The Jungle [IC] [R]; Welcome to the Jungle!

[Mysteria]

A Roleplay By Ryudo:


The Jungle

http://www.condortravel.com/slideshow/ecuador/gal07.jpg

The Amazon Rainforest, a billion acres of intrigue and mystery, lay resting during the break of dawn. The rain had already began to fall, drops as large as grapes sounded loudly as they smacked the ground and foliage. The Amazon itself was alive, the Amazon river its blood. The nearly 4,000 mile long river lazily lumbered towards its final destination, it was flood season, and the great river covered even more land than usual.

Two howler monkeys began their loud chorus filling the forest around them with rumbles and echoes. As they shrieked a few Jaguars began their morning rituals, patrolling the river banks for prey. These animals had been untouched for centuries, developing naturally, becoming what they are today due to a need to survive. For, in the Amazon Rainforest, survival was not an easy thing, even for animals specifically designed to live in such harsh conditions.

Suddenly the howler monkeys ceased there crescendo, the jaguars paused, turning their eyes to the sky. Silence. For a moment nothing moved but the river, and then over head, barely visible through the thick trees, emerged a burning plane. The majestic flying machine now ablaze, descending at an alarming rate towards its final resting place. The phoenix’s final flight surely was a spectacular one, the lights reflected in the smoke gave the accident an almost serene beauty as it careened towards oblivion. The screams of those inside were drowned out by the roar of the engines and the explosions all around them.


******************** 5 Minutes Ago ***************************

Derrick looked around, saw the fear in the faces of those around him. It is rare for people to know that they are going to die, in fact most people go their entire lives without even an inkling of how fragile they are, until that final moment of deaths embrace. This blissful ignorance is what caused people to panic so much in life or death situations, they weren’t used to death, death was new, and new things scare people.

Death scared Derrick too, his knees shook as he took in haggard breaths. Why now? He took another deep, labored breath, isn‘t this the part where my life flashes before my own eyes?…He paused, nothing came. Maybe all that was bullshit… His mind didn’t wander back to his childhood but instead came to focus on the flight, especially on the girl he had met earlier. The girl with blonde hair and the bandana, great, he didn’t even know her name.

Derrick figured that if he they both made it out alive at least they would have something to talk about…that however a big if. Derrick was brought back into the world of reality by the voice of the captain, he was past reassuring them, his voice choked by tears,

“Everyone…we are going down, brace for…” He paused a loud sob could be heard over the speaker, “brace for impact.” He whispered.

There was a loud rattling sound above Derrick‘s head, as he looked up a forty pound back pack fell out of the storage above him landing squarely on his forehead. Derrick felt blood in his hands as he passed out.

************************************************** ****************

Derrick laid on his back, his eyes shut tightly, he tried to open them but his head was filled with an intense pain. He tried to move but something was on top of him. He struggle too get a grip and forced his eyes open, at first all he saw was darkness, but as his eyes adjusted he began to see the outlines of trees. His nostrils were filled with smoke, and his forehead was caked with dry blood.

Derrick strained his neck to see what was around him. He saw a few scattered shapes around him. His eyes turned to see what was on top of him, he froze, it was a woman. He strained to remember who she was, and then he saw the bandana.

[Mysteria]

Terror reverberated through Selene's (http://role-player.net/single/?p=8316495&t=7158027) entire body as the pilot spoke the words.

“Everyone…we are going down, brace for…” He paused a loud sob could be heard over the speaker, “brace for impact.” He whispered.

She KNEW something was wrong, not because they had announced that there would be slight turbulence earlier, but because she had KNOWN from the minute her parents had invited her to vacation with them in Chile. The truth was, not only had she originally turned down the invitation to go, she had begged them not to go themselves. The moment she had received the call a chill had went through her as the premonition of great danger unfolded in her mind.

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<flashback>

Her mother's voice jolted her back to reality. "Selene, honey, are you there?" came over the phone. "Yes mom, I'm here, but….." Selene’s voice trailed off. "Selene, you sound strange." Ayanna Harpers voice interrupted her, filled with concern as she questioned her. "Yes mom I am, but listen, I don't think we could go to Chile right now. Maybe we should go somewhere else, I mean, you and Dad haven't booked the trip yet, right?" A sense of foreboding overtook her as she spoke. "Yes we have and why are you acting so strange? Don't tell me you're having one of your so called premonitions again! Selene, we've been through this before, these things you think you feel aren't real and we can't stop life in its tracks every time you get one of these feelings."

"But Mother" Selene interjected but her mom wouldn't listen. "But nothing Selene. Your father and I have plans to go, with or without you, and we'd really like for you to join us. Chile is beautiful, and you've not been there yet so please, put this silliness behind you and come with us?"

Selene spoke to her mother a few minutes more before reluctantly agreeing to go and hanging up the phone.

The trip to Chile was uneventful and as they unloaded from the plane her father teased her. "See Selene, you should listen to your mother." He said with a wink. "We're all here and safe; now let's go have a good time." Selene smiled back at her dad. He always had just that way of making her feel as at ease even when she was terrified inside.



<flash forward>
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The vacation had been, she had to admit, perfect and had gone off without a single incident. Selene had relaxed and pushed the wild premonition out of her mind, allowing herself to enjoy the long overdue vacation, right up until the moment the doors had closed behind them upon boarding the plane.

Terror gripped Selene Harper once more as she broke out into a cold sweat, her face ashen as the premonition flooded her once again. Noticing her daughters' distress, her mother tried calming her as they took their seats, lightening the mood and not mentioning her daughter's prior trepidation about the trip. "It was bellos paisajes wasn't it, Lina?" I can't wait to get home and share the pictures with our family and friends."

Selene smiled at her mother's attempts to ease her mind as she called her by her pet name 'Lina". Answering, Selene replied "Yes, Madre."

Selene spoke little the rest of the flight, not wanting to alarm either of her parents with the nervousness she felt. She spoke briefly for a few moments to a handsome gentleman (http://role-player.net/single/?p=8315898&t=7158027) whose name she didn’t even remember to inquire of. Her nerves had her too riled up to do anything but try to rest.

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<The present>

The pilot's voice startled her from a half sleep. Panic tore through her as she looked to both of her parents. Instinctively she reached for their hands as she mouthed the words "Te Ammo"

The next few moments passed in a whirlwind of haze, soul shattering screams, and then what seemed to be complete silence.

Selene heard voices, immediately followed by pain in her shoulder, and the scent of fuel filling her nostrils. Selene opened her eyes to total devastation. Her parents! "Oh God, please let them be okay." she whispered as she raised her head, searching for them. The sight that met her left her with the sound of a woman's voice screaming in her head "NO". She wanted it to stop but it didn't.

The word no repeated itself over and over, until finally, Selene realized those screams were her own.

Selene fought the urge to just lay there and allow herself to die along with her parents. She couldn't. They wouldn't want that for her. Selene didn't know why she had been spared, but she knew that there was a reason for it.

There had been greater forces at hand here than she understood, but the one thing she did know, was that nothing would stop her will to survive.

After a few more moments of total confusion Selene realized the ground she was laying on seemed unusually soft. A few seconds later she realized that she was lying on top of someone else. She prayed that whoever it was wasn’t dead. As she heard a low moan under her she tried desperately to roll off of the body beneath her. It was then that she realized it was the guy she had spoken to on the plane.


Bellos paisajes = beautiful scenery
Madre = Mother
Te Ammo = I love you.

[Mysteria]

Deleted User:

She sighed lightly as she stared down at her book, reading it but her brain refused to let them sink in longer than half a second. Ares wasn't one to be unfocused, especially when it came to reading, but honestly... Her boyfriend was an asshole. He kept flirting with the woman next to him. Still, she didn't really care... It wasn't like she WANTED to date him. It was her parent's fault, making this ass her fiancée.

As the flight continued, she looked up, bored expression on her face as the pilot mentioned turbulence. Ah fuck. She grabbed her backpack, setting it on her lap as she loosely gripped it before putting her book away.

Of course, she had thought the turbulence was of the normal kind- Apparently not.

"OH MIERDA MALDITA!" She shrieked as the plane banked hard to the left, feeling herself slide a few millimeters. Pedro, the dumbass, attempted to cling to her- She elbowed him in the face. As she felt the air within her ears pop and bubble repeatedly, she, oddly enough, suddenly felt calm... In mind, of course, the adrenaline was still pumping and her heart was racing. However, she could only think one thing.

I never got the chance to clean Maria's pigsty of a home. Damn it.

An image of the place flashed through her mind- She could still see her stupid cousin's sheepish grin.

And then she saw nothing at all.


"...Fuck, my head." She sat up, abiet with a bit of difficulty. Her black hair was mussed and dirtied, her right leg had a particularly nasty cut and her bag was clutched in a death grip. She stared before her, vision blurred, but eventually cleared. The plane was visible, it was the first thing she saw.

The second thing, she noticed was the corpse of her boy- no, EX-boyfriend. And strangely enough, she grinned. "Well, that's one good thing that's happened so far..." Her voice was hoarse and dry, obviously from the smoke, and she coughed a little before she stood, wincing as pain lanced through her when she put pressure on her bad leg.

Ares limped over, grabbing a stick from the ground and a roll of toilet paper that had survived. She grinned slightly, something was funny about that, but wasn't at the same time. She picked it up, noting that it was dirtied beyond repair- People would be better off using sandpaper to wipe their asses with than that- and stuck it onto the stick, using some flames that had spread some, but obviously weren't going to go further, to light the roll of paper.

She limped back to Pedro's body, chuckling. One hard kick to his side, she heard a couple of ribs crack. "That was for being a general asshole." She stomped on his chest, hearing the ribs around his heart collapse. "That was for hitting my sister." She crushed his skull underneath her boot. "That was for flirting with other women while I'm right THERE." And finally, she dropped the makeshift torch on his body, the clothes he wore were highly flammable, luckily, so he went up into flames quickly, the scent of burning flesh strengthening.

"And that is... Well, I hate you. Do I need a reason?"



