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CH 6

Welcome to the Jungle

"Aeddan can we stop yet? some of us are about ready to drop" Melody said loudly from the back of the group.

"Aeddan, she's right. look at them, they need a rest or else they won't have the energy to fight if it even comes to that" Jamie said as she surveyed the group behind her.

"Sigh fine, everybody take a breather. Just remember what the sergeant told us though. The other team could be anywhere and they could have motion tracking gear. So stay alert" Aeddan said sitting down on one of the giant tree roots that littered the dome's jungle floor.

Aeddan's team hadn't even gotten used to the whole jungle biome thing yet and they were already in worse trouble than they were in the desert biome. Because now they had to deal with the Jungle team before they could move on to the next biome. They had finally reached the kill or be killed stage of the survival scenario his team was in...

"Ladies and gentle anthros, I give you our better situation" Aeddan said as he pushed the door open.

A sudden cheer rang out from the group around him. There was a lot of paw clapping, hugging, and pats-on-the-back going around in the group. And a lot of it was directed towards Aeddan. The group didn't know how Aeddan opened the door, and they didn't really care that much either. All they knew was that he had done it, he was the one who led them out of the desert, he had saved them from starving and dehydration, and that he had been the most helpful one in the group from the get go.

"Alright, calm down everyone, calm down. We might have made it this far but we have no idea what's in there, who's in there, and what dangers we may or may not face" Marcus said trying to quell the groups excitement "we need to know what's next, what we need to do now that we have gotten this far"

All eyes turned to Aeddan. Watching him like a falcon watches the ground below it. The intensity of those stares made Aeddan feel a little uneasy.

"Well...the first thing we need to do is go in. We can't really make any plans without taking the first step forward" Aeddan said, pushing the door open further.

As the door swung inwards and away from Aeddan, he was met with a blast of heated air and the most vibrant green anyone in his group had ever seen. They had entered the jungle biome. The sound of cicadas and crickets filled the air around Aeddan, It was almost deafening. But what caught Aeddan's attention the most, was the size of the trees.

Aeddan had read that the trees in jungles could grow to enormous sizes, but little did he expect them to grow to be this big. The trees were the size of small sky scrapers and almost as wide. If it hadn't been for the fact that the trees' canopy's were so close together, Aeddan probably wouldn't have been able to see the tree tops. On the trees there were also an assortment of vines and smaller plants that crisscrossed over the trunks in an assortment of reds, blues and yellows. It was a very colorful sight to behold.

"Now, before we go in can I get my ration?" Aeddan asked "I haven't eaten in...two days now I think", his stomach rumbling from prolonged lack of food.

"Yeah, hold on. I wrapped it up for you so it wouldn't be contaminated by the sand" Melody said handing him a tied bundle.

Aeddan accepted the bundle gratefully, his stomach giving off a growl. Inside the bundle was a small pile of jerked meat, a large cracker roughly two inches by two inches, a couple dried apple slices and a snickers bar. Aeddan started on the meat, ripping off a piece with his teeth. It was hard, it was chewy and it gummed up his mouth something terrible. The cracker dried his mouth out and also gummed it up. The apples were refreshing after all that salt, even if they were dried. The snickers he saved for later, tucking it in one of coat pockets.

"Ok, so before we go in, we need to distribute weapons amongst the ten of us" Aeddan said scrubbing his paws with sand to clean them off as best he could before laying out the three knives and the M1895.

One of the knives was completely undamaged, marred, nor did it really have anything wrong with it. It was a simple military combat knife, serrated on one side razor sharp blade on the other. The other two knives either had blood on it, or there was dent in the hand guard from where Miia shot it.

"Here, Marcus, you get one" Aeddan handed the clean knife to him "Steven, you get one too seeing as how you know how to use it probably" Aeddan said as he handed the bloodied one to Steven "and then you get one um..." Aeddan said handing the dented knife to the ram.

"It's Franklin, but I also go by Franky or Frank. It's usualy Frank though" Frank the ram said, accepting the knife from Aeddan.

The gun however was a different matter. As far as Aeddan could tell, no one in the group could shoot except for Miia who had gotten lucky with that shot. And Aeddan didn't want to just take it right out, he thought it would make him look presumptuous.

