********************

Time Jump~

Gregory Fletcher's POV~

The other survivors and I awakened within a short time after sunrise the next day because of the protracted journey between Queen Pacificea's temple and Dragonfly Falls. As Susie and Velma ensured our replica of the cavern's map was accurate, I stared out a window in the throne room.

The sun's orange glow beamed through the soaring jungle trees, creating a halcyon aura. In the tropical sky were early birds. Below, the puma from yesterday and only one kitten were sniffing about the outskirts of the building until another jumped out from a bush and tackled its sibling.

I was distracted from the remarkable view when Austin stepped behind me, enveloped his arms around my lower body, and rested his stubbled chin on my shoulder. Instinctively, I cocooned his folded limbs with my own and tilted my head against his temple, his skin comfortably warm.

"We leaving?" I whispered.

"Just about," my boyfriend answered. "You see anything out there?"

"That big cat and a couple of her kittens. I'm glad I didn't take the shot yesterday, you know? It was so easy for me to take, and it was so tempting to take so I could guarantee our safety, but..."

"I trusted you to make the right call."

"It's good to hear you say that," I mumbled, nuzzling backward, "because if I'm being honest, as much as I love being your boyfriend, I was afraid dating you would make you... conscientious."

"More than I already am, yeah. Is that not what I was yesterday, though?"

"I don't know. I mean, a situation like that is just so different than every other situation we've been in. I can't blame you for wanting to take a risk that big. I'm talking more about simple things, like letting me go on hunts without you or leaving the camp to wash up at the pond."

Austin nodded, devoted. "You're an adult man, Greg, and I know that, so if there has ever been a moment that made you think I treated you like a child, that wasn't my intention, and I'm sorry."

I smiled and touched the blond's forehead with mine. "I can't think of one time when I thought you were treating me like a child or an adult who can't handle himself or a damsel in distress."

"Good," my shirtless savior murmured, removing one arm from around me to hold my waist, "because I need you more than you need me. I know that because I wouldn't be here if you hadn't given me the motivation I needed in those first few days. I'm me because of you, Greg."

I chuckled insecurely, and my boyfriend ducked his head to kiss the side of my neck fervidly, his muscular forearm sneaking back around to my front. His occasional moans were desperate and gruff, and his sultry breath ghosting across my soft skin made me shiver with guttural whimpers.

Before long, a reddish mark that was impossible to conceal formed on my throat due to Austin's continuous sucking. He licked it, then pecked it before pulling away and passionately kissing my lips. At some point, I stepped away from him to block the chance of us becoming more intimate.

With his hands on his hips, Austin snickered to himself with his gaze on the leafy stone floor, then motioned to the blemish he had made. "I, uh, hope that's all right. I'm sorry otherwise."

As I was about to reply to my rescuer's apology, Velma exited the adjacent map room with Susie and began strolling our way. "We're done!" she affirmed. "Now to get back to Dragonfly Falls."

"Wait!" the Australian redhead hindered. "I was wondering if we should take a few of the torches on the walls with us. They could come in handy for everyone going into the cavern tomorrow."

Austin blew out a considerate sigh, reluctant. "I'd definitely prefer using them than burning our materials, but I don't know if the queen agrees, so we're probably better off leaving them here."

Sad, Susie glowered but nodded regardless. Afterward, Austin conducted the rest of us out of the throne room, with Velma and me behind him and the other female Bird in the rear. A lengthy hike was ahead of us, but we were eager to tell Lianne, Alayna, Wilfred, and Juanita everything.

Time Jump~

Finally, the four of us returned to Dragonfly Falls around three o'clock in the afternoon. Susie and Velma split from Austin and me to share news about the temple with Wilfred and Juanita, whereas my boyfriend and I reunited with Lianne and Alayna between our similar treehouses.

My black-haired best friend practically threw the survival guide and her pen, then shot up from her log to greet us. "About damn time! Do you know how worried we were?! Especially Alayna!"

The sister was standing close by, messing with the string of a coconut bra. "Me?!" she scowled.