She limped back to her bag, opting to take care of her leg now that she had made herself feel better. She all but collapsed on her ass, rolling up a pant leg and taking out her med kit. She could do inventory check while she was at it. She opened the kit- The main compartment seemed to be in order- A bit bruised and beaten, but in working order. The medicine compartment, however... Doing a quick check, she cursed. Two bottles were doomed, alright, the liquids everywhere. Luckily, everything else was in working order. She took out a bottle of alcohol and a cotton ball, adding the barest minimum of the liquid onto it and dabbed away at the gash, wincing ever so slightly.

After that was done, she took a bandage and wrapped her leg up. Deeming herself finished with that, she quickly used the cotton ball to soak up the remaining spilled medicine liquids and put everything back.

She went through her bag and pockets- On a majority, everything seemed to be alright... Although- She looked around.

She had no idea where they were exactly. One word went through her head.


(oh maldita mierda= oh shit damn)

[Mysteria]

StormWolf:

~Before the crash~

Aaron had ordered one of those dinky mini-bottles of whisky to help him cope with the non-stop screeching of the child behind him, who found some kind of sick pleasure in kicking the man's seat. Had Aaron been the man he was a few years ago, he would have just punched the kid out. Well, maybe he would still do that, but he was not in the right frame of mind to do so.

"I fuckin' hate the fuckin' children..." he mumbled, a kid that was about thirty pounds overweight sleeping on Aaron's arm like the man was a bloody pillow. The Irishman felt his shirt dampen from the fat little shit drooling on him. He just sighed and reached into his seat pocket for his medication. Popping two fo the bitter tablets into his mouth, Aaron downed them with the last of his water and let out a sigh. He could feel the pills slowly take their effect, forcing him to relax. If airlines still allowed smoking, that would have been perfect.

Aaron closed his eyes to get some sleep while he could, but the plane shook and everyone started to panic. The Irishman gripped the armrests of his seat in a death-grip as everyone screamed around him. When the captain instructed them to brace for impact, all that could be heard from Aaron was,

"Fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck...."

~Present~

Aaron woke up, scrapes all over his face and arms. He saw the bodies of the kids he said he hated so much, then looked to the sky, "Fer fuck's sake, old man! i didn't hate 'em that much!" Aaron simply stared at where he was. Green, green all around, and not the Ireland kind of green. The man mumbled as he checked his pockets, he still had his cigarettes and his lighter, thank God. Aaron also still had his knitting needles. He couldn't believe that these things were allowed on airplanes. He wasn't on an airplane anymore, so it didn't really matter.

[Mysteria]

Bella_Cullen:

Ava Croft had just finished recording the first series of “Jungle Survivors”, it was her big break and she felt it had gone well. She sat relaxing in the VIP bar of the hotel with the crew while they waited to board the flight back to Los Angles. Ava was happy and confident the studio producers in LA would love what they had tapped of the show, she was pretty sure they may even commission another series before this one was aired to the public. She had just finished her drink when they announced that her flight was boarding, she quickly checked her make-up in her ever present cosmetics case and hurried to make her flight.

Everything had gone pretty much to plan on the flight, food was served, souvenirs and trinkets brought round for people to by the take home…………….and then the turbulence started. The seat belt light flashed on and Ava quickly strapped herself back in, pulling the tray back down on her lap and placed her bag on it, she had wanted to refresh her make-up after the meal, when the stewardess walked swiftly down the aisle to address her,

“Ma’am, I’m afraid when the seat belt lights are on all trays must be in the upright position,”

“Fine,” Ava said curtly as she snapped the tray back into place, “Happy now?”

The stewardess smiled and walked away, “I swear this is the last time I ever fly economy.” Ava muttered to herself.

The turbulence gradually got worse and soon the airline crew were rushing to strap themselves in their seats, not worrying about whose tray was down or who was on a mobile phone. Ava glanced around and saw fear and confusion in the eyes of those around her, a fear that intensified when the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling and the pilot made an announcement.

“Everyone…we are going down, brace for…brace for impact.”

Ava’s face froze, mouth wide open as the seriousness of the situation hit her. She was on an aeroplane. She was on an aeroplane that was going to crash. She was on an aeroplane that was going to crash with nothing but some hot dirty jungle beneath it. She quickly pulled her mobile phone from her pocket to try and make a call to her fiancé but a nasty shudder ripped through the plane and it was thrown from her hand down the aisle. She grabbed hold of her much loved cosmetics bag and started doing something she had never done before………pray.

Ava’s eyes flickered open and she groaned, her whole body ached, screamed in fact. As she tried to sit up she noticed the cause of the pain, she was covered in various bruises and scratches with a particularly nasty looking cut to her left leg. As she moved to a sitting position her eyes squinted as she took in the devastation around her. There were bits of plane, bodies and trees strewn across the area, some parts ablaze, some parts destroyed beyond all recognition.

She looked around for anyone she recognised from the crew, but the ones she could see were most certainly dead. Ava began to cry as she realised the horror which had happened here and just how lucky she was to have survived with relatively few injuries. She carefully stood up and stretched, testing for any new pain and found none, still clutching her cosmetics case, and face streaming with tears, she walked towards the few other survivors she could see moving.

[Mysteria]

Deleted User:

Ares sighed, standing up. She glanced around. Okay... A couple doing something most likely inapproperiate, a guy with... Knitting needles?, and a girl dressed like a primp up model princess.

Graaaannnndd...

"ALRIGHT." She snapped, coughing a little to clear her throat. "SURVIVORS, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE SO I CAN TREAT INJURIES. In order of most severe to the less. Chop chop, if you don't want any infections, move, STAT. I'd like to get this over with." She said, frowning as she took out her medical kit.

"By the way, if anyone has bandages, medicines or the like, bring em over here so i can take account as to what we're lookin' at. Its been a long day, try not to be annoying or I will personally finish you off." And in all honesty, with the vicious look on her face, no one doubted that she indeed would do just that,

[Mysteria]

Ryudo:

Derrick didn't know exactly what to do, the thing he did know was that he was in pain and embarrassed. He helped the young lady off of of him than helped her to her feet. As she took his hand he felt his back ache in pain, he hoped that nothing was broken, perhaps a rib or two. He winced in pain as she stood up, but nonetheless apologized,

"I am so sorry ma'am, I..." He felt his head, it seemed to be split in half. He was about to say more when he heard someone barking orders, it sounded like a woman. Derrick gave the girl with the bandanna a small smile, then turned to see who was talking, and exactly what she was saying.

"SURVIVORS, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE SO I CAN TREAT INJURIES. In order of most severe to the less. Chop chop, if you don't want any infections, move, STAT. I'd like to get this over with."

He sighed, someone always tries to take charge. At least it seemed like someone who was capable, they hadn't been tested yet, but at least she wasn't shy. Derrick took a moment to survey those around him, there was the woman barking orders, the young lady with the bandanna, a man who looked like he had seen his fair share of problems, and a woman who looked even more out of place then the rest of them.

Derrick looked back at the girl with the bandanna, he figured now was as good of a time as any,

"My name's Derrick by the way." He gave her the warmest smile he could muster all things considered.

[Mysteria]

After a few awckward moments and some help from the man beneath her, Selene finally managed to move herself off of him and gladly accepted his hand as he helped her up. Still in a state of utter confusion Selene assessed the damage to herself which appeared to be minimal considering the circumstances. A few rather large purplish bruises were already developing and other than a few aches and pains she seemed to have escaped any major damage which she attributed to falling on top of the other passenger.

Selene was still in a state of total disbelief and shock over losing her parents and didn't even move when one of the passengers who seemed to have some medical knowledge started barking out orders. Selene was fine physcially from what she could tell but emotionally she was devestated and just stood there feeling rather disoriented until she saw the gentleman turn back to her and with a smile that looked like it had hurt him to even attempt said "My name's Derrick by the way."

Grateful to find one friendly survivor and still knowing nothing about any of the others she took his hand, replying "It's a pleasure to meet you Derrick, even if under such.." .Selene's voice trailed off as she swallowed hard fighting back tears as she tried to be brave "horrible circumstances. My name is Selene."

The other remaining survivors began milling around the woman who had told them all to go get their wounds attended to. Although Derrick hadn't said he was hurt Selene knew from what limited medical knowledge that she had learned that the wince on his face as he helped her up indicated he was injured.

Selene looked at her parents mangled bodies laying on the ground near her. There was nothing that could be done to help the dead at this moment, now wasn't the time. It was time to help the living.

Walking over and positioning herself beside Derrick she said "Quite possibly, you not only saved my life but also kept me from being severely injured and I....I don't know how to thank you." Selene offered her shoulder to him as she wrapped an arm around his waist with a smile. "Your hurt, please let me help you get over to her to get some medical attention." Despite his protests that he was fine Selene allowed him to lean on her as they walked. She could sense he was in more pain than he was willing to let on.

There was another man and woman who both already had been moving seemed to be ok as they began moving around. After having helped Derrick over Selene made her way back to her parents and removed the rubble laying on top of them. Tears streamed down her face as she began searching for anything that could be used to cover the bodies with. There was little available other than some scattered blankets from the plane. As much as she would have liked to have covered their bodies with the blankets, she knew that the survivors would need them.

Selene positioned her parents bodies beside each other, every muscle in her body aching as she did so. The pain in her left wrist indicated that she had possibly strained or even fractured it. She knew it would heal with time on it's own and opted not to take any medical supplies for herself, the others may need it more than she did.

Burying the bodies would be impossible. Other than being totally pissed off as to why this had to happen, Selene was totally numb as she worked through her pain to cover the bodies. As Selene worked she was already thinking about what else could be salvaged from the plane to help all of the survivors who had been thrown into this current situation. If they were lucky they could find some food and maybe even other supplies...but first she would see her parents buried. Selene began the painstaking process of dragging vines over to cover the bodies and then found what rocks she could to cover the vines. There was no way in hell she was leaving the bodies without giving them some type of burial to keep the animals away from them.

Selene wanted to scream, she wanted to curse the heavens for what they had done to her, to her family. She didnt understand why she alone had been spared out of the three of them, she only knew that there had to be a reason even if it was beyond her grasp right now and at this point she didn't even care why. Sinking down to the ground Selene stopped what she was doing as the realization set it. Wrapping her arms around her knees to prevent the others from seeing her tears she buried her face against her arms and began to cry. Even though there were a few survivors, everyone who had meant anything to her and whom she had loved had been taken from her.

