SCOTT
I was standing at the edge of the rainforest, my heart pounding in my chest. I looked around at the three other people who were standing with me and wondered how they could help in this mission. The woman was one of my classmates, Erin. That much I could remember. I knew what she could do. But the other girl and the nerdy kid with giant glasses, I still wondered about. We had never worked together on any sort of mission, we’re all strangers brought together by the professor. I knew why me and Erin were here but these other two I had to keep my eye on.
'She' had brought us here, to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, to fulfill the mission. All that we knew was that we had been chosen for this last test, a test that would push our limits and challenge our skills—and with success we would graduate.
As I looked around at my companions, I wondered why these two teens were chosen for the University. What made them special and why were they allowed on this mission to begin with? What did we have in common?
Erin cleared her throat and I realized I had been standing in one spot this entire time while I contemplated things. The geeky kid, who introduced himself as Jack, was a joke to me. How could the U want this kid who was spending time picking at pimples on his face? Erin, however, had the strength and the tactical skills to survive in the wilderness. The red-haired young woman, who just so happened to be the deans daughter, looked unfazed by the rainforest. In fact, she seemed downright bored.
And then there was me, an ordinary person with all of the special skills in the world, completely full of knowledge. But I failed one class like I was a regular person. I had to show this group of misfits what I could bring to the table.
As we ventured deeper into the rainforest, I realized that 'she' had not chosen us for our skills or knowledge. She had chosen us for our tenaciousness, our resilience, and our will to survive. She wanted to see how we would react in the face of adversity and how we would work together to overcome the challenges of the rainforest.
We would face each challenge together. As I talked with Erin, Jennifer, and Alex, we set out a plan to navigate the treacherous terrain.
I looked at my small team, each of us were here for a reason. I realized we had to get this job done but I also needed to keep them all alive as well. Erin and Jennifer seemed to be up to the challenge. I had always watched Erin since our freshman year. She had always been stubborn and a hard nut to crack, but Alex seemed to be out of his element. I was worried about him the most.
Without warning, Erin let out a girly squeal. She rubbed her arm and pulled a leech off her skin. Jennifer looked under her shirt and she too was covered. I began to look over my body. I also had leeches all over me. As we all frantically tried to rid ourselves of the leeches, the situation quickly turned into a comedy of errors. Erin, in her panic, accidentally flung a leech toward Jennifer, who let out a high-pitched scream and did a wild dance, trying to dodge the slimy creature. I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, even as I continued to rip leeches off my own body.
Meanwhile, Alex, in his desperate attempt to get the leeches off his chest, started doing a bizarre leech removal dance, complete with exaggerated arm movements and a comically horrified expression. It was like watching a contortionist trying to escape a straitjacket, but with a lot more screaming and flailing.
"Get them off! Get them off!" Alex tried to pull the leeches off his skin but the more he pulled, the more they seemed to latch on.
Erin, on the other hand, was running around in circles, her arms flailing wildly. "I can't! I can't!" she kept repeating, her voice high-pitched and frantic.
The monkeys, seeing our distress, started to mimic our actions. They too began to run around, their tiny bodies bouncing off the trees and each other. Some even tried to pull the imaginary leeches off their fur, their tiny faces scrunched up in concentration.
It was a scene of utter chaos, the jungle echoing with our screams and the monkeys' screeches. But amidst the pandemonium, I couldn't help but laugh. It was a nervous, hysterical laughter, but laughter nonetheless.
"Guys, guys!" I tried to get their attention, but my voice was drowned out by the noise. I took a deep breath and tried again, this time louder. "Guys, stop!"
Slowly, they turned to look at me, their faces pale and their eyes wide with fear. The monkeys too seemed to quiet down, their curious eyes fixed on me.
"We need to calm down," I instructed, trying to keep my voice steady. "Panicking won't help. We need to think."
"B-But the leeches—" Alex started, but I cut him off.
"I know, I know. But we need to think. We need to figure out how to get them off without hurting ourselves."
Slowly, the panic started to subside, replaced by a grim determination. We were in this together, and we would get out of it together. And as for the monkeys, well, they continued to watch us, their tiny faces filled with curiosity and confusion.
I pulled out a lighter and slowly began to remove the leeches from me. Then I passed the lighter by tossing it to Erin who began removing her own leeches quickly. We tossed the lighter to the teens who then began removing their own leeches immediately after us.
The smell of burning leeches filled the air—a sickly sweet scent that made my stomach churn. But we had no choice. One by one, we removed them, the tiny creatures writhing and squirming as they detached from our skin.
The monkeys watched us, their eyes wide with curiosity. Some even tried to mimic our actions, pretending to burn off imaginary leeches from their fur. It was a bizarre sight, but it assisted in lightening the mood.
Once we were all free of the freeloading parasites, we sat down, exhausted and shaken. The monkeys, seeing that the excitement was over, slowly started to disperse, their tiny bodies disappearing into the dense foliage around us.
