Raised From The Wild-Chapter 109: Jungle Experience 1

"I can hear the animals growl and roar. It is very faint, though. If I don’t pay attention, I will also not hear them."

Dave closed his eyes and listened intently. No matter how hard he tried, he heard nothing.

"Maybe it’s because I grew up in the jungle, that’s why my hearing is attuned to animal sounds," Amaya explained.

The men set up a grill by digging a shallow hole in the ground. They then looked for two rocks that were uniform in height and had dry branches to start a fire.

Amaya gathered twigs and removed the bark with a knife, creating a few barbecue sticks. Earlier, she had collected some wild thyme, washed it in the stream, and then placed it inside the tote bag with the snake meat.

While Amaya was grilling, the rest of the group, except for Marx, sat down to rest. Marx took out another A4 paper and started sketching the topography of the part of the mountain they had passed earlier. He marked the streams and their path until they converged in the river.

Vasquez took over the grilling from Amaya.

"I am a master griller, Princess. Hand this over to me and take your rest."

Amaya nodded slightly before walking over to where Marx was. Marx was sitting on a tree stump, his hair parted to the left, with his fringe covering half of his forehead. He looked engrossed in the clipboard resting on his lap.

Amaya wasn’t the only one studying Marx. Phoebe, who had fully recovered from the snake incident, couldn’t take her eyes off him. Sitting where she was, she could only see Marx’s profile. His jaw was well-defined and perfectly angular, exuding masculinity. She pictured herself held in his muscular arms, nestled against his strong chest. She hoped he would take off his shirt so she could see if he had six-pack or eight-pack abs underneath.

Amaya studied Marx’s map, which was a simple general reference map. She thought it was good to have a topographic map.

Marx looked up, and he met a pair of amber eyes. It was seldom for him to see Amaya’s iris turn to amber, and he was dazed for a second.

"Do you have another clipboard? I want to draw a topographic map."

Marx took out another clipboard from his backpack. It already has a paper on it.

Amaya previously took a panoramic photo of the eastern side of the island, capturing the mountains, the plains below where construction was ongoing, the sea to the north, and the capital to the south.

She sat next to Marx and began sketching. They had an unobstructed view of the plains below and the city’s skyline to the north.

Amaya’s fingers were moving very fast. Marx stopped what he was doing and watched Amaya immersed in her work. After thirty minutes she was done.

"You are amazing, Aya," Marx praised. "You finished it quite fast, and it’s beautiful." She blushed slightly.

"I marked our trail with a red pencil. We rested in two areas, and I marked them with an X."

Marx looked back at the map he had drawn and pondered. "After lunch, we should head south. Which place do you think would be good for camping tonight?" Marx knew that the jungle was Amaya’s territory, so he would rely on her judgment.

Amaya stood up and looked around for the tallest tree. When she found one, she climbed it like a monkey. Once at the top, she squinted her eyes and studied the dense vegetation. Then, she climbed down even faster than she had climbed up.

"Look at her climb a tree like a monkey. She does not look like a princess at all." Liza snickered.

Phoebe also gave a mocking smile. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Amaya went back to Marx’s side and pointed to a spot toward the south where there was a gap in the greenery. "We can camp there for the night. It should be beside a river, so there should be a clearing with a flat surface."

Marx nodded. It was the same distance as their first stop earlier.

Soon, a delicious aroma filled the air as everyone gathered around the improvised grilling area. They salivated as they watched Vasquez grill a total of 20 sticks of snake meat, with each person getting two sticks. Each stick contained six chunks of meat, each about half the size of a fist.

Enrico laid a plastic mat on the grass. Amaya placed 20 pieces of mangosteen in the middle of the mat, and Drake placed a bunch of bananas. Then, they each took out their packed lunch and started eating.

Amaya looked around happily. She thought it was harmonious and peaceful, and naturally, she enjoyed the food, the skewered snake’s meat, and the fruits. Except for Amaya, the three ladies did not eat the second stick, so some of the men had three servings of snake skewers.

They descended the peak before midday. Phoebe plotted with Ricardo and Liza how to humiliate Amaya. They were looking for an opportunity.

The descent down the mountain was actually more challenging than the climb. Perhaps it was due to the steepness of the southern part compared to the northern part. Margaret and Liza slipped a few times, so Enrico and Drake took out their ropes and tied each of the women to themselves. Dave protected Phoebe and was tied to her to prevent her from slipping.

Marx was sure that Amaya did not require his assistance at all. It might be the opposite, so he was exceptionally cautious.

Amaya was ahead by a few meters and in front of him. She seemed distracted as she looked up at a tree.

Marx took a step, but the ground below loosened.

"Marx!" Amaya’s anxious voice caused all the others to look in one direction.

***

Author’s Note:

Hey there! Thanks for checking out my novel. I really hope you’re enjoying it. If you could, please give it a vote or support me with your PS or Golden Ticket. It would mean a lot and it would really motivate me to keep writing. Thanks!