"Oh please, don't pretend you didn't specifically point out missing Austin's stubbornness."

"I didn't say I missed it! I said sitting around the fire feels weird without it!"

The dancer squinted suspiciously but quickly cast aside her playfulness to give the blond and me an expression of relief. "Are the girls okay? What took you guys so long? What did you find?"

"Yes, the girls are okay; they're at their camp," I responded, chortling. "As for why it took so long, this temple is really, really far, okay? Like, really far. Nothing we've been to before is as far as it."

"Was all that exercise worth it?"

I glanced uncertainly at Austin. "Um, we don't really know yet. We found a map of a cavern that's supposedly in that swamp, and according to the map, the second Gem is at the end of a tunnel."

"Bitch, what?!"

"That's basically the feminine version of Austin's reaction."

When the women stared at the buff Holmes member, he nodded. "There's no way to confirm it's down there unless we go down there, and unfortunately... we have to so all four Gems can be taken back to the temple and put into Queen Pacificea's throne; it's got slots in it for each one."

The flight attendant raised a hand to shield sunlight from her eyes. "So that's the next mission?"

"As far as I'm concerned, there isn't another choice. And I know you two wanted to leave the camp after feeling stuck here, but now that you know where we're going, you can hang back."

"When are you going?"

"Tomorrow, so you have until then to decide. For now, I need to get some sleep. I'll be up before dinner and probably sleep again after. When we're all up in the morning, we'll... go from there."

"Yeah, I'm going to get more sleep, too," I spoke. "I'm so fucking tired and want to make sure I'm feeling well enough for tomorrow. Just... shout for us if you need anything. You should wake us."

Alayna bowed her head, then skimmed a tense hand over her pulled-back hair. Lianna nodded, as well, prior to smirking and tapping her neck to direct my attention to the discoloration on my throat. I simpered foolishly but brazenly trailed Austin into our shelter, ready for hours of rest.

Time Jump~

At about ten o'clock the following rainy morning, the other Monkeys and I arrived at the Birds' camp. Susie and Velma appeared only a little tired from yesterday's exhausting expedition as, as usual, welcomes were exchanged, and everybody congregated beneath the drenched canopy.

"I take it you're here to see who's going down to that cavern?" Wilfred presumed, which Austin affirmed. "I'll go. Not even that damn swamp could keep me from taking a break from working."

"As much as I would love to build up that braveness I talked about in the temple yesterday," Velma said, "it wouldn't be too smart for me to combat my claustrophobia in a cavern, so..."

"I'll be going, though," Juanita enlisted. "If any text down there needs to be deciphered, I'll be there to decipher what I can. I even made a few nice torches to help us see where we're going."

Susie shook her head when everyone looked at her. "Shockingly, I will not be joining you. I gave it some thought and, uh, decided to allow Wilfred and Juanita a chance to get out of the camp."

"I want nothing more than to leave these damn camps, too, but I have more clothes to make, so I'm staying," Alayna stated. "Thank God I'm almost done, though, so I'll go next time, I promise."

"And to keep the numbers even, I'll pass on helping with this Gem, too. Besides, since Wilfred is going, I'll be kind and help Susie and Velma finish your treehouses instead," Lianne volunteered.

Knowing nobody had to ask which group he and I were joining, Austin nodded, authorizing the two parties. "We have to get back to that swamp, then into the cavern, so we should leave now."

All too soon, I said goodbye again to Lianne and shared a modest wave with Alayna. As they lingered with Susie and Velma, the man with muttonchops and the Hispanic woman began following Austin and me down south, the four of us armed and geared for the underground.

Time Jump~

Later that overcast day, the rain discontinued, leaving the air more humid than usual. Austin and Wilfred talked as they led Juanita and me toward the damp swamp, occasionally glancing back at us and asking a question. At this point, nothing noteworthy had happened during our journey.

Eventually, Juanita started a grave conversation with me. "How is Lianne doing?"

I replied truthfully. "She's holding up as best she can. She, uh... needs more time to heal, but I'm going to keep checking in with her and telling her what she needs to hear to stay on that course."

