Death #26:
Singing in the Jungle!
By Rachel
It's gonna
take a lot to take me away from you... there's nothing that a hundred men or
more could ever do...
"SHHHH!"
I blessed the
rains down in AFFFRICCAA!
"NICK!"
The young man stopped singing abruptly and looked up at his friend
with a smirk on his face. "You are no fun D. No fun at all."
Howie simply shook his head as he trudged along ahead of Nick,
using his machete to push branches and bushes out of the way, occasionally
pausing to wipe away the rain drops that were dripping down his face.
"Hey loud mouth," Howie spat as he slapped at what felt
like the millionth biting fly of the hour, "did you listen to a word the
guide said back there?"
All Nick could do was shake his head because seriously? Listen?
Nick Carter listen? Ha.
"Well let me refresh your memory, she said to stick to the
path and to be respectful. We're already lost because YOU had to find the perfect flower for Lauren, and now
you're singing about Africa at the top of your lungs." The annoyance in
Howie's voice grew by the second, "PS dumbass, Fiji is NOT in
Africa."
Nick could do nothing but laugh, "Man relax," he
whispered, catching up with Howie for a minute and laying a hand on his
shoulder, "We're out here in the jungle, and it's beautiful!"
Howie rolled his eyes, continuing on as he stared up towards the
sun, trying his best to figure out it's position in the sky. He wouldn't call
this "beautiful". Beautiful was lying on the beach with his wife back
at the resort. Beautiful was sticking to the trail the guide had cautiously
warned them to stick to. Beautiful was living to see another day with his son.
But this... this was NOT beautiful.
"And look on the bright side D... it's not raining
anymore!"
I can see
clearly now the rain is gooooone...
Howe had to clench his teeth to keep from turning around and
decking him when he started singing again. He tried to pull his mind from the
insanity of the man behind him and focused instead at getting them safely back.
Nick grew quite after a time and he kept walking for what felt like forever
until he finally saw a light in the distance. He squinted and climbed up on a
rock to make sure but... yes... yes! It was the lights from the tops of the
villas, shining like a beacon guiding them home.
"Nick!" Howie called out, glancing behind him, excited
to let him know he'd found the way. But instead of Nick all he saw were the
bushes and trees he'd just come through. "Hey Nick!"
He called out several more times to no avail, getting angrier with
each passing minute. "Nick Carter!" He yelled, this time as loud as
he could, "If this is your idea of a sick joke, I will find you and when I
do I will beat your ass!"
Silence.
Howie decided to backtrack, following the path he'd cleared the
first time he'd ventured through. All was silent for a few minutes, but then...
a scream. A horrible, gut wrenching scream. Howie felt his heart stop and then
leap into his throat. He knew the scream was Nick's and he knew he had to do
something. He hurried closer to where the screams were coming from, wondering
the whole time what the hell kind of animal could bring on screams like that
and if a small latino with a machete could possibly stand a chance against it.
He breathed deeply... it wasn't optional. This was his friend and
he would damn well try to save him.
Howie walked closer still to where the screams were coming from.
They never stopped and his heart raced faster and faster with each step.
Suddenly all was quiet for a brief moment, and in that moment he heard the
sound of voices. Human voices.
Howie crept closer, kneeling on his knees as he edged his way
through the weeds. He could see the sun from a clearing in the distance and
knew that had to be where Nick was. Maybe someone had already saved him. Maybe
it was too late.
But then, there were the screams again, even more agonizing than
before and Howie hurried faster.
He came to the edge of the clearing and pulled back the leaves of
one of the bushes, peering quickly in, and the sight he saw there would forever
haunt his mind. There was Nick, a fire beside him, his arms and legs tied
behind him. His eyes shut tight. His mouth open in that God awful scream...
And there surrounding Nick were a group of horrid looking men,
there mouths dripping with blood, there eyes without a trace of humanity as
they knelt beside his body and ripped chunks of flesh from his bones. One was
roasting a piece of him over the fire, another was preparing to tear away at
his side.
Howie could look no longer. He couldn't scream, he couldn't
breathe... he just knew he had to get help. He turned from the clearing and ran
as fast as his legs could carry him, stopping only momentarily to vomit on the
side of the trail in a patch of Fiji'n flowers.
He ran straight back to where he'd stopped before, where he'd seen
the lights. He ran on down from the jungle and to the gates of the resort where
he collapsed into a heap of exhaustion and fear and sickness until a guard had
found him sometime later.
Howie couldn't find the words to describe what he'd seen, but the
guards knew that something bad had happened. They followed Howie back up into
the jungle, and to the clearing where they all stopped in their tracks.
The fire was out, the cannibals were gone. Birds were picking the
last remaining bits of skin from the pile of bones. The fresh puddles of blood
were the only thing left to let them know this had been a recent attack.
Howie knelt beside the remains of his friend and cried. He would
forever be haunted by the things he saw that day... by the images that would
constantly run through his mind.
And of course... by those damned songs.
***