Part 47 : Night Walk

Mia pushed aside a branch, walking as best she could. She was growing more and more tired by the minute. She had her stuff she found plus Seth’s bag. As it drooped over her shoulder, John immediately caught it for her. He helped her to re-straighten it up. “Thank you,” she smiled.

“You need me to carry that?” he politely asked.

“Oh, I got it, thank you.”

“No offense, Mia but you don’t look like you got it.”

“I am just tired, that’s all. I hope we make it to the beach soon.”

“We should but the sun is going down. If we don’t find it in the next 30 minutes, we may have a problem.”

“Yeah, pretty damn brilliant for us to come this way, “Cecil grunted, “If I don’t die before we reach camp.”

“Say more one freaking word,” John turned around angrily, “And I guarantee you will be!”

“I’ve had it with you, you punk!” Cecil charged him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys!” Martin immediately got between them, “Now is not a good time to do this.”

John and Cecil glared at each other. The archer was sick of the old man’s complaining and Cecil was sick of his constant ordering him around. The young black man held them apart so they couldn’t fight. Mia then gently placed her hand on John’s shoulder, “John, we really should get moving.”

John let his anger subside and walked away. Cecil slowly calmed down. Natasha patted him on the back, thinking it was all very funny. The group finally dispersed and continued walking through the jungle.

As they walked, Mia started to get attacked by bugs. She quickly took off her bandana and flung it around her face, getting them to go away. For a moment, the Lakota girl was curious about the bugs. Lately it seemed when their were bugs flying around, it meant something dead was nearby. It was a little far fetched and she wasn’t about to mention it to John. She took a quick look around to see if she could see anything before mentioning it to the others. Then she spotted something. “John, look,” she pointed.

John turned to his left and saw what she was pointing at. He walked over to bush and looked down at the object hovering in the bushes. It was green rotting banana. John brushed the bugs aside and picked it up examining it. The fact that it was green meant it wasn’t given the chance to ripen. “You found a rotting banana,” Cecil muttered, “Big freaking deal.”

“You don’t get it, Cecil.” John whispered, “This banana had to come from somewhere.”

John then looked skyward and spotted them. High up in the trees were collections of tropical bananas. The archer laughed, as he was glad to find some other kind of fruit than coconut. He knew they had to get them down but they didn’t have the necessary tools just yet. The archer took a step back, preparing to improvise. Gently he pulled out an arrow and aimed at the trees. “Oh, come on!” Cecil yelled, “There is no way in hell you can make that-“

John fired his bow, sending the arrow skyward. The sharp point severed the vine and the bananas plummeted to the ground.

“Shot?” Cecil finally finished, amazed.

“WOO HOO!” Mia screamed, running toward the fruit

“Good shot, John,” Natasha smiled.

“It was a shame to waste that arrow but we need those bananas,” the archer said, rubbing his forehead, “We’ll come back tomorrow and get the rest.”

Mia hoisted up the bananas and gave them to John. The group started to continue their trek through the dense foliage.


After another 40 minutes, the light was gone. It was night time and they were still in the jungle. John was certain they were going the right path but now it was hard to tell. The pen light that Martin had wasn’t offering much in the way of light and the moonlight barely pierced through the canopy jungle above. Mia was slightly scared. Last time in the nighttime she heard whispering and saw three men by the jungle line. Hopefully that was not going to happen again.

Then she stopped. There was a flickering light in the distance, and it was approaching them. Mia quickly tapped John on the chest. He saw the light coming toward them. He then pulled out a bow from his quiver and pulled back the string. He aimed the sharp stick toward the approaching light.

McKay then pushed aside the limp, holding up a torch. John then exhaled deeply, putting down his arrow. The Australian held up his hands, smiling. “I come in peace, Chief.” He replied.

“That’s not funny, McKay. You scared the crap outta us.” Mia pointed out.

“You scared the crap out of us, luv. Being out in the jungle at night is not a good thing. Tony was worried sick.”

“How he is doing?” the archer asked.

“Getting stronger by the hour. C’mon, everybody. Let’s head back to camp. We got a lot of stuff to discuss.”

“Like what?” asked John.

“It’s been confirmed, mate,” McKay sighed, “We ain’t alone.”