The Jungle 1

She pushed the fern leaf aside and stepped into the clearing. To an observer, she would appear calm and at ease with her surroundings. In reality, she was itching all over, smelled horrific after spending twelve days in the jungle, without the first bath - bathing in any of the rivers was a dangerous pastime because of the crocodiles. She praying for the dig to be over so she could go back to her air-conditioned home in North Carolina. She might have been able to talk herself into feeling better about the bad day she had been having for the last week, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was a Monday.

Autumn Grey was the stereotypical Southern Bell. She was stubborn as hell and used to getting her way. Her honey-blonde hair, when let loose from the ponytail braid she always wore on a dig, flowed all the way down to her waist and her eyes were the blue of the sea after a storm. She was petite - just under five feet tall - and her skin was the color of ivory. (The result of a mother who had always been adamant about her not sun bathing when she was a teenager, a fact that she hated at the time but now praised her for.) She had a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and this dig was only the second she had participated in since her divorce three years earlier. She could still hear the disappointment and criticism in her mother’s voice when she told her this time she was bringing her daughter with her. She was afraid Deidre would forget her while she was gone, or that her ex-husband, Charles, would try to use her time away to regain the custody she had fought so hard for. When the judicial review board had dismissed the judge in the original custody hearing, for taking a bribe from Charles’ family, she didn’t think she would ever have to worry about losing Deidre again. But he had filed another custody petition with the court just three weeks before she had left for Brazil.

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Autumn looked around the clearing for her daughter’s face among the workers in the camp. When she spotted her by the food tent with one of the village boys she felt old. After all, her daughter, who was almost fifteen, was flirting with a boy who couldn’t have been much older than sixteen or seventeen. It wasn’t time for dating yet, she was still a baby!

“Talking about anything interesting?” she asked when she reached her daughter’s side.

“Mom! Can’t I even have a conversation without you always looking over my shoulders?!” Deidre exclaimed with the usual teenage exasperation.

This was a familiar and comfortable jest between them, though anyone who didn’t know them would think Deidre was what her own mother would call “getting fresh.” Of course, her mother had no sense of humor - it wasn’t lady-like, she thought with a chuckle.

“No,” she replied. “So, what are you talking about that you don’t want me to know? You know how nosy I am, so you might as well ‘fess up before I find out about it anyway.”

“Mooommmm! You are so embarrassing! We were just talking about what would happen if what you found was really an ancient burial ground. Pablo told me that the people in the village don’t think you should mess with anything if it is, because the people who are buried there might have put curses on their tombs and that would cause trouble for them, because they have to live here when we pull out,” she said, taking a deep breath at the end. She couldn’t believe she had gotten it all out in one breath, she was getting better. With enough practice, when she got home she could beat Bobby Joe - who was the best kid on the block. She could read the first three paragraphs of Stephen King’s new book without taking the first breath!

“Well, of course that is a concern that we are looking into. Pablo can go back to his village and assure them that we are not going to touch another inch of the burial ground until an expert arrives from the British Museum day after tomorrow. A Dr. Lugus MacLeod is supposed to be a leading expert in the field of South American burial practices. When he gets here we will not only know if those are curses on the stones, but we will also know what tribe they came from and when.”

“Gracias, Senora Grey. Mi madre y padre will be very happy when they hear this news. I will let the villagers know you will not be digging for a while. You are much kinder to Pablo and his village than the others who came before you. We will miss you when you go back to Norte Americana.”

“Oh, posh. What you really mean is that you’ll miss having Deidre around,” she replied with a smile.

“Mooommmm! I can’t believe you just said that! I could just die!” Deidre said as her face turned red from embarrassment. “Don’t pay any attention to anything she says, Pablo. She hasn’t been in her right mind since we got on the plane in Charlotte. She’s afraid to fly.”

“Deidre, I told you not to tell anyone about that! I can’t believe you just announced it in front of the whole camp.”

“Pay back, Mom. Pay back,” Deidre said as she headed off toward the tent she shared with her mother. A chuckled escaped as she ducked into the tent and looked back at her mother’s open mouth.

***********

For the next day and a half, she kept herself and the others busy sifting through the artifacts they had already uncovered, looking for anything of anthropological value. There wasn’t much, some pottery that could have been made in any of two centuries, some stone weapon fragments that, even to her trained eye, were totally unidentifiable as to a time frame and some bones from the only grave they had mistakenly desecrated.

Early Wednesday evening, about 7PM, the expert from the British Museum arrived as promised - much to the relief of the diggers, who had been having to make work for themselves until his appearance. Dr. MacLeod was much younger than she had expected, not much older than herself. She had been expecting someone in their retirement years - after all, what young man would want to spend his prime years in some stuffy old museum instead of out on a dig, where all the excitement was in this field of study.

She had read his biographical folder the night before, which lists only the bare facts - nothing about age or personality. He was from the southern most part of Wales, spoke fluent English, Welsh, French, Spanish and Italian, and had authored several well-documented books and articles about the ancient South American Indian tribes and how they had lived before the Spanish conquered them and choked out their heritage. There wasn’t any personal stuff in it, like if he was married or single, or if he had children, or even where he had gotten his degree.

