All That Glitters is Not Gold

Here I am, back again – after a few very nice reviews that 'kicked' me awake, so to say, I have a new chapter for you in the new year.

The story goes on, of course, with our favourites travelling through the Colombian jungle. I really like the characters too much to abandon them now – so thanks to Calynn Jiana and Lachalora that helped me remember that!

Anyways, be aware that I am not a full time writer, but a full time student – especially the end of January will be exam-oriented. But, whenever you see I haven't updated in a longer time, 'kick' me to life again – that'd be much appreciated!

Take care and enjoy - although this one isn't the best of chapters ... but I have to get back into my game. K.

Chapter 11: Into the Jungle

In the middle of the jungle, 1.05 pm

It was a posse of five people, finding their way through the thick jungle, always trying to follow the river they sometimes couldn't even see, only hear. The colour green was everywhere, surrounding them, and they each took turns at leading the group through the thick shrubbery with their sharp machetes.

At first, Lily had wondered if these insanely huge knives were even necessary, but she had soon come to understand they indeed were. Only half an hour away from the clinic, in the middle of the jungle, the green curtain of plants and flowers in front of them had become as impenetrable as a concrete wall. That was when it had been Lily's turn to slice through the leaves, stipes, and small branches. She felt like with every meter she gained, the forest got thicker and grew tighter. The sweat was dripping down her face, mixing with the rain from above. There was no dry fibre left on her body. She experienced for herself how exhausting this was, and how useful those machetes were.

Now, her arms still hurt from the effort she had made to cut a path for her friends, and she had to admit that she hadn't been really good at it. Which was why she was all the more relieved as Tommy volunteered to replace her after 30 minutes of such sudatory work.

Right now, it was Keeton's turn – again. After all, he was the most experienced hiker around here, as well as the only one who seemed like the machete wasn't a useless and much too heavy tool in his hands.

Lily brushed a wet strand of her hair back behind her ear and tried to wipe her face dry with her bare hand in a futile attempt. She was walking right behind Charlie, forming the rear guard of their group. Apart from her inability to make a proper path with her machete, she found it easy to hike in the jungle. Sure, the floor was much more slippery here, especially now that the rain had not stopped in such a long time, but she had always enjoyed being outdoors. Lashing out lianas and thorny branches aside, she felt comfortable with the weight on her back and the pace they were going. From time to time, and whenever the river was close enough, she took water samples in order to test them on their next stop. But much more important, she liked the fact that hiking gave her the opportunity to think. It felt like she was walking 'off' some of the thoughts that had gathered on her mind over time. For example the thoughts about me and Keeton and that damn pharmacy, Lily mused and reached for the carrying straps of her backpack, as she hopped over a fallen log. She sighed deeply and scolded herself internally. What has gotten into you? You wanted to talk to him about NOT wanting to complicate things between the two of you – and what happened then? Lily shook her head, while she followed Charlie down the muddy path. You nearly let him kiss you! Lily sighed and thought back to their moment in the clinic's pharmacy, "What was I thinking?" Lily muttered under her breath. The rain plummeting down on the canopy sounded like a large waterfall, but the swooshing nearly drowned all other sounds, and Lily was grateful for that fact.

Whatever she wanted to say to Keeton about not mixing work and privacy got lost the moment he had come closer. Everything had simply left her mind. The closer he got, the more forgetful she became – every sane thought was replaced by his smell, the intense look in his eyes, and the deepness of his voice. Even now, Lily had to pull herself together, as the thought about his voice forced goosebumps onto her soaking skin. What to do, if the heart tells you something other than your mind? Of course, Lily knew what she should do, yet being in his presence changed everything. "Can't he just be the decent guy? Who walks away? And understands what he's getting us into?" Lily muttered and licked her lips in a nervous motion, before her head shot up and looked straight ahead. Keeton was still working his way through the jungle. Maybe he's working off his frustration, as well, Lily mused and stood still for a second to give the others a few minutes of head start, as she fought her way over to another river bend, knelt down, and poured some water into the glass vial she carried in a pocket of her blouse. Everything would be better, if I could just stop my damn hormones! Lily thought and closed the vial's cap, before labelling the glass tube. "Damn his hormones, too …" Lily looked back up. The group was a good 50 feet away from her, but it wouldn't be a problem for her to catch up.

