Writing Destiny, thanks so much. I get sick of Mutt and Indy fighting in other people's fics, too. Of course they would be bound to fight some, but not constantly.
Padawan, thank you for your little reviews. I am planning to have a little of the story after they get back to the States, but not a lot, probably. I need to get back to my Harry Potter story... lol
Ellen, isn't it dreadful what we put our favorite characters through for the sake of angst? :p Hee hee.
Ecri, my sentiments exactly. :) Indy can be pretty dumb. And it does serve him right.
DivaStar, so glad you are enjoying the story. :D I plan to end it soon after they get home (before the wedding in the movie), so we won't be seeing their married life. But I may do a sequal... eventually.
Thanks a million to everyone reading! Keep the reviews comin'—I love 'em!
Indy, Marion, Mutt and Ox are not mine, but Mutt wants to know how many of you might like to be his. He's making a list. Oh, and the critters in this chapter are totally mine.
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OUT TO LUNCH
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It was hard for Indy to do the Hercules legend justice when he was so frustrated. He had thought things would get better after he talked with Mutt. And they had started out well enough; after all, the boy had invited him to sit beside him and allowed him to reopen the topic of family. But then...
I don't know what happened, Indy thought, whacking a shrub out of the way with the sword he carried. If I do end up heading this family, I hope the parenting angle doesn't turn out to be this confusing all the time. He glanced up at the overcast sky. I'm starting to appreciate what you went through, Dad.
The trees were thinning and Indy caught a flash of reflected light. The river was ahead.
"Is that some kind of animal?" Marion asked suddenly.
Indy looked ahead in the direction she indicated. There were still many trees between them and the river, so Indy used a trick his old Scout leader had taught him. He chose a tree, then fixed his gaze on one beyond it; then one beyond that. In this way, his vision climbed through the layers of trees without being overwhelmed by them. Just beyond the last tree he chose was a dark shape against the green shrubs by the river.
"It's a peccary," he said. "There are probably more around, so watch your step."
They continued cautiously until they came to a small clearing by the edge of the river. Much of the jungle floor was cleared to the bare dirt and gravel there, as if animals often came to drink at that spot. And spread across the clearing were more peccaries. Quite a few more.
"They're pigs?" said Mutt.
"Not exactly. But like pigs."
"They're kind of cute," said Marion. "Only... is that awful smell coming from them?"
"You'd better believe it," Indy replied with a smile.
"Are they edible? I hate to ask, because they really are cute, but after the stuff we've been eating, I could really appreciate some pork right now."
"I don't know if we want to mess with them."
Mutt scoffed. "They're pigmy porkers. What are they going to do?"
"You won't be laughing when you're sliced open on the ground watching those 'pigmy porkers' tear away your flesh."
"You're out to lunch on a jive," Mutt said disdainfully.
"I wouldn't dream of it, even if I did know what you just said," Indy snapped. "Anyway, peccaries may look cute, but they have a lot of fight when they feel threatened. And they have very sharp teeth, so give them a little respect."
Mutt still looked doubtful. "But they don't really eat meat, right?"
"Wrong. They prefer fruit, but they'll eat just about anything, including meat."
Finally, the teen appeared to gain some healthy fear of the animals in front of them. But he wasn't ready to drop it.
"But there must be a way we can get one of them. I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry. And they look like eats to me."
"It is near noon, is it not?" Oxley put in.
Blast him.
"All right, look," Indy said in his best listen-or-we'll-have-a-session-after-class tone, "maybe we can herd one out and kill it. But it will take serious cooperation on the part of everyone who wishes to survive the experience. Do you understand?"
Ox and Marion nodded, but it was Mutt whom Indy was staring at.
"Sure, I dig ya," Mutt said flatly.
"All right, here's the plan. They're not scared of water, but they'll avoid going into it if they can. So Ox and Mutt, you'll stand a little down river with the swords and be ready to start butchering when I send one of them toward you. That's assuming that I can get one separated from the others."
"If we've got the swords, what have you got?" Mutt asked casually.
"My bullwhip, naturally." Indy uncoiled the whip and ran it through his hands.
Marion cleared her throat. "And what are my duties, Mr. Beatty?"
"You, as the lovely host of this show, need to stay where the audience can see you. So you'll be up a tree."
"Up a tree?" She folded her arms indignantly. "Afraid I'll mess up your project?"
"No; merely afraid that without enough weapons to go around, those animals might mess you up. Besides, heroes need a fair maiden to cheer them on."
