Hi Readers!
As I promised, here's the next chapter.
I hope you will enjoy it! :D
Chapter 55
"Am I the only one who feels the temperature soaring?" Amy Cahill was wiping the sweat off her forehead with a tissue. She and Nikolai had been tramping in the forest for half an hour, but they couldn't find the track of Mr. Oh or anyone else. The worst of all was that they didn't know how much time was left to stop the Ekats. And then they forgot to add the fact that they were helplessly lost in the jungle of venomous snakes, oversized insects and deadly predators.
"Maybe... Uh, all I can think of is that we are going round and round." Nikolai stopped. "Really. Just look at that tree!" He pointed at an old mahogany tree whose roots broke to the surface like thousands of tangled snakes. "We must have seen it before!"
Amy examined it carefully. She couldn't help having a deja-vu. It didn't start from Nikolai's comment, but from the moment she had set foot in the rainforest.
"But it can't be... How could we circle around a point if we keep going to only one direction?"
Nikolai went closer to the scary roots. "How much weight do you think these can sustain?"
"What are you planning to do?" Amy rose an eyebrow.
"This tree is about 60 metres high. We could see our surroundings from its top and decide which way to go."
"Then let's do it!" Amy agreed.
Abruptly, the shrubs behind them started to move.
"What... what's there?" Amy asked, making Niko turn back. However, the bush got still from her voice.
"There's nothing. Maybe just the wind rustled the leaves..." Nikolai tried to calm her down, but Amy was sure that she'd seen something white from the behind of the greenery. "Eh, stay here, I'll be back in a second."
While Niko disappeared high up on the tree, the shrub moved again.
Amy walked slowly backwards. She didn't know what was hiding there, but it was only the matter of time when it decided to come out.
"What if it is a puma? Or..." She wished she could stop the flow of thoughts in her head.
The leaves rattled even more intensely.
"Um, Nikolai...?"
"I'm nearly there, don't worry! If you could see what a nice view is up here!"
"But..." Amy groaned. The monster behind the bushes was about to pop up. She grabbed a branch from the ground and held it like a sword at the shrub.
When the creature jumped out of its shelter, Amy rose the piece of wood, hitting it with all the power left in her.
The muddy thing let out a roar.
If the girl hadn't been concentrating on defending herself, she would have thought that the stranger was shouting her name - with a silky British accent...
"Aaaammyyyyyy! I surrender! Stop! I came in peace!" Ian Kabra shouted for his life, trying to dodge the deadly branch.
"I-Ian?" Amy stuttered when she realised what she was doing. "How...? Wait, did I hurt you?"
"I'm ok, don't worry!" Having survived the assault, Ian sat onto one of the enormous roots. "But that portal and that water... I was sure that I'd drown!"
"So you..."
"Yeah, I jumped some minutes after you." Ian said. "Then I landed on a beach..."
Amy nodded. "The same happened to Niko and me. But how could you find us?"
"What? That self-sufficient blonde is still with you?"
After seeing the girl's frown and the 'weapon' in her hand, Ian made that really wise decision to take the case seriously.
"Getting back to the point, conjectured that the Ekats and you were in the jungle, so I went inside, and then there was this..." Ian paused for a minute. "Listen!"
Amy heard the sound of drums spreading between the trunks of the trees. The distant music consisted of the repetition of a short and two longer tones, which were enough to send shivers down her spine.
"I was following this." Ian said when Amy got back from under the spell of the mysterious melody. "It lead me deeper into the forest... to you... However, I still wonder where it comes from. I haven't seen a single soul on the way here."
Amy shook her head. "I have no clue..."
"But I do. Guys, come up here, you have to see this!" Came Niko's voice from upwards.
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"I could say that I like being lost in the middle of nothing with you, Daniel, but I'd be lying."
"And I could also say that I'm fond of the put downs like this from those boring TV shows, Cobra, but I'd be also lying."
"You are so..."
"What?"
"I don't want to be near a peasant like you, go away!"
"Happily!"
Dan Cahill had no idea when he got the first slap, but he realised quite fast that it was a fatal mistake to underestimate Natalie Kabra's strength, even if she looked like a harmless fashionista.
"I told you to go west and what did you do? The total opposite! And now we're lost in this... this..."
"Jungle?" Dan helped her.
"Yes, this jungle!" Natalie moaned, not seeing the dark shadow swooshing above her head. "I hate it. These mosquitoes and... and ugly lizards... and... Aargh!"
The small monkey sitting on a tree must have found the girl's hairdo really attractive, because he buried his hands in it and refused to let her go. He stick to her so much that when she wanted to get further from the tree, he jumped on her back, causing a not so pleasant surprise to her.
"OK, now..." Natalie calmed herself, ignoring the laughing Dan. She had some experience with monkeys from the Kabra family's private zoo and knew that the worst thing to do in such a situation is moving too quickly. So carefully, she caught the neck of the animal and did her best to lift his body up to break free from the small fingers pulling her black locks. Finally, getting annoyed of Natalie's trials, the monkey let out an indignant cry and decided to sit on Dan's shoulders instead.
"Hi buddy, how are you doing?" Dan caressed the head of the tiny mammal. "Oh, how should I call you? What about Paco?"