"So does anybody here, other than Johnny, know how to fire a gun?" Aeddan asked hesitantly.

The group looked at each other then back at Aeddan and shook their heads. A few of them shrugged, but the consensus was an all-around no.

"Sigh does anybody object to me taking it then since I have had some experience with bolt action styled guns" Aeddan said face pawing himself.

"No, I think we are ok with that really. If you know how to shoot then take the gun Aeddan. It would be more useful in your hands than ours" Marcus said, speaking on behalf of the group.

"Ok, now that we have that sorted out. We need to go over our new game plan. We are essentially about to enter enemy territory with no knowledge of the surroundings, weather conditions, or enemy group locations" Aeddan said, listing off each thing they didn't know on his paw.

"So what should we do then?" the snow leopard asked, his tail swishing a little in apprehension.

"We need to have combat buddies. I read that in the military, a while back, before our time, back when it was just humans, the military used what was known as the "Combat Buddy System"" he said using air quotes.

"I think I read about that somewhere too. I think it was history class, I didn't really pay much attention to history class that day" Jamie said scratching the back of her head.

"Well to continue with what I was saying, your combat buddy was the one you stayed with during a battle. That person became your brother or sister during that battle, and some times throughout the whole war. A lot of soldiers were saved because they had someone watching their back" Aeddan explained slowly and concisely, not wanting to miss any details in his explanation.

"So what, do we draw lots again?" Frank asked, pulling out some grass at the edge of the jungle.

"Yeah that worked so well last time" Johnny said sarcastically.

"Well it does help with keeping it random, but those of us that have a weapon won't be pulling straws this time around. It wouldn't do to have more than one weapon carrier in one group and one group not have a weapon carrier at all" Aeddan said logically, pulling six pieces of grass each at a different length.

So the group "drew straws". Marcus had Melody and the shark man, Steven got Jamie and the snow leopard, and Frank received Miia. Which Aeddan was very disappointed about. That left Johnny with Aeddan.

"Scratch that, this is very disappointing, and this also sucks" Aeddan thought to himself as Johnny walked over to him with crossed arms.

Johnny stopped right in front of Aeddan, a mere foot between the two of them, and stared at Aeddan with a look of disgust and vehemence. Aeddan kind of knew what was going on so he returned the stare with a blank expression. The two stared at each other for a while, Johnny's full of hate and Aeddan's blank as a piece of printer paper. It was the kind of staring match that usually only happens in the wild between two males who are trying to assert each other's dominance over the other. You could almost see the daggers in Johnny's eyes, his stare was so intense.

"Hey you two, save it for another time. Or better yet, save it for the other teams. We need to get a move on here before the...sun, sets again" Marcus said coming over to the two of them and pushing them apart a little, afraid a fight was about to break out.

Johnny broke his stare for a second to glare at Marcus before returning his attention to Aeddan. After about a minute more of staring he looked away.

"Fine, bu' I plan tu finish this later. I don' like how all y'all just assume he's a betta leada' than anyone else 'ere" Johnny said addressing the group, then to Aeddan "you betta watch yo back, 'cause if I get a chance you gonna be down an' gone"

"What ever floats your boat Johnny. Just remember it's not me you will need to worry about if you try and fail again" Aeddan said walking past Johnny.

"So what's the plan? Do we go in guns balzin' or do we try to stealth it?" the snow leopard asked, looking past Aeddan at the jungle through the open door.

"Well seeing as how I hold the only gun I would be the only one "going in guns blazing"" Aeddan said with air quotes.

"So we go in quiet then?" Steven asked, popping his neck.

"The area is too open. If we were to sneak in it wouldn't really matter because we would be easy targets for the other team" Aeddan answered as he checked the gun over again.

"So we just walk in?" Marcus asked, a frown forming on his brow.