Lily knew it wasn't all her fault. From what she could tell, Ben was a willing, if not forcing participant in what was going on between them. He seemed to care for her in a way that was much more than loyal and only friendly. Not only when they had met in the pharmacy, on the hallways, but even this morning – he somehow seemed to enjoy her company. He seemed more relaxed, more calm, less troubled. Maybe I interpret too much into his behaviour, and he doesn't really care about me, after all, but simply loves my company, Lily mused an tried to convince herself, but at the same time another thought popped up, … and loves the way I make him feel, Lily sighed and shook her head. Sure, he didn't share his feelings – but like the saying 'one picture was worth more than 1000 words', one of his looks spoke volumes. And like she had realised before, Lily somehow needed to be the strong one here – if she wanted them to be nothing more than colleagues, she would have to make an effort, she would have to keep him at arms length, she would have to be strong and persistent. Lily sighed about the anew realisation, The question only is how long can I stay strong?

"Alright guys!" Ben hollered and pushed the machete into the soft earth next to him. The muscles in his forearms hurt, "I think I could use a break," They had reached a small clearing right by another river bend.

Lily's eyes travelled over to Ben, while she walked closer, suddenly feeling nervous as if all her thoughts could be heard by everyone now.

Zee nodded, "I think we all do," the Latin doctor peeled the rucksack from her back, before looking up into the sky to let the rain pour down her face. The sky was grey.

Charlie sat down were he was, got rid of his backpack placing it next to him, and searched for something to eat, as Lily approached Tommy, who had been walking in front of their young Spanish teacher. She needed a distraction, "Amazing, isn't it?" Lily asked, hoping to get her thoughts about Keeton off her mind for the time of their mutual break.

Tommy, who had been absentmindedly looking at he surrounding flora, turned his gaze towards Lily, "You mean the hike?"

Lily's nose wrinkled, "What? No! I thought you were admiring the plants!"

Tommy chuckled, "Me? Lily, if I didn't know any better, I'd be afraid of so much Chlorophyll-containing organisms*, considering the fact how many of them had to die by my neglect." He still had a goofy grin on his face.

Lily smiled and nodded. Her tactic seemed to work, she slowly relaxed and was grateful for the fact Tommy didn't notice her inner turmoil, "I see," she answered with a genuine smile. Actually, she hadn't picked Tommy as a guy who secretly spoke to his plants. She, on the other hand, did admire the surrounding nature. She was amazed by the rainforest, its lushness, and the sheer innumerableness of living species. From where she stood, she could see a South American sapote tree*, a few blooming Marmalade bushes*, and a various colourful Heliconias*. With a moment to rest, she began to see that the rainforest wasn't only green – there were spots of colour everywhere, making the view much more interesting.

Lily smiled and licked away some raindrops from her lips, before she knelt down into the mud, and fumbled for the water samples she had collected so far. Either talking to Tommy, or examining the water samples were both good ways to keep her occupied … otherwise you might come up with another glorious idea of talking to Keeton! She scolded herself, and swore that she wouldn't do that, unless she had taken a clear decision.

With a small Pasteur pipette made of plastic, she extracted a drop from the first water sample and put it onto a small copper sheet, conjured from her backpack. She knew that copper acted as a strong reductive when in contact with mercury ions, therefore, the mercury would bind to the copper and would become visible* – the more mercury, the higher its concentration in the water sample. Lily carefully rubbed over the water on the sheet and saw the silver metal become visible, though only slightly. She then repeated the test with the water from the sample she took just minutes ago – and a much more intensive mercury residue was the result. We are getting closer, Lily thought and knew right away that she would have to tell Ben.

Ben sat on a fallen tree, drinking from his bottle, happy about the fact that he would have to carry 200 millilitres less when they started walking again. With the extent of their group and his leading position, it had been hard for Ben to come into contact with Lily Brenner. Plus, he thought she had decided to be the rear guard on purpose, using the alibi of collecting water samples. Ben sighed in frustration as his view trailed over to the soaked brunette a good 20 feet away from him. Their small 'coffee break' this morning had been a momentary relieve from their usual eggshell walk. After their rather heated encounter in the pharmacy, Ben had been pleased that this morning had somehow poured some oil on their troubled water. But with him working his way through the jungle, with him having the time to think things through, and relive the moment of their almost-kiss yesterday, Ben realised that their waters were still very far from totally calm. They were more friendly now, sure, but far from relaxed around each other and he hated it. He knew that he needed to do something about it – especially now, with them being on a hunting party in the middle of nowhere. He could not risk not being on top of his game, with thoughts about him and her blurring his mind. Me and her …, the sound of it echoed through his head, and a warm and comfortable feeling settled in his stomach, before he tried to gulp it down with another large sip from his water bottle. For all their well-being, he needed not to be distracted by his hormones and thoughts about a certain ER resident. Even though she's cute to look at when asleep, he thought and cursed his mind, just stop it! His hand reached for his stubble, before he scratched it and sighed again, I simply need to resolve this. No, I want to!

