Jungle Heat

Chapter 1 - Arrival To The Jungle

Ella sat in the back of the helicopter as it made its approach to the launch site, the gusting rain making it a bumpy and miserable ride through the African skies.

The crew chief grabbed her shoulder and held up two fingers. "Two minutes and we're home," he shouted in her ear. Across from her, her traveling companion from the airport was dead asleep, slumped against his pack.

She studied him, taking in the sharp, weathered lines of his face, like someone who'd been through hard, lean times. A bush hat sat low on his head, and his clothes were a dull camouflage patterned shirt and pants and canvas boots worn down from use while she sat in her new, barely broken-in uniform.

He'd been silent the entire trip, barely acknowledging her existence as if he'd mastered the art of shutting people out. She didn't know a damn thing about him, not even his real name. Just the nickname they gave him: Tam.

The helo hit the ground with a thud, jolting as a crosswind threw it off balance before the pilots corrected. Ella was tossed across the compartment, crashing right into Tam, waking him suddenly.

"Fuck me, there's a reason we have seatbelts," he cursed, which was about the longest sentence he'd bothered to say so far.

Her gear was scattered everywhere and frustration boiled inside her as she frantically shoved everything back into her bags, cursing herself and Tam, who had made it painfully clear from the beginning that he did not want her here.

But then, a smirk tugged at her lips as she remembered how his boss had laid it out for him with brutal clarity: "Just fucking do it, or head back home to the farm... your call."

"Ella, slow down," Tam said tiredly. "Wait in here until the rain eases up."

"Oh, so you can talk," she snapped. "I'm shocked you even know my name."

Ella shot him a daring look, but all she received in return were his cold, hard blue eyes locking onto hers.

"My job is to look out for you, Ella, but I don't have to like it," Tam said in his strange accent. You need to understand that where you are now isn't like anywhere you've been before. Keep your smartass comments to yourself and start watching, listening, and learning from the people around you here. This isn't a game, Ella. People come here to die, get that into your head."

Ella stared at him, a chill running through her. Now, she saw him for what he truly was: cold, calculating, and dangerous. She wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating him again. For the first time, Ella understood just how serious this was.

When the rain stopped, they grabbed their gear and walked across the pad to a squat, single-story building. "This used to be a primary school before we moved in," Tam said over his shoulder, noticing Ella lagging behind. "Hand me some of that stuff."

As he reached for her gear, Ella noticed something she hadn't before: a pistol tucked in the back of his pants. She froze, realizing that Tam had been armed since they landed in the country.

The door to the building kicked open, and a tall, bulky black man stepped out, smiling at Tam. "Hey, Blesekop! I told you, man, that you'd be back here. I said you're not fit for humans anymore, but no, your ears are just for decoration, not for listening."

Tam muttered something in Afrikaans in response, and they both broke into laughter.

Ella looked around while the two men talked. It was, as Tam had said, an old school, but now had a perimeter of firing positions and enclosed bunkers. The vegetation and any obstacles had been cleared out for about 200 meters. She wondered why they needed all that when it seemed quiet enough here.