Out of Her Element

Posted on Thu Jan 28th, 2021 @ 6:08am by Lieutenant Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell

Mission: The Jungle
Location: Jungle
Timeline: Current

"This one and that one over there." Said a man with a gruff voice.

"Are you sure? She barely looks like someone who could hack it in here let alone out in the wilds?" Responded someone with a young learned voice.

"I'm sure. The people demand entertainment. I will give them entertainment. What's more interesting than a little carnage? Huh? She'll run but I can't imagine her getting far. And when she dies the people will eat that shit up."

"Yes sir."

"Wait until the others bunk down inside their little cave, then send in the second batch. We'll call them round two, up the stakes a bit."

"Yes sir."

Bonnie listened, eyes closed so that she would not give away that she was awake. Her internal dialog screaming for her to keep quiet and not be seen or heard. While her heart raced as they spoke. There were several others in the cell, many capable of survival in the jungle game, many others not. All bound, separated from the larger group, she classified herself as not a survivalist.

And then the voices were gone. All of the breathing, the shuffling, the noise and the beating hearts surrounding her own, gone. Just like that she was now one of the players.

Upon opening her eyes she struggled to come face to face with the reality of the situation. A lush green forest of trees even Anna would feel at home in, except that everything here was designed and determined to try and kill her.

She had been deposited at the base of a large tree, its roots old and protruding from the ground. In the distance she could hear nocturnal predatory birds and the howling of some great beast of an animal. Her hands bound and beginning to chaff, she attempted to stand, using the tree to support her.

Once up she looked to the sky at the glowing object they were all attempting to reach, or at least marking a direction they were supposed to go. She briefly wondered what would happen if she went the other way, but not knowing how far she was from the center she could not pinpoint how far she was from anything.

Step one: survive.

First her bindings, made of organic fibers like hemp or something similar, strong. She needed to get them in front of her, or better yet, off altogether. As there was nothing sharp nearby, she opted to attempt a cirque du' soleil’ move and brought her arms down to her heels in a crouched position. Then rocking forward on to her arches, she slid her wrists under her boots. Finally, the hard part, she rocked backward over her wrists, falling onto her butt, but lifting her wrists up and into the front. The rope twisted and burned her wrist, but it was worth it to have them in front of her.

The sun was setting. There looked to be clouds on the horizon signalling a coming rain. Something she would normally welcome, but now, with no cover and no light and most assuredly with no fire to ward off enemies, she knew she needed to climb.

Giving her surroundings one quick glance, she chose the largest, tallest tree, and began climbing.

TBC