2.The Jungle of Dreams

The foliage around me merged into an endless collage of color as I raced. The hanging vines rushed past me, with the canopy providing relief to the blazing sun above. The ground beneath my feet was rough and moist from the rain earlier in the day as steam rose all around me. Creating a humid haze that made it difficult to see. Phoenix, what the hell were you thinking? That thought played a loop in my head as I hustled further, hoping the group chasing me would eventually give up. I was kidding; of course, they would kill me once they got the chance.

Wrapped in the messenger bag that bounced around my waist was something they wanted. Something I took. I had a good reason; I was tasked to keep it safe. Must keep moving. Even if it was exhausting as the sauna-like heat of the Central American jungle hung in the air. Suffocating my every breath, I couldn’t stop. I had to keep it safe; otherwise, there would be worse things to deal with other than the people behind me.

Not too long ago, this idea of running through the jungle would had seemed bonkers how my life had changed since last fall. I prefer, at some point, to be reading from class. Which I still needed to do if I survived this ordeal first. I kept my pace as I arrived at a section of a clearing. While it was still relatively small, it was a meeting point, and standing there was her. She stood there, arms crossed, with her reddish-brown hair and fair skin. Don’t let the slender build of her body fool you or that she was dressed elegantly in a loose-fitting linen blouse and utility pants.

“It’s about bloody time,” She exclaimed with her British accent.

“Evelyn, you try stealing an artifact from the collective.” I tried to catch my breath.

“I have, in fact,” She said. “You tired?”

“Well, I did just sprint here,” I replied, hunched over.

“You would think that you could handle that with your athletic build.” She smirked. I just rolled my eyes and turned as I heard the shouting behind us. I moved towards her.

“You brought some mates?”

“Can we go? I asked just as a single bullet impacted the tree next to us.

“They seem lovely. We do need to work on you making better friends,” she replied as she grabbed her pack to put it in the topless vehicle beside her. She smiled while she made sure everything was secure.

“Not now, Evelyn,” I said as we hopped aboard, and she pressed the gas. She was speeding us off as we raced through the beaten bath. Had I ever mentioned how much I hate it when she drives? I spent most of the trip trying to dodge the endless tree branches and hanging vines from the trees. A few caught me, which I think Evelyn enjoyed. Another bullet flew. This time, it impacted the metal. They were still behind us as more bullets rained down on us.

“I think they are still there,” I said, looking back as I discovered they had wheels of their own now. Clever, those bastards.

“I would have never guessed that, Sherlock.” She jerked us in a different direction, again trying to lose them. Yet they were still gaining ground. She then turned sharply and accelerated faster towards an area of open sky.

“Um, you do know that a cliff, right?” I said. I hoped I was wrong, but I knew her too well and already had the assumption of what she was planning.

“Get ready to jump,” She yelled, pushing us to a sudden stop right next to the sheer drop. I looked down, which was not the best idea. It was far, and I never dealt well with heights. At the bottom was a pool of water. If we were lucky to hit it, we could survive or be smashed into the rocks and trees that would kill us instantly.

“Are you trying to kill us?” I yelled.

“Oh, like you haven’t tried before,” She said, which was low even for her. “Now, JUMP!”

More bullets whiled by our heads. Yep, we're going to die. Just when I was happy with myself. With the bag still around my waist, she grabbed my hand. We jumped.

The air swirled around us, moving our skin as the ground approached. It was as though time had slowed, where every moment seemed like minutes rather than seconds. I was aware of what was around me. Next to me, Evelyn was looking my way, and I could see directly into her brilliant blue eyes. Adjacent to the cliff, there was a vine. Desperate, I reached for it and grabbed it with Evelyn in my other hand. It slid through my palm at first, burning my skin, but my grip held. Using all of the strength in my arms, I pulled us to a jolting, dangling stop. I held on desperately to Evelyn with my other hand, straining my back and arms as they burned. Slowly, I let go as we dropped into the cold water not far below.

Water rushed around me, soaking me. It was refreshing, as it was cool and washed the sweat of the jungle away. I still held the messenger bag in my hand and its cargo as I kicked my way to the surface. Breaking the surface, I gasped for air, and Evelyn awaited me.

“See, we survived.” She exclaimed. I shook my head and smiled. These moments stirred everything inside me as we swam to shore. We arrived drenched as the warm, humid air met us again. Evelyn threw a bag at me, one of her waterproof duffels. I didn’t even notice that she grabbed them when we jumped.

“Here, some dry clothes.” She grabbed one for herself and headed to spot a change. I took the liberty and peeled off my soaked shirt and pants. Then dressing in the dry set of clothes and placed the wet ones back in the pack. I put the bag down as I glanced up to the cliff we had just fallen from. Hopefully, this separation would stop them, and we could get home peacefully.

