Eldritch Tales from the Jungle - Part III
A strange society interested in the occult sends a skilled team of men to the jungles of South America to seek out and terminate a devilish object.
Diary of Christian J. Baker
August 12, 2009
3AM
It was Victor Ward who had knocked. I am now both nauseous and irritable.
When I opened the door, he pushed past me and into my quarters. I thought about stopping him for a moment, then thought better of it. Ward was a large former kickboxer. If need be, I will wait until he picks a fight twenty pounds down and delirious with jungle fever.
He invited himself to sit. “We’re only about a week away from the Galapagos,” he said.
I said nothing as I closed the heavy door.
Carter warned me not to engage in a pissing contest until we landed in Ecuador. Our group tended to house men with strong personalities. Plus, Ward was a favourite of the board of directors. There were rumours that he possessed some information against them. It would make sense. There was nothing diplomatic about the man, nor had I heard of any familial ties.
I crossed the room and closed my journal which lay open near Ward.
I did not care to make conversation and he did not seem to mind either way. Ward reached into his pocket and procured a small flask. Taking my own mug, which was more than half full of coffee, he poured the contents of his bottle into it before taking a long drink.
I stared.
Ward met my eye with ease. "What?" he asked. "Are you going to tell Alec Carter that I'm drinking at sea?"
"Something tells me it would make little difference," I answered.
He dumped the remnants of the alcohol into my mug and finished it in one long gulp. “It's your fault, then. Someone should’ve reminded me before I drank it,” Ward dismissed. He wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve.
Then, jerking his chin in my direction, the large man asked, “Don't talk much, do you?”
"Not when I don't have anything to say."
“Religious reasons?”
"Personal choice."
Once again, Ward considered me. Then, after a beat, he peered into the empty mug. “What do you suppose is in that box, hm?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t you want to?”
I faced him, wary. Why was he testing me? “Not particularly,” I said.
As quickly as Ward sprung the question on me, he changed the subject. “I suppose you're here for security too?"
"Yes," I said. I crossed the room to take up a seat on a folding chair, pulled out a small block of wood and a knife.
Ward crossed his arms. “How much do you weigh?”
I began to whittle as I answered. “It’s in the mission file.”
"Where's yours?" he demanded.
I nodded to the low table by his elbow. There was a singular manila folder on the edge.
Ward took it and flipped to my profile. His eyebrows rose. “85 kilos1. Could've fooled me. Where you hiding the last ten?” He snorted at his own joke. Ward continued to browse, reading aloud. “1.91m2, no tattoos, no piercings, hair: brown, eyes: blue, race: white—I can see that. Boring, boring… Unmarried, former SWCC. What else? Weapons specialist, jiu-jitsu, judo...”
His voice trailed off and I sensed him staring in my periphery. I did not give him the satisfaction of eye contact. I continued to carve away at the block. The outline of a boar began to appear.
"I see one cauliflower ear," he said, "jaw looks like it could take a hit. But your neck is kinda small.” Suddenly, Ward tossed down the file with a slap and let out a loud laugh. “Little chicken boy. All height, no weight, no words!”
To my joy, he left soon after that.
I can’t help but wonder why he asked me if I was curious about our cargo. Perhaps he was trying to drum up interest in me so that he could use it to his advantage later. Rumors of his blackmailing activities might prove correct.
I thought I should pen this down as a reminder in case anyone ever asks me to join this man on an expedition ever again.
The answer is a resounding no.
I hope you enjoyed this episode of Eldritch Tales from the Jungle! For more of my work, click here! If you’re searching for Shades of Night content, see here.
187lbs
6’2ft
And, again, this is very nicely done. 😊
As someone who’s inadvertently been thrown into one pointless contest after another over the decades, this spoke to me. 😂