Falling for the jungle boy

Chapter 4

I smiled at the other people in the clearing that had huddled around the campfire. Night had finally passed over us and the dark blue sky was changing into a deeper navy. Thousands of tiny stars lit up the scene and rested in their own miniscule existence.

I could feel the dirt clog up under my fingernails, it managed to crawl up into the deepest crevices of my being. The crunching of leaves and other dead matter suddenly threw the grotesque feeling into the air, completely forgotton.

Our camp was fairly small and rugged, a few fallen branches and recovered blankets created two measly tents. With the slightest touch it looked as if the contraptions would fall apart.-And we were expected to sleep in there. I couldn't keep the eyeroll inside. As of now, we had set up a tiny camp fire and pulled a pair of (felled) mismatched tree trunks into two roughly parallel lines round the circle. There was hardly any noise, everyone stared wistfully into the flames in shock.

I looked around the campfire wearily, not aware of how little people were here as a result of the crash . I wasnt told of any casualities. But then again, I didn't have the nerve to ask. I prefered to be kept in the dark and unknown.

"So the pilot..." without hesitation I smashed my fingers in my ears and squirmed. On the verge of screaming "lalalalala" at the top of my lungs to block out the gory details.

The lady on the other side of the campfire saw this and smiled at me comfortingly. It was a new feeling. It felt strange to be thought of, not just as the piece of trash that eats the food from his pantry. The disappointment. The retard. The failure.

"John." As soon as she spoke everyone went silent. "me and... " she hestitated a bit before finally concluding. "...her will go and find some water and bring it back. We are running out." She looked at me and winked as she beckoned me to follow.

Once we were a close distance away from them she let out a sigh. "Hi I'm Naomi." The girl didn't look much older than me. Probably around early twenties. The range being 23-25.

"Hey." I mumbled shyly. "I'm Claire... so um... so you have any idea where the water is?"

She guaffed at my seemingly ridiculous idea. "Course not. Just had to get away from those two and the gross plane crash talk. I think I can live without their stories." She chuckled silently to herself, while impersonating a gaging noise.

"Let's kill some time... so what's your story?" I stare blankly at her. Unsure of what to make of the question. I just stared.

"Hey? What's wrong?" Her soothing voice lead me to answer.

" I've just had a really shitty life... guess that's my story." I gave it up to her just like that. I face-palmed when I realised she would want to know more... I guess here goes nothing. I winced but suprisingly, she didn't seem remotely fazed by my answer. 

Her gaze was pushy yet it held the right ammount of encouragement behind it. Those eyes gleamed at the thought of knowing, but the smile behind them held back the smirk that superiors got when they understood something was up.

Could I tell her? Could I trust her?

I felt my lip quivering. "Hey there, Claire, your fine. Come over here. You can cry on my shoulder. Shush, you're fine."

Amy used to say that to me. She would console me. I was dragged into homeschooling for my life, being an only child, i never had the experience or privelage even, to meet new people, experience a normal day to day life.

Books that told of a normal teenage day would make me dwindle in misery. Mine was far from that. Painfully far. I had no friends to strut around the corridors with, i didn't hear and partake in the usual locker room gossip. I didnt have to experience the struggles of waking up early and having to haul my lazy ass out of bed in the morning. The complaining, the laughing, the parties. Someone had gone over the preveiw of my life and crossed them all out.

The only person that could even begin to comprehend my pain was Amy. I didn't know where she had gone. I was searching, searching for my one and only friend.

It's funny how people can live without love....

***

3 days. 3 long and boring days. 3 long, boring days. And yet the space next to the window was empty. Bare. The feeling of dread nipped at my fingers. The hope being sucked out of them completely. Ghostly white, plae skin emerged in my brain. The pictures that haunted me. My existence fell apart in the slightest touch. I was weeping now. The disembodied voice in my head telling me to stop and think logically. I remembered the confusion, everything going up in a cloud of smoke. My muscles ached , my head throbbed, the immense pressure swirled around me. Waiting for an outlet. It twisted and cut away the sense chords from my brain, one at a time. Slowly.

My sight began to disappear throwing me down a valley of blackness, tiny dots of colour pinpointed different random locations. Info rolled my eyeballs far enough, the possibility to see my brain would be far too good to miss.

I could feel a voice. Panicked and ruushed, yabbering off in the distance. I could feel Amy right next to my frame. Her presence so obvious... all i had to do was reach out and touch her pale face. But the closer my hand came , the further the shawdow died, until it died out into the atmospheric gass.

"Amy. Im sorry. It's not your fault. I just..." I could feel the a pair of eyes dawn on me. I opened my own quickly and looked around. The whole jungle had gone silent, awaiting an important pressence, like a Prince of or a King. Someone of high stature and average intelligence. It was beginning to scare me. '

Think fast, move quick dont stumble.

The song suddenly diffused into my head, the reasuring message helping ne through. Don't fall down. Main point. You fall, your as good as dead.

Trip over the root that's sticking out. Cavort over fallen free trunk. Limbo under the low-hanging branches. Dive through the bushes. Take a minute to catch my breath. Scrape past the bark on the trees.

Suddenly a shooting pain in my foot halted my running. I could no longer feel the ground under me. I could no longer feel the soil compressed against the soles of me feet. It was now sandwiched against my side filling the gap between my arm and A smooth rock-like substance.

Think fast. Move quick. Don't stumble.

Now I face down in the muddy floor. I could feel someone behind me. I could hear the crunching of stale leaves. My hands were gently restricted and placed on the ground next to me.

I guess this is what happens to those who stumble in life...

___________

Hello everyone! Thnks.for the love and support y'all are giving. Please do share this book and help make it famous 😉. Nah... But some recognition would be nice so please vote comment and share.

Questions:

1) who is restricting her?

2) What would you do in that postition?

3) Should she tell Naomi her life story? (5 comments here and she will 😉😆)

*song- one of those nights (Shawn Mendes)

Thank you for reading. Please share (the book and your thoughts.)

-if you have suggestions. I'm an open book . Pun not intended.

-Lg