Disclaimer and other information in Prologue.
Chapter One
The rising sun brought with it the promise of another hot day and the explorers were slowly waking up to the already uncomfortable conditions. Marguerite rolled over in bed with a frustrated groan; the heat had kept her awake most of the night and the last thing she wanted to do was get up after only a few hours of sleep. She could already hear the soft tones of Ned and Roxton talking in the other room and the aromatic smell of coffee motivated her to stretch tense muscles and trudge out of bed. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror perched near the wall as she dressed, Marguerite was dismayed to see a small red welt swelling on her cheek near her jaw line, no doubt the work of one of the numerous insects roaming the jungle. She growled at her reflection causing the men in the other room to glance up curiously as she stomped out. Ned and Malone shared a silent glance of warning with one another and Roxton quickly took action to try and appease the violent mood of the heiress.
" Coffee, Marguerite?" He said, holding out the fluid filled cup as a peace offering.
Marguerite grudgingly accepted the cup; it wasn't Roxton's fault that a bug had bitten her after all. She eased down in a chair, casually maneuvering a lock of her thick hair to cover the bite on her cheek. Just as she was relaxing a yell came from the general direction of the lab causing her to spill a few drops of coffee on her white blouse.
" Marguerite!" Challenger's voice boomed as he stomped loudly up the stairs.
" George?" Roxton inquired hesitantly; it was rare that the scientist lost his temper. " What's the matter?"
" Marguerite, would you happen to know what happened to the bottle containing the Triatomid specimen?" Challenger asked her in a voice that clearly stated that he believed that she did in fact know.
" Tria-what? Really, George, am I supposed to keep track of your silly bug collection now?"
" Silly--Marguerite, did you take the bottle with the Triatomid bug in it or didn't you?"
" I may have taken one of my shampoo bottles out of your lab-"
" Marguerite!" Roxton said shaking his head in amazement at her audacity.
" What! It was mine in the first place was it not?"
" All right!" George interrupted before the two could get into one of their famous arguments. " The bottle doesn't matter. What did you do with the bug?"
" I let it go."
" You set it free! Marguerite! That was a highly dangerous insect. One bite can fell a grown man in normal circumstances and I fear that this was no ordinary Triatomid sampling." Challenger lectured in frustration. " What's a Tri-at-omid?" Ned piped up from the sidelines where he had been observing the argument silently.
" The Triatomid bug is native to the jungle. There have been numerous cases of it being a carrier for a particular parasite, one that can be quite deadly indeed. The sample that I had captured seemed to be a rare variety of the species."
" And it's more dangerous than the other kind?" Roxton asked taking a sip of his coffee.
" Yes, quite. There have only been a few isolated cases that I've read of but in the case of the victims a bite from this particular variety caused accelerated symptoms, making diagnosis and treatment extremely difficult."
" All this worry over a little bug. It probably crawled back under whatever rock you abducted in from in the first place and is living happily ever after safe in its home." Marguerite said, disregarding the men's concerns. " I for one am more worried about if the coffee your outburst caused me to spill on this blouse is going to stain than a small insect that could be easily crushed under the heel of my boot. Now if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I am going to go change."
By the end of the day the bite on Marguerite's cheek had grown nothing but larger, much to her annoyance. Not only that but it had begun to itch horribly and the more she scratched it the larger it swelled making it increasingly difficult to keep it hidden from the other explorers.
' They'd never let me live it down after my letting that damn bug free. Some sort of twisted justice.' She thought to herself; angrily plucking leaves off a plant for a jungle version of a salad that would accompany the meal of raptor that was slowly cooking in the oven.
Veronica and Challenger exchanged a mutual look of warning as Marguerite practically tossed the salad bowl and very nearly its contents onto the table. Roxton raised an eyebrow at Ned who was sitting across from him at the table jotting something into his latest journal. " So, dinner's served I take it?" Roxton quipped. The answer to his question came with a swift toss of the dishrag Marguerite had in her hand aimed perfectly at his head. As the shadows descended on the plateau the explorers settled back to relax after a large meal and mostly satisfying conversation. Roxton had noticed that Marguerite was uncharacteristically silent throughout the meal and that she kept attempting to subtly rub her right cheek with her shoulder. Curious, he followed her outside where she was leaning on the rail staring off into the dark expanse of the jungle.
" Care for some company?" He said softly.
Marguerite turned to look at him over her shoulder and gave a small shrug of indifference. She casually reached up to scratch her cheek again, something that did not get by Roxton.
" Something the matter?"
" No, no. Why do you ask?" She said, realizing her mistake.
" You've been bothering that cheek all night."
" Oh, you know those damn mosquitoes. They've practically taken over the tree house lately."
" Have you talked to Challenger about it? I'm sure he has something in the lab that could ease the itch a bit."
" After this morning? No, thank you."
" Well you have to admit, Marguerite, taking that bottle back was a little low, even for you."
" Even for me?" Marguerite said indignantly, raising an angry eyebrow at Roxton.
" Oh come now; you know what I meant. And even so, I'm sure Challenger wouldn't want you to suffer." Roxton replied with a smirk.
Marguerite huffed softly making her opinion on the matter know and causing Roxton to chuckle as he placed a hand on the small of her back and led her inside to make amends with Challenger.
