Hello all! I’ve been a little quiet lately, for which I apologize. Most of that time was spent finishing the last editing touches on my novel, which I will talk about in an upcoming post very soon. For now, I’ve got some new fiction brewing. Again, it’s a longer piece, so I’ve split it up as I write it.<\/p>\n
The jungle was fever-hot as Mkab plodded through the thick undergrowth, using his assault rifle to shove fronds aside. His braided hair was plastered to his face from sweat and his fatigues bunched in uncomfortable places. It had to be the worst job he\u2019d ever taken on.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much further do you suppose it is, chap?\u201d his patron asked.<\/p>\n
Mkab rolled his eyes and thought about all the times he\u2019d asked his father \u2018are we there yet?\u2019 back when he was a child. Professor Priyat was no kid, but he sure acted like one. Inane questions about the jungle came out of his mouth at a steady pace, followed by even more irritating ones about Mkab. Although he was no stranger to lying, Mkab wondered just how gullible the professor was.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot far now,\u201d Mkab said. He pushed through a thick set of ferns to find a muddy brook. He cursed under his breath. Water was dangerous in the Laxtica. Biterfish and leeches lurked in the shallows, and the big snakes and cats liked to hide in the trees nearby. Mkab hated the jungle. He wondered, not for the first time, why he\u2019d ever agreed to be Priyat\u2019s guide for the job. He thought he\u2019d promised himself last<\/em> time not to take on any more jobs in the Laxtica.<\/p>\n Priyat seemed undaunted by the stream. He was wearing those big galoshes that came up past his knees.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, chap, shall we cross?\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab checked his compass, then his map. He swore again, loudly enough that the professor probably heard him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have no choice.\u201d In truth, Mkab was so hot that he had an urge to soak in the water, but he knew that it was a deathwish.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is so exciting,\u201d Priyat exclaimed as he waded into the shallow water. Mkab followed, watching the trees for any sign of movement. He wasn\u2019t worried about biterfish gnawing through thick canvas, but the big snakes were another problem. They could never eat a human whole, but that didn\u2019t stop them from trying to suffocate you. He lifted his rifle above his head in case the professor splashed him.<\/p>\n They crossed the stream without any problems. Priyat took a swig from his canteen and Mkab checked for leeches on his pants. He found two, and burned them off with his lighter before he lit a cigarette.<\/p>\n \u201cCare for a snack, friend?\u201d Priyat waved half of a power bar in Mkab\u2019s face. He accepted it with a grunt. Mkab chewed the dense, salty-sweet snack as he pondered their position on the map. The stream was small enough to go unmarked. He figured the tall ridge was ahead, but that put him far behind of schedule. It would be dark by the time he reached the target zone with Priyat. Mkab had no desire to spend a night in the jungle.<\/p>\n \u201cSo how much further, chap?\u201d Priyat was reading the map over his shoulder. Mkab scowled.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know so much about them,\u201d Mkab said. He spat out the last of the power bar; it was starting to taste funny. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you<\/em> tell me where they are?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know exactly where they are,\u201d Priyat replied. He sat down on a large stone and took off his galoshes, one by one. He began to massage his feet through thick, woollen socks. \u201cGets cramped wearing those rubber things all day. The Aaman<\/em> make their home in this very jungle and stay in a small valley during the summer season. I\u2019m assuming that\u2019s this thing here on the map.\u201d He pointed to a mountain. Mkab stifled his laughter. \u201cHowever I can\u2019t really read maps well and I\u2019m not familiar with all of the dangers of the jungle. Hence why I hired you. If I could find the Aaman <\/em>on my own, I would have done so.\u201d<\/p>\n And we wouldn\u2019t have a way in, to earn their trust, <\/em>Mkab thought. It still annoyed him that he\u2019d drawn the short straw for the job, but he couldn\u2019t deny that the plan was solid. Mkab checked his watch. Sunset was approaching in another hour. It grew dark quickly in the jungle, and with the canopy so thick, it happened with little warning.