Jack shivered, his body vibrating as a gentle but chilly breeze blew through the jungle interior, eroding his body heat. He gazed  at the moon, clutching a 3 foot long smooth branch harder as he sought to keep himself warm. The branch was something he picked up in case he had to fend off some wild animal; Jack assumed there might have been large predatory cats or dogs here, he didn’t know what exactly but he wasn’t going to take any chances.

 He could hear the croak of frogs, the chirping of crickets and other sounds from animals he could not discern by ear. Despite the lack of barking or snarls, he believed that if a predator wanted him dead, it wouldn’t announce its arrival through sound; it would do so by sinking its claws and teeth into Jack’s flesh.

 He noted bitterly how upbeat he had felt just after leaving Jessica’s oversized house but as he traversed the island’s forested interior and encountered problem after problem, the same positive feeling had seeped away, replaced by one thought: He had made a huge mistake.

 As the night went by, Jack realised he had vastly overestimated the warmth of the tropics. Sure, it could be sweltering under the midday sun but night brought with it the unmistakable bite from the cold winds sweeping through the land.

Then there were the mosquitoes that saw him as an open buffet, his arms and legs bore the marks from their feeding, reddish bumps from where his clothes had failed to shield him from their proboscis.

 His ill fitting clothes ,both top and bottom covered him more like a sheet than actual garments ought to, the sleeves covering his arms when fully extended with the pant legs dragging on the floor. Jack had remedied this by stuffing his pants into his shoes but nature had opened up new holes in his anti-mosquito defence, his clothes getting caught on sharp branches and getting torn  as Jack yanked them free.

   A howl, coming from deep within the forest kept his mind on high alert, his body now sporting goosebumps but not because of the cold, this was fear. Jack looked around wildly, holding his branch out. He paused to look beyond the canopy at the house he had left, the towering structure could still be seen. He considered heading back, it would be easy to go back, he’d just walk towards the house.

 The mere of thought it though, repulsed Jack, the idea of returning with his tail between his legs, head hung low from defeat would be too shameful for him to survive. He could picture Jessica, standing proudly over him and laughing at his latest failure. It hurt more than a pimple inside the nose.

  “ No, not ever coming back to you, I’ll die in this jungle before I admit I’m wrong,” Jack growled. He’d have to keep going, if he wished to avoid Jessica catching him then he’d have to go so far that the house would be lost amongst the horizon.

 “ No point sleeping,” he said to himself, the mere thought of being proven wrong by Jessica enough to get him off his feet. His branch held loosely in his right hand, he did a one hundred and eighty degree turn and calmly walked off further into the forest, the cacophony of animal calls broken by the rhythmic crunch of dehydrated leaves under Jack’s foot.  

***********

 Jessica moved as quietly as a mouse, she had to use the bathroom. Her hair was a mess after rolling about in her sleep but she ignored that, focusing on trying not to wake Jack, he’d probably scold her for having elephantine feet. Jessica cupped her hand over mouth, giggling at the absurdity of her made up insult.

  She turned the knob ever so delicately and squeezed into the door before closing it with the equivalent amount of force.

 Pulling down her shorts, she had gone commando for the day, she lowered her pert cheeks onto the metal throne, a slight tingle from the cool surface of it. Once she felt secure, she let loose a stream of yellow from her privates, enjoying this private moment.

 While doing so, her thoughts were on how she’d entertain Jack before her father arrived, she had a hunch he’d need more than Monopoly to keep him quiet, her head throbbed as his voice, with that crisp and overly proper English accent that only enhanced his doucheness played in her head, berating her for some minor transgressions.

 “ I bet he’d say I piss too loud or something,” Jessica was half-serious about it, the tinkling of her urine against the curved metal was all she could hear now.

 “ Then again, he does have a very unique perspective on things and the balls to tell it to everyone,” Jessica smiled sweetly but wondered if she was that desperate for company she settled for this uncouth specimen of a man. Still, she’d glimpsed a decent human beneath the layers of arrogance, inconsiderate, whiny and immaturity Jack cloaked himself with, perhaps he’d let that guy out more often.

When she finished, she decided to take a little peek at Jack, if only to see how he slept. She had a hunch he slept like a child, curled up in a fetal position.

Moving like a ballerina gliding across the stage, she peered down at the collection of pillows she used to create a makeshift bed for Jack; She saw nothing. Her smile collapsed faster than a straw hut in an earthquake when she only saw her pillow sans sleeping guest.

 “ Jack?!” Jessica was starting to panic, she couldn’t afford to have anything happen to him.She couldn’t let it happen a second time, the first incident was bad enough to get her sent here, she wouldn’t allow lightning to strike twice.

Jessica carefully moved to the light switch, watching where her feet landed in case Jack couldn’t get out of her way. She flipped it on, the room now as bright as day. Jessica searched every inch of the room , under the bed, behind pillows, anywhere a regular person could hide in.