"We need to get out of here," Alex said, his voice hoarse. "We need to find a way back to civilization."
I nodded, my mind already working on a plan. We were lost, in the middle of a jungle, with no idea where we were. But we were alive, and we were together. And that was all that mattered.
As we started to make our way through the jungle, I glanced back at the spot where we had been attacked by the parasites. The monkeys were gone, but I could feel their curious eyes lingering, watching us as we disappeared into the jungle.
We were in for a long journey, but we were ready. We had survived the leeches, and we would survive whatever else the jungle had in store for us. Unexpectedly, the sounds of a large cat came through the rustling in the bushes.
So that's why those monkey’s took off. They were smarter than we were, escaping the danger they sensed ahead.
We all braced ourselves, when a small wildcat cub fell through the bushes. Erin walked over, boldly picked it up and began petting it. This girl was either fearless or lived in a bubble.
“Put the kitten down now before its mom arrives! Trust me, the mom won't be as sweet,” I admonished.
“Are you sure it’s a kitten? It’s so snuggly and cuddly like a teddy bear,” Erin cooed as she continued to pet the thing like it was a house cat..
“I know the difference between a cat and a bear,” I shook my head. She pursed her lips and dropped the feline. Only someone who lived in a bubble would mistake a cat for a bear.
A minute later, the sound of something large could be heard rushing toward us. Unsure of the exact direction, we looked left and right, watching the underbrush rustled violently as the creature drew closer. My muscles tensed as I reached behind me for a weapon. Suddenly, I could see its eyes, glowing ominously in the dark. Erin was frozen in fear, her eyes wide and her breath coming in short gasps.
"Erin, move!" I shouted, but she was rooted to the spot. I had no choice. I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me without thinking. I couldn't allow anything to happen to her. I positioned myself between her and the oncoming threat.
The creature burst out of the underbrush, snarling and baring its teeth. It was a bear, and from the looks of it, the mother of the cub Erin had tried to help. It was massive, easily standing over seven feet tall on its hind legs. Its eyes were filled with rage and fear, a dangerous combination.
Okay, as soon as we get back, I'm going to get my eyes checked. Obviously my sight isn't as good as it used to be.
“I told you it was a bear,” Erin said with a giggle.
“And you still picked it up? Who does that?” I snapped back while facing an angry momma bear. Its breath was visible with each snarl, its beady eyes gleamed in pure viciousness.
I slowly reached for the tranquilizer gun strapped to my thigh, keeping my movements slow and non-threatening. The bear watched me, its nostrils flaring as it took in our scent. Erin’s arms gripped my chest tightly and it became a comfort while I faced certain death. With one wrong move, we would only be a memory.
With swiftness, I raised the gun and fired. The dart hit the bear square in the chest. It roared in surprise and pain, but the tranquilizer worked quickly. Within seconds, the bear was on the ground, unconscious and snoring with its tongue hanging out the side of its mouth. Erin was still gripping my chest tightly. I didn't want her to let go but… we had to move.
“Okay, Erin. The bear has been put down,” I reassured her.
She slowly released my chest and I slowly turned toward her, staring into her fathomless blue eyes. Something was happening between us at that moment. The tension that grew made the atmosphere even hotter until she snapped me out of it.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” She blurted out. “We need to see which one of us is going to succeed and graduate.”
I let out a breath of relief until I realized Erin was still shaking. I reached out and grabbed her, pulling her back and holding her tightly in my arms. Her face was pale. I ran a comforting hand up to her shoulder and gave her a little squeeze. She lifted her head and looked beyond the top of mine at a pinecone above us.
“That could be our mistletoe,” she whispered.
I grinned in response when I slid my hand up and cupped her face. The magical moment was broken when Jennifer yelled, “Holy crap! Did you guys see that bear? It was huge.”
Everyone stopped as we all looked between each other awkwardly.
"Are you guys okay?" Jennifer asked.
“Yes, we’re fine,” I snapped in irritation. Erin turned her face away and the moment had vanished into the wind. My moment of pure happiness had dissipated but I continued to watch her. She was still shaken. “Are you okay, Erin?”
She nodded, swallowing hard. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for... for saving me."
I gave her a small smile. "That's what teammates do."
Alex finally popped his head out from around a tree. “Is it safe?”
“Yes, coward.” I growled. “How on earth did you get into the U? Seriously?”
“I'm a hacker. I can hack any system and cause catastrophic failures like their own failsafes and kill them or turn their rockets against them.”
Okay, so this guy could kill entire cities with a computer but in the field he was completely worthless. I wish we had a computer here, maybe he could explode the entire building now. That would be a happy Valentine's Day.
Jennifer’s face was as hard as stone. She was unafraid with ice water in her veins. She would go far in this field.
The longer I stood there, the more relief washed over me. We had survived another day. But there was no time to celebrate. There were always more missions, more threats. And we would be ready.