I also noticed the sun was getting lower in the sky, and we were too far from the pickup point, which meant only one thing.

“We're going to need to find a place to stay.”

I was hoping to be back by now, I hated the idea of spending the night in the jungle.

“Then we should get moving.” She said coming back changed. Now dry, other than her hair, she wrongs the water from it. Then we walked further into the jungle as the sun set above us.

The sky erupted into a brilliant portrait of reds, pinks, and oranges, illuminating the sky above the thick jungle canopy. We probably made It a couple of miles before we found a suitable site for us to make camp. Night had already fallen, and we used a letter to illuminate the path before us. Once camp was made and everything set, we sat by Evelyn's fire.

“So what is all the fuss about?” She asked as she took the wrapped object out of my bag. It wasn’t enormous, but it had a good weight to it. She unwrapped it to reveal a quartz figure with a face that looked like many of the Mayan symbols. The object was initially housed in a temple below one of the pyramids that towered over the jungle. It was almost a foot tall and wide, but it would be considered priceless in many circles.

“Impressed?” I asked as she placed it on the ground next to the fire.

“I am impressed that you didn’t break it.”

I smirked as I lay up against one of the trees. Finally able to rest after a long and exhausting day. My feet were still throbbing from all the running, not to mention all the damn steps on the pyramid. She joined me, lying against me as I wrapped my arms around her. We sat there in silence, listening to only the faint ruffles of the trees and the song of the jungle around us. It was a while before she moved around towards me. Her hand brushed the side of me as she looked into my eyes.

“Those eyes always pierce right through me, you know.” She said, speaking to how they were a striking silver. She knew the story of them, why I had them. She knew everything about me.

“Your beautiful, you know,” I replied with a smile. Before I leaned in, brushing my lips to hers. She leaned towards me as her land slid underneath my shirt, touching my chest. She moved, feeling the muscles throughout my body.

“You take the first watch,” She said as she broke away from me and curled up, paying her head on me. I smiled and looked into the blazing fire across from us. The bug singed as the foliage swayed in the soft, warm breeze. The object sat next to the fire as I started to study it. Looking closer, the inside of the quartz-like structure seemed moving. Almost as if it was alive, changing colors as it shimmered a golden red. My mind shifted as I felt my head fall on Evelyn, and my view went black.

My consciousness shifted elsewhere. The memories of the last fall flooded in, stretching from the endless secrets and scenes of destruction. It was so vivid, as if I was reliving these moments. Even the parts of standing in the circle confronting the collective. With the winds swirling around us as a storm brewed in the distance. Then the scene shifted again, and I found myself at my parent’s house. I was lying on the cold bathroom floor with a pool of blood around me. I felt myself push up from the ground and looked into the mirror. I was smaller than I was now, with blood running from my nose. My gut turned; knowing what this was, I knew what I did. I could see it on the vanity in front of me. My breath became shorter as I looked; it was my worst memory. Then everything went black as it shifted again.

I found myself in a small town, one I didn’t recognize. Where I was standing, smoke clouded the air blocking the moonlight from shining down. The street was flooded with damage as if it was a war zone. Down at the end of the road, a boy stood. He was only a few years younger than me, maybe twenty or so. His olive skin and brown hair were a mess as a quiver of arrows hung from his back and a staff in his hands. I know that stuff, but it shouldn’t be here. Where is this, and what’s going on? I ran towards him, wanting the answers.

“Phoenix,” a voice said as I continued to race towards him.

“Wake up” “Phoenix,” I heard the voice shout.

My eyes flew open; I was jolted from where I was lying. Evelyn was staring at me, eyes wide. I was back to reality with the fire, still dancing before me.

“Phoenix, what happened?” She knew something was wrong, “You were screaming... It was like you were having a seizure or something.” I looked over the quartz stone. It was still shining a deep, golden red... What did it do to me? Seeing my eyesight, Evelyn walked over and covered the stone back with the cloth.

“Hey, it’s ok,” she said, putting her arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. It was all too real—the memories and what was the last part? That was no memory of mine, and the staff was where it should be. We settled back to the ground this time, Evelyn watching as I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

In the morning, we packed up camp. I placed the creepy little object, which I decided to call it now, back into my bag. I wanted to give this thing to the council as quickly as possible. We set out again into the jungle... hopefully, towards the road. It wasn’t long before we got to the rendezvous point. Waiting for us was my roommate, Lucas.

“Looks like you made it out of the jungle alive.” He said as I pushed the messenger bag with the object into his chest.

“I want nothing to do with that.” I jumped into the car.

“Well, ok then,” Lucas replied.

“Let’s just get home, Lucas,” Evelyn said as she ran after me. We set off for home. Looking back, I watched as the jungle got further out of view, the copious amounts of steam obscuring it, wondering what had transpired and what it all meant. That stone did something to me. I wondered why the collective was after it and what they were planning.