Julie and the Monkey Witch

Chapter 6

Julie had never been so scared since her fateful meeting with Kainak. All she could think about was whether or not the man she loved was alright, and that made her run through the jungle brush feel like it was both agonizingly slow and rushed.

"Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead!" she breathed with each footfall and jumped over the fallen branches. Each footfall left a footprint, and although she knew the researchers would be following, she'd left them behind in her dust by now.

As soon as Gina told her that Kainak had been cut off, she screamed Kainak's name, bolted from the village before they could stop her. And she ran as fast as she could. This sudden departure was both surprising and unsurprising. The researchers knew how much Kainak meant to Julie, and how much she loved him, but you don't expect someone to take off without a second word to escape back into the wild.

The researchers themselves were right behind her, following the footprints she'd left in the soft soil. Judging by how straight, but erratic they were, they knew she was making a beeline for the treehouse. "You just HAD to make it sound like he was dead!" John complained.

"I don't know if he's dead!" Gina replied.

Then you should've told her that!"

"Does it look like she cares!?" Gina replied again. "Just keep your eyes peeled for the treehouse!"

"Roger that!"

Unfortunately for them, Julie had already started to climb in some of the trees. It's not like she was going to care, there was, after all, one thing on her mind, and that was Kainak. Jumping from branch to branch, she was more determined than ever to make sure Kainak was okay. Even if the researchers lost her, she knew, although that was not on her mind right now, that they would find the treehouse. They've been there before.

The brown façade of the treehouse came into view. Standing on one of the branches and panting, she looked for any signs of life. A few stunned monkeys laid around. At least Kainak didn't go down without a fight, at least as far as she knew.

But inside, there wasn't much. And while the façade obscured a lot of the interior, it didn't exactly inspire much confidence. For all she knew, Kainak could have been dragged off and taken to be tied up in a way that some sick fuck on the Intarwebz can jack off to his misery and suffering.

And that only made her more afraid.

She jumped onto the porch, ran inside, and looked around. The place was kind of a mess with stuff lying around—a few books were thrown about, the island map had footprints covering it, and the globe was knocked over. But she ignored them and instead went straight to the HAM radio. It was busted up pretty bad.

If Kainak was alive, then at least he had a reason for not contacting anyone. Especially with the microphone cut.

But a million thoughts ran wild in her head, which she gripped with both hands like she was Psyduck. Kainak couldn't be dead!

She prided herself on her independence, and while she didn't "need" Kainak, she loved him.

And he meant so much to her that yes, it was nearly impossible—

"I was wondering when you were going to get here."

Could it be? She turned and saw him standing in the doorway, wiping his hands with a towel and looking very confused. But it didn't matter to her, and she raced over to him, threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "You're alive," she said tearfully. "Oh, thank the gods."

"Yeah," he replied, holding her tightly. They didn't let go and didn't want to let go for several minutes. Kainak understood Julie's relief and fear, so he didn't say anything. Instead, he let her calm down, touching his clean, soft, and smooth skin (while he felt hers) and sniff his jungle smell. Believe it or not, he smelled nice.