Jungle Blood (standard:science fiction, 1706 words)
Author: shadowsinflames	Added: Dec 12 2003	Views/Reads: 3369/2223	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Dreams haunt Lily's sleep, dreams that evoke memories of a past long buried. When she begins to delve into it's secrets, she finds others like her, others kidnapped from the heart of a jungle, where worlds collide.

Lily slipped into the steaming bath, hissing as the hot water hit her
body. Once she settled in, she leaned her head back and closed her 
eyes. It had been a terribly long day, one that she would just love to 
boil away. Exhausted, she slipped into a restless sleep. 

'The jungle trilled with the sounds of life, birds talking, the leaves
rustling, it was a place filled with the essence of the universe. The 
giggles of children echoed unnaturally in the tropical shade, sounding 
more like the laughter of spirits than true beings. She was running 
through the lush green, playfully jumping through the undergrowth, 
dodging branches, and batting vines out of her way. 

'Chalula, wait up,' another child's voice called, sounding like he was a
distance away. Though the heavy atmosphere of the forest tended to 
distort the way sounds carried, the way sight worked.' 

Lily twitched violently in her sleep, causing water to splash over the
side of the tub. Her eyes moved rapidly back and fourth beneath her 
lids in the vivid embrace of a dream as her hands clenched into fists 
at her side. 

'Faster she ran, hearing her friend trying desperately to follow behind.
Daring a glance behind, she saw his chest glint with the sparkling 
light that weaved through the thick branches overhead. His body was 
that of a seven year old, and the gasping grin on his face announced 
that they were playing tag. Like she would ever let him catch her. She 
laughed and plunged with more determination forward. 

Suddenly, she caught sight of a shadow beside her. Something moving
fast, much faster than her. Aware that it could have been a creature 
hunting her, she should have stopped and waited for her friend, but her 
feet carried her unafraid forward. This time, she saw the movement on 
the other side of her. Vainly, she tried to see what it was but only 
caught sight of eyes, eyes so blue they glowed. Those eyes terrified 
her.' 

Lily sat straight up, causing waves of water to slosh onto the floor.
Her heart was racing violently within her chest, an atestment to the 
horror that haunted her dreams. Quickly, she looked about, verifying 
that she was still in her bathroom. Sleep had taken so little time from 
her that the water still steamed with heat. Slowly, assured that she is 
in a place of safety, she sinks back down to think about her 
reoccurring dreams. 

When she was six years old, she and a group of children were kidnapped
from the jungles of Africa. They'd been brought back to the states as 
unfortunate orphans rescued from certain death. They'd been spread from 
corner to corner with only dreams to remind them of the truth. Lily had 
no recollection of where she'd came from, what people, anything. Her 
only memory of life before the states was in dreams, and she was never 
sure how true they were. 

Though this dream, she always had the feeling that it was true.
Something had stalked her in the jungle, something with less than good 
intentions towards her. But, she would probably never know what, due to 
the trail that lead to her home being severely cold. 

When she finally rose from the water, it had grown cool and chilled her
skin. Wandering into the living room, she leaned down and plugged the 
phone back into the wall. The she hit the message machine to listen to 
the four messages that had been left. It was pretty much a guarantee 
that Richard had called. Though, she prayed that he hadn't. 

Of course, the first message was from Richard, 'Lily, I know you're
there...please pick up. Damn it, Lily...I'm sorry. I really am. I admit 
it, I was a prick, unsupportive and selfish. Sigh, fine, whatever, 
maybe you can call me back later.' She snorted objectively to that 
comment. It wasn't likely that she was would be calling him for quite a 
while. He had yelled at her for obsessing about a past long gone. 
Claimed she was wasting her life away, trying to find unneeded answers. 
Nervously, she glanced down at her hand where moss had spread from her 
finger tips. He didn't understand, it was necessary. His ability to 
judge so harshly had cost him greatly, for he refused to listen to her 
when she needed him too, and so she refused to ever go back. 



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