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be moving,\u201d Mkab said. He watched as Priyat slowly put his boots back on. Mkab led the way through the broad, low-hanging leaves of the parapara <\/em>trees that grew by the stream. Priyat followed him up the steep ridge.<\/p>\n \u201cThey truly are fascinating, the Aaman,<\/em>\u201d Priyat puffed as he took a short break by leaning on his walking stick. Mkab frowned. Too many small breaks were the reason why they hadn\u2019t reached the target zone, along with the professor\u2019s inane babble that cost him most of his breath. \u201cI don\u2019t know how you can contain your excitement, Mkab, because I can\u2019t. Although I suppose that\u2019s partly because I\u2019ve been studying them my whole life…\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab walked back down to Priyat and pointed to his watch. \u201cSunset comes. The jungle is not safe at night. We must find your tribe.\u201d<\/p>\n Priyat nodded amiably. \u201cQuite right, chap.\u201d He clapped Mkab on the shoulder. \u201cLead on.\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab led on. Up the ridge they continued, picking their way through dense fronds and bushes as the vibrant greens and reds and blues of the Laxtica deepened around them. Mkab made certain to avoid any brightly-coloured flowers, which often contained the deadly kata<\/em> wasp that would paralyze its foe if disturbed, until its pheromones led the remainder of the nest to the victim for their feast. He also kept his eyes peeled and his ears sharp for any sign of larger jungle predators.<\/p>\n The vines grew dense near the top of the ridge, and Mkab had to take out his wide-bladed obsidian itzla<\/em> to swath a path. The sweat was soaking through his khaki shirt and falling off his nose and chin in large beads. The only advantage to sundown was that the jungle would cool to a more tolerable temperature. Once the vines began to thin out, Mkab re-sheathed his itzla <\/em>and allowed himself a generous helping from his water bottle.<\/p>\n \u201cThirsty work, eh, chap? I dunno what I\u2019d do without you along.\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab didn\u2019t know either. Those spindly arms of the professor\u2019s looked as though they\u2019d barely be able to lift a blade.<\/p>\n At the top of the ridge, the trees had thinned out enough to provide a decent view of the jungle. The sun was halfway behind an impressive green hill to the west, and the sky was going from orange to blood-orange. Miles of valley stretched out to the north, below the ridge. Somewhere under that canopy of trees, the Aaman<\/em> lived.<\/p>\n \u201cQuite a view,\u201d Priyat said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be better if we could see them from here.\u201d<\/p>\n Priyat laughed. \u201cThat it would. But we\u2019re close enough now, friend. We should be able to find some signs of them in the valley that will lead us right to their summer village.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot tonight we won\u2019t,\u201d Mkab said. The north side of the ridge was practically a cliff; picking a way down in the dark was not a good idea, and finding a gentler slope would add hours of travel time, if Mkab was reading the map correctly. He was not about to brave the jungle at night, however.<\/p>\n Priyat shaded his eyes to watch the last sliver of sunlight plunge behind the hill. \u201cQuite right.\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab shrugged out of his backpack and began setting up his tent on the mossy ground. Priyat followed suit. As the light dwindled, the only sounds were the rustling of canvas and vinyl, and the twittering of the jungle birds. Mkab managed to set up mosquito netting and gather enough wood for a fire just as the rainforest grew dark.<\/p>\n A big, yellow full moon was rising up over the hills as Mkab heated up his can of beans over the fire. Priyat was dining on a mix of nuts and dried fruit. Mkab wished that he\u2019d run into a big snake after all; they were supposed to taste similar to chicken. His mouth watered and he took a healthy swig from his canteen.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s too bad we won\u2019t find them tonight,\u201d Priyat said. Mkab could see the moon reflected in the professor\u2019s eyes. \u201cIt\u2019s their midsummer hunt. My thesis advisor was privileged enough to see the event. The entire tribe participates, and boys who make their first kill become men. They light these great big effigies, and the songs<\/em> they sing…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSounds like it might not be a good night to find them,\u201d Mkab said. He could only imagine what kind of blood frenzy would be upon the savages during their rituals. He wondered if the effigies would be visible from the ridge, but the jungle canopy below was as black as the blade at his belt.