It began to dawn on her that for the first time in her life she was totally alone in the world now.

[Mysteria]

StormWolf:

Aaron muttered and swore as he stumbled about, still a little off his rocker due to the crash. It took the Irishman a few moments to fully realize what the fuck was going on around him. He heard medical attention, that was enough reason for him to head over to that irritating yelling person. Something about the word "medical" stuck in Aaron's head. Medical... medicine... Medicine!

"Ah... fuck me into dust...." he muttered as he searched his pockets again for his medication. "Fuck me into dust..." he said a bit louder as he made his way to the wreckage, looking vainly for that orange tube. "Shit. Shitty Shit! Shit!" he swore with increasing volume. It didn't take long for Aaron to give up searching for his meds. It was like searching for a..... tube of medicine in a wreck... yeah. Reaching into his jeans, Aaron pulled out a pack of smokes and his zippo, lighting the fag and taking a deep draw on it before letting the flavored smoke out his mouth and nostrils. His eyes looked over the young woman sobbing next to some bodies, loved ones probably. Aaron just harrumphed and kept looking about the wreckage as he made his way to that yelling woman. The smell of burning flesh and hair started to get thicker around the scene of the crash. The smell didn't bother Aaron anymore, though he wasn't sure about the others.

[Mysteria]

Bella_Cullen:

Ava stumbled towards of the sound of a woman shouting wanting to help patch up the survivors. She was struggling to see as she crossed the jungle floor, her eyes full of tears and she thought about all the death and destruction around her. She was forever grateful that no-one she loved was aboard the plane with her, although thinking this brought on a fresh flood of tears. She had left her fiance back in the United Kingdom to film this show and he must be hearing about the crash shortly. He would think she was dead possibly as it was a complete miracle that she had survived in any case.

She sighed slightly as she took up her position behind a bandana clad woman and the man she was helping to the doctor of the group, her thoughts trailed back to her life at home. Ava lived a gifted life, born into luxury and celebrity lifestyle which she readily took for granted. All the hardship and less than comfortable conditions that she had found herself in the middle of scared the life out of her. She twirled her hair round her finger absentmindedly as she thought about her life at home and all those who she would miss terribly.

Her thoughts dwelled on self pity for quite some time, not focusing on how others would be feeling but more on how she was feeling. How was she going to cope in this environment? How was she going to get home? Would anyone send a rescue party? Would she like any of the other survivors? And most importantly where was her hair dryer?

[Mysteria]

Roan:

One hour ago a restless redheaded wriggled in her large seat. Mom and pops paying for the hefty flight in first class. Another girl sat next to the restive green-eyed one, head-phones over her ears and a Cosmopolitan magazine in her hands. The long flight from Chile hadn’t fully begun but it was taking a toil on Jolie Saucier already. Something about being suspended in the air for hours on end didn’t sit right with her. She never traveled by plane, only once and that was when she was a child, only remembering now that the ground looked like a green quilt.

Her cousin Mary seemed pretty relaxed Jo noticed as she turned over. “How can you be so calm? I’m sweatin’ bullets over here!” The girl had a soft southern draw, and she made a small whining sound to her cousin, playing as if the trip was killing her. “Oh, stop Jolie.” Mary replied, her bright blue eyes turned from her magazine to give her younger cousin a raised eyebrow. “Yer actin’ like this is Hell. Here, take this.” After rummaging into her purse Mary pulled out a prescription bottle and gave her a white round pill.

“What’ll it do?” Jolie asked, her doe-like green eyes blinking at the thing in her palm.

“Just take it. You’ll relax, maybe sleep.”

And she did take it. After twenty minutes from the sip of her Coke Jo was slumped in her seat, completely incoherent. But her mind was active as it played out a scene of Jolie back at home. She could hear the coffee pot brewing, the purr of her cat as he lay next to her in bed. Oh, her beautiful bed. A huge four-poster made out of antique cypress. A birthday present when she was sixteen and it was absolutely adored by its contents. Every muscle in her body was relaxed, making it seem as if the bed were a cloud. Suddenly, a wailing came to her ears, sending a jolt through her. A man’s muffled voice screamed, and then there were more screams!

The purr of her cat became a viscous growl, and the walls began to tear down, sounding as if the were shredding like metal. Suddenly she was falling out of bed, a scenes of weightlessness, then the most unimaginable pain ever racked over her body. Finally, those dark green eyes opened.

And they saw darkness. She found the strength to move her arms, finding that something lay on top of her, warm and wet. Pushing the mass off of her and squinting her eyes to see in the change of light as she slowly sat up from her down position. A dead child lay next to her, a boy with blonde hair and half a face. She screamed.

Suddenly everything came into focus. The foliage, the wreckage, the dead, the smell of smoke and blood. The pain! Joline chest heaved, her hands shook. Tears welled in her eyes and fell freely but she did not make a sound. She couldn’t, for shock made her mute. Wait, where was Mary? “Mary!” The thought that she wasn’t alone drove her to move, or rather stumble, for her leg was slashed deeply across her left calf but she couldn’t feel the pain now as she cried out for her cousin. “Mary! Mary! Answer me!”

But her calls would end as she spotted her relative. Well, half of her. The girl couldn’t take a step closer not having the nerve to see in greater detail the mess of her now dead cousin. Was she alone? Were others out there? She couldn’t hear too much. Actually, she came to realize, she couldn’t hear at all in her left ear! Snapping her fingers Jo could only hear the sound echo in her right. Shaking now she began to walk, following the charred remains, thinking that it might lead her to others.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Three. . . ."

[Mysteria]

Ryudo:

Derrick smiled at the young lady before him, Selene, he nodded at her. As he did he felt an enormous pain shoot through his neck, gut wrenching knives stabbed him. Derrick nearly fell over, but he caught himself and tried to play it off. He had obviously fell on his back, and now despite the pain was glad that he could walk at all.

Selene helped him towards the woman barking orders, as he was helped over he noticed the woman was saying something. He thanked Selene for helping him than turned his attention to the woman. She had dark hair and deep eyes, she appeared fit and ready to lead. He heard her say something and realized what she was talking about, she wanted to salvage what they could find from the downed plane. She walked towards the plane and placed a hand on the largest piece of wreckage.

As he listened to her orders Derrick’s nostrils were filled with a strange smell, it was distinct and rose above the smell of ash and death, he thought long and hard about it. For some reason it took him back to his days on the naval base, he wracked his brain trying to remember what it was, and then it hit him. Like a sack of bricks it came rushing too him, engine fuel.

“Get away from the plane! Everyone move away!” He screamed as he ran towards the woman, Derrick saw in her eyes something strange, perhaps a sad acceptance. Derrick knew he wouldn’t be able to reach her in time, that she would have to move away herself, but for some reason she stood there paralyzed.

It happened in an instant, an immense explosion, the sheer thunder of it caused animals to run for miles. The air hit Derrick like a warm wave, and something wet hit him too. He fell to the ground and lay flat, trying to avoid being struck by debris.

When it finally settled down Derrick got to his feet and looked around, the forest around them was surrounded by flames, he shouted to anyone who was still breathing,

“We are all going to die if we don’t get out of here! If anyone wants to stay here and burn be my guest, everyone else follow me.” He waited a few seconds to let them get ready, as he did so he scanned the his surroundings for a way out.

[Mysteria]

StormWolf:

With a massive roar, the area where that loud bitch was erupted in a massive ball of fire, the sockwave sending the battered Irishman on a small flight in the air before landing on the muddy earth again.

"Fer fuck's sake, Father! Do ye always have to put me through a trial by fire? Jeezus." He spent a few moments collecting himself from the ground after having his shit rocked for the second time in an hour. A steady stream of curses dribbled out of the man's mouth, as well as some blood. If it was his or that woman's he had no clue. Finally getting to his feet, Aaron stumbled after the other woman and the man clinging to her. He couldn't walk in a straight line if it meant life or death. All he could hear was a dull ring and nothing else. It was like his head was stuffed with cotton.

"Fffffff...uck" he was able to slur as he kept on following the other survivors, trying to tell God to stop making the world spin.

[Mysteria]

Roan:

Images of her parents flashed in her minds eye. Them laughing together on her eleventh birthday party when her uncle pushed her face in the cake, them crying when she fell ill from pneumonia. They loved her, and with every breath she took in his humid acrid smelling jungle she missed and loved them more.

A loud bang maybe thirty feet away sounded in the air, then fire and smoke arose to the sky in a like a bomb. A piece from the wreckage flew over her head, the girl having just enough time to react and drop down to the ground. Jolie couldn’t help but shake in an overwhelmed state of being. Everything, just everything seemed like too much a stress. Was their really hope that someone else survived this horrible disaster?

“We are all going to die if we don’t get out of here! If anyone wants to stay here and burn be my guest, everyone else follow me.”

A voice? A man’s voice? He was shouting, not screaming or crying bloody murder. Standing as swiftly as she could with the aching pain in her calf she made her way in the direction of the man’s voice.

As the frightened teenager would come into view the surviving other persons would see beautiful girl, slender and voluptuous all at the same time. Blood stains soaked the front of her white blouse and ash marks marred her green linen pants. Her hair was a deep auburn red, with natural highlights of gold bound in a long and thick braid at the nape of her neck then trailing down to her backside. The humidity had caused an array of red ringlets to frame her pretty face, making her wide green eyes a brilliant hue.

There were four others, two women, and two men. Immediately she understood she was the youngest. Great, I’m the ‘kid’ here. Everyone was moving and Jolie noticed immediately that her sandal footwear was not meant for the wet conditions in this jungle. They’d turn to mush and without being able to move she knew she’d surely die. With that thought buzzing her head the cute little red head hobbled her way to the nearest set of boots she could find. Though they belonged to a corpse she had to have them. Slipping them on wasn’t hard for they were a little larger then her own size but they’d have to do.

Looking up she spied the other moving out of the area. Wait, she thought as a groan escaped her lips while rising to her feet once more, I’m getting out, too.

