Chapter 9: Animal Encounters

Amanda's POV

Day 2 of two week Jamaican vacation is officially over. I think to myself as I comb the wet tendrils of my hair with my fingers. Looking out the bathroom window into the dark night, I listen in to the soft chatter of the jungle insects and the occasional snort of a wild board, the only things making noise at this time of night.

"Amanda?"

I instantly look up at the bathroom door, which was where the voice was coming from. Walking over to it, I open the door to see Randy looking at me curiously, still dressed like he was ready to go out for the day. Or night, considering it was already past midnight.

"What is it Randy?" I ask curiously as I let out a small yawn.

"A few of us are going to go were-boa tracking. I would ask if you wanted to go too, but I guess I'm too late now huh?" he asks me as he crosses his arms.

"Yeah, you are late my dear Viper. The only place I'm going to tonight is to the bed. Have fun were-boa tracking." I say with a wave of my hand as I walk over to the sink.

"We will!" I hear him say as I grab my toothbrush and the toothpaste. "And Amanda . . .?"

"Yes Randy?" I ask as I turn to him with an eyebrow raised.

"Nice nightgown" he tells me with a smirk as he looks me up and down with his eyes. Feeling self-conscious, I look down to see what he was talking about, which is a black silk nightgown that went down to mid-thigh, showed a little bit of cleavage, and was partially backless.

"Oh shut up!" I say as I feel my cheeks burning as I walk over to the door, slamming it in his chuckling face.

That Viper. I think to myself as I stomp back over to the sink, shaking my head in slight disdain as I returned to my toothbrush.

Randy's POV

That almost hurt. I think to myself as I check my nose as while walking out the room and over to the stairs, noticing that everyone else was gathered in the living room either dressed to out hunting or to go to bed.

"Is Amanda going to come with us on our little excursion?" asks Adam with a grin as he crosses his arms. "Or is our little Anaconda too tired to go out tonight?"

"She's hitting the hay." I tell him bluntly as I take the stairs three at a time.

"She always was the tired twin." mutters Monica as she walked over to the foyer. "If she doesn't get her sleep, she gets real cranky."

"Have fun on your hunt! See ya guys . . . tomorrow!" calls Ted as the rest of us walk out, me being the last one to walk out the house. After closing the door, I turn to see that the hunting party consists of Monica, myself, Adam, Lita, Kofi, Sheamus, and Wade.

"I have a feeling we're not going by car are we?" asks Sheamus as he rubs his hands together.

"If we were, we'd be in the garage by now. We're walking. It'll be less suspicious." says Monica as she leads the way over to the front gate.

"It's a pretty long way to the old man's place. Please tell me you know a shortcut." says Wade as we walk out through the gate.

"I do. The old man's place lies in the valley just behind this mountain." says Monica as she points to the tall peak just to our left. "I hope you all like late night mountain climbing."

"Lovely. . . " mutters Wade as we follow Monica onto the dirt road. We travel along the road, stopping at a fence made entirely of large rocks. She climbs over the rather short fence and walks through the bushes till she disappears entirely from sight.

"Monica!" calls Amy as she looks on in concern, just as a white light appears through the bushes. "Monica are you still with us?"

"I'm here," says Monica as she pokes her head out the bushes, a flashlight right in her left hand. "The trail is right where I'm standing. Let's get moving shall we? Sheamus, can you move the plants out the way for me?"

"Sure thing" says Sheamus as he jumps over the fence. His eyes glow green and he outstretches his hand, making the plants around Monica retreat back to reveal the hidden trail.

"You would never notice it in the daylight." I mutter as I climb over the fence last.

"This used to be a fairly popular trail a few years back, but for some reason, the people in the community have been using it less and less." explains Monica as we begin to go uphill, turning back to us with a scowl. "And I think I now remember why."

"Why?" asks Kofi as he raises an eyebrow.

"I think the spider on your shoulder will help give you an idea." answers Monica as she turns the flashlight on Kofi. Kofi instantly pales and slowly looks down at his shoulder to see the brown arachnid looking straight at him.

"Get this thing off me." Kofi commands in a whisper as his left eye twitches.

"Don't worry. I got it!" calls Edge as he picks up a rather big stick. He moves it over to Kofi's spider occupied shoulder, quickly hitting the bug off Kofi and into a nearby bush. "You are now spider free dude."

"Thanks" says Kofi in a sigh of relief as he turns to Edge. "I owe you one."

"I hate to interrupt, but I suggest we get a move on before any more creepy crawlies find us." I say as I cross my arms.

