Her Storm and Silence (S&S Series One Shots)

9. Drunken Jungle

Don't worry, it's a happy chapter! Also a very dirty one too ;) You've been warned!

9. Drunken Jungle

Lillian

I wiped the sweat off my brow, this blasted humidity getting to be too much, even with my minimal amount of clothing on! The three of us had been tracking through this oven that was a swirl of a bunch of useless green and browns for hours now, me constantly asking when we'd settle down for a dinner.

Finally, after what seemed like centuries, Mr Ambrose's cold voice rang out among the mass of noise from the hundreds of creatures. "Stop. We'll set camp for the night here." I nearly collapsed in relief, my legs had turned to jelly from over use. Who knew how bloody important it was for these things to be strong!

Mr Ambrose and Karim went off to go collect food to eat while I sat under a shady tree panting like a dog. Normally, I'd demand and insist that I'd be included in this food gathering, but I was so tired I could barley even yell out a new spanish curse at Mr Ambrose for making me walk this much in the first place!

I sighed, leaning my head against the wood of the tree, wishing I could just fall asleep. Unfortunately, Mr Ambrose had a strict policy of if you sleep before dinner it shows that you don't want food and that was not my case.

My eyes kept fluttering and my head dipping down in a rhythmic lull of sleep pulling at me and before I knew it, I was dragged under.

***

I was jolted awake with a sharp yell. "Mr Linton!" Mr Ambrose shouted, his face dangerously close to my face. "Wake up! It has long been dark and you need to eat if we're going to keep pace for tomorrow." He tossed me a plate with a small fish on it and handed me a fork. I took a bite of the now cold fish and mumbled out a muffled 'thank you.'

I devoured the fish quickly, no matter of the temperature since I was starving, and deeply craved another. I pulled myself up and wandered over to the dying fire. To my disappointment, there was nothing around except a small pile of some of our belongings in a small pile. I walked over to them, wondering there was anything to eat in there. Mr Ambrose had to keep extra food with him, wouldn't he? A snack, at least, a pouch of nuts, some fruits or berries, something.

I was rummaging through one of the knapsacks when my hand felt something cold. I pulled it out and it was a tin sort of bottle thingy. I shook it back and forth, hearing the sloshing of liquid. I twisted the cap off and looked inside. Clear liquid.

Well, if you can't find anything to eat, you might as well have some water I thought. I agreed with my subconscious, settling back underneath the tree again, and unscrewed the cap once more.

I took a huge gulp, the water surprisingly being quite hot. Probably just from the heat of the jungle. I winced, swallowing, yet liking it at the same time. I took another sip. For some reason, this burn felt familiar and pleasurable. The more I had of it, the less of a sting it left. The water was most likely cooling down.

I kept taking sips of the drink, my hunger slowly going away. I was almost finished with the tin of water when Mr Ambrose noticed what I held in my hand. In a few, quick long strides he was by my side, snatching the tin out of my hand.

"Heeeyyyyyyy!" I exclaimed, taking a second to focus on my water in his hand. He noticed how it was nearly empty, muttering some explicit that I couldn't make out under his breath. He grabbed my hands, yanking me upwards, making my vision spin. "Woahh there partna," I imitated, remembering a couple of small boys saying then when they played pretend in the park. For some reason, it seemed like the perfect situation to spit that out.