Hello again and welcome back to 'Heart of the Jungle'! Hope you all enjoy this next chapter!

Six: Into the Jungle We Go!

The ladies were now walking ahead of the guys.

"So what happened exactly?" Bethany was still curious about Vera's break-up.

"Bethany, cut it out! Can't you see she doesn't want to talk about it," Martha scolded. Vera had to admit she was thankful to the redhead - she appreciated Bethany's concern and willingness to help, but Martha was right: she did not want to talk about it.

"Hey, can I borrow your jacket if you're not using it?" Martha then asked, nodding to Bethany's jacket which she had tied around her waist in the heat of the jungle.

"Yeah sure." She untied it and handed it to Martha.

"Thanks. I feel like I'm wearing a bikini at school." Martha tied it around her own exposed waist.

"I did that once," Bethany recalled. "I got sent to the office."

"Makes sense."

"Noah liked it when I showed some skin. It was like the key to our relationship."

Now Martha scrunched up her nose. "Eww."

"Oh my God again with the judging! You don't even know me and it's like you've already made up your mind that you hate me."

"Whoa, hey, I don't hate you," Martha defended. Bethany raised her eyebrows in a 'really?' sort of way. "I just think that you're living in the popular-girl bubble, you know, where people either treat you like a princess, or an object, and it's made you a little self-absorbed, maybe. And you're your own person, and should be treated as such."

Bethany considered this. "Do you think the reason why you're so closed off is that you're afraid people won't like you so you decide not to like them first?"

Martha considered this for a moment. Even Vera paused, intrigued by what the girl trapped inside a man's body had to say.

"No - maybe."

Bethany grinned. "Okay then. I'm just saying you're a babe, so own it."

Now Martha looked a mix of touched and surprised. "Thanks, I think."

Vera considered this too. "That's interesting advice."

"Yeah I actually give really good advice." Bethany paused. "Vera, I'm just curious, but it wasn't Bravestone who you broke up with, was it?"

"What?!" the young woman cried, louder than intended. She shook her head. "No, no definitely not. We were just colleagues."

"I just thought maybe cause of your reaction to seeing him and all. I just had to ask."

"Fair enough. Speaking of..."

They noticed then that the guys had fallen behind a bit, due to them being in an argument. Fridge had obviously said something that had hurt Spencer, for the taller man was staring down at the ground, looking, well, sad. They watched as Fridge then lunged forward in a mock attack, making Spencer jump.

Tension now hovered over the group.

"Oi, let's keep moving," Vera prompted them.

"Dumbass," mumbled Spencer as Fridge went to follow the ladies.

He heard this. In a burst of fury he dove at Spencer, shoving him off the cliff's edge. Spencer's screams echoed as he fell.

"Bravestone!" cried Vera, momentarily forgetting that he was not actually her former partner.

"SPENCER!" Martha and Bethany ran over and watched in horror as Spencer plunged down to the base of the cliff. "You killed him!"

"Bitch, you lunatic!" yelled Bethany.

"Oh chill out," snapped Fridge. "He'll be back."

As if on cue, they heard the chiming, and Spencer fell from the sky, landing swiftly. Now his wrist only bared two life lines.

"This just keeps getting stranger and stranger," Vera muttered to herself. That jewel certainly was powerful. It just went to show that, despite years and years of intense research, she actually knew very little about it and this place.

"Are you okay?" cried Martha, rushing over.

Spencer assessed himself, obviously shaken. "Yeah, I-I think so."

"Don't call me a dumbass." Fridge pointed threateningly at him.

"Don't push me," Spencer shot back.

"Or what? What'cha gonna do Spencer?" Fridge mocked.

"I'll push you back."

"Okay enough!" ordered Vera, stepping between them. "Fighting won't help. I've had enough of breaking up your and Van Pelt's arguments, I don't want it to start again here too."

"She's right," agreed Spencer. "And we can't waste lives. We need each other, like it or not-" He grew all intense. "We have to do this together."

"Could you say that again please," said Bethany, obviously smitten.

"We have to do this together," Spencer repeated in his normal voice.

"No but with the smolder. Do you have control over it or does it just happen naturally?"

He smoldered again. "It just happens naturally."

"Yup, it just happens naturally," Vera assured them. "Now come on, we're almost at the bazaar."

Far away, deep in the jungle, a camp was nestled in the trees. It was the very camp Vera had hastily abandoned those many nights before, trying to get the jewel to safety.

The bikers who had attacked the group earlier that day were just returning, here to report back to their boss. They had good and bad news: good, Dr. Bailey hadn't been harmed, but bad, she and the others had gotten away and didn't have the jewel.

Van Pelt had his back to them, and was watching intently as a tarantula crawled up his arm, beneath the sleeve of his coat, a creature that would have made Vera cringe. He had a content smile on his face. Somehow, he sensed their presence. "Bravestone?"

"Yeah, him and the others, the whole lot."

"They got away."

"We lost 'em - they had help-"

"Vera." The smile crawled further up the dark-eyed man's lips.

"Yeah..."

"A pair of old friends, reunited at last." Now he spun around sharply to face them, the smile gone. "I will summon every creature, every soul in this jungle to hunt them down and reclaim what is mine."

Oooo! Haha! ;) Yay next up, the bazaar, which is one of my favourite parts in the whole movie! :) Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed! And thank you so much for all the reads - you guys are amazing! :)

Also, I'm going to be starting a 'Jurassic Park'/'Jurassic World' story soon, so if you're interested, please stay tuned! Thanks!