[Mysteria]

Selene sat on the ground frozen still in a state of total disbelief. This was no time for self pity but yet she could barely bring herself to move. The pain in her wrist had been multiplied with each rock that she had moved to cover her parent’s body but she had to try to get up. She had to try to finish covering them.

Forcing herself to her feet she did her best to continue her task when she heard Derrick yelling “Get away from the plane! Everyone move away!” Selene looked up just in time to see a horrified look on the girl’s face who had been barking orders out and then it happened. The thunderous explosion that followed was so loud it could have shaken the very gates of hell themselves. The shockwave sent her spiraling to the ground knocking the wind from her lungs.

The forest erupted into flames and Selene jumped back to her feet. They had to get out, and fast. Taking one final look to where her parents lay Selene whispered a prayer to the heavenly creator to welcome her parents spirits unto him and to protect those who had survived, then she ran towards Derrick who was yelling for them to get moving. The duffle bag containing the medical kit the girl caught in the explosion had been holding had been thrown clear. Reaching down she scooped it up as she made her way towards Derrick.

A noise behind her caught her attention and she realized that there was another survivor who had apparently been thrown farther away from the group. The red headed teenager had stopped to put on a pair of boots. Smart thinking, Selene thought to herself. The girl had thought fast and that could be beneficial to them all to have those around them be alert. They would all have to be alert now.

The other man was stumbling towards them holding his ear but he seemed to be able to move on his own just fine. The girl clad in camo clutching a cosmetics bag was standing still, frozen. Selene felt sympathetic towards the girl but knew that if she didn't move soon she too would be engulfed by the flames. Laying her hand on the girls shoulder Selene said "I know this is hard, but if we want to survive we have got to move our asses now." The girl stood there seemingly in a dazed state of confusion. As much as Selene hated to do it she yelled at the girl "If you want to live, Move Your Ass, NOW!" A shock of reality must have filtered through the girl because she began to mechanically move behind Selene.

Approaching Derrick she agreed with him. "You’re correct; if we want to survive we have to get out of here. I suggest we grab anything that might be salvageable and then we should get the hell out of Dodge. Introductions can wait until we reach a safer place."

Realizing that the other adults all seemed to be hurt far worse than she herself was, Selene shouldered the duffle bag and began scanning the area quickly for any items that hadn't already been burnt to a crisp.

[Mysteria]

Bella_Cullen:

Ava stood staring blankly into the trees, barely taking much notice of those around her. She was vaguely aware of the other survivors moving about, collecting supplies, patching up various wounds and the like. All she could think about was how she was going to get out of here and get herself home, she may have just filmed a show about other people living in a jungle but there is no way that she ever wanted to live through the experience herself.

“Get away from the plane! Everyone move away!”

She barely glanced up as she heard the shout and the almighty bang of the explosion, the scent of fuel and smoke hitting her. Ava clutched at her bag for comfort and turned back to the trees, tears pricking at her eyes, paying no attention the the kind woman who tried to bring her out of her shocked state. The woman paused briefly, obviously waiting for Ava to respond and when she made no attempt to communicate back.......

"If you want to live, Move Your Ass, NOW!"

Ava's head turned towards the woman, she kind of reminded her of her personal trainer back home, maybe this wouldn't be as tough as she thought. Ava smiled slightly and slowly filed in to walk beside her.

[Mysteria]

Ryudo:

Derrick turned around to see a rag-tag group of people forming around him, this made his spirits rise, at least he wasn’t alone now. Perhaps that was one of the most frightening things Derrick could imagine, being alone, plane crashes might have been at the top of his list, but really what were the chances of a plane actually crashing? If the situation was a little better he might have actually laughed.

Derrick continued his personal reverie when he saw Selene, at first he didn’t hear her words, it might have been his damaged ears, but the more likely reason was the fact that he was just happy that she was all right. Suddenly, a loud popping sound from a nearby tree that had been set ablaze jilted Derrick into the correct frame of mind, supplies. Derrick looked around and saw that Selene had the medicine bag. A quick survey showed that there was nothing salvageable in the immediate area, one final sweep yielded nothing again until…Derrick’s eyes were transfixed on it, a red handle sticking straight out of a tree.

He ran over to the tree, and with a tug he attempted to pulled the fire axe out of it. With every ounce of force he applied to freeing the axe he felt an intense pain, pain the likes of which he hadn’t felt in over 15 years. He had definitely shattered a few ribs. Regardless Derrick freed the axe from its holding place and stared at it for a moment. Honestly? TSA won’t let passengers bring toenail clippers, and yet they still put Fire axes on planes? That made sense… Derrick decided to stop questioning his luck, waited a minute for everyone to scavenge what they could, then rallied everyone around him. In a few minutes the entire group was almost a half a mile away.

------------A Few Hours Later--------------------

Derrick had lost track of the time, the canopy of the forest blocked out the sky but Derrick knew it had to be getting close to nighttime. A quick survey of the group showed that a rest was necessary. Derrick too was haggard and in need of a break, every bone in his body ached, his head felt as if it were about to explode, and to top if off the injured ribs were making it difficult for him to breath.

Derrick didn’t quite remember what happened next, all he knew was that someone had noticed that one of the large trees had been hollowed out ahead of them. No one knew why the tree was hollow, perhaps long ago it was home to some animal. At the moment though the reason really didn’t matter, the bottom line was it was suitable for shelter, at least for the first night. Derrick tried to stay awake, heard people talking to him, but the next thing he knew he was fast asleep under the protection of the enormous tree.

-------------------------------------------------

Back at the crash site everything was silent, the cataclysmic event that had happened only a few hours ago was all but forgotten by the surrounding forest. As a few animals began to sniff around the crash so too did a few men. At first only one man, perhaps their leader dared approach the metal bird. Soon however a large group had gathered around it, examining the mystery that lay before their very eyes.

[Mysteria]

StormWolf:

Aaron finally was able to stop his stumbling like a cat with half of it's whiskers clipped off and walk in a relatively straight line. He considered that his Luck of the Irish must be almost out, seeing as how he managed to make it this far with only a few scrapes and bruises and damaged eardrums. He had his cigarettes and his zippo... oh, and his metal knitting needles, which seemed to him, much deadlier than a pair of fucking toenail clippers. Whatever, he wasn't complaining, he was alive and he was... alive. He didn't have his pills, but those weren't needed for his survival; he wasn't so sure about the others.

When the group settled around a massive hollowed out tree, Aaron sat and drummed his fingers on his knees and rocked back and forth ever-so-slightly, like he heard a music no one else could.

"Now, those blasted thing have some kinda.... trackin' device, yeah? People'll be comin' to pick us up soon enough, yeah? Yeah... Yeah... That sounds right." He said to no one in particular, maybe even to just himself and the words just came out. That happened sometimes. Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and his zippo, having to prime the lighter a few times before getting an actual flame to light the tobacco. Taking a deep draw, Aaron closed his eyes as he let the smoke billow out his nostrils.

"Now, this do be a major shit storm. That's fer fuckin' sure. 'Hey, Aaron, why don't you take some pictures for our church? Why? Because if you don't take pictures for us, you are gonna fuckin' burn in hell. You don't sound like a priest. God demands these pictures. I demand pay. You will get salvation for these pictures. I can't pay rent with salvation, you old fuck, you face looks like the ass end of an elephant.'" Aaron went on, mocking the conversation he had with his priest about doing this job for the church. This was such bull.... he wasn't even getting paid.

[Mysteria]

Roan:

Everyone walked, and for a while, being quiet. Not far after their journey began Jolie gained the right mind to find herself a walking stick when her calf would not stop throbbing. It wasn’t as sturdy as she liked it to but with little else option she made due. While walking in silence the girl smiled to herself, looking down at her feet and stick as she walked; the image of the others attacking and eating her flashed through Jo’s mind. What’s good to eat in a rainforest? She couldn’t answer that question. Well, bugs maybe but Jolie was no hunter, that was for sure.

Looking in front of her now she eyed the two women. One looked extremely fit, not just skinny but had obvious muscle definition. An athlete? The other young woman, a pretty brunette with a dark skin complexion, seemed clearly shaken by the ordeal. Jo knew how she felt, sympathizing with her.

Suddenly Jolie’s green gaze would move up to the sight of a large hollowed tree. The self-proclaimed leader went in first, others next to follow. Once inside she sat down, the one good leg stretched the injured bend at the knee. The lighting inside the large trunk of the tree was dimming and all Jolie could think about was a hot shower and steak.

After a loud belly growl from her flat abdomen Jo cleared her throat. “Um, what’s everyone’s name? I’m Jolie.” The young lady asked, her voice having a soft southern draw. The Irish man had talked to himself a bit, seeming a little not right in the head at the moment. Maybe he got a real good whack to the head. Maybe we’ll all turn crazy. Jungle fever, right?

With a scratch to her neck after a mosquito bite her fingertips felt the dried blood on her flesh. Unbuttoning her blouse she peeled it off, leaving a maroon colored stain on her arms, and chest. She’d of loved to take off the soaked tank top but decency was a little more important to her than being comfortable.

Doggonit. This sucks.

[Mysteria]

Having made sure that the stunned girl was moving Selene walked beside her quietly, leaving her to her thoughts for now. They all had a lot to absorb and Selene hadn’t wanted to push her into talking before she was ready to. Her only goal was to make sure that the woman hadn’t been left behind. There had already been to much death and destruction and Selene would do whatever it took to make sure it didn’t happen again although she knew that in the end it would be up to each of them to survive the best that they could. Hopefully they would all make it out alive but the fact that they might not all make it weighed heavily on Selene’s mind. After all, they were in the jungle weren’t they? Who knew what all dangers might lurk hidden within the depths of the Amazon forest.

Selene took a final look around to make sure there was nothing else that could be salvaged. There was little left save the fire axe that Derrick had managed to pry from the tree that it was embedded in. A few pieces of burnt blankets lay strewn upon the ground which Selene picked up. It seemed the thing to do, even though they wouldn’t be useful for use as a cover, they might come in handy for some unforeseen reason.