"Like the spider that's crawling on your back as we speak?" asks Wade as he points to me.

"GET THE DAMN THING OFF ME!" I yell as I suddenly go stiff, inwardly groaning at my gutlessness for being so freaked out over an arachnid. I'm an immortal being who's afraid of spiders, oh the irony.

"I'll do it!" calls Monica as she outstretches her hand. Nothing really happens at first, but then I hear the very quiet hisses of the bug as I turn around to come face to face with my hitchhiker, a rather large green and black spider that's moving its limbs rather widely as it continues to try to break free from Monica's psychic hold. Next thing I know, the spider is launched a good ten feet into the night.

"How about we get moving? Like now!" says Monica as she trots ahead. "Before any more spiders find us.

"Follow the hybrid!" calls Sheamus as we continue along the trail. We walk up and over the small mountain, all of us letting out a collective sigh of relief once we start to go downhill into the valley.

"Can we all agree that when we're done looking for were-boa clues, we'll take the main road back to the house?" asks Wade as he raises his hand. "Cause I am so not going back with all those spiders crawling around back there.

"I didn't know you were afraid of spiders Wade." I say with a small smirk as we walk through some of the rocky terrain of the trail.

"Don't be acting so smug Orton. For a vampire, you really are spineless when it comes to spiders." counters Wade as he crosses his arms. "Let me ask you something: when you encounter a spider, do you get Amanda to kill it for you?"

Sheamus and Adam bite their tongues to hold in their laughter as I send a cold stare right at Wade.

"You better shut that mouth Wade or I'm going to shut it for you." I tell him in my most venomous voice.

"Dude, he got you there. Back in our Rated RKO days, if we ever encountered a spider, you would instantly get out the room and wait it out till the spider was gone or was killed by one of us." answers Lita as she crosses her arms.

"Now that I think about it; back during our stop in St. Louis when Sergei tried to kidnap Amanda and had Seth and Dean stayed back to hold you off, you never were scared of Dean even though he's a were-spider. Now, that I think about it again, you never showed any signs of fear whenever you faced Dean in the ring. It seems that you're not afraid of supernatural spider creatures, just the actual normal spider. Why is that?" asks Monica as the trail we walk on becomes a dirt road.

"I have no idea. Were-spiders like Dean I'm fine with, but the common household pests known as spiders are for some reason a big problem I have." I say as I look up at the stars in the night sky.

"That's a peculiar fear," mumbles Kofi as we walk by a small house. "Maybe you just had a very bad incident with spiders when you were really young and it has translated to the fear of spiders you have today."

"I don't have a fear of spiders!" I tell them as I roll my eyes. "I just have a big problem with them that's all!"

"Yeah . . . keep telling yourself that." mumbles Wade as he walks right past me. I scowl at the back of his head as we continue to walk along the dirt road, noticing the outline of a police car near a dark green house, crime scene tape attached to the gate.

"That must be the victim's house!" whispers Sheamus, just as the police car doors open up to let out two burly looking police officers dressed in uniform.

"And those two must be the police officers assigned to monitor the house. Hide!" exclaims Monica as she turned off the flashlight. We all duck behind an old stone fence just before two flashlights shine on the spot we were previously standing on.

"Did you hear something?" asks one officer in his thick Jamaican accent.

"Yeah; something moved over here." says the other officer as we hear their footsteps come closer to our location.

"What are we going to do?" asks Kofi as he looks at the rest of us.

"I have an idea, but it's going to include one of you knocking out the officers from behind." mutters Monica as she takes a rock in hand.

"You can't be serious Monica!" whispers Wade as he shoots her a sharp look.

"We can't have those officers around while we look around for were-boa clues. It's best to have them out of the way!" answers Monica as she threw the rock pretty far into a field across the road.

"Did you hear that?" asks one officer as he turns his flashlight to the field.

"Yep, something's there. Let's go check it out." said the other officer as the two walked into the field.

"Randy go knock them out!" commands Monica as she pushes me forward.

"Why me?" I ask as I stop her in her tracks.

"Simple, you're the fastest and least likely to make a sound. Now go!" she tells me as she ducks behind the fence. I let out a sight of defeat and quickly run into the field to knock out the two officers, hitting them in the neck to render them unconscious.

"DONE!" I yell as I drag the two officers to the side of the road.

"Nice job dude!" calls Adam as I make the officers sit up next to each other outside of the field.

"They'll be out for a few hours, so we have some time." I say as I leave the officers to themselves. "Let's get this search started."

