Pray for Darkness: Terror in the Green Inferno (7 page)

Eight

One after the other, the cocktails went down with ease, and the two groups began to feel a growing kinship toward one another, the natural camaraderie of strangers in a strange land. Even Auggie seemed to loosen up a bit, although he could not stop himself from glancing at Ben’s wristwatch every few minutes as he anticipated their morning departure growing inevitably closer. As the conversations flowed with the alcohol, Ben discovered that Brooke and Janie were also heading to the research center the following morning, and on the same boat. The news spread quickly, and the mood was soon elevated from simple cheer to drunken jubilation. As if by magic, another round of drinks appeared, and Janie raised a rambling, drawn-out toast to the
Three Princes of Serendipity
, after which she leaned over and boldly kissed Cooper on the mouth while the others rolled their eyes and suggested they get a room.

As Janie and Cooper paired off, Brooke, Ben, and Auggie slid over to a secluded corner of the bar, where they chatted about their recent travels. Brooke offered them an abridged version of her time in Peru, barhopping in Cusco and backpacking along the Inca trail, an experience Ben had longed for, but which Auggie had argued vehemently against, citing an array of health issues and physical maladies he had never mentioned before. From there, she went on to describe her near-death experience on “the world’s most dangerous road” in Bolivia, where her driver nodded off at the wheel.

“That was crazy,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. “If Janie and I hadn’t screamed at him to wake up, we’d probably be dead right now…” Her eyes trailed off into the darkness as she relived the moment in her head. The memory still had a surreal quality, like something from a vivid nightmare.

“Wow,” Ben said, trying to bring her around. “Where else have you been?” Brooke turned her heart-shaped face toward him, and in the lamplight he saw that her eyes were a brilliant shade of green.

“Sorry,” she said. “What did you say?”

“I was wondering where else you’ve been.”

As Brooke recalled her adventures in Southeast Asia, a brief stint in a volunteer program in Africa, a semester in Austria, it became increasingly clear that she was far worldlier than they. As she spoke, Ben studied her features. He noticed how she always paused for breath before she spoke, lips curling sensually to reveal a slight overbite, then the smile growing gradually wider, showing more and more teeth, accentuating her high cheekbones. He could not help but to imagine what it would be like to kiss that smiling mouth, those plump little lips. At length he decided that he no longer begrudged Cooper for sneaking off from dinner to stake his claim to Janie, sexy as she was, for it was the winsome green-eyed girl who truly captivated Ben.

***

The celebration ended with the two groups parting ways at the bar. The girls were staying on the opposite side of the lodge, in an unobtrusive corner normally reserved for staff members. There was the obligatory round of hugs, followed by a few departing words and the usual “goodnights,” and then Cooper and Janie added an exclamation point to the end of the evening by kissing like teenagers in the middle of the lounge while a dozen or so barflies looked on in amusement. It was Brooke who finally coaxed the two apart, taking her friend by the hand and all but dragging her away.

Now the boys were meandering down the long catwalk that led back to the guest wing. Pleasantly intoxicated, they did not want the night to end. Stumbling toward the room, stopping here and there to take photos and video clips they would dimly and blushingly remember later on, those first feelings of awe came rushing back to them. The dampness of the evening revealed a strange new essence, a latent vitality in the air that diffused the sweet floral notes of nocturnal flowers; the pungent smell of jasmine; the smoky aroma of rotting leaves. Even Auggie—perturbed though he was about the improbability of a good night’s sleep and the inevitable hangover thereafter—could not ignore the wonders of this enchanting new world, or the special quality of this moment.

Stopping suddenly, Cooper tilted his head back to the sky. “Wo-oh, look at that!”

The moon was invisible at this hour, obscured by the vertiginous height of the canopy, and in its absence the sky was cloudless, black and studded with stars that winked on and off like Christmas lights.

Ben stumbled into Cooper and caught himself against the railing, laughing gleefully at his own clumsiness. Leaning back, he followed Cooper’s upwards gaze, blinking as he struggled to focus. “Is that—”

“The Milky Way,” Auggie confirmed, stepping up beside him.

Surrounded by the black spires of the jungle, the trio stood united in friendship, the spirit of adventure, and the warmth of intoxication. A pensive silence settled amongst them. In the absence of human voices, the night sounds seemed to intensify as the symphony of crickets, birds, and tree frogs swelled around them.