The Bird shook her head, dumbfounded. "I don't know how you can do that as often as you do, Greg, how you can be so... brutally honest with someone you care so much about. My heart is..."

"It's probably easier for me because I'm a man; we're used to being brutally honest with our friends in order to work toward solutions, whereas women tend to focus more on feelings."

"Hm, yes, I can see that playing a role. How did you get into crisis counseling, by the way?"

With a shrug, I let out a rough sigh. "When I was in, like, ninth or tenth grade, I was talking to my dad about how I still didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and he, um, suggested crisis counseling to be silly, but... when he looked at me and saw I was genuinely interested, he, uh..."

Juanita glimpsed at me, nothing but compassion in her expression.

Meanwhile, I thought hard before shaking my head. "I can't remember the conversation word for word, but he told me how his mom, my grandma, was, uh, killed in a car accident. He said he and his brother, my uncle, had to attend counseling after, and he gave counselors a lot of praise."

"All of you do so much for strangers. Some would argue everybody who has a job is technically doing things for strangers, but not everybody is doing the influential things you counselors do."

"I think that's part of why I wanted to be a crisis counselor, you know? Like, my own dad went through a lot when his mom was killed, but he bounced back because of counseling; that inspired me to want to help others bounce back after going through, well, anything traumatic."

"And I can see how serious you are about it. In fact, I'm sure I saw that during our first day or two here after you gave Austin advice on how to move forward. Since then, you've helped Susie and Velma, too, not with traumatic experiences, but advice is advice, and you're good at showing it."

"Well, here's to hoping I can continue giving Lianne advice. There are times when she sometimes brushes off the situation, so figuring out exactly what I need to tell her can be a little bit tricky."

Juanita patted my shoulder. "You'll get through to her, Greg. You're also her friend, you know."

"That's true," I chuckled, nodding. "What about you? What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a daycare assistant, which is probably why I formed such a close connection with most of you relatively quickly. I'm used to looking out for people who have trouble looking out for themselves, but not necessarily like Austin and Wilfred. My expertise is in... care and comfort."

I snickered. "I know you didn't mean it this way, but it's funny thinking about Austin and Wilfred not caring or comforting the way you do. I mean, to be fair, I can't speak too much about Wilfred, but Austin cares about and comforts me every day, though, to be fair again, we are dating, so..."

Juanita laughed, as well. "Perhaps I worded it wrong."

"No! I-I totally understand what you meant, especially with how you treat Velma. With a friend lost in the crash and Geoffrey with the Snakes, she's fortunate to have you looking out for her."

Wilfred suddenly cursed in a tone that made my skin crawl with sheer apprehension. "Aw, shit!"

Instantly thereafter, Austin faced the Hispanic woman and me with an alarming expression. He was serious about whatever he and the Australian had witnessed. "Turn around! Turn around!"

"What is it?!" Juanita fretted.

"What's going on?!" I quizzed in a panic.

As Wilfred rubbed his eyes with his palms, Austin ambled to Juanita and me. He kept the volume of his voice low as if intending to hide information from eavesdroppers. "Miley hanged herself."

My heart dropped into my stomach, and the female survivor gasped in despair at the news. No Monkey or Bird knew Miley well, but judging by what we did learn about her, she was not nearly as despicable as the other three Snakes. She and her daughters did not deserve their demises.

I rested a gentle hand on my boyfriend's exposed hip. "What are we going to do?" I whispered.

Austin showed me the steel plane axe he had been carrying all day. "Well, we can't leave her like that. I'll have Wilfred help me cut her down, and... and you two can help us bury her if you want."

Juanita and I made unsure eye contact, which Austin noticed but decided not to ask any questions. Instead, he accosted the man with muttonchops, and the two guys disappeared.

"God, this shouldn't have happened," I muttered, sick. "If she'd have just come with us when me and Austin went to their camp to tell Isaac about what we found out regarding Brent, she may..."

The daycare assistant set a palm on my shoulder. "She had hope back then. You can't blame her for that, Greg. If you blame anyone, it should be Isaac for enabling her to leave in the first place."