The other man with them seemed to be deep in his own thoughts but he was moving along with the group well enough on his own. He seemed content to be talking to himself under his breath and Selene couldn’t begrudge him that seeing how she herself had been talking to herself all along under her breath. The only difference is that she hadn’t been as vocal as he had. She chalked it up to him still being stunned.

The young red haired girl fell in with the group that was on the move and Selene couldn’t help but notice her limp which reminded her of her own pain in her ankle. She needed to have it wrapped but the main concern at the moment was putting some distance between themselves and the wreckage.

The group walked on and Selene’s concern for the girl’s ankle became ever growing. Although she seemed to be managing fine on her own Selene knew from her limited medical back round that it would need attention soon or risk further damage. Luckily a large hollowed out tree came into view directly ahead of them and Selene made her way to it as did the others.

Finally the young girl spoke in the sweetest southern drawl that Selene had ever heard.

“Um, what’s everyone’s name? I’m Jolie.”

“Nice to meet you Jolie. I wish the circumstances were different. I’m Selene.” Selene said as she looked at the ever swelling ankle the girl had been limping on. “That ankle of yours needs attention, l have had some medical training so let me see if I can help stop that before it gets to much worse.” Finding a piece of one of the burnt up throw blankets that she had salvaged Selene tore a strip off and made a make shift wrap to help support Jolie’s ankle. Content that it might help even a little bit the exhausted Selene finally sat down in the tree trunk beside Derrick and rested her head back against the wood. Within a few minutes Selene had almost fallen asleep, her head completely resting on Derricks shoulder before even realizing it. With an abrupt motion Selene pulled her head back up as she felt a sudden flush to her cheeks. “I…I’m sorry” Selene stammered “I didn’t realize that I was so tired.” Selene tried to smile but at that very moment she suddenly felt very weary, and very tired.

[Mysteria]

Bella_Cullen:

Ava continued her trudge through the dirty, humid forest. Her mind was still elsewhere as she watched the others salvage what they could, she clung to her bag as some kind of security blanket. A reminder of her life before this terrible incident had taken place, thinking about it brought tears back to sting at her eyes.....she quickly squeezed them shut.

"Get a grip of yourself girl! You have been through worse remember, you were once voted Worst Dressed at an awards ceremony and you bounced back didn't you? Yes. Well you can certainly tackle this." Ava thought to herself.

She coughed slightly and started to walk abit straighter, some of the smug strut coming back in her strides, next to the woman who had helped her a way from the crash site. There was a calm confidence coming from the woman which Ava took comfort in as she looked around at the others,

“Um, what’s everyone’s name? I’m Jolie.” a young woman said.

"Hi Jolie! I'm Ava a TV presenter and model form the UK. You have probably seen me before" Ava replied using her best showbiz voice, a perfect veneered grin spreading across her face.

They walked for a few more hours until the found a empty tree. A tree?! She brushed off a space to sit down as best she could, this was a very unhygienic jungle after all. The tiredness hit about 2 seconds after Ava had sat down and slowly she sank into a thankfully dreamless slumber.

[Mysteria]

Ryudo:

Derrick passed in and out of sleep, at points he heard bits of conversation, during others all he could hear was the rain falling hard around them. He did manage to catch almost everyone’s name, and for what it was worth knowing a little about those around him gave him a bit of relief. Names and faces weren’t much, but Derrick figured that everyone was going to get to know each other quite well over the next few days.

At one point during the night Derrick managed to mumble out his name, he stopped at his profession, what good was it now? What good was four years of liberal arts college, and three more years of teaching history, compared to what was needed in a place where history was still alive and well? Derrick had often wondered if choosing a life of teaching over a life in the Navy was the smart choice, he knew what his father would say, what he had always said, nothing, he’d only shake his head. Until today though, the answer had always been clear to Derrick. Now a lifetime of combat training seemed a bit more useful. Before he could delve further into his introspective Derrick once again slipped into the world of dreams, far away from any jungle, plane crash, or maritime combat discipline.

Only one thing that night truly stuck out in Derrick’s mind, in the middle of a dream he was woken up by another. Derrick felt something rest against him, at first he shrugged it off merely as a figment of his own imagination, a manifestation of his weariness. However, the manifestation persisted, and he began to realize that this was not a figment of his imagination. He felt the object breath, relax, perhaps even reach a point of serene peace. Derrick opened his eyes and for the first time in a while he had a real reason to smile, Selene was resting, asleep, on his shoulder. The next moment she was awake, and though a redness filled her cheeks none was present in Derrick’s. Instead he continued to smile, and nodded his head, inviting her to rest again, then he let his own eyes close.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The rain continued endlessly, a melodic beat that signaled the endless march of Jungle life. One after the other the survivors awoke to a brave new world, one that held as many secrets as it did living things.

[Mysteria]

Roan:

Jolie slowly opened her eyes, the bright rays of sun making her squint for a moment. After her eyes adjusted the teenager slowly and carefully made her way out of the hollow tree. The bandage on her leg that the kind Selene had administered was inspected. There was no blood visible through the gauze so the bleeding at least had stopped but a dull pain lingered.

Sore from sleeping rather uncomfortably Jolie reached her arms up towards the sky, bending at the waist to the right a bit before exhaling heavily and dropping her arms down with a groan. “What I’d do for a cup of Co’munity Coffey rite now.”

Looking back towards her group Jolie sighed. Why did this happen? She couldn’t help but think why they survived. Her mother always said that things happened for a reason. Maybe they were suppose to all meet? Maybe she was just making an excuse for the present. With a frustrated noise from the redhead she started to walk, hoping to clear her mind.

The stretch was nice, but alone in was kind of creepy. Noise from unseen birds, frogs, and she swore she heard a slithering sound. Images of the movie Anaconda flashing through her mind. Turning around shortly she headed back to ‘camp’. Someone should be up by now.

[Mysteria]

Selene was put to ease the moment that Derrick had awoken. Saying nothing he simply had smiled and with a nod invited her to continue resting against him. Smiling as if to say thank you, Selene allowed her head to come to rest against his shoulder once more as she lie awake thinking about the days events and what would happen next. There was so much to absorb in so little time. She thought about her parents, about her last words to them, she questioned why this happened and even more so, why had she been spared and they had not? It would be so easy to become discouraged, to just give up but yet she knew that neither of her parents would want her to do that. They had taught her to be a survivor, to be strong in the face of adversity but nothing could have prepared her for this.

Selene's mind raced as images of the devastation floated in her minds eye view. It was unsettling to see the faces and hear the screams as if they were still right there in front of her. They had all suffered such a loss, and had been thrown together into this hell hole of a jungle. Who knew what dangers lurked out there and even worse, how they would survive them.

The steady drumming of the rain coupled with the inviting warmth of Derricks shoulder lulled her into a state of mind which allowed her to relax, to push the negative away and try to focus on how to make the current situation better, if it even could be made to be better. She decided that the best way that she could help would be to try to remain strong and honour her mother and father by remembering all of the good that they had taught her and by trying to share that positive attitude with the others in an effort to keep things as light hearted as they could possibly be in the given situation. She would try but she herself had her own demons to deal with when it came to fighting the negativity of depressing feelings.

In no time at all Selene had curled up against Derrick and was resting comfortably with her hand upon his chest in a dreamless sleep as the rain continued it's steady down pour. She awoke to the sounds of the jungle coming to life as daylight finally broke through the curtain of rain drenched leaves still dripping from the heavy rains. Figuring it was best to take advantage of the break from the rain while it was stopped she stood up, stretching slowly first to the left and then to the right before walking outside to breath in the first fresh breaths of the new day.

Suddenly she sneezed. Damnit, Selene thought to herself as she remembered she hadn't pocketed any of her allergy medicines since they were visiting Chile and she hadn't felt she would need them. Considering that allergies were the least of things that could be wrong with her, Selene was grateful that she hadn't been injured much otherwise.


Though the sun was shining brightly at the minute, Selene suddenly felt a terrible sense of new found danger. She said nothing, but hoped the others would all soon awaken and join Jolie and herself out side so that they could discuss what would be the best course of action for them all to take in order to survive this catastrophe.

The upcoming journey and the following days would not be easy for any of the survivors in the group.

[Mysteria]

StormWolf:

Aaron kept himself as far from the others as he could without being literally detached from the group. He had gotten some strange looks for his muttering and talking to himself, and he didn't want to give them the chance to leave him behind. He didn't sleep the entire night, the effects of his last dose of medication wearing off slowly and surely. His mind started to clutter with thoughts that weren't his, but they were, in a way. The noise inside his head along with the pounding rain made it very hard to sleep. So the irishman waited.

He watched the "happy couple" snuggle from where he sat, knees pulled close to his chest, chewing on his lower lip slightly. "Great.... more fuckin' complications..." he muttered to himself.

"Lonely are we?" he said to himself, causing him to shake his head violently and slap himself, "You do best to stay where ya are." he said to his other half, and his other half obeyed for the time being.

The brushes moved and rustled, making Aaron reach for his metal knitting needles, but he relaxed when the teenager appeared instead of some chupacabra, or some shit like that. Reaching into his pant pocket, Aaron procured another cigarette and his zippo, lighting himself a fresh fag and drawing on it. This would still hunger for a while, at least, and he personally didn't give a fuck if the others didn't like the smell of burning tobacco in the morning.

"An' here I thought it rained on my Island...." he mused as he watched the eyeball-sized raindrops fall from the heavens. "I don' suppose those tears are shed fer my sake, Father? Faugh! I didn' think so...."

[Mysteria]

Bella_Cullen:

Ava had tried to drift to sleep as quickly as possible to escape the surreal situation that had presented itself. The sounds of the jungle kept her from slipping into oblivion and she sat in a comtatose state once again. She noticed the woman who had helped her, Selene she had found out her name was, fall asleep comfortably againts the young man that had begun taking charge of the situation earlier that day. The way her head was rested against his shoulder made Ava think of the last time she had been rested against her fiances shoulder. Back home, after a night out on the town, in the car home. It seemed so long ago. Almost a lifetime in a few short hours. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the fun times they had had that evening.

