Taking advantage of the distraction, he ducked low as he turned around, then exploded upwards with a flying uppercut that sent the man guarding him collapsing to the ground.
Shaking his head, Race then leaned down to pick up one of the machine guns that the three henchmen had dropped. "Next time, Jonny, how about letting me in on your plans? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Jonny grinned as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. His impromptu Tarzan act had its desired effect - the two men he had tackled were out cold. "I was just improvising, Race. If I remember right, you were pretty - good at it. Race, don't move."
Race froze as Jonny's voice trailed off, and his grin vanished. "What is it, Jonny?"
--
Jonny put a finger to his lips, then leaned down and picked up the other machine gun. He quickly pantomimed what he hoped Race could understand. -There's an enemy in the bushes behind you and he's armed.-
When Race nodded, Jonny let out a breath. The problem was, how were they going to draw this intruder out?
They got their answer when a shotgun blast came their way, just missing them by inches. Race ducked in one direction as Jonny rolled in the other.
The figure that had shot at him stepped out onto the path. In the moonlight, Jonny could see that with the exception of a darker shirt, the person was dressed just like him, and yet he looked to be about his age.
Jonny stared in astonishment. -He is one of the missing guides.-
"Jonny, get out of the way, he's going to shoot!"
Race's voice cut through his mental fog, and Jonny realized too late that the boy had raised his shotgun again and was targeting him head on.
Jonny still had the machine gun that he had taken from one of the goons that they tackled. He raised it into firing position. He didn't want to do this, but if he had to defend himself-
"Miguel!"
The shout had come from the tress behind the boy, and seconds later, Jonny saw Felix barrel out from the cover of the trees and tackle Miguel on one side, forcing him to the ground. Race saw his chance, and ran over to help the man.
Felix held down one of his son's arms while Race held down the other. Jonny pried away the shotgun away from the boy's grasp and stepped away, and yet he was bothered by how Miguel was reacting.
In the moonlight, he could see that the boy's eyes still held a murderous intent, and he thrashed wildly.
"Race," Jonny said quietly, "he's been drugged."
Race looked at Miguel. "It looks like it. But what can we do?"
Felix answered their question by grabbing at an item from his pocket, and placing it under his son's nose.
Miguel's thrashing soon slowed, and then after a few minutes, the young boy's eyes closed and soon he was asleep.
Sighing, the man released his son's arm. "We have encountered the drugged in town before, trying to take other people for the pyramid." Felix picked up the item, which Jonny recognized as a small cloth bundle, and he could just faintly make out a sweet smell. "The sergeant's wife works with herbs and made us each these bundles. One good sniff puts a person to sleep."
He returned the item to his pocket and then stood up. "There's not much time. One of my men reported that Señor Quest has been taken to the pyramid."
Jonny tensed. Everything was falling apart around him. "Felix, what about Miguel, will he be all right?"
The man nodded. "The drug wears off, but it takes time. I will go lock him up and give him a chance to recover. The other men will stay in the jungle with you. Will you be all right for the rest of your journey?"
Jonny looked at Race, and then back to Felix. "Yeah. Thank you for all that you've done, my friend."
"My thanks are with you. It is because of you and your friend that I have my son back," he commented. Leaning over, Felix carefully picked Miguel in his arms. He nodded once to each of them and then took his leave, his unconscious son in his arms.
Jonny had watched him go until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Jonny, we better go. We need to get to the pyramid."
He turned around, and Race noted the haunted look in his eyes. "I was like Miguel. Pumped full of drugs-"
Race wished above all that Dr. Quest was there with them right now. He realized that Jonny was reliving what had happened in the past, but now wasn't the time for stuff like this. He put an arm around Jonny's shoulders.
"This nightmare will stop only if we can get to the pyramid, Jonny."
"I know." Jonny quietly replied before turning to head back the way they came. "Let's go, Race."
--
It took the better part of a half hour, but they backtracked and managed to reach camp. Race was thinking of plans they could do, but at the same time was worried about Jonny.
During the journey, the boy had muttered more than once. "If I hadn't left camp-"
Race finally cut him off curtly. "Don't think that way. We can get him back."
Sunlight was just beginning to peek out from the tops of the trees. He looked around the camp wearily and massaged the kinks from his neck as he began gathering his things. "What about the jungle, will we have a straight run at that pyramid?"
Jonny began packing provisions into his backpack, and grabbed for his weapons. "Felix's men can hold off any more stragglers out there. I've been to the pyramid only a handful of times, so I'm not sure how many more flunkies the Zin twins hired."
"Beautiful," Race quipped," Well Jonny, just to be on the safe side while we are in the pyramid, I think you should resume your role as Tomas."
Jonny looked at him with a quizzical expression. "Why? We've lost our element of surprise."
Race walked closer to Jonny and touched his berry-tinted skin. "Not nessecarily. Remember, the Zin sisters blew up that temple in India, and they probably thought they killed you in the process. What they don't know will hurt them, right?"
--
Dr. Quest struggled in his captors' grasp as they marched towards the stone pyramid. In the growing light of dawn, he did his best to observe what was around him, and what he saw shocked him.
On either side of him, there were men who had each of his arms in an iron grip. They were dressed unusually, as if they didn't belong here in the first place.
The tourists...of course! The police had told him there were tourists unaccounted for, but he shuddered to think how they were being controlled. Dr. Quest remembered how Jonny had been drugged by Zin and Corvin, and he was barely able to break through all of that, even with help.
The two had led him through a massive clearing, and Dr. Quest's eyes widened as he regarded the object for which he and Race had traveled so far for.
From his point of view, the old stone pyramid seemed to touch the sky. The sunlight that touched it's sides revealed hundreds of carvings, and the few that he could see all seemed to have something to do with snakes.
The two men holding him then took him to a side of the pyramid that did not even seem to have a door. They walked about halfway down the side and stopped. Dr. Quest watched as one of the men pressed the one of
the intricate snake carvings.
A noise, a rumble of stone, and a section of stone swung upward, revealing darkness within.
Dr. Quest felt a shove at his back, and reluctantly he walked into the interior of the pyramid, followed by his captors.
Moment's later, the door that had opened was closed once more when the section of stone that swung upward followed a reverse course and fell back into place.
The exterior of the Serpent's Pyramid was then quiet once more.