The file had also told her nothing about how sexy the man was in dig attire, which was not an easy thing to be done. He had dark hair that curled just below his collar, pale skin - obviously he had been spending too much time cooped up in the library - and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Definitely a heart ache in disguise and the smart money would be for her to stay away from him - the last thing she needed was to give her ex-husband an excuse to call her an unfit mother, running around on digs to meet up with her current lover.

There was something distinctly different about him that she just couldn’t put her finger on. It was as if there was an aura of danger around him that as almost irresistible. Unfortunately, she could tell he didn’t feel the same about her. In fact, he seemed much more interested in what was going on around the dig to even introducing himself to the members of the party. No doubt about it, he was one strange cookie.

Still, she was glad she had bathed last night. Deidre had been able to talk some of the men in the camp to bring a tub and some water into their tent yesterday evening and told her to enjoy herself. It simply would not have done for him to see her looking as she did last night - if her bath water was any indication, she had been caked from head to toe with dirt. It was no wonder that even her daughter had been avoiding her for the past several days, she must have been quiet a sight!

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

Lugus MacLeod looked around the clearing. The archeologist in charge had been very careful not to disturb the site after the burial discovery. He was very impressed with the beautiful woman. He felt drawn to her, but knew to keep his distance. It was better that way for all concerned. He had seen the results of getting too close a woman second hand, and had himself almost been killed. So now he kept his distance from all of them. He was a fast learner, his teacher had taught him that well. Randall had told him to either walk alone or take chances, unfortunately he had watched as Randall took a chance...Lugus did not like his fate, so chose to walk alone on his lonely path.

Lugus told the workers to set up his tent and work area in the jungle, where the sight was located. He knew they would think badly of him, but better that than for them to start gossiping about his work hours. He needed the autonomy of the jungle. The jungle rarely gave up her secrets.

He was a very secretive man. He had forgotten more things than all the people on this dig combined would ever learn. He had a reputation of working alone. He was very uncomfortable working out in the field. Too many anomalies to be considered. He had only taken this assignment because he knew the area. He knew the jungle. And he already knew which tribe was buried in that location.

He also knew what was written on those tablets. Which is the main reason why he came, because what was written could never be revealed. He would have to be very clever in his cover up of the truth. Autumn Grey was an intelligent woman, and would spot any stupid mistakes he might make.

He thought for a few minutes. He might just have to get close to this woman. He had seen the way she looked at him. Maybe if he got her mind on him and off his work he would survive the completion of this assignment. It was worth the risk, in his mind. He either had to successfully cover up this discovery or the whole world would discover that which had been hidden in the shadows for thousands upon thousands of years and now used as bedtime stories to scare little kids.

Thousands of his kindred had petitioned him when news of this discovery had gotten out to the right ears. They knew of his time spent here. They considered it his fault that the information had been written down in the first place. If he hadn’t been taken in as wounded and then discovered by the tribe then, there wouldn’t be an issue in the present. So he had relented. And now he had met Autumn Grey. He was no longer as sure he would make it out of the jungle alive. There were just too many unknowns in the equation with her. His feelings for a woman could be his downfall, just like Randall.

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

Autumn was suspicious and flattered at the same time. Lugus had been in camp for over a week and had completely ignored them the whole time. Now here he was, paying her compliments and asking her over to his camp for a solitary dinner. She wasn’t sure what to do. He never came to their camp for anything, other than the occasional question and answer session, though Thomas, who had moved his supplies to Lugus’ jungle camp, had reported that he had seen not the first of any food rations. Rumors had been flying for days. He was never around while they were at the site. He was only seen after dusk. The locals were afraid of him. Pablo said they refused to come to the sites now. Something about an ancient legend predicting the return of a devil that would destroy their village.

She finally agreed, out of pure curiosity. Though her instincts were on red alert, she made her way to his camp that night. She was early, as was her habit - a habit he did not know of in advance. She was almost to his clearing when she heard the blood-curling cry of a wounded animal. It sounded like it was coming from his camp so she began to hurry; thinking a wounded animal could be very dangerous to a person alone. Crashing through the undergrowth, she came across a sight she was sure would be with her for a long, long time.

In front of her was Lugus. In his hands was a panther. At first she thought he was fighting the big cat off. Then she realized the cat was trying to get away and that he was holding onto the animal. Then she noticed that he had his mouth in the injured cat’s throat. She saw the blood dripping down his chin. She screamed and fainted for the first time in her life.

When she came to, the first thing she saw was his concerned face. She saw his mouth moving, asking her if she was all right, her eyes drawn to the spot on his collar of dried blood. Then the memory of what she had seen flooded back and she screamed one word as the blackness enveloped her again: Vampire!

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

When she came to again she discovered she was in some kind of a tomb. She looked around, but could see no signs of an exit from the room. Looking closer, she saw several artifacts that she had had the students on the dig turn over to Lugus sitting in a corner. She got up and went over to them, kneeling down to study them closely.