“Wow,” whispered Ben. “It’s just—it looks so—”

“Milky?” laughed Cooper.

Ben said nothing, but the lantern’s yellow flame illuminated his drunken smile.

“This is awesome.”

“The balls.”

“Even better than Machu Picchu…”

“Those girls…”

“Best night ever.”

A pause.

“Yes,” Auggie agreed in a formal tone. “This truly is the balls.”

Turning to one another, the three of them shook with laughter at this most eloquent affirmation.

“Alright,” Ben said reluctantly, “we should probably get some sleep, huh? We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and we don’t want to be dragging ass again. You guys ready to call it a night?”

“These jungle noises are crazy,” Cooper slurred as they continued down the catwalk. “They remind me of that cantina. You know the one I mean? From Jedi?”

Ben and Auggie both chuckled at this strange but improbably accurate comparison.

“The cantina,” Auggie said, “was from the original
Star Wars
. You’re thinking of Jabba’s palace.”

“What was the name of that fat dude’s band?” Cooper persisted.

“Sy Snootles and the Rebo Band,” Auggie replied without hesitation.

Cooper became weak with laughter. Leaning on the railing, he doubled over in hysterics.

“Shhh…” Ben hissed, also trying to contain himself.

Cooper howled. “How the fuck do you remember shit like that?”

Auggie only smiled and shrugged.

When they arrived at Room 10, they ducked through the curtain and stumbled inside.

Sitting on the end of his bed, Ben began to unbutton his shirt. Glancing to his side, he saw that Auggie was rummaging through his backpack, carefully removing items and setting them aside on his mattress. After tucking in the bug net, Ben fell back upon his pillow with a sigh. “Are you going to kill the light?”

“In a little while,” said Auggie. “I just wanted to jot down a few things in my journal.”

Through the white mesh of the mosquito net, Ben could see the ghostlike outline of his introspective friend. Auggie was sitting with his legs propped up and his back against the headboard. A little notebook rested on his knees; he was deep in thought as he nibbled on the back of a pen. After a few seconds, Ben rolled over and fell asleep.

***

Auggie flipped through the pages of his journal, smiling at the previous entries: vivid descriptions of some college girls they had met in Cusco; his impressions and theories about Machu Picchu, a few quick notes identifying the names of various restaurants and bars they had visited and people they had met along the way (there was an entire page dedicated to the lovely Aussie girls). Now reading through these pages, Auggie realized that this jungle adventure in the Amazon had already far surpassed those other memories. How could anything compare to this? he wondered.
No one back home will ever understand. Even when they see the pictures and hear our stories, they’ll think they know what it was like to be here, but they won’t. They’ll have no idea. Only Ben, Cooper, and I…

This last thought touched him in some new and unexpected way. The three of them were now one, forever bound by this unique and magnificent experience. They were
different
now.
Equal
.

Turning to a blank page, he tapped the pen against his lips, thinking.

Outside, the night songs of the forest rose and fell. A loud twilling arose from somewhere nearby. Auggie was amused to know this was a tree frog; as part of his pre-trip planning, he had listened to dozens of audio clips on YouTube. He looked over at his friends, both of them motionless and apparently already asleep beneath their bug nets.

I travel not to learn more about other people and places but to learn more about myself.

Though he could not recall the origin of this quote, he felt it was apt enough for the occasion.

After a time, Auggie put the pen to paper, and it moved across the page as though guided by a force all its own.

Today was the most amazing day of my life
, he began.

Nine

Cooper was frustrated.

He and Janie had been fooling around all night in the field outside the main lodge, surrounded by the throbbing jungle. Several times, he had removed her clothes only to find her fully dressed again. Now, for the first time, they were both fully and gloriously nude and about to have mad, passionate sex when they were interrupted by the sound of birds chirping.

“What’s that?” Janie asked, jerking her head up in surprise.

“It’s nothing,” he assured her, pulling her down on top of him. He gave her his winning smile, the one that had helped him loosen the morals of even the most respectable girls. Warmed by his smile, she leaned over and pressed her mouth against his. Things were just starting to get hot and heavy when the birdsong interposed again and everything melted to gray.