"precisely" Aeddan said re-shouldering the gun "besides, I don't think the team in this dome are even half way prepared yet if we do happen to chance upon them"

Aeddan stepped in to the next dome hesitantly. The ground was slightly spongy from the excess of moisture in the air. Aeddan had notice the huge trees before, when he first opened the door; he had also taken note of the colorful vines and shrub like plants that dotted the trunk of each tree. Aeddan had read in a book on exotic plants, that some jungle plants that grow on trees were useful in making salves and poultices for healing purposes.

"If only I had brought that little book with me when I left for school. Maybe then I would have a better idea which plants here are safe to eat around here" Aeddan thought, his eyes searching the trees and underbrush for anything suspicious.

"Aeddan? Can we join you? Is it safe to enter?" Jamie asked from the other side of the threshold.

"I thought you guys were right behind me. Come on, it's safe as any of the other jungles" Aeddan said starting to feel a little impatient and grumpy with the others "which is to say it is completely dang-"

"CONGRATULATIONS! You've reached the next dome. Which means you survived this long without dying. If this is Desert team, please stand by for a message from your commanding office. If this is Jungle team, turn around and go back the other way" a voice like that of game show host said from a speaker that had suddenly popped up out of the ground in front of the group.

"Desert team? Who's that?" Melody asked.

"I think that's us" Marcus said as he scratched an itch behind one of horns "it makes sense seeing as how we just came from the desert"

"Guys! Imporin' message coming in 'ere from our commandin' offica'...who's our commandin' offica' again?" Johnny said looking suddenly a little confused and thoughtful. You could almost hear the gears in his brain grinding as he tried to figure out his own question.

"We don't know Johnny, none of us do. But I would assume it is the one I have I given the name Mr. Growly. He was the one who gave us the speech on why we are here at the beginning of this nightmare" Aeddan said reminding everyone of day one.

"Oh I hope not, he wasn't very nice when he spoke to us last" Miia said sounding a little unhappy.

It was him. He still sounded really mean.

"Well good job Desert team. You somehow managed to not be complete failures. Now listen and listen good for you have just entered enemy territory. You will need to listen to your team leader from here on and do as he or she says. He or she is now your CO and they deserve some respect, but they do not command it" "Mr. Growly" paused here as if to let them have a short discussion before continuing on

"now then, your leader, your CO, is the only one who can open the doors from here on. He or she whom ever opened this door, will be the only one who can open the next door. So protect your leader for the next couple biomes. The next thing you should know is that, unlike the desert biome, there are genetically altered wild animals in here along with Jungle team. So if Jungle team doesn't pick you off, the monsters in here will. Now I do have good news. In case you didn't find the one, and the only, supply crate in the entire desert"

Aeddan felt all of Desert team's eyes turn to focus on him

"there is another one about...twenty feet from this current location. If you can find it within the next ten minutes" a countdown clock rose out of the ground at this point, a ten followed by two zeroes separated a colon on its screen "you will find a prototype IWMD for your team leader along with a more modern gun and other supplies. The IWMD will help your leader with tactics and team management. Now I have been told to give you this hint in the form of a riddle. Now let's see here, it goes: I am up, but I am down. I am all around but only one...who comes up with this crap? Well that's all I am allowed to give you help wise. Your time starts now. See you maggots when this is all over" Mr. Growly finished before the speaker sank back in to the ground with out leaving a trace. The countdown clock had started though.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"KRA-BOOM"

Aeddan looked up at the jungle canopy just in time to see a flash of light above before it started to rain. The rain felt cold once it got in under his fur. It was not the best sensation, but it was better than the constant humidity he had been experiencing since he first came to the jungle dome. Aeddan looked down at the IWMD on his left wrist and tapped a couple of virtual buttons, checking the map that had been conveniently downloaded on to before they had recovered the supply crate.

The team had recovered the supply crate, which had been no easy task what with the crate hanging from a low branch on one of the trees; and with mere seconds to spare. They recovered the IWMD, which after some discussion they couldn't figure out what it stood for. A gun, a second military issue ALICE pack, another three canteens of water, some more MREs, and two machetes. Now most of Desert team was armed with some kind of weapon, the gun they had recovered, along with four clips, was a .45 Cal Thompson Submachine Gun. Aeddan remembered reading in a TIME magazine that gangsters had used this gun because of the accuracy, power behind it, and the number of bullets that could be fired before they needed to reload. So Aeddan figured it had a big kick and handed it off to Marcus and gave the knife Jamie. Once they had everything squared away, they began their trek through the jungle.