<\/p>\n \u201cNonsense, they hunt for jaguars. It would be thrilling to watch, even if we had to remain behind in the village.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be safer to meet them in the daylight.\u201d Mkab pulled his beans out of the fire with a gloved hand and dug in with his spoon.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, they\u2019re not so dangerous as all that,\u201d Priyat insisted. \u201cNot with me around to translate, anyhow.\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab grunted and shoved in another mouthful of beans. He wasn\u2019t so sure about the professor\u2019s ability to communicate well with savages, regardless of how well the man knew their language. Mkab finished his beans and threw the can aside. Priyat scowled at him across the flames.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re just going to throw that aside and leave it there?\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s metal. It comes out of the ground. The paper label comes from trees, and the ink comes from plants.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not as simple as all that, chap.\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab grimaced. If he calls me \u2018chap\u2019 one more time…<\/em> \u201cYou can pick it up, then. I am going to my tent.\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab entered his small tent and closed the zippered flap.<\/p>\n \u201cShouldn\u2019t we keep a watch?\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab clenched his fists and told himself that ripping his tent apart to choke Priyat would accomplish nothing. He needed <\/em>the stupid professor. \u201cI said I was going to my tent. I will take first watch in a few minutes.\u201d He hoped Priyat would at least allow him a few minutes of privacy; most <\/em>men understood what a few minutes before watch were good for.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, delightful, then. Wake me up when it\u2019s my turn.\u201d Mkab could hear Priyat pick up the tin can before he went to his own tent. A chuckle escaped his lips. He sat in the darkness of his tent, waiting. Once the tossing and turning sounds from Priyat\u2019s sleeping bag ceased, he carefully dug into his pack and brought out his radio. It was still tuned to the right channel. He plugged in his headphones with the built-in microphone.<\/p>\n \u201cPanther, come in,\u201d he whispered. \u201cThis is Python.\u201d<\/p>\n A voice crackled to life in his ears. \u201cWho thought up these stupid codenames, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab couldn\u2019t help but chuckle. He hoped it wouldn\u2019t wake Priyat. \u201cWasn\u2019t me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo, are you in the target zone?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot even close.\u201d Mkab was careful to keep his voice as low as possible. He knew that Taz would have his volume knob cranked up at the other end, anyway. \u201cPriyat dawdles. I\u2019m by the valley, but it\u2019s too dark to go down the ridge, and the tribe does a hunt tonight. Everyone will have to wait until tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, nothing to be done for it now, I guess. See you tomorrow. Oh, and don\u2019t forget to activate the transponder as soon as you get there. It\u2019ll take us a while to get there, so if they go psycho on you, you\u2019re on your own for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab chuckled. \u201cIt\u2019s not savages that scare me.\u201d<\/p>\n Taz was laughing. \u201cTough guy like you, I don\u2019t get it. Your bigass gun\u2019ll kill a panther, same as it\u2019ll kill anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI must go,\u201d Mkab said. Talk of panthers reminded him that he needed to watch over the campsite. \u201cOver and out, Panther.\u201d<\/p>\n Mkab buried the radio at the bottom of his pack and grabbed his rifle as he exited the tent. He sat down beside the fire and stared out at the darkness beyond the light of the flames.<\/p>\n That was when he heard the drums<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hello all! I’ve been a little quiet lately, for which I apologize. Most of that time was spent finishing the last editing touches on my novel, which I will talk about in an upcoming post very soon. For now, I’ve got some new fiction brewing. Again, it’s a longer piece, so I’ve split it up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-56","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-short-stories","tag-the-jungle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions\/256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamesfunfer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}