As if Paco understood him, he jumped up to the top of Dan's head.
"Hey, put that monster down already!" Natalie narrowed her eyes. "And don't give him a name, because it can sound like that you want to take him with us!"
"Who said I don't want to?" Dan smirked. "And anyway, it was time I had some intelligent companion."
He saw Natalie's olive face redden.
"She is going to blow up." He thought. "Cool!"
The girl approached him. Dan got ready to get the fourth slap that day, but she just froze next to him.
"Natalie?"
"Sshhh!"
"Nat-?"
"Shut up already, Cahill!" Natalie hissed and pressed her hand on his mouth.
"Oooh, oooh, aah, aah!" Paco protested.
"You too!" She sighed and made the monkey quiet the same way. "I think I heard something!"
Bum... Dum... Bum...
Bum... Dum... Bum...
"Sounds like a bad music track from Nellie's phone." Dan laughed.
"Idiot!" Natalie sighed. "Music means that there's someone to ask where we are!"
Dan rolled his eyes, but then felt the weight of Paco taken off him. The animal climbed back onto Natalie, peeked around himself, then stole her bracelet and escaped, swinging from liana to liana.
"Hey, you little thief!" Natalie yelled and started to run after him. "Give it back! Immediately!"
"Natalie, wait, you are-" Dan tried to catch her wrist, but she was too agile. All he could do was following her into the middle of the forest... Right where the strange sounds were coming from...
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Why do all those hateful creatures like spiders and insects always find the most beautiful, glamorous person in the group?
Isabel Kabra didn't know the answer, but with a spider dancing on the top of her head, somehow she found figuring it out less important.
Her problems started when she found herself wandering through a forest after strange drum-like sounds, in the companion of Sinead Starling and what's worse, two Spaskys the same time. The eight-legged monster was just a bonus...
"Isabel, wait!" Sinead pulled a tissue out of her pocket. "I'll try to get it out of your hair..."
"No, don't touch me!" Isabel yelled hysterically, making Irina and the others giggle. "It's disgusting!"
She was about to catch the black coloured animal and throw it off herself, but Sinead stopped her arm. There was something Isabel couldn't see on the spider's back. The sand-glass shaped, red spot.
Sinead took a step backwards. She realized fast that it was no laughing matter. "Don't move!"
"Why... what...?" Isabel gaped at the terrified expression of Sinead. Then, she noticed the mark too.
It was a black widow racing up her back.
She let out a scream, which made everyone else turn back to her - everyone except for Alek. The man kept heading to the enemy like a terminator. Irina was halfway between him and the other part of the group.
"Alek, wait!" Irina told her brother, but all the answer coming from the man was a furious growl.
Meanwhile, Isabel felt the spider climb closer to her face, covering her with its sticky web. She let out a groan as she thought of the poison it could infect her with. She would be dead in no time.
Then, the widow made its way to her mouth.
"Mmph..." She pushed her lips together and peered at Sinead, messaging "What takes so long?" with her eyes.
Sinead lifted the tissue and tried to wipe away the spider, although she had mixed emotions about saving Isabel. She was a dangerous Vesper, a power-hungry killer - or at least Sinead knew only this side of her. However, she owed Natalie one after all the little girl had to go through because of her betrayal.
As she was about to free Isabel desperately, the widow slipped up to the woman's eyes. As it left her mouth, Isabel opened it and yelled in terror again.
Irina, ignoring the still grumbling Alek, walked back to her old rival.
"I'll try to get it off with my nail-needles." She offered. "Can you tilt your head a bit backwards?"
Isabel obeyed, but the widow climbed upwards again, resting on her forehead.
"It's going to kill me!" Isabel shouted, losing control. Crocodile tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"I'll make it, just don't panic!" Irina tried to calm her down, but the woman kept shaking her head rapidly, crying - it was a wonder that the spider staid motionless.
"Isabel, please!" Irina tried and leaned closer to help her, but her hands were stopped. A deadly iron spear flew past her in the air.
Isabel saw it too, but it was too late for her to dodge it.
The next thing she remembered was the eight legs disappear from her face.
She opened her eyes and with her gaze, she followed the trajectory of the spear to find it hanging horizontally from the bark of a tree with the black widow on its sharp edge.
"Can we go now already?" They heard Alek's irritated voice.
"You crazy moron, you could have killed me!" Isabel gasped. "How you dare?!"
"I saved your life, so please be nice and don't hinder our mission anymore or..." The man rose another iron rod.
Isabel's eyes widened... and she wasn't the only one. Alek's behaviour flabbergasted his sister too.
While the team continued their journey, Irina caught his wrist and drew him aside, behind a tree.
"Brother, we need to talk!"
"Leave me alone!" Alek huffed, shaking her hands off him.
"Listen," Irina insisted. "Even if Nata-"
"Hey, there's someone!" A scream interrupted, making all the heads turn to the same direction.
That's it! :)
Reviews are well appreciated, so if you liked this chappy, please send one! ^^
Anyway next week seems to be a nightmare, so I won't promise any updates for a while, but maybe... eh... I'll see... xP
Thanks for reading again, see you later!