"Aeddan, we should collect this rain before it passes us, we could use the extra clean water. Use the big leaves as a funnel for the rain water" she said putting the mouth of a canteen up to a dribble of water coming off a large leaf

"Right, you heard her. Every one open your canteens and collect the water" Aeddan yelled out, opening his own canteen to collect the water coming off a leaf.

Collecting water this way in a jungle or rain forest is a good idea. Rivers, streams, ponds or any other source of water other than a spring can have microbes, animal and plant toxins mixed with the water. Many an outdoorsman, hiker or foolish city dweller who thinks they know what they are doing has died from or has gotten very close to dying from drinking water straight out of a "wild" water source. An experienced outdoorsman of any nature knows which water sources are safe and which ones are not. The answer is none of them, no human knows what water is safe to drink. But by collecting rain water using this method of "leaf run off" you have the highest chance of the water not being contaminated and not becoming sick or dying.

By the time their canteens were full the rain was still falling and Desert team had moved on and were now climbing up a dirt embankment covered with underbrush and smaller trees. The rain had begun to make small rivulets going down the embankment and the team was having a rough time climbing up it. Every so often someone would grab a loose stone and it would pull a small patch of the embankment out, showering whomever was below with mud and tiny rocks. By the time Desert team had reached the top, many of them were covered in mud.

"We have got to find a better way of doing this" Steven said sitting on a stump.

"Well there is a better way but we need rope to do it" Aeddan said sipping his water. The water had a slight earthy taste to it from it being leaf run off. It left a bitter taste on his tongue , but it was better than nothing.

"Aeddan, didn't we get a coil of heavy duty rope from the first supply crate?" Miia asked recalling the night two days ago. The thought of what happened that night made her blush slightly.

"Of course! I completely forgot we had that rope, it's at least a good seventy feet if not more" Aeddan said face-pawing himself.

The rope was more than seventy feet, it was a hundred feet of rope. Desert team continued on until it reached another embankment. When they reached one, they sent up someone to act as a climber to tie the rope to a tree. In this way, they conquered many embankments. But, it wasn't until long that they were stopped dead in their tracks. They had come to another embankment, except it was really more a cliff with it being mostly rock at an almost ninety degree angle and its height being much greater than the embankments they had previously climbed. It was still raining and small water falls of run off had formed on it giving it a dangerous look.

"So, any one here know how to free climb?" Aeddan asked looking up at the cliff.

"Well I do, my pappy taught me n' my sis to when ever since we was young" Johnny said in from the rear of the group.

Johnny had been keeping his distance from most of the group for some time now. Aeddan suspected it was because he was still sore over the fact he was out voted to lead. But Aeddan didn't really care if Johnny was still sore or if it was for some other reason. Johnny had a skill that they needed and for some reason he had volunteered, and now all eyes were turned on him.

"Well alright then. Marcus, tie the rope to Johnny so he can get to work climbing" Aeddan said taking the Tommy gun briefly.

Soon Johnny was tied and ready to climb. He stood before the cliff face looking up at it like a certain boy staring into the face of a certain giant from an un named religious text. Johnny just stared at it for a while, the rain the only other sound besides Desert team's breathing. Then he grabbed a hand hold and was off. He climbed the cliff face like a spider, his arms and legs splayed out like a professional. Soon he was at the top, grabbing the last hand hold. He pulled himself up and over the cliff edge and disappeared for a few minutes. Then ten, then fifteen, soon Desert team was starting to wonder if he was coming back. Then Johnny stuck his head over the edge and waved them up. One by one they climbed the rope, some with more ease than others. Soon everyone was atop the cliff and none the worse for wear.

"Good job Johnny, I'm glad you-"

"Aww cut the crap halfa. I still don' like you, I on'y did it jus' ta show ya up" Johnny said cutting Aeddan off as he pulled up the rope which he coiled at his feet.

