We both laughed, and I realized how nice it was to have a momentary reprieve from the tension of this mission to just enjoy each other’s humor.
“Single it up,” Guillermo directed us as the foliage closed in tighter around us. “We have only about five miles left. And we’re not outfitted for camping, so keep up.”
Parrot took his spot behind me, and we continued our safari through the Junoesque. The sun soon disappeared, and darkness settled in around us. The farther into the jungle’s thick overgrowth we trekked, the blacker it became.
I’d never known darkness like this. I couldn’t see Guillermo in front of me or even my horse, Diablo, for that matter. I felt, not saw, the foliage around me, brushing my arms and legs and occasionally slapping my face.
If not for Guillermo, Parrot, Jonathan, and, of course, Diablo, I would’ve been out of my mind in fear of what might have been out there in the inky night.
As if on cue, the jungle suddenly became alive with sound.
Click-clacks. Snaps. Croaks. High-pitched wails. A deafening hiss and hum. It came in stereo from all directions. A symphony of bugs, an orchestra of nocturnal animals. It was the craziest, most all-encompassing sound I’d ever experienced.
Overwhelmed with the energy and overpowering sounds, I hunched down close to Diablo and pressed my fingers to my ears. “Is this normal?” I nearly shouted.
“Yes,” Guillermo shouted back.
And then suddenly I felt them, biting my neck, my forearms, my ears, and any exposed skin they could get to. “They’re attacking me!” I yelled.
In the darkness I fumbled for my backpack and unzipped the front. I dug out my bug repellant and started spraying it on me, in the air, on Diablo. It helped. A little.
I shoveled blindly through my backpack and found the one and only jacket I’d packed. Frantically, I shoved my arms into it and zipped it up. I’d roast in this heat and humidity, but at least my arms would be covered from the bugs.
Ahead of me Guillermo lit a lamp, and immediately it cast light around us. I sucked in a breath at the sight.
Bugs. Everywhere.
Big ones. Small ones. All colors.
Like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Again I began spraying the air with bug repellant. The insects merely flew through the fog as if it gave them a renewed strength.
Guillermo stopped his horse.
“What are you doing?” I sprayed a red one coming right at me. “We need to gallop through this stuff.”
“It’ll be like this the whole rest of the way,” Guillermo called over the sound.
“What?!”
Was he kidding?
Guillermo dismounted from his horse, slid a machete from his saddle, walked over to a tree, and sliced a tumorlike growth from the side of the trunk. He scooped up a handful of tiny squirming bugs, rubbed them together in his hands, then smeared brown liquid guts on his neck, arms, face, and through his hair and bushy beard.
Ew!
“What
is
that?”
“Termites.” He scooped a handful and brought it to me.
I shook my head. “No, no, no, no, no.” Termite guts were going nowhere near my skin.
With a shrug, he continued on to Parrot, who immediately took the bugs, squished them, and began rubbing the goo on himself. Jonathan did the same. I cringed as I watched them, feeling a little sick to my stomach.
Something sharp sank into my exposed neck. I swatted it and felt the same sharpness on my cheek, then my thumb, then my wrist. Screw this. Bring on the termite guts. “Okay, I’ll take some!” I yelled almost desperately.
Guillermo brought me a handful of squirming termites, and I didn’t stop to think. I took them, rubbed them between my hands, and began spreading the gut liquid on my exposed skin. I didn’t even want to
think
of what I must look like.
Within seconds, the bugs flew right past me. Like I had an invisible force field around me. “What about the horses?”
Guillermo climbed back up in his saddle. “They’ll be fine. These bugs don’t like their blood.”
I surveyed Diablo’s body, and sure enough he stood bug-free.
“And the village we’re going to?” I asked. “Are we going to have to wear termite goop there, too?”
“They burn special spices that ward off the bugs,” Guillermo answered.
Oh, thank God.
Guillermo gave his horse a gentle nudge, and we were on our way again. The small lamp he carried gave us a dim yellow glow to navigate by. And as the minutes ticked by, I became used to the jungle’s nighttime opera.
No one spoke as we rode along. No one
could
speak with the noise. The darkness seemed to get even darker, if that were possible. Seconds ticked into minutes and at least another hour went by. When
would
we be there? Hadn’t Guillermo said it would be only a couple of hours way back at the Land Rover?
“How much longer?” Parrot called through the night.
I smiled as that question brought a sudden memory of my parents to my mind. I’d been five, and my parents and I were in a car. Dad was driving, and Mom was in the passenger seat. I didn’t remember where we were going, but I was restless and couldn’t wait to get there.
“How much longer?” I’d whined with excitement.
“’Bout another fifteen minutes,” my dad replied.
