ATHOR'S NOTE:
Hey everyone. I know, it's been a while. (Okay, no, I just updated Arachnophobia) I'm just going through this phase where I want to finish all the stories that I have started cuz they are driving me INSANE!!!! Anyway, thanks everyone for reviewing!!
Kas7 – Thanks. :-D
Aryea – Thanks.
Adele – Glad you like it.
ManIACjAcKaL - ::cackling with glee:: waits a few more minutes before starting to write:: … … … … (Okay, that's enough of that.) Thanks though, I'm glad you like it.
This chapter is dedicated to ManIACjAcKaL for having the longest review! ::gives you a bowl of ramen:: Again though, sorry about the long update!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. If I did, don't you think you'd see this story as an actual show instead of a fan fic? Not to mention some of the other Relic Hunter stories. (FAVORED FRIENDS!!!) read it!!! GREAT STORY!!! (Kind of long though)
WARNING: I know everyone already knows this, but I'm a sucker for pain. (I might post this on all the rest of my stories too. Lol)
Nigel had cleaned himself up and bandaged the cut on his cheek. There was still a lump on the back of his skull, but he still looked rough.
The trio bought supplies and were on their way.
"From what I can tell by the map, we should be going east, towards the jungle," Nigel read.
Alex jerked the wheel of the car and the whole machine lurched right from the action.
They were well on their way towards their destination, wherever that was. Nigel translated what he could from the map as he recognized some of the language.
The street sped by, the city seemed to fade away into the wilderness. It was a relatively quiet ride. Nigel kept muttering to himself, trying to keep oral notes, or calling himself names for his redundant capture, as he poured over the sheet of paper.
"Nigel, are you done yet?" Alex demanded.
"Almost. There's a few places I can't quite figure out," he replied, shaking his head.
His vision swam briefly, and he blinked a few times in an attempt to clear it. All his action achieved was blurred outlines on the map. He shook his head.
Sydney caught the movement and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, just give me a moment to clear my head," he replied, blinking a few more times.
The humid air was making everyone hot, sweaty and miserable. In the car, the air was hot and heavy enough to make perspiration run down the back of Alex's neck, staining the blue material of his shirt to a darker blue. Sydney's long, black hair was starting to frizz slightly and the bandage on Nigel's cheek was beginning to lose its stickiness and curl away from his skin.
"Has a mouth, but doesn't eat," he murmured softly, thinking aloud.
"What's that mean?" Alex asked, looking over Nigel's arm.
"Bloody hell…" the Brit sighed, pushing the plastic strip back onto his face, "Are you really that daft?"
Alex growled, suddenly lunging at Nigel, hitting him square in the jaw. The whole car jerked with the action.
"Hey!" Sydney yelled; what else could she do in the moving vehicle?
Nigel's head cracked into the window with a thunk.
"Let me tell you something, Nigy-boy! I'm in charge here, understand? And I'll be damned if I'm called names by some kid with a body like a couple of toothpicks!"
"FINE!!" he yelled back, rubbing his chin and glaring at him.
"So, what did the riddle mean?" Alex said, feigning politeness.
"River," Nigel replied promptly, trying not to roll his eyes.
"Okay, then the closest river here is Hell's Waters," Alex thought aloud.
"Do I even want to know why it's called Hell's Waters?" sighed Sydney.
"Probably not," grinned the kidnapper.
She just rolled her eyes at him.
They continued onwards, not really paying too much attention to the fact that they were headed to the Sograny Jungle.
Nigel just kept deciphering more and more of the map, getting stuck from time to time.
"Okay guys! We're here!" Alex said in a false cheery voice.
"Great," from Sydney.
"Charming," came from Nigel.
The car stopped and everyone got out, stretching his or her limbs from the long trip. Looking around, Sydney and Nigel saw that they had stopped in the middle of the dirt road.
"Okay, so we need to get to Hell's Waters?" asked Alex, opening the trunk of the car and pulling out the bags.
"Yes, we follow the river until we get to a boulder in the shape of a falcon or an eagle," Nigel caught his blue backpack, leaning into the horrible throw and nearly falling over from the weight.
And with that, the journey started…
The trees, vines, and plants seemed to reach out for the travelers, trying to capture them and send them to their doom.
"I've never been somewhere so bloody humid before," the Brit complained, wiping away the sweat from his upper lip. The Band-Aid had finally lost its battle with the humidity and fallen away, revealing the ugly cut.
"Well, that's the jungle for you!" said Alex.
"Why didn't we just drive?" Sydney ducked a low hanging branch.
"Because we couldn't get any further by car. This place has no roads at all. I believe there's a story behind the fact that this place is completely uninhabited," the older man explained with a wink, "Want to hear it?"
"No."
Sydney smiled to herself.
Every so often, in the next hour or so, all of them heard a faint rumbling in the distance, like the wind through the trees, growing used to it until they didn't notice it.
The sound had grown gradually by small degrees at a time
She didn't know about Nigel, but every couple of minutes, Sydney would notice it like she was hearing it for the first time.
Ahead of them, Alex continued to hack and slash a crude path with the machete he had pulled out of his own bag.
He let out a satisfied chuckle.
"Hey guys! We're heeere!" he said in a sing song voice.
Sydney was about to say something dripping in sarcasm when he stepped away from the opening he had made.
White, to put it bluntly. That was all she could see until Sydney looked closer. The water churned and foamed in the rapids. It crashed over rocks and swept away trees that were unlucky enough to get caught in the thirty-foot wide river's path.
"Whoa," Nigel echoed Sydney's thoughts when he was able to get a clear view of Hell's Waters.
She nodded.
"So, where do we go now?" Alex yelled over it to be heard over the pounding waters.
Startled out of his awe, Nigel gave the older man a look before checking the map again, slipping on his glasses once more.
"Follow the sunset until the birds of prey are spotted," Nigel shouted back.
"West then?"
The Brit nodded before taking his glasses off to wipe away the accumulating mist.
"Damn, that means we'll have to cross it!" Alex told them.
"So what's wrong with that?" asked Sydney.
Alex shrugged, placing his palms up to the sky.
"No boat!"
Ah, that could be a problem. The current was probably more that a little too strong to swim in it. She hoped he wasn't going to suggest what she was thinking.
"We'll just have to swim it!"
If Sydney could have sweat-dropped and fallen like the characters in the animes she sometimes watched, then she would have.
"You're joking!" Nigel yelled, "You can't expect us to be able to cross THAT!!"
Alex nodded, his eyes flashing with excitement.
"As long as you get before you hit the rocks or go over the falls, you'll be fine!" he grinned.
"Great… we're stuck with a psycho," Nigel muttered.
TBC…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, thanks for reading! Review!! Review, damn it!!!
NEXT CHAPTER: In Which They Take a Swim…