"Well, either way I am glad you decided to help the team overcome an obstacle like this. If you hadn't, we would have had to go a long way around rather than just straight through" Aeddan said patting Johnny on the shoulder.

"Get off'a me" Johnny said making a wild pushing gesture towards Aeddan.

This however was a mistake. For Johnny was rather close to the edge of the cliff and rain had soaked in to the already wet ground and was rather unstable in areas such as where Johnny was standing. That push made Johnny shift his weight just enough that the ground decided to give way just then.

"Wuh?" was all Johnny said before he began to fall, a look of bewilderment and confusion painted across his face. Now Johnny would have fallen a good forty feet, which would have probably would have severely injured him. A worst case scenario would be that the fall would kill him. But, as luck had it, Aeddan inherited his father's quick reflexes. Aeddan's paw darted forward and managed to grab Johnny's paw before he went too far over.

"Hrg, come on" Aeddan said as he tried to pull the heavier wolf, Johnny, back up over the edge.

"Don' let go, don' let go" Johnny pleaded with Aeddan.

"Just hold on!"

"What do ya think I'ma doin'?"

"Here, grab my claw" Marcus said rushing over to help.

Soon, between the two of them, Aeddan and Marcus had Johnny back up on top of the cliff. Johnny was rather silent for himself and Aeddan didn't know wither or not he should be grateful or disturbed by this. He looked like one of those people who find out something they believed in was completely wrong and they didn't know what to do about it.

"What, no thanks?" Marcus said exasperated.

Johnny just stood there, looking up at the jungle canopy silently.

"Huff huff huff, come on, we have just have to clear that hill and we will come to an alcove that will keep us dry for the night. Don't want to be caught out here in the rain at night" Aeddan said gathering up the rope and putting it in one of the ALICE packs.

The team cleared the next hill with ease. It was not steep like the cliff they has just faced. It did not need to be climbed like the embankments from before. It was just a nice, easy, walkable hill covered in underbrush and trees. On the other side was a small ravine that had three sides to it. One was the side Desert team was on now, and the other two sides were across from them and to the right. That left the left side open to allow the water to drain away. The right side had a small alcove where it was meant to look like the rain had eroded it away. Desert team made their way down to the right side where they sat down out from under the rain. It was still a little damp and the team was starting to shiver from the damp clothing they wore.

"Say Marcus, you are a dragon right?" Steven asked Marcus, as he rung the water out of his shirt to dry it out faster.

"Yes...I am, why?" Marcus asked suddenly suspicious.

"Can't you light a fire? I mean dragons can do that right?"

"Well most dragons can, but..." Marcus trailed off looking a little embarrassed all of a sudden.

"You can't can you?" Aeddan asked pulling off his jacket to dry, revealing the worn looking blue t-shirt he wore undernieth.

All the clothes in the orphanage Aeddan was from were either donations or hand me downs from previouse orphans after they left because of age or adoption. This particular shirt had once been a brilliant neon blue. But two owners later and a once through on in a washer on the wrong setting, it had become a worn almost faded blue color. It was a little baggy and hung on him now like a wet rag from all the water it had soaked up from the rain. Aeddan took this off as well and rung it dry just as Steven was doing only he had taken his off.

"No, I can't. The doctors say I am a spätzünder, a late bloomer. They say I have not found my ursache, my reason to need my fire yet" Marcus explained following suit with Aeddan and taking off his shirt to ring it out revealing a slightly well-toned upper body.

He was not overly muscular but he looked strong to a degree. His scales stopped being a blackish blue color once they reached his stomach region. They became a lighter shade of blue and he sparkled a little bit all over even in the now dimming light of the "day". Aeddan swore he caught Melody and Frank checking Marcus out.

"Well nothing we can do about it now. Everyone should remove their clothing though" Aeddan said starting to remove his blue jeans as well.

"Now wait a tick, why would we all willingly agree to remove our clothes?" the snow leopard asked, his cockney accent distinguishing him from the rest of the group.

"Well unless you want to get sick with pneumonia and possibly die from wearing cold, wet clothes, you will strip down to your... pants" Aeddan retorted, pausing briefly to search for the correct word the British used for under-wear.