"Way ahead of ya!" calls Lita as she and Monica walk into the crime scene. We follow the girls and walk toward the house, the place casting an eerie shadow over us as we walk around it.

"You guys smell anything . . . off?" asks Kofi as we walk into the backyard area of the place.

"Don't look at me for an answer. I can't smell anything!" says Sheamus as he looks around the area.

"Wade, you have a hypersensitive sense of smell. Can you smell anything weird around here because I can't?" asks Adam as we walk into an area filled with plants all lined up in rows. "Wait . . . now I can."

"I smell something alright," mutters Wade as he turns toward the makeshift garage nearby. "It's coming from the garage. And the smell is getting stronger."

"Yeah, I smell it too." I say as I smell the vile, indescribable stench that's coming from the shady looking garage. A loud hiss echoes throughout the night as we all shoot each other wary looks.

"You guys heard that right?" asks Sheamus as he raises an eyebrow. "Because I just heard a loud reptilian hiss coming from behind that creaky looking garage."

"Yeah, I heard it too, and I think I know who made that sound." whispered Lita as we watch as the creature came into view. The dark yellow eyes of the were-boa came into view as its dark green scaly skin shines under the light of the half moon. Its tail whips around its body threateningly as it watches us from afar.

"That's an ugly creature." mumbles Adam as his face and claws begin to transform, Lita and Wade soon following suit.

"Leaveeeeee"

"Did that were-boa just talk?" asks Kofi as he turns to us, his eyes glowing a bright blue.

"Yeah . . . I think it just did." answers Monica as her eyes turn golden yellow.

"Leave thisss place." said the were-boa, its razor sharp teeth looking threatening in the night. "Thisss isss your one and final warning."

"Why are you attacking all these people?" asks Monica as her claws begin to show.

"That isss none of your concern, little tourist, leave my territory by tomorrow night or else I will come after you all next." says the were-boa as it whips its tail on the ground, making a small dust cloud in the process.

"Oh great! This bloody creature has territorial issues." cries Wade as he lets out a small growl.

"This land belongsss to me. No one shall have it. Not even you." cries the creature as he lets out another hiss.

"Dude, we're just visiting." I tell him as I narrow my eyes.

"This land is mine! Everyone must leave or face the consequencesssss!" cried the boa as it climbed onto the roof of the garage.

"Like we're going to let you ruin our vacation!" calls Kofi as he takes a step forward.

"Fine then, you sssstubborn imbecilessss. If you do not leave by tomorrow night, I will come after you all next." cried the were-boa as he leapt away from the roof and into the bushes, going at a speed that easily matched my own.

"DAMN! That creature's fast!" cries Kofi as his eyes return to normal.

"That's definitely going to be a problem. Something tells me that that were-boa is going to go through with his threat." says Lita as her face returns to normal too.

"Which means we have only a good 16 hours before it comes for us." says Adam as he crosses his arms.

"Yeah," I mumble as I turn to the group. "Let's get back to the house."

Amanda's POV

Clap . . . clap . . . clap

I open up one eye to see sunlight coming through the window, giving me the hint that a new day has arrived. The rhythmic clapping noise continues to echo through the walls as I look around for the one person who could be making it.

"Randy?" I manage to croak out as I sit up in bed. The clapping noises stop and Randy's head appears at the edge of the bed with an indifferent look evident in his eyes.

"Morning 'Manda!" he tells me with that same indifferent look on his face.

"What the hell are you doing on the floor?" I ask as I crawl over to the edge of the bed.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm doing my usual workout." he tells me as he gets into pushup position. With each pushup he does, he claps before catching himself from hitting the ground.

"Since you're a vampire, isn't it a little weird for you to do workouts since you are super strong and superfast?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow at the vampire as he continues to do his work.

"Workouts are a crucial part of a wrestler's life, whether you're human or supernatural. Even though you make a good point, I can't help but do it anyway." says Randy as he shoots me a nonchalant look. "And now that I've answered your question, can you do me a favor?"

"What's the favor?" I ask as I stretch out my arms.

"Can you please sit on my back while I'm doing my pushups? Your extra weight would really help." he tells me as I plant my feet on the ground.

"Okay . . . but I don't know if I should feel offended or not." I say unsurely as I sit on his back Indian style.

"Save your emotions for what I'm going to tell you next," he says in a commanding tone as I hold onto his shirt for support as he continues his pushups. "I have an update on our were-boa."

"What happened last night?" I ask as my face instantly goes serious.

"The were-boa issued us a warning. It wants us to leave by tonight or else it'll come after us. We encountered it by the garage of the victim's house. Apparently, we're in its territory."