His eyes trailed over his group, before he started talking to Zee, "So, do you have any idea how far the next village is from here? We need to make camp sometime."

Zee shrugged, reached for the map she had stored in her belt, and scratched her dripping locks, "Personally, I've never been to Las Aguas* before, but from the looks of it, it can't be more than three hours away - tops."

Ben nodded, glad for the fact that the conversation managed to push the thoughts about Lily a little further back, "Sounds promising."

Zee smiled carefully, "Don't expect a hot shower, Ben."

His eyes sparkled amused, "Well, I'm all happy as long as we get out of this one!" He replied and looked up towards the sky, as a thunder rolled through the forest and a flock of Scarlet Macaws* flew by in the distance. Ben looked back towards the group, as Lily approached him and Zee, and his heart started beating faster. So much for trying to get rid of her in your thoughts …

"We are definitely coming closer to the source of the mercury pollution," Lily said and showed the copper sheet with its undeniable mercury stains to her superiors. Zee carefully took the sheet and touched the spots, while Lily started explaining her findings, "The further we walk upstream, the higher the amount of mercury gets, which means that …"

"… we're on the right track," Ben finished her sentence.

"Yeah," Lily nodded and wondered how he always did that, because it wasn't the first time he tried to complete her sentences – and succeeded.

"Good work, Brenner," he said as neutral as possible, before he took the copper sheet from Zee to see the stains for himself. He didn't want her to feel pressured or challenged in his presence, and hoped the neutral tone would convey that. Plus, he didn't want to pressure himself, not before really knowing what he wanted to do. First of all, he had to make up his mind, if he wanted to step back and be the gentleman, or if he wanted to fight for something he wasn't even sure was a possibility – leaving aside Ryan and all other obstacles and problems. It wouldn't be fair – for either of them.

Lily blinked at the very neutral, if not bordering cold tone he had never used with her. Why now? Has he understood what could be at stake at work? Maybe he is not interested at all and just realised, the devil in Lily's mind interjected. Lily swallowed and hated the fact that her mind might have told her an unwanted truth. That's what you wanted, isn't it? An easy out?, she mused, and felt her heart slump to the pit of her stomach, maybe you better learn it the hard way. A little shocked, with the need to extricate herself from the situation, she grabbed the sheet from Ben's outstretched hand, and hurried off, "We should get going again," her sentence came out somewhat choked, but rain almost swallowed every bit of her strained voice.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm thinking about a little Ben and Lily kissing interaction in Las Aguas, maybe next to a bonfire while they are trying to dry their clothes – let me know what you think. I'd be in the mood for it :-)

Leave a comment, if you like. Please excuse any vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes.

Hope, you all had lovely Christmas holidays and a wonderful New Year's. Take care and have a great day, K.

* Spanish translations and additional info in Chapter 11:

"Chlorophyll-containing organisms" – I mean plants here, although algae contain chlorophyll, as well, but they are protists – chlorophyll, by the way, is the green "colour" we see in leaves, grass, you name it – without it, we would probably die of suffocation, since it's the basis for photosynthesis, the process by which the plants generate our atmospheric oxygen.

"American sapote tree" – botanically Quararibea cordata is a large (up to 45m; 147ft) fruit tree, endemic to the vegetation in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It bears orange-yellow fruit which are soft, juicy, and sweet.

"Marmalade bush" – botanically Streptosolen jamesonii – is an evergreen shrub from the potato plant family. You might have all seen it. Especially in Germany, it's a very common flower to decorate your gardens in the summer – I love them. It's wildtype form (flowers are various shades of yellow, orange, and red) resemble orange marmelade, hence the name.

"Heliconia" – species of flowering plants native to the tropics - common names for the genus include lobster-claws, wild plantains or false bird-of-paradise.

"She knew that copper acted as a strong reductive when in contact with mercury ions, therefore, the mercury would bind to the copper and would become visible." – For some of you, who might like to learn about the chemistry: Hg(2+) + Cu - Hg + Cu(2+) Meaning: Copper gets the two electrons from the mercury and then forms a residue that becomes visible.

"Las Aguas" – the waters – I made the name up, but I thought since I think this is a village next to a river, it's not totally 'out-of-character' for a settlement to be called that.

"Scarlet Macaw" – the Ara macao is a huge and very colourful parrot species, although the colour red is dominant, hence the name. You probably saw one in a zoo, already.