“You won’t learn anything more from them than you had before I arrived. There are only handfuls of people left that can still read their language. A few are in the village. I am another. Several of the others are of my people, they are here but will not help you at all. I brought you here for your safety. They would kill you for what you saw last night.”

She stood up, turned around and looked at him with anger in her eyes. She could not believe her ears. For her own safety? Ha! And the thought that some of the villagers could read the writing on the tablets only confirmed her own suspicions. But the thought that he was the one to confirm them only made her angrier.

“How dare you bring me here?! Do you not think the camp knew exactly where I was headed last night?! My daughter is going to be worried, as well as the students. They will come looking for me, they will come straight to your camp. If you think you can get away with murdering me you’ve got another thing coming, mister...or…. whatever you are!”

“You know exactly what I am. And I’m not here to murder you. I’m here to keep you safe from the others. I have not fed on human blood since I left the destruction of the site you are now uncovering. There was a great fight that occurred there. The kindred discovered the people of that village knew what I was. They decided it was a dangerous thing and they converged on it and killed almost every single inhabitant. A few of the shaman survived long enough to write these tablets,” he gestured to the corner. “When I left I swore I would never have any contact with the human world again. Then, three hundred years later, you find these tablets. My people begged me to come and make it remain a secret of what they did here. When they found out I didn’t kill all of you immediately upon my arrival, they came back here themselves. They were planning to attack your camp. I was able to convince them if I hide all the evidence and then faked my mortal death, there would be nothing for you to discover and nothing for you to learn.”

Autumn looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. “Why would the dig concern vampires at all?”

“Because the tablets are an account of our people. I came to these ancient people’s village wounded, and they took me in and healed me, not knowing what I was until I regained consciousness and attacked one of the women watching over my sick bed. The shaman forced me off and gave me herbs that curbed my appetite for blood. For that I am, and always will be, forever grateful to his people. This is the real reason I came back. If the world found out there were really vampires living in this world, and they had massacred these people, there would be utter chaos. It would be another Inquisition. It would also give my people a reason to kill your people. They would attempt to wipe out the whole human race. And there would be nothing I, nor the other sympathetic vampires, could do to stop them. We would also be killed.”

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

“Deidre!” She exclaimed, bolting upright from a fitful sleep. “I have to get to Deidre!”

He walked over to her, smoothing the hair back from her forehead. “You can’t leave. I’ve explained that to you. They think I’ve killed you, to keep my secret safe.”

“You don’t understand. Something’s wrong. Deidre’s in trouble. She’s scared,” she looked at him with tears in her trusting blue eyes. “Please....help her.”

He looked at her thoughtfully, knowing her request could possibly get them both killed. Slowly he nodded his head and left the tomb.

He had a sense of deja vu, entering the camp. It took him back nearly three thousand years, to the time of the Indian massacre. They had gone back on their promise to let him handle the humans and their discovery. They were killing everyone in sight. Quickly, he spotted Deidre. She was cornered by one of the old ones. There was no way she could outsmart her and get away. In a flash, he was by her side and scooped her up.

“She’s mine!” he hissed at the old woman. “You can’t have her!” He bared his fangs at her, daring her to challenge him.

He looked around sadly, hearing the human screams of terror and pain. He knew there was nothing he could do for them. He also knew the nearby village would be their next target.

Deidre, as if reading his mind, said, “Pablo, you have to save Pablo, too.” It was as if she knew he had come to rescue her. “Mom told me you were coming. We...we have a link of sorts. I can’t explain it, maybe you should ask her about it. That’s why I refused to be scared when she never returned from your camp, like everyone else. I knew she was safe. I knew you were watching over her.”

He shook his head. So this was another of the unknowns he had sensed about Autumn. She was telepathic. “If I take you to the tomb, there is no way I would get to him in time. And if I take you to the village with me, you both could be killed. And if harm comes to you, your mother will surely kill me before morning.”

Deidre looked as if she were ready to argue, but relented. “Please, at least try to get to him. He’s very clever. He will know to hide in a safe place till you can get to him. I will let him know, I promise.”

Nodding, he whisked her off into the jungle, to the waiting arms of her mother. Autumn sighed in relief, hugging and kissing her daughter, tears rolling down her cheeks. See looked over to Lugus to thank him, but he had already left to rescue Pablo. Thinking that he had lost his mind, as well as his heart, to these humans that he would risk so much for them, he sped to the village.

He did indeed find and rescue Pablo in time. He brought him back to the tomb. Not for the first time he thought of how familiar the boy looked, and finally the puzzle connected for him. Pablo was a direct descendant of the shaman who had taken him in and cured his bloodlust. Pablo looked at him and handed him a pouch.

“My people have handed down the story with this pouch and a list of herbs. They say the ancient shaman was ready to cure you of your curse when the devils descended and tried to kill off our people. Luckily, a handful survived and we have become strong again. It was told that you would come back, and the devils would come too. Every first born son in my family is groomed from a baby to be ready for you. To be prepared to complete the healing ceremony. To make you human again.”

Lugus stared at the boy. He couldn’t believe his torment was nearly at an end. He would be free. But it wouldn’t be without a price. He had brought the destruction of the boy’s people once again. It was something he would have to live with for the rest of his life.