Chapter One
The rising sun brought with it the promise of another hot day and the explorers were slowly waking up to the already uncomfortable conditions. Marguerite rolled over in bed with a frustrated groan; the heat had kept her awake most of the night and the last thing she wanted to do was get up after only a few hours of sleep. She could already hear the soft tones of Ned and Roxton talking in the other room and the aromatic smell of coffee motivated her to stretch tense muscles and trudge out of bed. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror perched near the wall as she dressed, Marguerite was dismayed to see a small red welt swelling on her cheek near her jaw line, no doubt the work of one of the numerous insects roaming the jungle. She growled at her reflection causing the men in the other room to glance up curiously as she stomped out. Ned and Malone shared a silent glance of warning with one another and Roxton quickly took action to try and appease the violent mood of the heiress.
" Coffee, Marguerite?" He said, holding out the fluid filled cup as a peace offering.
Marguerite grudgingly accepted the cup; it wasn't Roxton's fault that a bug had bitten her after all. She eased down in a chair, casually maneuvering a lock of her thick hair to cover the bite on her cheek. Just as she was relaxing a yell came from the general direction of the lab causing her to spill a few drops of coffee on her white blouse.
" Marguerite!" Challenger's voice boomed as he stomped loudly up the stairs.
" George?" Roxton inquired hesitantly; it was rare that the scientist lost his temper. " What's the matter?"
" Marguerite, would you happen to know what happened to the bottle containing the Triatomid specimen?" Challenger asked her in a voice that clearly stated that he believed that she did in fact know.
" Tria-what? Really, George, am I supposed to keep track of your silly bug collection now?"
" Silly--Marguerite, did you take the bottle with the Triatomid bug in it or didn't you?"
" I may have taken one of my shampoo bottles out of your lab-"
" Marguerite!" Roxton said shaking his head in amazement at her audacity.
" What! It was mine in the first place was it not?"
" All right!" George interrupted before the two could get into one of their famous arguments. " The bottle doesn't matter. What did you do with the bug?"
" I let it go."
" You set it free! Marguerite! That was a highly dangerous insect. One bite can fell a grown man in normal circumstances and I fear that this was no ordinary Triatomid sampling." Challenger lectured in frustration. " What's a Tri-at-omid?" Ned piped up from the sidelines where he had been observing the argument silently.
" The Triatomid bug is native to the jungle. There have been numerous cases of it being a carrier for a particular parasite, one that can be quite deadly indeed. The sample that I had captured seemed to be a rare variety of the species."
" And it's more dangerous than the other kind?" Roxton asked taking a sip of his coffee.
" Yes, quite. There have only been a few isolated cases that I've read of but in the case of the victims a bite from this particular variety caused accelerated symptoms, making diagnosis and treatment extremely difficult."
" All this worry over a little bug. It probably crawled back under whatever rock you abducted in from in the first place and is living happily ever after safe in its home." Marguerite said, disregarding the men's concerns. " I for one am more worried about if the coffee your outburst caused me to spill on this blouse is going to stain than a small insect that could be easily crushed under the heel of my boot. Now if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I am going to go change."
By the end of the day the bite on Marguerite's cheek had grown nothing but larger, much to her annoyance. Not only that but it had begun to itch horribly and the more she scratched it the larger it swelled making it increasingly difficult to keep it hidden from the other explorers.
' They'd never let me live it down after my letting that damn bug free. Some sort of twisted justice.' She thought to herself; angrily plucking leaves off a plant for a jungle version of a salad that would accompany the meal of raptor that was slowly cooking in the oven.
Veronica and Challenger exchanged a mutual look of warning as Marguerite practically tossed the salad bowl and very nearly its contents onto the table. Roxton raised an eyebrow at Ned who was sitting across from him at the table jotting something into his latest journal. " So, dinner's served I take it?" Roxton quipped. The answer to his question came with a swift toss of the dishrag Marguerite had in her hand aimed perfectly at his head. As the shadows descended on the plateau the explorers settled back to relax after a large meal and mostly satisfying conversation. Roxton had noticed that Marguerite was uncharacteristically silent throughout the meal and that she kept attempting to subtly rub her right cheek with her shoulder. Curious, he followed her outside where she was leaning on the rail staring off into the dark expanse of the jungle.
" Care for some company?" He said softly.
Marguerite turned to look at him over her shoulder and gave a small shrug of indifference. She casually reached up to scratch her cheek again, something that did not get by Roxton.
" Something the matter?"
" No, no. Why do you ask?" She said, realizing her mistake.
" You've been bothering that cheek all night."
" Oh, you know those damn mosquitoes. They've practically taken over the tree house lately."
" Have you talked to Challenger about it? I'm sure he has something in the lab that could ease the itch a bit."
" After this morning? No, thank you."
" Well you have to admit, Marguerite, taking that bottle back was a little low, even for you."
" Even for me?" Marguerite said indignantly, raising an angry eyebrow at Roxton.
" Oh come now; you know what I meant. And even so, I'm sure Challenger wouldn't want you to suffer." Roxton replied with a smirk.
Marguerite huffed softly making her opinion on the matter know and causing Roxton to chuckle as he placed a hand on the small of her back and led her inside to make amends with Challenger.