"Don't flatter yourself, Indiana Jones."
Indy assumed his most innocent look. "What? I was referring to your son."
When the others were in position, Indy wandered toward the herd of peccaries. I must be crazy, he thought.
The little pig-like creatures looked up at him suspiciously. Some trotted a few yards away before going back to rooting around in the weeds.
Indy continued on, slowly driving a wedge into the herd, trying to separate one from the others. One little boar uttered a small squeal as he dodged Indy's advance. It turned off down the riverbank toward Mutt and Ox. Two other peccaries started to follow.
The whip that had been trailing over the ground behind Indy suddenly sprang to life. It flicked forward and changed direction just in front of one sow's snout. The resounding crack sent her scurrying the other way, followed by her companion.
Now half the herd was grunting and squealing. A lot of the noise came from down river where Mutt and Ox were dealing with their prey. Most of the other swine trotted toward the cover of the jungle, but two ran straight toward Indy.
Swish, crack! The leader balked at the loud noise in its face, but the second peccary kept coming. A moment later its snout came up hard against Indy's boot. Now it wasn't just scared, but mad.
This time Indy's kick was dodged and he soon felt a monstrous pain in his right ankle. As he fell backward, he heard a strange whirring sound, like a boomerang, and then a solid thud. Looking down he saw that the shrieking peccary at his feet now had a sword stuck in its side.
A split second later Mutt was pulling the sword from the writhing creature and driving it back in with vengeful force. Then he sank to his knees beside the peccary's limp form and turned worried looking eyes on Indy's right leg.
"Whoa," Mutt said. "He messed you up pretty good."
"Looks worse than it is," Indy assured him. He tore away the already-ragged cuff of his pant leg and handed it to Mutt. "Go soak this in the river, will you?"
Marion and Ox arrived as Mutt left.
"How bad is it?" Marion demanded.
"I'll live." Indy tried to keep his voice steady despite the pain. He did not want Marion worrying about him.
Ox examined Indy's wounds closely while Marion tried not to watch.
"They look to be fairly superficial," Ox announced. He took the wet rag from Mutt when the latter returned and began wiping away the blood from Indy's leg.
"You all right?" Mutt asked. The words came out slurred together, more like "Yurright?"
"I'm OK, kid." Again, Indy had to fight to keep his discomfort hidden. "We're not even anymore," he said, eyeing the peccary that had attacked him. "I owe you."
Mutt shook his head. "Aw, forget it, Pops. No one messes with my old man."
Indy laughed. Then he muttered, "Ow."
Ox borrowed Mutt's knife, cut a strip from the poncho he wore and used it to bind the place the peccary had champed.
"Why don't you two start butchering one of those pigs," Marion suggested. "I can take over the ministrations from here."
For once, Indy didn't argue. He didn't want Mutt to worry about him, and he knew that Marion wouldn't want to deal with the skinning and division of the peccaries. "That sounds like a good idea."
Mutt didn't look thrilled with the idea of leaving his parents alone, but he followed Ox, who was already dragging the second dead pig away.
"Now," Marion said in a business-like way, "how bad is it really?"
"Like Ox said, it's not very serious. But the pain is...pretty dang near unbearable."
"I don't suppose it'll help if I give you a kiss someplace it doesn't hurt?"
Tempted, Indy glanced toward Mutt and Ox. "Nah, it probably wouldn't help," he said regretfully. "But I'd appreciate it if you'd help me get over to the river—I could really use a drink."
As he leaned down to drink, Indy noticed that the river was quite low, as if the area were suffering a dry spell. But the vegetation looked perfectly healthy. "Funny," he murmured.
"What is it?"
"Look at the riverbank on the other side. It's so high—as if this river used to have a lot more volume to it."
"Terrain changes. Volcanoes, earthquakes..."
"Yeah, I know. And dams. Maybe we're closer to Rio Branco than I'd hoped."
Marion smiled at him. "That would be wonderful."
"Don't say anything to the others yet—I don't want to get their hopes up."
"I won't." Marion smoothed back Indy's hair, which was damp from dangling into the water when he drank.
Indy noticed a bright spark in her eye. Glancing around quickly, he realized that down by the water's edge they were quite out of sight from the others. Next thing he knew, Marion's arms were around his neck and he was beyond caring whether or not his son caught them kissing.
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Disclaimer: I don't know my way around South America, and I couldn't tell you whether there's a dam on the Rio Acre or not.... So, yeah. Don't sue me.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please review and let me know! :D
