Blood Sweat & Fear

The sun had reached its peak hours before. The heat had been unbearable. Sweat poured from us all. The jungle stunk. We did too. It had begun to get dark again and we seemed to be no nearer discovering the origin of the rumbling noise. Both Martin and I knew it for what it was. We hadn't discussed it, but both of us were aware how little time we had left.

I was beginning to wonder if Miles had figured it out. I wasn't able to tell if he had covered up his knowledge or if he was as much in the dark as Blondie.

As mid afternoon arrived, I was gripped with stomach pains. I squeezed my eyes shut then wrapped my arms tight around my body. I fell to the ground in squirming agony. It wasn't surprising that the hunger pains had finally taken over. What was surprising was that they'd taken so long to pull me down. I'd been patting myself on the back that I hadn't succumbed to them earlier. I'd never in my life gone so long with so little to eat and drink. Breakfast was normally a small meal, but I usually washed it down with a couple of cups of coffee. Lunch was generally sandwiches or cheese and salad. Dinner was meat and three vegetables, a standard meal. Somewhat basic food, but it was good wholesome family food. Three muesli bars were a huge difference and my stomach had protested loudly.

I'd watched Miles take off for the bush every so often during the day and guessed that he'd got diarrhea. There was nothing any of us could do to make it easier on him. Martin's first aid box didn't contain anything to still his bush sprints.

When the pains began to ease a little, I opened my eyes. I looked up in the dimmed light at the three of them staring down at me. Martin was kneeling beside me. He opened his bundle and pulled out another of those goddamn muesli bars; he undid the plastic covering and offered the bar to me.

"Here Bess, eat this. It'll help hold the pains off."

I took the muesli bar without second thought and bit the end. I must have chewed it a dozen times before I felt okay enough to swallow it. I swore then that I'd never eat another muesli bar in my life after I got back home.

"Oh nice. She gets a whole bar?" Blondie was bitching again. "A whole bar to herself? How many are left?"

"There are five bars left Lorris. That's all. But I reckon we'll be finding company before we run out of them."

"I want one Martin. I want a muesli bar right now."

"I'm sorry Lorris. I can't give you one. Bess only has it because of her cramps. We need to walk for another hour at least before we make camp for the night. Bess needs the food to keep up."

"Oh for God's sake! You've been favouring her the entire way. I'm starving hungry too. I've not complained this afternoon. I've not told you my stomach has been killing me. I'm entitled to that damn food too. Give me a bar right now, damnit." She lunged for his bundle. She grabbed it in one hand, hauled it away from him, and then ran off through the jungle.

"Lorris!" Martin hissed. He didn't dare shout. He knew, as I did, just how close we were to company. "Damn that silly bitch to hell and back." He slammed his hand hard against his leg and tore off through the jungle in the direction she'd gone.

Miles crossed over to me. He'd not gone unnoticed standing a little apart from us. He'd merely kept his thoughts to himself. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea. I'd try to imitate that, if I ever managed to get up off the ground again, that is.

"You know something that's worse than these bloody stomach cramps?" I looked up as his shadow landed on me.

"What's worse Bess? What could be worse than the pain of starvation? Slowly dying and knowing it." Even his tone was showing signs of being beaten.

"The fucking flies. I'm sick to death of these colourless flies landing on me every minute of the day and night. Where the hell are they coming from? I would have thought they'd be better off sticking around that dead body than landing on me all the time." My skin was covered in tiny red welts. The flies hadn't just landed. They'd landed, grabbed and bitten hard.

"I don't know Bess. I don't know where they're coming from. I have noticed they're getting thicker though. Maybe that's a sign of food close by, eh." A spark of a wishful look flashed over his face.

"Maybe you're right Miles. Just maybe you're right." He helped me up and held me steady while my legs had a chance to hold my weight. The cramps had eased some. The dull ache hadn't shifted though. That was with me for the duration.

"Where have those two got to?" I knew full well that he wouldn't be able to answer me.

"I don't know that either Bess. I'm sure they'll be back soon though. We'd best stay here to wait for them though. No sense us all going off half-cocked. I hope Martin catches up with her soon. We need to get another hour's walking in before nightfall."

"Well, it sure doesn't look like that's gonna happen. Now that they've gone off, there's no food here for you. I have water though. Here, have some." I handed him my bottle. "You need to keep your fluids up. You've lost more than enough already."

"You first Bess. Wash that muesli bar down."

I held the bottle in my shaking hand, then swallowed a couple of mouthfuls. I wished for a glass of ice right then. A glass of cold water would have been heaven. I handed Miles the bottle and watched his Adam's apple bob a few times as he drank deeply.

Once I felt steady on my feet I walked a few paces. The cramps had almost gone, but I knew that they'd be back. He had put the bottle back into my bundle, then stretched out on the ground with his eyes closed.

I took a long slow look at him then. He wasn't too bad looking for all the sweat and dirt that had stuck to his body. He was covered in red welts from where the flies had bitten him. His short black hair had become decidedly oily; it stuck straight up too, like my son's latest haircut.

A fly landed on his face and with one strong, wide hand he waved it away. He looked fairly content lying there. Like he was lying on a beach getting a tan, not lying on ground that was solid one minute and swampy the next, in the middle of a jungle on an island stuck on the rim of the Pacific Ocean. He didn't look like a guy who could use that rifle he never let out of his sight. I wondered then if push came to shove would he use it? Would he use it to protect me? I had a feeling I was not going to have to wait too long to find out.

