In the Sun

vii.

I awoke to sense something creepily crawling on my foot, tickling me...partially (and awkwardly). As a consequence, I jolted, opening my eyes and attempting to get a fix on the source of my continuing discomfort. I sat up and homed in on my foot. To my horror, I discovered a large, hairy, black tarantula traversing my ankle. my terrifying shrill reverberated and the ensuing echo was deafening.

I stood up and shook off the repulsive spider. It landed some distance away on the rocky bottom of the slimy humid cave. Luckily, it made no effort whatsoever to come near me again. I took this opportunity to sprint out of the cave.

I don't mind critters...ordinarily...after all, they were living creatures just like humans. However, when they decide to come near me is when they're terrifyingly confronting...scary. I can't help but shudder in disgust every time they approach me. As long as they stay away and don't crawl on me or near me, I was fine.

As I ran outside, exhilarating warm sun-rays were in abundance...I froze as it was spellbinding. The sunlight was pure and refreshing in contrast to the dark, eerie and peculiar environs of the cave. Being slime ridden and overpopulated with creepy crawlies added an alternate macabre dimension of freakiness to the cave.

I proceeded to walk and after a little while, was happy to observe that everybody else was awake. They were all collectively sitting on the beach, sharing small pieces from one coconut amongst themselves. It made me think...we were going to need to get more coconuts (at some point). I made my way over to them, trying my best to trudge through the soft beach as sand continually filled my shoes.

When I did get to them...something was wrong. Someone was missing. It was Irene...she wasn't there.

She was gone.

"Where's Irene?" I asked, reaching the group.

"I don't know," Elvira shrugged. "We haven't seen her since last night."

"Did she mention that she was going to go anywhere yesterday?"

"No,"

Paranoia gripped me. What if she had inadvertently wandered into the jungle overnight while everyone else was asleep? She could've fallen victim to those...things...or people...or whatever the hell they were.

Discomforting thoughts raced through my mind, such as; had she been subjected to horrid and ghastly acts or simply slaughtered mercilessly? I didn't know Irene all that well; I'd only met her the previous night. She seemed like a nice girl. If, unfortunately, she'd met with foul play and died while I was asleep, that would be tragic. Like the rest of my current group of friends, I couldn't imagine living with that guilt, particularly for the rest of our lives.

I glanced over towards everyone else, they'd been staring at me and waiting for me to respond.

"We need to find her," I declared.

Not wanting to hang around for any input, I took the initiative and darted off into the jungle, trying to run as fast as was practicable. It was as though the jungle had become denser and more impenetrable. The extremely thick vegetation and tangled vines was an amalgamated web of chaos.

"Irene!" I cried. "Irene, where are you?

Irene...oh come on Irene!"

As I was yelling out at the top of my lungs, my throat began to hurt. It felt raw.

My efforts were in vain, no replies were forthcoming. Nevertheless, I tried again and again, but there was still no response. No matter how loud I called out, or how attentively I listened for a reply...no response came...I heard nothing. It felt surreal, though the chirping of birds and the myriad of sounds including rustling ferns, slapping leaves and cracking branches dispelled the silence from prevailing.