Welcome to the Jungle

Chapter 2

Welcome to the Fucking Jungle

The holographic rays of the sun bared down on us. The rays were completely artificial, but the warmth and humidity coming from them were not. The festering heat reached us even as we stood crouched in the shadow of the leaves of the tree. I swiped at the sweat pouring down my forehead flexing my free hand. After the arena doors open. All six teams split off, finding places to lay low. Planning their attacks on the other teams. Some of them choose to wait and let others come to them. Others picked to go after the rest, especially, if they like the thrill of the hunt. It was a predator versus prey. It took everything in me not to use my ability to make this stupid game go by quicker. I sighed and placed a hand against the tree, searching through the roots. Zaylee stood guard in the waters of the river nearby. Masha was somewhere silently keeping watch. Kira was in the tall grass waiting, and Daisha stood to watch over me.

She rested her hands on the hilts of her swords. She was guarding my back as I searched for the other team's position through the roots of the trees. The area they had chosen was the Brazilian rain forest located on the Tertian planet called Earth. During our solar system lessons, they told us about places as beautiful as this. They showed us the lethal but equally exquisite predators that had used to roam the area. I learned how sweltering the temperatures could truly reach. Learned that mammal organisms like tigers and slithering creatures called snakes were not the only things to worry about in a place like this. The trees and flowers could be just as deadly no matter how enthralling they could be.

Unfortunately, for the other teams, the rain forest had millions of trees, which meant millions of eyes. Daisha stared at me. Trying to decipher what I was doing. She wouldn't be able to. No one would. I kept my abilities under wrap for a reason. If someone knew your abilities, they could anticipate your next moves. If you can't predict it. You can't counteract it. All Daisha knew was that I was able to see things by touching stuff and communicate telepathically. I also had the skill set to handle any weapon I needed in combat. Hand to hand was a given. It was the first thing they taught us back at headquarters. Along with survival skills meant for the unique environments in all the arenas. I locked eyes with Daisha. The wind stirred her braids. The sound of water rippling in the river nearby us reached us as we stared each other down. She was always watching me. Trying to understand things she had no business trying to comprehend.

We may be a team, but I have seen things that the rest of them would never believe. None of them could ever understand what the Snake Armada's Captain did to form me into what she thought would be the perfect elite. They volunteered to test out the new recruits. I was obligated. I was forced to do all the things we were assigned to do. She glanced away from me and down at the ground. The sound of a twig snapping had both of our heads turning in the direction over my shoulder. Daisha listened, using her animal-like hearing. Beautifully colored tropical birds flew from the tree closest to us. They flew off into the distance, some of them giving intricate caws. Her eyes instantly changed to the eyes of animals; we only saw on projections during lessons. Daisha could change her body's senses to mimic animals of her choice. Including extinct ones. She listened a few more minutes before closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they had returned to their typical aqua-blue color. She gave me the okay to continue with a head nod. We both relaxed slightly, and I resumed my search. I had already found the other teams. I was searching for something else. Something that would get me drifted if anyone else found out. I couldn't help the smirk on my face when I located the weak point in the dome. It was close to the Kaji team's location. Finally, I reached over and touched Daisha's shoulder, sending her the position of Group Kaji, first then the rest. Her lids peeled back as she got the images.

"Whoa, are you sure they chose to locate there?" She questioned.

Faux rays from the sun peeked from behind the leaves, creating a shine to Daisha sweat-covered skin. The shadows from the leaves crossed her face giving her dark brown coloring an ethereal, secretive look. I read books about girls like Daisha and girls who would be jealous of the natural beauty gifted to her. Scamming and being cruel to her because they couldn't get over their insecurities. If I was normal like those girls, I would have been jealous of her natural beauty. Jealous of the way she was able to throw a knife faster than I was able to blink. It's a good thing I'm not normal. Her blue eyes searched my brown ones for an answer. I nodded my head once before standing to jump off the branch of the tree. I grabbed onto a nearby vine, sliding down. The wind rushed up to my face and through my clothes as I fell, effortlessly, through the branches of the trees. Leaves stinging my cheeks as I swooped down. When the ground rushed closer to view, I gripped the vine tighter, wrapping a leg around it to slow my momentum. When I reached the proper speed. I tucked my legs in at the last-minute, rolling on the ground, landing in a crouch in the bushes. I waited for Daisha to follow. Daisha followed my lead, doing the same. She landed a few inches away from me before her eyes searched the area.

"You can come out now, Chameleon." Daisha jumped a little when she saw Masha appear between us.

Masha smirked, giving me a pointed look. Daisha lifted a brow.

I looked away to hide my smile. I turned back around and waited for Daisha's next move.

"Mute. Connect us to the others." I closed my eyes, searching for everyone's wavelengths.

I found Zaylee's first. Her wavelength a mixture of dark blue, lavender, and white like lightning in storm clouds. I latched on to hers before finding, Kira's whose wavelength was a dark greenish color like the shading of turquoise waters. I found Masha's next, which was a bright white, the same color as a spark from a firestone. Daisha was a sparkling brown reminding me of a place with shimmering sands. I grabbed onto theirs, threading them with mine. Zaylee was the first to speak.

Her voice, full of annoyance as she spoke. "I told yawl about using this telepathy shit without warning anybody. I about shocked yawl to death from the pain of it."

"Awe poor, baby. You trying to tell us you can't handle a little zap."

"Kira, girl. Keep on, and I'm…"

"Enough. Get out of your head for a day, Zaylee. Kira quit biding into her picking. You both need to focus. Do I make myself clear?" When they gave a unison, yes, Daisha spoke again. "Good, We found the teams. Team Kaji is pinpointed to be near the falls. Mute will head their first while the rest of us herd the others to their location."

"Wait, the fire team is near the falls and not the volcano. Why in the hell would they go near the water? Their name Kaji means fire for a reason." Kira asked, her voice full of skepticism.

I suppressed an eye roll.

"I said the same thing, but Mute showed me the location. One thing she wouldn't do is lie. Everyone understands their roles. If something goes wrong, communicate telepathically. Mute will keep us connected for as long as she can. Got it?"

Everyone gave yeses except me. I gave a head nod instead. "One last thing before we split up. Kira, I want you to use some of those bows and arrows first as a scare. Don't use that poison of yours until necessary. Killing is our last resort. Everyone understand?"

A collection of yeses came across the link again. Daisha gave us a nod before rising. She popped her neck before backing away and disappearing into the bushes. Masha gave me a slight nudge. Her way of saying good luck. I searched the area before climbing. I had just reached perch able tree when the leaves of a bush stirred near it. I reached up grabbing a branch from above before fluidly swinging myself up on a higher branch. I landed in a crouch and watched from above as leaves rattled, growling. The growling turned frantic. A sheet of blue blurred by disappearing into the bushes. A flash of silver could be seen as the sunlight rays bounced off the metal. A resounding whimper and yip came. Then silence, the leaves stilled, and I waited for a few seconds before they started shifting again. I stared as Zaylee silently slipped through the branches. Fresh blood dripping from her daggers. She flicked them, splattering drops of it across the dirt floor. I frowned down at her as the cackling of hyenas echoed over the speakers. Closing my eyes, I sighed. The Bio-corp had chosen their predator of the day.

Zaylee looked up. Her lavender-blue eyes meeting mine as she twirled her knives before sheaving them again. "Well, shit." She shook her head, chuckling. "Welcome to the fucking jungle."