He looked like he could have done with a good hot meal inside him, that and about 48 hours solid sleep, a shower and shave. Hell we all could have done with a good meal, then a bath at home.

"Quit staring at me Bess. I know I'm nothing wonderful to look at right now. My guts is cramping just like yours, my body needs a complete overhaul. Stop staring at me like you want to eat me."

I laughed at that. "Like I have the energy for that. I could sleep for a month."

I sat on the dirt, cross-legged facing him.

"Come closer Bess." I did as he asked, shuffling forward on my backside, I kept my eyes on his face.

With eyes closed, he spoke a little hoarsely. "Lean over me Bess, put your hands either side of my head."

Was he nuts? I'd already figured what that would do. I couldn't do it. I picked up a handful of dirt, then I watched as it fell between my fingers to the ground.

"Now Bess."

My body hummed in response. My brain told me to get the hell away from him, a split second later it had turned on me. I found myself doing as he asked. My hands flat on the dirt either side of his head. His face nuzzled my chest. My breasts hung down only stopping from hitting him in the face by my sweat-stained shirt.

He opened his mouth, then with his tongue, he licked my shirt around my nipples until it was soaked. My nipples rubbed against the wet material. It was a warm wetness. There was no chance anything would feel cool in a hot untamed jungle.

I watched as his mouth opened wide and he took my breast into it. He managed a fair bit, which impressed me. My breasts weren't small; they were huge. But he was good. He was much better than my husband was, that much I knew for sure.

When he sucked it I nearly fell on him. The response time between my breast and core was instant. I straddled him, lowered my body until I rubbed against him. I felt his hardness through our clothes as my body rubbed and pressed against him, a delicious feeling warmed me.

The jungle was muted; the flies ignored but the heat increased. He lifted his hips off the dirt and ground against me. When he bit me I smothered my scream with one hand.

"Shut up Bess," he hissed against my body. He bit me again. Hard. My back arched, I tried to pull myself away from his tortuous mouth. He held onto my nipple with his teeth. I fell forward, giving him what he wanted. He licked the pain away.

"Good girl, you're learning. Now get off me. I've had enough for now."

I moved away from him. My senses spun at what had happened. I think I'd just had a lesson in being submissive. Where the hell had that come from? Bemused, I looked over at him. He was smiling; but he was snoring too. The arrogant prick. Where did he get off doing that to me?

My whole body was throbbing. I needed release. I ignored Miles and slipped my hand inside my shorts and panties.

"She's gone!" Martin almost fell on Miles' sleeping form. I removed my hand fast, but not fast enough. Martin had seen where my hand was, but he didn't comment.

"Where?" Leave it to me to ask the dumb questions.

"I wish to hell I knew. I followed her tracks for half an hour. I didn't catch sight of her at all. Then there was a small clearing." He looked around. "A bit like this one. There were footprints everywhere. Lots of different ones. They went from the clearing in all directions, but I couldn't find hers anywhere. I don't know where she is." He ran his fingers through his hair. "But Bess, I found this." He held up a piece of severed rope. "I found it just on the edge of the clearing. Bess, they must have tied her when they took her."

I sat quietly for a moment. It was obvious she'd been caught, most likely tied. Knowing Blondie and the noise she makes, they'd probably have had to gag her too. Poor bitch.

"You'd better take us to where you found the rope, Martin," Miles obviously had heard the latest events. "Come on, let's get moving. It'll be dark soon and we won't have any hope of following tracks."

We hauled our bundles over our shoulders. Martin led the way. The walking was not so difficult, the jungle had seemed to thin out a little, but the darkness was closing in. We moved quickly in single file. It took us half an hour of walking to arrive at the place Martin had told us about. In the darkness it wasn't possible to see the tracks.

We had been so quiet that the unfamiliar noise dawned on us all at the same time. "Oh God! Water!" I was parched dry suddenly. The sound of the moving water wasn't far away. As one, we quickly ran toward it. It turned out to be a small river. We had dropped to our knees then, scooping up the water in our palms to drink. Martin stood knee deep in the river and drank. I preferred to wait for daylight before I went in. The promise of a good wash had given me a measure of hope. Having filled our immediate needs, we moved away from the river. We huddled close to the ground and whispered.

"We can't find Lorris tonight. It's way too late. We'll only manage to get lost ourselves." Martin's sensible logic showed through again.

"Agreed. We'll make camp for the night and look for Lorris tomorrow," Miles stood. He looked around for a suitable spot to spend the night. "I guess if we move upriver a little way, we should find some shelter. It's windy by the river, there'll be some rocks further up that will shield us from it."

I didn't know how he knew there'd be rocks, but I was too tired to bother asking. The stomach cramps were back. It took every ounce of control I had for me to ignore them and keep up with the men. There were rocks. We found them after only a few minutes walk. We looked around to check that we'd not be seen if people were looking for us. It appeared relatively safe. The only way somebody would discover us here, was if they actually tripped over us. And with a bit of luck, we'd have heard them coming by the time they got that close.

Before we settled down to sleep for the night, Martin gave us our muesli bar and water, then had us check our rifles. We needed to make sure they were close to hand, and that they were ready to be used in an instant.

I fell asleep with two men either side of my body, snuggled up against Martin's back, with Miles locked in behind me. I closed my eyes and fell asleep with the feeling that Miles' fingertip was making tiny circles against my back. The last touch I felt was his finger as it slipped between my ass cheeks.

There was no rumbling from the ground during that night.