"I would listen to him if I were you. Pneumonia is no laughing matter and I don't think any of us can afford to get sick right now" Jamie said pulling off her shirt over her head. Her breasts bounced in her lacey, white bra a little once the tight shirt had cleared them. She was in fact, not really muscled, but not very strong looking either. Her breasts weren't exactly bomb shell sized either, but they still attracted a few hidden stares from the other males there, including Aeddan. It was the first time he had seen a girl's, let alone a female close to his species, almost naked breasts.

"Well come on boys, this isn't show and tell. Drop the drawers and lose the extra padding. Or are you going to let a girl do all the work?" Jamie said giving a sly wink before she started to ring out her clothes then lay them out to dry on a rock.

Soon everyone else on the team was hastening to "disrobe" themselves, not wanting to be the last one with clothes on. That is, almost everyone was hastening to "be healthy". Miia however was hiding behind a large rock still in her clothes, shivering.

"Miia, are you ok back here?" Aeddan asked sticking his head around the rock.

"Meep! Uh yes, yes everything is all good here, everything is normal. Uh, how are you?" Miia said startled.

"Are you sure? You are still wearing those wet clothes" Aeddan said coming further around the rock. Aeddan was dressed in a pair of boxer briefs that had dried out considerably faster because of the cotton cloth they were made from.

"I-I might be a little um...embarrassed right now" Miia said covering her face with her paws, trying to hide the red starting to show under fur "can you...can you he-help me?"

"You want me, to undress you?" Aeddan asked a little incredulous,

"mhm" Miia nodded from behind her paws.

"well...ok then I guess, I'll...help you" Aeddan said his paws shaking a little from nervousness as he reached for Miia's boots. He had never helped a woman or female undress before, but he had helped mother Margret sip up her dress when she went out to charity balls and the like.

"So, I have a question for you" Aeddan said pulling off Miia's boots.

"And that would be?" Miia asked from behind her paws.

"Were you the one who's paw I was holding in the vehicle?" Aeddan asked moving on to her pants.

"Were you the one holding my paw?" Miia countered.

"That's all I wanted to know" Aeddan said sliding Miia's wet pants off her legs.

"But you didn't answer my question" Miia said dropping her paws only to have them hoisted back up from Aeddan removing her shirt.

"sigh I did hold some one's paw I will admit to that. But I have a feeling it might be you" Aeddan said pulling Miia's shirt up past her arms to her paws then off them all together. Their eyes met, her's blue as the sky on a clear day in fall. Aeddan's a rich hazel color like that which you would find in a forest. Next thing Aeddan knew, Miia's arms were wrapped around his body and Miia's lips were pressed against his.

This kiss was not like the one in the desert cave at the bottom of the crevasse. This one had feeling to it, meaning. It made Aeddan's heart skip a beat the way her paws moved up his spine to his neck just below the skull and down to his lower back. He began to wrap his arms around her body and pull her closer, he longed to hold her there and continue this pleasurable feeling he had. He felt something stir with in him, a powerful force that was demanding to be let ou.

"Hey Aeddan, Melody can't figure out how the...meals...work..." Steven said, his eyes growing big as he interrupted them in the moment.

Miia, startled by Steven sudden appearance, broke the kiss between her and Aeddan. She looked away and covered her face with her paws again to hide her embarrassment.

"Uuhhh, right, coming" Aeddan said leaving the embarrassed Miia behind the rock.

Well it took forever, but here's chapter 6. It's a lot longer than the other chapters, and I apologize for the long read, there just wasn't any good place to stop. It was pointed out to me a couple weeks ago that my grammar and spelling are a tad off. To be fair, when I have time to write I am usually in bed and getting to the point of needing sleep since I have such a hectic life right now what with finals coming up in a class I blow at, looking for a new job in a down economy, family problems, etc., etc., etc. So an idea took shape in my brain in the form of a plea. If any of you readers out there find something wrong in my chapters, please point it out to me so that I may fix it and improve my writing ability. If you would like to leave me a comment or question in the section below please do so. If you liked the chapter you can subscribe, rate, or watch if you want. Until next time, keep those paws moving. Ciao everyone.