Fifteen minutes went by.
“How much longer?” I asked again, fidgeting with my seat belt.
“’Bout another fifteen minutes,” my dad replied.
And on it went, fifteen minutes going by, me asking my dad, and my dad answering the same way. We probably drove for hours having that exact conversation. My dad had either been incredibly patient or truly enjoying my excited misery.
I sighed through my smile, enjoying the bone-deep warmth that came with a memory of my parents. I reached down and rubbed Diablo, just needing some contact and touch.
A flashing flame in the distance brought my attention back to the present. I squinted and made out a few lights scattered through the thick foliage. I kept my eyes peeled to the flickering glow as we drew closer. I saw some sort of hut come into view, and then another, and another.
Diablo followed Guillermo and his horse through a maze of enormous plants, and then we stepped into a clearing. And it was like stepping back into another century.
Fires surrounded by stone barriers flickered throughout the village in no particular order. A large circular-shaped thatched-roof hut occupied the center of the clearing. So large I estimated it could hold approximately fifty people. Tall, flaming torches marked the north, south, east, and west corners of the hut. Smaller, triangular-shaped huts dotted the landscape around the larger one, and a few square ones scattered the area as well.
Although I couldn’t see well through the dim light put off by the fires and torches, it appeared as if each hut had a small garden in the back.
An opening on each of those triangular dwellings signified its entrance. Other than that, there were no openings in the straw structures. The square ones, however, had no walls at all, only thatched roofs. At such a late hour, it stood to reason the place sat quiet and still. Everyone was probably asleep.
A movement off to the left drew my attention, and I watched as a dark-haired man walked straight across the clearing without a glance in our direction. With his neatly combed hair, khaki pants, white shirt, and boots, he looked to be in his early twenties. Maybe a college student? An open book in hand, completely oblivious to his surroundings, he pushed his metal-rimmed glasses up as he read and continued marching across the village.
I almost laughed. I hadn’t expected to see a studious little nerd reading a book in the middle of a jungle.
Guillermo urged his horse forward, and we followed. Silently, the four of us filed into the nighttime clearing. Diablo did his vibrating-lip, gush-of-air-out-of-his-mouth thing, and the sound ricocheted through the night.
The nerd jerked at the intrusion and whipped around. His book went one way and his glasses the other. He stood there for a second in shock, staring at us coming toward him. I realized then what we must look like, soaked through from sweat and the humidity, with dried brown termite guts all over our skin and hair I’d probably run screaming in the opposite direction if I saw us.
The nerd gave his head a quick shake, and I watched with amusement as he scrambled to pick up his book and glasses. He blew the dust from his lenses and slipped them on, then went back to staring at us.
His mannerisms reminded me . . . of me.
Huh.
Guillermo brought his horse to a stop right in front of the nerd and said something in Spanish.
“I’m sorry. I don’t speak Spanish,” the nerd responded.
Yep, definitely reminded me of me.
“My name is Guillermo. This is Hannah,” he introduced, nodding to me, “Flint, and Shane. We’re here for the talks.”
The nerd’s face brightened. “Oh! Right! Right!” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “I’m Professor Quirk. I’m the resident expert on the cave drawings.”
I blinked. “
You’re
the professor?” I’d imagined him a
lot
older. “But you’re so young.”
Professor Quirk looked right at me. “And your purpose here is . . . ?” he asked with a bit of playfulness to his tone.
“I’m here as your quote/unquote assistant. I’m the computer specialist.”
“
You’re
the computer specialist?” He blinked. “But you’re so young.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Touché.”
Behind his wire-rimmed glasses, he imitated my narrowed eyes.
So this was the guy I’d be holed up with in a cave for the next week. I wonder how
that’s
going to go.
Professor Quirk pointed to the other side of the clearing. “You can corral your horses over there.” He directed our attention to the triangular-shaped huts bordering the left side of the clearing. “Those first two are for single men.” Then he indicated the ones bordering the right of the clearing. “First two over here are for single women. All the other huts are for the families. This big one in the middle is the ceremonial one. It’s where the talks will take place.”
Guillermo nodded. “Thanks.”
“No problem. See you all tomorrow.” With that, Professor Quirk turned and continued on his path.
Guillermo led the way through the clearing toward the other side where some horses stood corralled. As we passed the huts, I peeked into the openings but saw only darkness inside. I wished there was another girl with me so I wouldn’t have to go into the “single-women” hut by myself. At least Parrot had Jonathan and Guillermo.
We came to a stop at the corral, and all three guys swung their legs over the saddle and effortlessly slid from their horses. I pulled my boots from the stirrups, lifted my right leg to swing it over the saddle, and instantaneously felt a cramp. “Ohhh.”