She came from a prviliged background, the only daughter of a millionaire rockstar father and stunningly beautiful model mother Ava was treated as a princess from even before she was born. she had taken all the lessons possible, dance, piano, horse riding......typical spoilt little rich girl activities. She had the best of everything, never wanted for anything, never had to lift a finger to do anything for herself. She had changed slightly as she grew up especially once she met Danny, her nesting instincts had taken over and she began taking cooking lessons and reading "home & Garden" determined to be the perfect footballers wife, she still had no grip on the real world however and the night she was trying to remember was a typical Ava night. Designer clothes, free flowing champagne, celebrities, no expense spared. They had been celebrating Danny's team's win over some local rivals and Ava's memory of it was a good one.

She closed her eyes trying to stick with the happy feeling when she heard someone approaching the tree where they had all been rested. It was only Jolie, the girl that had spoken up yesterday to introduce herself. Ava opened her eyes all the way and gave a small wave as she came forward, her best "I can do anything" smile plastered on her face. She knew getting free of here was going to be tough but she was sure she could cope. She had bounced back from a fall on the red carpet at last years TV Award so Ava was sure she could tackle anything this jungle had to throw her way.

[Mysteria]

Ryudo:

There was a small noise, just loud enough to be audible inside the makeshift shelter. At first it was barely audible over the rain, however it gradually gained momentum until it erupted in loud shrieking. Derrick awoke with a start and sat straight up, instantly he felt the blood rush to his head. In a moment he was back laying down, every part of his body aching. [I[Lets try this again[/I], he thought to himself as he slowly lifted his body from the ground. The noise that had awoken him was the loud calls of a howler monkey whose voice surely had woken up half of the jungle around them.

Derrick rubbed his eyes to see that he was the only one left in the tree, he silently hoped that the others had not left him as he made his way to the opening of the tree. Upon peaking his head out Derrick gave a small sigh of relief, he stumbled out into the sunlight and got everyone’s attention.

“All right, I am just going to assume that we all want to make it out of here alive,” He looked around, it wasn’t necessarily a rhetorical question, just one that Derrick felt needed to be asked, “Well if that’s the case then were going to have to work together, and I know that seems cliché, but I can assure you that if we don’t then not a single one of us is going to make it out of here alive.” With that he looked around at the group once again, this time for confirmation. Derrick looked up, what little sky he could see was dark, and the rain continued to fall.

“Now, I think that we need to get moving. Here is my plan, the Amazon river flows towards the Ocean, as one goes towards the Ocean the chances of finding civilization increase, if we do reach the Ocean, heading north will also inevitably lead us to civilization. Therefore, in my opinion it would be best if we followed the Amazon to safety.” Derrick paused and took a breath, “That’s my plan, I suggest we decide soon before we are stuck here another day.”

[Mysteria]

StormWolf:

With a hefty sigh, Aaron stood and brushed the rotting foliage off of his pants and rubbed his eyes. Stifling a yawn as the new "leader" spoke, Aaron made a point to listen at least a little. Sure, there was plenty wrong with his plan, but it beat the hell out of wandering around the forest aimlessly.

"Yeah, that's all fine and dandy..." Aaron chimed. "I suppose you have a gun tucked away in those pants? What about piranna? What about the fuckin' alligators, or crocodiles, or whatever the fuck they are? I'm not disagreein' with yer plan, lad. I just wanna make sure you know how fuckin' bad the shit-storm is before ya lead us waltzin' into it all willy nilly!"

Aaron an a hand through his short black hair, his brow furrowed in thought as he too wondered how they wouldn't drown in all the deep shit they are in. It wasn't easy, he commemorated this Derrick fellow for having enough sense to think up such a plan, half baked as it may be. It was still a plan, and that was better than nothing.

"'Hope fer the best, plan fer the worst.' That's what me pop always said."

[Mysteria]

Roan:

The rough looking Irish man nearly scared her to death when he suddenly moved as she entered their “camp”, thinking him to be sleeping.

“Dang, boy!” She exclaimed with a sharp intake of breath, a hand rising to her rapidly beating heart in emphasize of her surprise. “Gave me a start.” With a small smile she shook in off, taking a few step forwards before seeing Ava’s tanned slender hand giving her a small wave.

“Mornin’, Miss Actress. Heard ya gigglin’ in yer sleep last night. Must’ve been a good dream.”

Moving to a tree Jolie leaned her back against its smooth back and closed those wide green eyes momentarily. Things didn’t seem real, as if it all was some wacky dream and she’d wake up soon. Her thoughts were suddenly disrupted when the voice of Derrick came to her ears. He had her attention and she didn’t like the plan.

Good plan but bad for the southern girl for she couldn’t swim, nearly drowned once while visiting a Gulfshore beach, the undertow grabbing her ankles and sucking her under. It was a terrifying experience and with the image of the long, wide, muddy water Amazon burning in her head Jo couldn’t help but shiver a little.

“I’m game.” Even if she din’t much like the idea of hiking for God knows how long along a huge river Jo had no other choice.

[Mysteria]

Bella_Cullen:

Ava tried not to show her surprise at the noises of the jungle around her. Some loud, some quiet and some just plain weird. She tried to keep a small smile almost permanently stuck to her face, in Ava's world her smile and her make-up were a mask she regularly hid behind.

She sat on a log working on keeping her breathing regular as she brushed her hair and repeated silently to herself, "Calm. Confident. Charming". That was until some crazy monkey started screeching and Ava nearly had a heart attack right there and then.

The man who had seemed to take charge of the little group of survivors was roused by the monkey and came sleepily out or their tree shelter. He explained his plan of following the river to find over people, seemed like a good idea to Ava, and no-one else questioned his decision. She decided this would be the person to stick to if she was going to make it out of here alive, she walked over and took hold of his arm in a friendly manner, beaming another smile his way, "Well, you're just a regular little Bear Grylls aren't you?"

[Mysteria]

Selene was watching as the others awoke from their much needed rests and began gathering outside. One by one they filed out of the tree and began to breathe in the day as they woke up. What Selene wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee at the moment but the reality was they were lucky if they had water to drink let alone coffee or anything else in this current hell they were stuck in.

Derrick was the last one to make his way out of the tree. He announced a plan to follow the river and hopefully it would bring them to civilization. Although it probably wasn’t the best plan Selene had ever heard of, it was the only logical one that was being presented to the survivors. Logical…hell, it was the only plan that any of them had come up with and for some reason Selene felt comfortable allowing Derrick to guide the way.

“I agree” Selene nodded as she spoke. “The best plan of action right now seems to be to follow the river. It makes no sense to remain here. We should somehow mark our journey away from the wreckage in case anyone tries finding us.”

With that Selene grew quiet. It wasn’t like anyone would be looking specifically for her now, there was no one but her parents in her life and now she didn’t even have them.

[Mysteria]

Ryudo:

Derrick looked around at the camp and listened to the rest of the group, there concerns were valid, and he could see the skepticism on some of their faces. However, it appeared that the general consensus was in agreement with his plan to follow the river, and so it was decided. He then heard Selene mention leaving a trail so that rescue could find them. His mind paused on the word rescue, how strange it sounded, resonated, resonated in his mind. He gave a small sigh, what rescue would there be, here in the middle of God knows where? Derrick wouldn’t allow himself dwell on it too much, if he let it bring him down it would bring the group even further down. He looked at Selene, and nodded.

“Sounds like a good idea Selene,” He looked around, searching for something to make the trail with, he knew that they didn’t have much. Derrick took of one of his socks and placed it on the ground. Careful not to hurt himself or his new companions, Derrick chopped the sock into small pieces with his fire axe. Derrick collected them, laid one of them on the ground, then placed the rest in his pocket.

“Everyone ready?” He inquired, suddenly Ava grabbed him by the arm,

"Well, you're just a regular little Bear Grylls aren't you?"

Derrick blushed and looked back at Selene, then he brought his attention Ava,

“I…well,” he laughed and the group departed.

Derrick had been following a low rumble he heard in the distance, it was a gamble, but he was slowly coming to the realization that life was not going to be as simple or secure as it had once been. The way was tough, and it seemed that the roots of the trees and the low branches were strategically placed to hinder their progress.

Eventually, after about two hours of walking, the group emerged from the dense trees to straight clearing in the trees heading nearly east to west. As they approached the clearing the low rumble Derrick had heard had begun to grow louder, now standing in the clearing the rumble had turned into a roar.

Derrick gave a small whistle, “There it is,” He paused and looked at the individuals surrounding him, “the Amazon river.”

[roan]

By most measures the Amazon River is the largest river in the world by far, the second longest next to the Nile. Jolie could go on and on with facts of the river but her tongue was held fast with her pounding heart. It would be stupid to attempt a crossing, she thought while her green eyes scanned the fast moving brown water from a safe distance.

Though the red-head was terrified of the waters in front of the group she could only think of the fish waiting to be caught and eaten. “I dun’know ‘bout you guys but I’m hungry and thirsty and tired. I’m sure y’all are, too. Why don’t we niggerig sum’thin together and get some fish. Or snake, or frog! I don’t think it really matters at this point. But I know we’re all hungry.” For the past two hours they fought heavy vegetation, creepy crawlies, and terrible mosquitoes. She was sure they were as drained as she was.

Not waiting for a response Jo’ busied herself with looking for a young thin sapling tree. Alright, girl. You’re not in Alabama anymore. Think! What could you use?

“Anyone happen to have a pocket knife? No?”

[Mysteria]

Selene walked quietly behind Ava and Derrick, absorbed in her own grief at the loss of her parents. When they finally reached the river and found a moment to rest Selene was grateful as she was tired.

Jolie's words brought her back to the present.

“I dun’know ‘bout you guys but I’m hungry and thirsty and tired. I’m sure y’all are, too. Why don’t we niggerig sum’thin together and get some fish. Or snake, or frog! I don’t think it really matters at this point. But I know we’re all hungry.”

Selene stared at the girl blankly as she cringed inwardly, horrified at the usage of the term niggerig. At first she almost opened her mouth to express her dislike of the terminology but decided it best to keep her views to herself. After all, they did have to get along and try to survive together in the jungle. And besides, it was just a matter of personal preference to not use that word in her own personal vocabulary. She had just never liked the word and had heard it more often referred to as African Engineered.

