Demons in the Jungle

Chapter 2

  The beach party was like something out of a movie.

Torches placed all along the sand were burning bright to illuminate the beach and the hundred or so people who occupied it. Down in the dark water, people were swimming, splashing each other, temporary couples growing close with each other. There were a lot of tourists like us; pretty white girls with flowers in their hair, and their boyfriends, who watched their scantily-clad significant others with extreme caution and obvious paranoia. A drunken volleyball game was underway at one end of the beach, and at another, a fire had been started with a drum circle gathered around it. In the middle, most of the people were surrounding a small thatched bar, and another group were dancing to the music playing from a set of speakers installed on its roof. It was good music, that sort of lighthearted electronica that was pushing everyone's happy buttons these days. Alesso and Avicii, high-spirited and wonderfully surreal. That kind of shit.

I should have loved it. Everybody was drunk and happy, the women looked sexy and the men were feeling a kind of rare friendly bromance. It was, for many people, a perfect night. Even for us, as a topper at the end of an adventure, this would have been more than ideal. But, for more than one reason, I was completely ambivalent. My mind was elsewhere, thinking about the next adventure we would have. Parties were fun, I guess, and we'd been doing some pretty far-out stuff...but was skydiving going to be the height of the excitement? We needed something bigger. I needed something bigger. If Ariel would allow it.

I lost track of her shortly after we arrived at the party. Jay and I went to the bar to get drinks, and Jay began chatting up a group of locals. I left, heading down the beach and searching for Ariel. I didn't see her right away, and a pair of tourists approached me, asking if I knew where to find some weed. I laughed and put my arm around the guy's shoulder, telling him we needed to find Debra. We searched for quite awhile, eventually finding her at the drum circle, pounding away at a bongo with a massive joint stuck between her teeth.

"Hey, Deb!" I called out, but she couldn't hear me, so I tapped her on the top of her head until she looked up and grinned at me. She stopped drumming and plucked the joint out of her mouth, handing it to me.

"What's up, Tommy?" She asked, hopping to her feet as I took a long inhale and held the smoke in my lungs, handing it back to her. I then casually finished the rest of my drink before exhaling a cloud of white into the air.

"I was going to ask if you were holding." I said, smirking at her. "Wendy and uh, was it Andy? Andy. They're looking to buy. Can you help out?"

"Can I help out." Deb repeated, voice thick with sarcasm as she extended a friendly hand to the tourists. "Hey there, fellow travelers! Namaste! What do you need?"

The pair approached her and a transaction began, for which I stood back and turned around, looking out past the beach at the dark water of the ocean. Way out in the distance, I could see a dark landmass, something wild and untamed. I smiled as I looked, bringing the joint to my lips again and wondering how long it would take us to rent a boat and get out there.

"Tommy!" Deb said from behind me, making me jump a little. She giggled as I relaxed with a shake of my head, holding the joint back out to her. "What's the word, my friend?" She asked as she took it, putting an arm around me casually, needing to reach up to do it. "What are we doing tomorrow? Swimming with sharks? Treasure hunting? I hear there's like an ancient ruin near here that you have to ride a donkey to get to."

I chuckled and thought about it. "Swimming with sharks sounds fun." I admitted.

"You would pick the most dangerous idea." Deb said, grinning darkly at me.

"That's the point, Deb. The craziest shit we can find." I said, frowning slightly.

Deb cocked her head to the side. "What's the matter?"