"Like hell I'm going to let a were-boa push me around." I mumble under my breath as I scowl at the window.

"I figured you would say that." Randy says to me with a smirk. "We shouldn't let it ruin our vacation. There are 14 of us, and only one of it, but its speed worries me though.

"How fast is it?" I ask out of sudden curiosity.

"Its speed easily matches a vampire's own." he tells me as he claps before catching himself before hitting the ground.

"If it has speed going for him, then not all of us will easily match up with it. Ted most likely will have to sit out. Cody has his illusions going for him, but I'm not sure how far they will work with the were-boa." I say as I start to think up a strategy.

"That's true. With this mountainous terrain, Layla's powers will definitely work in our favor. Kaitlyn and her lightning attacks will be a big help as well. I don't know about Barbie's water abilities working in this kind of area. We have shapeshifters and werewolves on our side. Not to mention, twin psychics." says Randy with a smirk as he falls flat on his stomach.

"Done for the day?" I ask as Randy lets out a small sigh. "I see my work here is done."

"Not yet" mutters the Viper. Somehow, everything happens in a blur as I manage to end up on my back on the carpeted floor as Randy hovers above me, a smirk playing on his lips.

"How the hell did this happen?" I ask with an eyebrow raised as Randy pins my arms above my head.

"I'll never tell, but I need to ask you something that's been bugging me since last night." he tells me with a serious look on his face.

"Okay, but can you do it while you let go of my arms?" I ask as I look upward at my pinned wrists.

"Sure" answered Randy as he lets my hands go. "Now will you do something really important for me?"

"Sure" I say, try to ignore the fact that his body was pressing into mine. "What is it?"

"I need you to look through my memories. I need you to all the way back when I was little." says Randy as he rolls his head to work out a kink in his neck.

"Why? Something happened last night?" I ask as Randy rolls us over so that I was on top of him.

"We encountered spiders and I may have slightly freaked out about one crawling on my back." Randy tells me sheepishly as he looks away in embarrassment. I let out a small laugh since his face is to die for.

"Say no more. Just close your eyes and let me handle the rest." I say as I place my hands on both sides of his face. He nods his head and does what I say, closing his eyes as he wraps his arms around my waist. Closing my own eyes, I start my search. I look through various memories of his past, from his most brutal matches (which I really cringe at. Damn Mick Foley and your thumb tacks barb wired bat!) to his more pleasant memories, Alanna's birth, the first championship he ever won, even the night we became mates. Bypassing all of them, I go toward his earliest memories, and soon enough a certain memory catches my interest. The memory is of a sleeping one year old Randy as he opens his eyes to see a rather large spider staring straight at him, and them him instantly crying at the sight of it.

"I found your problem. Back when you were just a one year old, you woke up in the middle of the night so see a spider just looking at you in your crib. It was like right next to your face, and then you instantly cried." I tell him as I rest my elbow on his chest.

"Woke up to seeing a spider in my crib . . . yep that explains it." mutters Randy as he crosses his arms. "That's why I don't usually sleep if I can help it."

"Except now . . . you've been sleeping a lot more these past few weeks." I say as I raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah . . . because I have you to keep me company." he tells me with a small, but genuine smirk as he strokes my hair.

"Ah that's so sweet of you to say . . . but tell me something Randy. Which was more painful: falling on the thumb tacks after a failed RKO attempt or getting hit in the head by Foley's Barbie back at Backlash 2004?" I ask with a small chuckle as I roll out of his grip and sit up on the ground.

"Definitely the thumb tacks! I can handle being hit in the face by a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, but becoming a vampire pin cushion is a whole different story." he tells me as he too sits up.

"In Mick's defense, you were the one to introduce the thumb tacks in the match." I say with a small shrug.

"Yeah . . . well, thanks to the PG Era were in now, you don't need to worry about me in any matches that involve thumb tacks anytime soon." says the Viper as he wraps his arms around my waist.

"That's good to know, and I think I may know a way to solve your spider problem. Just spend a minute around one and you'll end up realizing that spiders are no big deal after all." I suggest as I turn my head to face his.

"Do you really think that will work?" asks Randy in absolute disbelief.

"It's worth a shot, but don't worry, we won't do anything involving spiders till this were-boa issue is resolved." I say as I look out the window.

"Thank you" he mumbles for an answer as I feel him muzzling his head against my hair.

"You're welcome" I say with a small smirk as I lean into his chest, knowing the moment we're having is just the calm before the storm.

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