Selene couldn't agree more about being hungry though but had no pocket knife. She smiled at the girl, replying to her. "No, I don't have a pocket knife and I doubt any of us do since we were on a plane, but he" Selene said pointing to the one called Aaron "might have something we can use."

It was a long shot that those knitting needles could be used to fish in the mighty Amazon river, but it was possible.

[StormWolf]

Aaron had been moving more towards the back of the group as to avoid any strange looks when he would succumb to fits of talking to himself. Irritably slapping at his neck and arms where he felt the tingle of some insect crawling on his skin.

"Fuckin' forest an' it's fuckin' animals!" He grumbled as he wiped the remains of a bug on his pants. "Stop yer fuckin' whinin', ye fuckin' pansy! You be shuttin' yer mouth if ya know what be good fer ya! Try me, you inbred ass-biter!" Aaron then proceeded to punch himself in the face, splitting his own lip. He bit back a curse and a howl.

"Ssshit that hurt, ye baffoon. Yeah, I know. Ya do realize that we share the same body, right? Yeah, didn't think that far ahead." The crazy Irishman grumbled and spat a red glob of saliva into the mud.

“I dun’know ‘bout you guys but I’m hungry and thirsty and tired. I’m sure y’all are, too. Why don’t we niggerig sum’thin together and get some fish. Or snake, or frog! I don’t think it really matters at this point. But I know we’re all hungry.”

Hearing this, Aaron started to cackle, then just laugh. The previous argument with himself seemingly completely forgotten. He just laughed.

"Oi, and I thought I had a fuckin' tongue on me." he laughed, "Yeah, at least we aren't bloody racist. We? Yes, we." Reaching into his jeans, Aaron procured two sturdy knitting needles. "This be all I got that can kill somethin'." Aaron winked at the woman, Selene, who had mentioned the Irishman's might knitting needles. He twirled the needles in his hands absently before slipping them back into his pocket. Who says that a crazy person can't enjoy the spotlight every once and a while.

[Ryudo]

Derrick was making his way along the banks of the river when he heard what Jolie had said. Her words caught him off guard, Derrick merely was not expecting such negative stereotypes to be bandied about. Derrick wasn't all that familiar with the term, but he couldn't help but somehow wondering if Jolie thought that the plane had not only stranded them in the rainforest but also teleported them back 200 years. Derrick had been teaching American history for over five years, and he knew how and why those things were said, and how hurtful they could be. Derrick also knew how useless derogatory terms were, but he decided to not say anything, figuring that the last thing that Jolie would receptive to was a lecture right now, maybe some other time.

After dismissing the comment Derrick turned to the group, he could tell that they were all tired again. He looked up, because they had reached the Amazon River Derrick could see patches of sky in the areas where there were no trees. Truthfully though Derrick didn’t see much sky at all, as large clouds were beginning to form over their heads.

“I hate to say it, but we are going to have to keep moving until we find a shelter. And I hate to be a pain, but we need to find one quickly.” He paused and pointed straight up, “It’s going to be raining shortly, how about we get moving?”

And indeed, within the hour it began to pour, what little of the groups clothing that had dried from the previous rain was once again soaked. At first the rain seemed refreshing, the cool drops washing the away the sweat and the dirt from the groups skin and clothing, but as the rain continued to beat on the chill set in once again. Derrick fingers and toes started feeling numb, he forced himself to focus more and more on each step he took along the river bank to avoid plunging into the freezing rapids.

He looked back at the group following him, he saw that Aaron was pulling up the rear, with Selene in front of him, Jolie in front of her, and right behind Derrick was Ava. Derrick spoke with Ava for a while, she was a charming girl, full of passion and moxie. And though she may have been the most out of place person in the group she didn’t give up, and Derrick respected that greatly.

As the conversation wound down Derrick looked back again at Selene, even amidst all the cold Derrick felt a sort of warmth coming from her. He slowed his pace so she could catch up with him. Even out in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest she had a beauty about her, the way she walked, the way she smiled, the way she swayed from side to side…

The next thing Derrick saw was Selene falling towards the river, without even thinking Derrick dropped his fire axe and jumped after her, catching her arm before the she was entirely swallowed by the river. The pull of the river was enormous; Derrick had to focus not only on holding on to Selene but also on holding on to the shore. With all the strength in his body Derrick pulled, and though the freezing water crashed all about him he was determined to not let go. I will die before I let you go! In that moment Derrick prayed, he prayed harder then he had ever prayed in his life, he prayed to every angel and saint the could think of, he prayed for strength.

Derrick shouted as loud as he could to Selene over the roaring river, “Selene, I can’t pull you ashore alone, I am going to need your help.” Without hearing her response Derrick counted to three, and on that final note he pulled with all his might. Derrick couldn’t tell what was happening, the adrenaline running through him nearly blinding him. The next thing he realized she was in his arms. Derrick gasped for breath, when he finally gained control of his senses he looked down at Selene and saw that she was shivering. Derrick held her tighter to him, he couldn’t thank his angels enough that she was all right, but now he dearly wished that he could warm her up. His only solution was to hold her close, and hope that it helped.

[Mysteria]

Selene had been content to mosey along towards the rear of the group as she allowed her thoughts to drift off to her mother and father. Although the rain had begun a steady thrumming against the forest floor, Selene had paid little attention to it having had already become accustomed to the humidity and the fact that they seemed to constantly be soaked from the rains.

She heard Derrick shouting that they needed to find shelter soon and as she looked up she lost her footing on the slick ground beneath her. Before she realized what was happening she had fallen into the torrential currents of the river and was in a fight for her life. She had always been a good swimmer but with the heavy currents she was finding it hard to stay afloat. Immediately she began praying to the heavens to give her strength and the next thing she knew, her hand was in Derricks as he struggled frantically to pull her to safety as the others watched with horrified expressions on their faces knowing they were helpless to help Derrick in his attempt to reach her.

What was Derrick doing, Selene thought to herself. Albeit she was grateful that he was trying to help, he should have remained on the safety of the banks with the others. Selene couldn't allow him to possibly die with her, and with a final push for all the strength she could muster, she reached out taking his hand and helped to pull herself to safety. Finally out of the water, she found herself wrapped in Derricks arms, pressed closely as she tried to warm herself from the chill that had set in while she had been in the water.

Finally able to control the shaking that had overtaken her, Selene stepped back away from Derrick, but not before whispering a thank you into his ear. Selene smiled a weak smile towards the rest of the group, apologizing for not having watched her footing better. And although she had expected Aaron to be the less sympathetic one of the group, even he had seemed to be relieved at her rescue. Selene smiled at Aaron, with quiet understanding.

Trying to control her voice she spoke loudly, and clearly. "Derricks right, we have to try to find shelter soon, and we have to try to find something to eat if we can."

[roan]

The look given to her by Selene and Derrick made Jolie immediately think that they thought of her as some southern backwoods IKA member. Indeed she was of the south but not in the ways of thinking. The jungle brought out something in the girl that was not of her true nature. Roughened her physically and mentally. In the modern world she be was a charming, intelligent and at times coy young woman. Yet here the past didn’t matter; only the present. And a future only if you survived. It changed her but she was beginning to wonder about the Irish man. He wasn’t that bad to look at but a loon through and through.

Not soon after Derrick decided that they were not going to stay it started to rain. Like a cool shower and they all visibly reveled in it by washing away what they could of the crash. As they all walked on her green eyes caught a quick motion to her right where Derrick was at in their ‘band’. Following it she gasped and lunged forward to see Selene falling backwards in the river and then Derrick diving down for her.

The immediate impulse to slide down the bank and help was overwhelmed by her fear of the water. Yet relief came suddenly when Derrick with a mighty heave pulled Selene’s body from the strong brackish current. With a hand over her pounding heart Jo called down to the two, watching them holding each other as if lovers. “You O.K. Selene? Derrick?” The comment she made earlier might of made them both scoff but her face was nothing but awash with genuine concern, framed by a stringy mass of wet red curls. When they both scrambled up the bank, Jo ready to lend-a-hand, she breathed a sigh of relief and readily agreed with a nod of her head when Selene suggested that they try to find a place to rest.

“Yea, but where? And what? Phew.” The teenager whispered to herself as she looked into the dense foliage surrounding them. Everything was soaked, either off the ground or find higher ground. The night suddenly felt like it was going to be a long one.

[Ryudo]

Derrick held Selene for a few moments longer, every bone in his body ached, his back killed him, and even a chill had begun to set in. And yet, holding her, Derrick didn't feel a thing. Within a few seconds Selene's violent shaking had calmed down, and she moved from his arms. As the two stood up she whispered into Derrick's ear a thank you, and suddenly the chill melted away and was replaced by a flush of red in his cheeks, forcing him to look down. Derrick looked up when he heard Jolie call to both him and Selene, Derricks eyes met Jolie's and he saw that she was truly distressed, he gave her a thumbs up and thanked her as she helped them up back onto the bank.

Once under the cover of a tall tree Derrick listened to what the group said, and it seemed that the unanimous decision was to somehow find shelter, although Aaron's suggestion differed from the rest of the groups in that it was riddle with explicatives and references to a seemingly non-existent person. Derrick mulled all that they had to say over in his mind, but it was hard to think, Derrick wasn't born in a rainforest, he hadn't spent his life learning how to survive in one, and his back was killing him. There was a little voice in the back of his head telling him to just sit down and give up, but he worked his hardest to shut that little voice up and think clearly,

"Ok, we'll keep following the river, we need to find shelter before dark, if we don't well," He paused, thinking about how little their chances of survival would be in the Amazon rainforest a night, "Let's hope we find shelter."


-----------------------------------------------

The group walked in silence, the only sound being the roar of the river, the thud of rain, and the ominous cries from the forest all around them. The group had been walking for nearly three hours, stopping about every hour to catch their breaths and drink what little clean water they could scavenge from the vines of trees. Without a fire they had almost no clean water drink, the irony that the group was dieing of thirst in the Amazon Rainforest did not elude Derrick. The silence seemed to work against the group, it made them weary and jumpy, and so Derrick knew that he would have to lighten the mood somehow. He turned to the four who diligently followed him, and let them know that they would be taking their break, but instead of letting each member break off and sulk till it was time to go Derrick instead decided to speak up,

"Hey Selene, next time you need to take a bath warn us would you." The group was dead silent, they were tired and it took a moment to register, without a single laugh Derrick followed it up with another terrible joke,

"Good thing I make it a habit of jumping over board for pretty girls..."