"I know, but I could've talked to her. I mean, this is exactly why I went into crisis counseling! If she'd have been with us or you Birds, maybe I could've given her the strength to keep going."

"It's certainly a difficult affair to accept. I'm not surprised it happened, though, especially to one of the Snakes. They took us being stranded to a whole different level compared to the rest of us."

I solemnly nodded my concurrence, calming. "And... on the bright side, which feels extremely disgusting to say, at least we know we only have to look out for Isaac and Geoffrey now, right?"

"That's true, yes."

Austin returned to Juanita and me shortly afterward and let us know the vine Miley had used to commit suicide had been sawed through. The two of us followed him to Wilfred, who stood off to the side with his hands on his hips and appeared as if he would be ill. Perhaps he already was.

The golden blond tore his stringent gaze away from the corpse on the ground. "I was thinking we can bury her over there," he said, pointing to a flattish strip of sufficient space between bushes.

The Australian huffed, shaking his head. "I don't know, man," he murmured. "Listen, if any Snake deserves to be buried, it's definitely her, but... we really need to get to this cavern, don't we?"

"I have to agree with Wilfred," Juanita acquiesced. "Maybe we can bury her on our way back, but right now, I think it'd be best to get this Gem first. None of us know how long it will take to get it."

Austin opened his arms to his sides. "Come on, guys, seriously? There are four of us. Greg?"

I hesitated to make a sound.

Wilfred stepped forward, reaching out for my savior but not touching him. "Hey, we can bury her on our way back, okay? We can all help then, I promise. For now, we really have to keep moving."

Exhaling, Austin brushed his fingers through his hair, then lazily gestured onward. "Let's go."

Once Miley was carried to a location better hidden by foliage, Wilfred and Juanita took charge of the group, guiding Austin and me toward the swamp. I comforted the Holmes member by gifting him a glum but reassuring simper, and he returned it while wrapping his arm around my waist.

Time Jump~

Finally, the four of us arrived at the moist swamp, which precisely looked as it did the last time it had been visited by Austin, Velma, Juanita, and me. Colorful insects buzzed close to the shallow puddles, and a couple of different frog species were bounding around and into opaque ponds.

Wilfred grimaced at the sight of the damp site. "On second thought, maybe I didn't need a break from working. Those treehouses are pretty damn important, after all. I'll head back and send—"

"Oh hush," Juanita grinned, giving her fellow Bird a light slap on his upper arm before trudging forward. "Let's hurry and find this cavern. We've already lost a bit of time. We can't lose more."

Begrudgingly, the Australian with puffy hair trailed the Hispanic woman into the wetland. Austin followed, too, though at a slower pace. I quickly caught up to him and grabbed his wrist to freeze him where he stood. He raised his brows while slipping his arm out of my grasp to hold my hand.

"Are you going to be okay?" I mumbled.

Austin sighed loudly. "I will be," he asserted. "I'm just... I'm tired, Greg. Ever since that fight with the Snakes, I've been working my ass off on our treehouses, and then we found that temple and just found Miley, and... now we're going underground for a Gem that might not even be there."

"Sounds like you need to start taking care of yourself a little more or at least have a bit of fun for a day, do anything that'll get your mind off things. If you won't do that for yourself, do it for me."

"Yeah, I hear you. I can actually feel every single pent-up emotion inside me, some of which I'll be able to let out when we tell the girls about today. The rest of them are, well... only for you."

"I'm looking forward to letting you express them however you want to, in private, of course."

Austin chuckled huskily and looped his muscular arm around me, tugging me into a soothing kiss that lasted for a long moment. "Words can't even begin to express how thankful I am to have you checking in on me, Greg. I'll have to find another way to show you my appreciation."

"I expect that 'another way' to be shown at the same time as those emotions you have for me."

"Oh, it will be."

Laughing, I pecked the half-naked Austin on the lips and separated from him. "All right, let's help Juanita and Wilfred find this ridiculous cavern. I'm assuming it's toward the back of the place."