Cooper awoke abruptly to the early morning light, desperately trying to cling to the fantasy. Even as he came to, he knew it was a dream, but he wanted to finish it, the final act. Unfortunately, the daylight was already washing away the details of his dream. He was alone in his bed, and his erection felt as though it were going to explode. Those damned birds—

And there it was again, that annoying racket.

No, not birds. Ben’s wristwatch, chirping out the hour.

“Ugh!” Auggie moaned, rolling onto his stomach and pulling a pillow over his head. “Someone please shut that thing off!”

Cooper tossed the mosquito net aside and jumped up from the bed, feet landing with a thud upon the wooden floor. Ben’s bed was empty, the covers rumpled and the mosquito net untucked from the mattress. On the table, resting beside the bottle of Malarone tablets, Ben’s wristwatch blurted the unwanted alarm. Perhaps he had gotten lucky last night? Then Cooper remembered that the three of them had returned to the room together, and he cast that thought aside. Cooper padded over to the table and picked up the watch. He jabbed at every button until at last it fell silent.

A moment later, Ben pushed through the doorway curtain, dripping wet and wearing only a towel.

“Rise and shine, bitches.”

Auggie’s voice was muffled against his pillow. “Dude, really?”

“What’s wrong?” Ben asked cheerfully.

Cooper swayed unsteadily, blinking in surprise. “I fucking hate you right now,” he croaked.

“Urgh!” Ben groaned, shrinking back. “Man, your breath smells like ass.”

Cooper shrugged. “Yeah, I sort of puked over the railing last night.”

“You lightweight.” Ben produced a tin of Altoids from his shaving kit and tossed it to Cooper, who snagged it from the air with a one-handed grab. Cooper opened the tin and popped two mints into his mouth.

“Thanks,” Cooper muttered, and flopped back onto his pillow.

Ben shook his head. “No problem. Yo, Auggie-dog, what about you? Please tell me you didn’t puke, too.”

Auggie sat up with a grunt. “No… but I wish I did.”

“See?” Ben said with a laugh. He dropped the towel he was holding and began to get dressed in the clothes he had set aside the night before. “Even Auggie didn’t puke.”

“Yes,” Auggie said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Even I didn’t puke.”

Throwing the mosquito net aside, Auggie sat sulking on the edge of his bed. Rubbing his eyes, he grunted again as he crossed the room, finding a bottle of water on the table and guzzling most of it down in a single gulp, not caring whose bottle it was or where it had come from. Returning the bottle to the table, he noticed Ben’s watch for the first time.

“Where’s the Malarone?”

“Over there,” Ben told him. “On the shelf.”

Auggie nodded, picked up the water bottle again, and stumbled over to the shelf. He uncapped the bottle, popped one of the bitter pills into his mouth, and took another swallow of water. He looked at Ben, who was folding his dirty clothes to store away inside his backpack. “Did you already take yours?”

“The Malarone? Yeah, I popped one before I took a shower.”

“You left your watch here,” Auggie muttered.

“That’s right,” Ben agreed, letting Auggie’s accusatory tone slip past him. “I left it here on purpose so you guys would wake up and take your pills.”

“It wouldn’t shut up,” Cooper croaked from the bed.

“What if the alarm doesn’t go off, and we all forget to take the pills?”

“That’s why I set it,” explained Ben, “so we’d all be on the same schedule.”

Looking at Ben, Auggie’s button eyes seemed to grow smaller. “Yeah, but what if we’re not all together when the alarm goes off? Like, if you go for a walk or something, and Cooper and I are chilling out in the room?”

“Then I’ll remind you guys when I get back.”

Auggie nodded uncertainly, gnawing on his bottom lip.

Ben rolled his eyes and began to unbuckle the watch from his wrist. “Here, if it will make you feel better, why don’t you wear it?”

Auggie shook his head slowly. “No, I trust you.”

Ben held the watch out to him with his eyebrows raised. “Just take it.”

“Are you sure?”

Ben’s arm remained extended with the watch in hand. “Just take it,” he repeated, pressing the watch into Auggie’s palm. “It’s probably better you have it, anyway. Maybe you’ll be able to figure out the damn alarm while you’re at it.”

Auggie strapped the watch onto his bony wrist with a look of relief. “Cool, thanks. I’ll take good care of it, I promise.”

Cooper moaned as he sat up. “I’m never gonna drink again.”

“You said that last time,” Auggie chided.

“Yeah,” Cooper groaned. “But this time I mean it.”