Copyright: Power Rangers, the name and characters are owned by Saban Entertainment.
***Bus ride enroot to Amazon village***
***A few days later***
"How is it going, Adam?" said Jason by tapping him on the shoulder. "Do you really think there is something to write about yet?"
"My editor is demanding a full step by step account." Adam responded, as he kept writing in his notebook. "This, my friend, includes every little detail along the journey!"
"I see what you mean." Jason replied with a smile as he directed his attention to Kim, who was sitting on the opposite side of the bus and had undressed down to a sports bra, due to the constant heat.
Jason got up and took a seat next to Kimberly. "So…" he said to her. "…are you going to tell us the real reason you funded this expedition."
She looked at him and turned in the opposite direction. "I funded it, what does it matter?"
"Well I know the reason why all the others are here: for Tommy it's a quest for knowledge, for Billy pride, Adam is looking for the story of the century and I am pretty sure you know why I'm here."
"To irritate and bore me?"
Jason let out a small laugh. "It's just that I expected someone like you to be more interested in say, shopping and fashion."
"I do like these things." She responded.
"Exactly!" Jason pointed out. "And yet you still decided to come along. Really, what are you after?"
She looked at him and smiled. "Maybe I have a thirst for adventure, too."
"Begging your pardon ma'am, but are as cold as they come. You are after something else."
"A gentlemen's duty is to believe what a lady tells him!" she whispered to him.
"Don't let the rank fool you; I am as much of a gentleman as much as you claim to be a lady!"
"That much I noticed!"
Meanwhile on the other side of the bus, Billy was talking to their guide, Rocky.
"Do you know this stretch of the river we will be traveling along?" Billy asked.
"Nobody knows that section of the river." Rocky explained. "Nobody, but me, would be stupid enough to venture a party into it."
"Why is that so stupid?" Billy said.
"I though you knew, Professor Cranston. It's cursed!"
"Really?" Billy humored him. "If it is cursed, then why did you agree to come?"
Rocky sighed. "I owe a gambling bet to some people back in Mexico, very dangerous people. If I hadn't accepted Doctor Oliver's offer, I would probably be dead right now. This way at least I have a fighting chance… still I have my doubts with the curse."
"I am sorry, but as a man of science I don't believe in curses." Billy said. "I only work with facts."
"I'm not asking you to believe in curses, professor. But it IS a fact that no one who has ever entered that place has ever come back alive."
Billy looked uncomfortable. "No one?"
"No one." Rocky said. "But it's not necessary a curse. It could be as simple as a poison arrow to your neck and your shrunken head added to someone's collection. Either way, dead is dead."
"That is enough for today, gentlemen!" Tommy said as the bus was coming to a stop. "Let's rest up; we must be ready to move out at the break of dawn!"
"What did I get myself into!" Billy murmured to himself.
"Did you say something, professor?" Tommy asked sarcastically.
"Nothing, nothing at all!"
***Later that day at the village hostel***
"Gather around!" Tommy said to his companions, as he opened up his friend's journal. "Ok here is the plan: tomorrow morning we shall take the boats down this stream…" he pointed out on the hand drawn map. "…to this little stretch of land here, form there we will continue on foot to this hill over there. With a little luck, we should be there at around 5 PM. We will setup camp to spend the night and rest up, and finally the next morning we move out to the plateau!"
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Billy responded.
"Not to worry you professor…" Adam added. "…but I am afraid that is where the real adventure begins!"
"Where is Miss Kimberly?" said Jason, who just walked in.
"She said she was going out for a walk." Tommy remarked and pointed southwards. "In that direction I think."
"She shouldn't be out there alone!" Said Jason as he grabbed his rifle and went out to search for her.
"That's what I told her." Tommy remarked. "You can imagine the response."
Jason was walking around in the jungle near the stream. As he was searching with his weapon in hand he noticed something hanging from a nearby bush. "Hmmm?" he said with a huge grin once he realized that was Kimberly's sports bra. He then looked at the stream and sure enough there was Kim taking a bath in the water.
"What are you doing here?" Kimberly shouted, once she turned around and saw Jason spying on her and her bra hanging from his rifle.
"A beautiful woman should not bathe alone in these parts." Jason said as he holstered his rifle. "There is no telling what kind of dangers she could run into."
"Danger!" She laughed. "The only danger I have to worry about is you! The way you are sneaking around like some peeping Tom!"
"I beg you pardon, miss, but there is no need to be so arrogant."
"Why don't you go find yourself some native girl to give you cheap thrills?" Kim said as she used her arms to cover her body. "This here is off limits!"
"Miss Kimberly!" Jason shouted as he raised his gun towards her. "Get out of the water, quickly!"
"Not until you turn around…" Kimberly responded "…and lower your gun!"
"Miss Kimberly, if you don't cooperate I will be forced to shoot you in order to spare you the suffering of being eaten alive by a giant crocodile!"
"For your information, there are no crocodiles in the Amazon! There is local reptile, called a caiman, which is similar, but it is not…" but before she could continue she felt something big swimming towards her.
"Behind you!" Jason screamed as she was desperately trying to swim away from the crocodile that was chasing her. "Get out of the water!"
Afraid that he might hit her if he took the shot, Jason threw his gun away and jumped into the water to try and fight the crocodile. However the crocodile was too strong and constantly was able to pull him into the water. Realizing this, Kimberly quickly grabbed Jason's rifle and shot the creature. As blood began filled the water, she began to worry whether Jason managed to survive. Once he got out of the water she sighed in relief and went on to put her clothes back on.
"Why, did you do that for!" Jason yelled.
"He was about to eat you!"
"For your information, I was just toying with him!"
"Yeah sure…" Kim replied sarcastically. "…and by the looks of thing you were about to make a great chew toy! How long were you watching me?"
"Is that how you thank me!" Jason asked angrily.
"Thank you?" Kim laughed. "Should I remind you who killed the beast?"
"You ungrateful little…" he then looked at her foot and noticed. "…you are bleeding!"
Kimberly looked and her foot and noticed that she had a small cut on her right foot. "No problem, it's just a scratch."
"It needs to be cleaned…" Jason said as he looked at the wound. "…you shouldn't walk, otherwise it might get infected." He added and picked her up in his arms.
"Sergeant Scott put me down!" Kim demanded as she didn't want to be carried. "I SAID PUT ME DOWN!"
Jason responded by throwing her to the ground. "As you wish, ma'am!"
"Asshole!"
To be continued…