Project Rescue - A Shifter Novel (NaNoWriMo19)
Chapter 9 - The wonders

Recap

“We follow each of our boats. We make sure our captains are safe as well as the passengers. It’s just how we do things,” he explained.

“Good way to do things,” I commented.

We were quiet for a while, giving me the time to see the wonders of the Rainforest. It was beautiful but humid. Most people would find it hot but not me. My hair on the other hand was a crazy frizzy mess.

The smells were all mixed up. First, you smell the decaying vegetation, then all the flowers - that aren’t dead. It was hard for me to differentiate with so many spells coming to me. I loved it.

Next, you hear the bats, howler monkeys, birds, and frogs. The sound is as if you settled into a concert - all-natural. The howler monkeys were throwing anything they could get to as if we interrupted their sleep. With the four-wheelers, I guess we had. The birds were beautiful. There was so many different Macaw’s that I wasn’t sure what the names were for them, well, I knew what the blue-fronted amazon macaw looked like. It was yellow and blue.

Between the birds, bats, owls, monkeys, glass frogs, and poison dart frogs, I felt as if I had found my home. The noise was something else I never thought I would hear. I could see the others tensing up, throwing their hands above their heads, and ducking. Me, I was looking around, soaking up the ambiance of the rainforest. I wanted to scream back at the monkeys and see what would happen - although it would have been a bad idea. I would not scare the wildlife, I would scare our group. So, I laughed loudly, causing our guide to laugh at me.

“I take it you enjoy the rainforest?” Our guide commented, chuckling.

“Oh, yes. I feel at home here, like I’ve been here before. The smells and the sounds are wondrous.”

“What’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking?” He asked.

“Seri. What’s yours?” I responded.

“My name is Manuel, Seri, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I answered automatically. “Hey, how can we ride four-wheelers in the rainforest, and did you make this trial by hand?”

“You’re full of questions,” he commented, teasing me.

“Yep,” I said, popping the p. “I love to learn about my surroundings.”

“Well then, yes we made this tiny trail. We didn’t want to spoil the beauty of the rainforest. But, we needed a way to move everyone’s things. We could have used donkeys but we decided against it. And, considering you and I are the two shifters right here, we could run to the spot but we can’t carry all the crap they have.”

“Believe me, I know. I was the one who packed all that crap into the boat. I hope they didn’t smash my pup tent but I wouldn’t put it past the assholes,” I remarked.

“Why are you with this group?” He asked.

What do I tell him? I’m not sure if I should give any information about myself. I don’t want to say anything that would sound like a lie. I guess I thought about my comment too long because I pulled out of my thoughts by him talking.

“Don’t worry about it. But, if you need any help hiding, running, or finding a place to live here, ask me. I can tell a desperate soul a mile away,” he commented.

“Is there a council for jaguars around here?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” he assured me.

“Uh, can you take me to them after we set up camp? I don’t know where to go and I have some important information for them,” I commented, hoping he wouldn’t ask what. I couldn’t go into the information I had with him, only the council.

I didn’t even know if the council would help me, the crime not being perpetrated here. The monster lived in California. But, they had to know if there was one in California. I didn’t know if I had found the council there, how much information he could have gotten back. He had his hands in everything. He had his hands in the drug trade in South America. I was scared he would find me here but I was going down without a fight. I would send them on a merry chase first, then kill them - including my grandfather - the monster.

“I can take you to the council after we set up. We will be close to the village I’m from anyway. We could walk there. A lot of work they do is with the village but not too close,” he explained. “When you feel comfortable enough to let me know what’s going on I can even watch for the person or persons who are scaring you, okay?”

I nodded my head, afraid to open my mouth. I would have probably spilled everything to him. So, I kept my mouth shut and nodded into his back, only one word coming to mind. “Okay.”

In another thirty-minutes, we made it to our site. It was one I could tell was used before. I noticed some hammocks swinging in the trees and I wanted one. Bad. I could imagine myself sleeping in one, feeling free. It would be as if I was in my jaguar form - something I loved doing. I could watch the site from my demons or the newest demons - the hunter party.

I can’t catch a break.

“Are those hammocks for you?” I asked, hoping against hope.

“I use one. If you want the other hammock you better claim it fast. Although with this group I don’t think you would have any takers to be that high,” Manuel explained.

“One of the hammocks is mine,” I yelled as soon as we stopped.

Everyone looked up, noticing the hammocks. Every one of them shook their head yes. It was mine. I was trying not to do a happy dance but it was a close call.

“You’re going to sleep that high?” Greg asked, looking at the hammocks and shuddering.

“Yes!” I yelled, forgetting myself for a moment. “Uh, yes, yes I am.”

“Fine by me.”

Tiny turned away from unloading their stuff and looked at me. “Um, can I use your tent?”

“You break it, you buy it. It will cost one-hundred and fifty dollars,” I let him know.

“You paid one-hundred and fifty dollars for a pup tent?” Manuel whispered.

I looked at him, and with a sheepish smile answered, “Yeah, Daisy snores like a freight train. Plus, if you touch her when she’s asleep she will break your jaw or something else. I had to set the flight attendants' jaw on the plane. She spent a day with the air marshals.”

“Okay. I would have gotten a tent also,” Manuel commented, laughing quietly.

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