Again their was silence, but this one was different, it was a quiet moment filled with something that the survivors hadn't experience in what seemed forever, relief. Derrick looked at the faces surrounding him, trying his hardest not to smile, but suddenly, as if in unison, the whole group began laughing. It was an uproar, the dam suddenly broke, and Derrick laughed till it hurt. Amidst the laughter Derrick could hear voices around him,

"That was a bloody horrible joke." Aaron barely said amidst his own hearty laughter.

Derrick laughed and choked out, "But it was so Punny!" Once again the laughter washed over them, and Derrick heard Ava next to him giggle,

"I...I didn't know Bear Grillz had such a terrible sense of humor!"

Rejuvenated the group journeyed on, the smiles still lingering as the light began to fade.


-----------------------------------------------

Two men stopped dead in their tracks, they followed the foot prints and furrows down to the bank of the river, where they surmised that someone had fallen in. As they surveyed the tracks left by the strange ones they heard shrieking and hollering that frightened them, and so they retreated back into the forest, content to watch from afar, for now.

[Mysteria]

Selene walked in silence. Her mood was pensive as she thought about everything that had been happening. She had become more focused than what she had been earlier. The fall into the river had made her realize that there were many more dangers than met the eye in the rain forest.

Derrick joked with them all and Selene laughed at his jokes but she was too focused to allow herself to have to much fun. There was a time and place for everything and at the moment the time was to be careful of what she was doing. There would be time for relaxing later after they had found shelter for the night. It was quickly turning dark and Selene realized if they didn't soon find shelter they would have to fashion their own shelters. As a young girl she had often been traipsing of on adventures with her father who had also loved nature. They had visited many spots out in the country and it was there that she learned to build a lean to from branches and leaves.

Selene suggested that they try to build their own to provide shelter from the pouring rains. There were more than enough of downed branches and foliage to provide for the makings of a decent lean to and Selene thought she could remember well enough how to do it good enough to last through the night. She waited for the rest of the group to decide. Whatever they decided would be fine with her but she figured the suggestion was worth making.

Selene was still cold and damp and at that point any type of shelter from the rain would give her a chance to dry off even a little bit. Aaron was still wandering aimlessly and didnt really seem to be with them even though he was right there. She wondered if the explosion hadn't effected him even more than he left on. At that point everyone seemed to be deep in their own thoughts. Selene knew everyone was getting tired. And in the back of Selene's mind was a gnawing, ever persistent feeling kept growing. Her eyes moved to each of the travelers with her and then shifted back to the woods behind her, shivering.

Selene was getting another one of her sensations and she definitely felt that they were not alone.

[StormWolf]

Aaron, thoug he didn't know which one, laughed at Darrick's jokes until he started wheezing and coughing. The joke was horrible, something he would normally not laugh at, but he flet like he had just run a set of laps around the Island and done a jig at the end.

"Fuckin' hell, I'm tired. Me too. Shut up." Aaron rubbed his temples. He wished he had not lost his medicine.

"Luck of the Irish my hairy arse..." he muttered. His fags were probably all wet and useless now, and that put him in a sour mood. Whatever, he needed to kick that habbit anywho.

"Oi, Derrick! Would you an' yer keen sense of direction get us to this fabled shelter of yers? Talk is cheap, lad." he called to the man leading in the front.

[roan]

With legs like jello it seemed impossible to walk on. The promise of shelter had faded away with the light of the sun. The darker it became the darker the girl’s mood. A depression sat in as everyone marched in silence. Was there any hope of getting out of this humid hell, this green nightmare? Only time would tell.

“Ow!” Tripping over something hard Jolie fell ungracefully to the ground, again succeeding in wetting herself in mud and grass. “Ugh!” She exclaimed exhaustedly as she pursed her plump lips together to hold in a frustrated scream. Rising to her knees she looked at the object she tripped over: a rock. A rather big rock. Trying to shove it with a soiled hand it wouldn’t budge. ‘Huh, that’s odd.’ With squinted green eyes she looked along the ground, seeing more and more rocks as if a trail. “Hey you guys,” Jo spoke softly as she gained her footage in her oversized boots, walking alongside the rocks. After a minute or so of following the trail a loud ‘woohoo’ came from the foliage she entered. “Hurry! Come quick!”

When the others would appear they would see a large collection of rocks together with a dark small entrance, big enough for someone to crawl into. With hands on her ample hips Jolie beamed happily. “Maybe here?”

[Ryudo]

Derrick's mind drifted to the prospects of shelter. Selene's idea seemed simple yet effective, but the problem was time. Derrick knew that if they began now there would be no way for the group to finish before nightfall, and they wouldn't be able to work once the light was gone, putting the group right back at square one. The groups situation was becoming direr with every minute, Derrick knew this, and he was sure that the rest of the group did too.

As they walked Derricks frustration was growing more and more obvious, he knew that the group would not survive the night without shelter, and it was quickly becoming apparent to him that it would be his fault as the leader if no shelter was found. Suddenly he heard Aaron shout from behind him,

"Oi, Derrick! Would you an' yer keen sense of direction get us to this fabled shelter of yers?" Derrick nodded his head somberly and continued on, his eyes now searched for anything that might possibly offer a little warmth. Just as Derrick was about to do something drastic he heard someone fall and he whipped around to see what had happened. At first there was nothing, as if whoever had fallen had just disappeared, Derricks eyes furtively scanned the group and he noticed that Jolie was missing, he began to call out her name when she suddenly appeared a few feet away from where Derrick presumed she had fallen.

”Hey you guys, hurry, come quick!”

Derrick carefully descended the hill, helping Ava and Selene down, once the group had gathered they followed the sound of Jolie’s voice until he found her sitting in the clearing of a large tree. Derrick looked at Jolie, at first he didn’t understand why she was so happy, but then he saw that there was a huge tree behind her that had a large opening at its base and a path leading too it. Suddenly it hit Derrick, someone else had been here, someone else had stayed her, lived here! With that last thought a wave of joy washed over him.

He ran over to the hole and knelt to inspect it, sticking his head in it was tough to judge how large the opening was, and so he began to use his axe to gauge just how much room there was in the hole. Reaching his arm out with the axe extended Derrick couldn’t touch the other side, the whole was immense, perhaps even big enough for the entire group. They had found shelter, Derrick shook that thought from his mind, Jolie had found shelter. Derrick poked his head out of the shelter, and turned to Jolie,

“Jolie I could kiss y-” Suddenly there was an immense amount of squealing and shrieking from inside the hole, without looking Derrick dropped the axe and jumped out of it. Once on the ground he covered his head and looked up. Derrick couldn’t believe what he saw, two wild peccaries charged through the group and out of the clearing, frightening and even knocking over some of the survivors during their escape.

Once the dust had settled and the survivors had regained their bearings the group inspected the once inhabited hole. Derrick didn’t expect to find anything inside, he was fairly certain that the only food that was close had just escaped, and nearly killed him to boot. Using Aarons' lighter to make a rudimentary torch, Derrick threw it into the hole illuminating their soon to be shelter, and stepped inside once more. Derrick sensed that he wasn’t the only living thing inside, looking around his eyes quickly caught the other party, a baby peccary who had its leg caught in some rocks. Derrick called out to the group,

“Guys, I think you should see this.”

[Mysteria]

Having fallen into one of her reflective moods Selene walked behind the others as they trudged through the Amazon in search of shelter. She had been thinking of her parents. The truth was there had been little time to think about anything but surviving since the plane had crashed. Her fall into the river had forced her to be more alert than what she had been earlier. She couldn't take the chance of not paying 100 % attention to her surroundings and was watching her footing very carefully with every step that she now took.

When Jolie had cried out for them all to come quick Selene had rushed over to see what all of the commotion was about. It would seem that once again they had found shelter just in the nick of time to prevent them from having to spend the night out in the Amazon with no refuge from the torrential rains. Selene watched as Derrick poked around in the tree and shrunk back startled a bit when the peccaries charged out at them.

What she saw when she stepped into the tree broke her heart though. That small peccary trapped the way it was looked so helpless and in some ways Selene could empathize with it. They all were in some ways helpless but unlike the peccary, they had a better chance of survival. Or did they? She couldn't help but ponder the thought to herself as she took a seat and leaned back against the tree and waited for someone to decide what to do with or how to help the peccary. That was, if they were going to help it. Selene herself was too tired to deal with it and her dip into the river had left her chilled to the bone.

Hopefully by getting into the tree and out of the rain would allow her to feel some sort of warmth again albeit that the dampness surrounding them left a musty smell in the air. Just what I need for my allergies Selene thought to herself right before she sneezed.

"Achoo. Achoo." Selene looked up at everyone half blushing as she said "Sorry everyone, just my allergies acting up."

[roan]

The peccaries gave the red-haired girl a start, nearly being knocked over by the wild hogs. Squealing they darted away, leaving everyone a little more wide-eyed. Except maybe Selene. Poor thing looked absolutely drained as she rested against the tree trunk, Jo knowing the river had taken a toil on her energy and spirit. They needed a fire. And food.

“Guys, I think you should see this.”

Derrick called from inside the tree, Jo immediately moving to see what was the commotion was all about. As her green eyes moved to the site of the wild baby pig, it’s little hoof wedged between to rocks. By the grotesque look of the limb it was obviously broken. “It’s suffering. We might as well kill it and... you know, eat it.” Having seen her father and uncle gut and clean deer, pigs, and cows before. It was disgusting but necessary in the process of getting meat.

With her once white blouse in her hand she stretched it out and moved into the tree, going to her knees near the pig slowly, making eye contact with the animal before swiftly lunging and covering the baby’s head with her shirt, pushing it to the ground on its side as it kicked with its free legs, squealing loudly. Looking now to Derrick as she held with animal down her eyes were wide, “Do it.” The girl spoke, her gaze moving to the axe in his hand.