The two of us wandered to the rear of the mud village, where I presumed the cavern was since it was the least explored part of the swamp. We started to follow a demolished fence, squinting into the dense jungle. In the meantime, Juanita and Wilfred poked their heads into ruined huts.

For a while, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I saw a bunch of tropical plants shaped into an explosion of branches, leaves, and pretty flowers, and eventually, Austin grinned and nudged my shoulder, directing my attention to a dozing sloth adorably attached to a tree trunk's thick bark.

Finally, my eyes swept across a landmark that did not resemble one of the shelters around us, though it did have similar height to them, and its exterior was also infested with moss and vines. I pointed at it to inform Austin, and he called for Juanita and Wilfred. We stared ahead curiously.

"It looks like it could be the opening," the Australian stated. "Should we head over?"

Austin nodded. "Let's see what we've got. If it's not what we need, we'll keep looking."

The four of us stepped over a fallen section of the fence and began sauntering toward the stone in question, which, after we walked around to its front, we realized was the entrance to a pitch-black cavern. A hole had been drilled into the rock and the ground, leading deep into the earth.

"Oh boy," Wilfred commented, "this is... this is a hell of a lot worse than the swamp itself."

My boyfriend blew out a breath, gazing into the steep crater. He pondered for a minute, then turned to the rest of us. "We came this far. We can't go back. Let's get our lights up and going."

Juanita passed a sturdy stick with a cloth wrapped tightly around one end to Austin and another to me. Wilfred sparked a fire on the two pieces of fabric using a clump of flint found on the beach near where our airplane had crashed and a steel pin nabbed from a garment in Isaac's suitcase.

Afterward, Austin ignited the other torches, and everyone faced the cavern. The golden blond stepped forward first. He entered the hollow boulder and lowered his fire to peer into the pit before crouching, sitting on the hole's perimeter, and jumping into it, landing with a soft grunt.

I ran ahead. "Austin?!" I called.

"I'm good! Come on down!" my boyfriend hollered.

Arriving at the cavern's entrance, I glimpsed into the tunnel and saw Austin standing only several feet away. His hand was already prepared to grab mine by the time I sat on the rim and slid off. He made sure I was all right, then urged Juanita to follow. She did, and Wilfred dropped in last.

The only visible course led in one direction, but the Hispanic lady pulled out the map Susie and Velma had copied from the temple, reminding us how many expansive routes were constructed below ground and spread wildly like shrub roots. We were going to have to be incredibly careful.

"All right, listen," Austin spoke, "Velma made the path to the Gem very clear, but if anyone still somehow happens to get lost, stay where you are and shout. The others should hear you well."

"And hey, look at these," Wilfred said, motioning to a few long-forgotten torches hanging on the walls. "I kind of forgot the, er, peasants needed to see, too. I'm glad they left behind their stuff."

"I'm sure there are plenty more lining the walls in the tunnels, so if we need new sticks, we know where to get more. Anything else we need to mention now before we start going any deeper?"

"Well," Juanita began, "I doubt there are any, but we should still be on the lookout for booby traps. I reckon the miners found some good ore down here and wanted to keep it all protected."

"Why do you doubt there are any?"

"Just— There aren't any in the temple, right? I'm not sure why there would be traps down here if there aren't any in the king and queen's temple. I could be wrong, though. Maybe the peasants took advantage of living in their tiny village by protecting what they felt needed to be protected."

Wilfred bobbed his head in understanding. "Hey, at the end of the day, coming across traps is a possibility, so let's keep our eyes peeled. We don't want to get hurt or lose anyone down here."

"Agreed," Austin concurred. "Now if that's all there is to discuss, let's get this over with. We'll see what time it is after we return to the surface and make a plan to get back to Dragonfly Falls then."

The Birds and I nodded, and Austin approached the sole passage, his fire guiding the way. I stuck by his side, and Juanita and Wilfred were no more than five feet behind us. We advanced cautiously, journeying farther into the rainforest's foundation to find a supposedly orange Gem.

********************