 “ Jack, this better not be some sick joke, this is not funny!” Jessica called out to him while on her hands and knees in the hope  he’d stick his head out, his sides split from laughter because of how concerned she’d gotten over his safety like a parent searching for a lost child at an amusement park.

 She got nothing, nothing from him and she had exhausted every possible hiding spot in the room. She absentmindedly flipped her hair back as she got back up.

 She scratched her chin while in thought before the open door gave her an idea. As she ran through it in her head, it seemed to make more sense, she wished it were untrue but it was the only one that seemed plausible.

“Jack, why would you run away?” The very thought of it actually hurt her, was she that bad a host he had to run off?Given his defiant nature, she knew where he would go. The thought of him going there despite her pleas not to coupled with his betrayal of her feelings enraged her, a feeling that only grew as she searched for him. It was the equivalent of Jack flipping her off.

She flung open the door, the cold night air pricking her skin as she ran through the beach to the only place where anyone stood a chance of getting away from her: the rainforest.She stopped running when she was on the edge of the island interior, marked out by being covered in rainforest , the exterior mostly beach.

 “ You idiot, I told you not to go there but you still did. You better be in danger or else I’m leaving you there when I find you!” She roared with rage, the trees nearest to her trembling from the power of her shout, their thin trunks and slender branches vibrating.

 Jessica tried to squeeze through a narrow gap between two palm trees, both trees groaning as her curvaceous hips and large bust pushed them apart.

 “ Oh screw it!” Jessica swiped to her right, snapping the trunk as if it were a toothpick, it fell to the ground with a thundering crash. The act of doing so felt somewhat relieving to her, to let off the steam Jack built up in her.

 “ When I find you, you’re going to get what you deserve Jack!”

*******

“ Shite, she knows I’m gone,” Jack quickened his pace as he advanced on the little creek he found.  No doubt the entire island knew what he’d done, piss off the giant, her scream easily reaching all four corners of it. Glancing back, he didn’t see Jessica bearing down on him but he had problems closer to him for now, one being he was parched.

 He had drank adequate volumes of liquids while in the house but even so, it was barely enough to offset what he had lost through sweat. Which is what led him here, standing in front of a stream, its crystal clear waters reflecting the moon and stars above.

Jack placed his stick to his right and bent down, cupping water from the creek to sate his thirst. It was a relief to him, as satisfying as scratching an itch on the middle of your back. Jack progressed with great gusto, scooping as much as his hands would allow and gulping entire mouthfuls down.

  He would have continued until his belly bulged from the sheer volume of water but a rough growl told him he wasn’t alone. Slowly, he looked up and saw three wild dogs, their breed indistinguishable but likely the result of several generations of mixed breeding. Their fur, short and matted from the kind of grooming only years of living in the wild can bring about, their thick snouts concealing a row of razor sharp teeth and their eyes, Jack knew they were hungry, hungry for him.

  It had been luck of the worst kind, to be in their crosshairs after he paused to drink at a slender stream and once the trio of canines locked eyes with him, they were never going to pass up such a succulent supper, not when it had come to them. Jack could not identify the species although they resembled a wolf but more worn out in appearance. Also, judging by their lean frames and the hunger reflected in their dark irises, he had to run.

Jack took off at full speed and his predators obliged with a chase, their barks echoing through the forest. He twisted through tight spaces, believing they’d choose something other than him if he proved to them how much of a hassle it was just to catch him. The dogs did the same, hunger driving them closer to him.

 He ran for what felt like ages, no longer focused on what was on the peripherals of his vision but what was ahead and what was at his back, getting closer with each step.

“ Oh god, I am going to-” Jack tripped, a stray root catching him unawares and sending him tumbling down a forty degree incline. Various thorns, branches and even tiny rocks dug into his skin, leaving tiny bruises and cuts where they were, their size made up for by the sheer numbers of it.

 When he finally hit the ground, it was through some miracle that he had not broken any bone in his body. However, he did have the wind knocked out of him. Once it came back to him, he moved quickly and much to his dismay, the dogs had followed him.

 The four of them were now in a rather large clearing, the ground was hard with granite tips protruding from the ground, the rest of it covered in thick patches of grass where they was no rock to be found.

 “ Okay, come on you, I am not scared of a dog,” Jack said with venom. He bent slightly, readying himself for the inevitable deathmatch.

“ I’m not even afraid of three of you! You’re all bloody cowards, ganging up on poor me. Well lets not waste anytime then, to the death it is!” Jack beat his fist against chest in show of his machismo.

 His attackers spread out in a slow and methodical fashion, encircling him. Jack wheeled around slowly, careful not to leave a blindspot. He had lost his weapon in the fall and would have to rely on his bare fists.

This slow dance of death continued, neither party wishing to strike until it felt victory was assured. Jack shifted about, his eyes looking for weapon and as his felt struck a loose rock the size of his fist, he decided it would do. His mistake was bending forward, the sudden change in pose prompting the dog in front to attack.

 Jack let out his best war cry, laden with anger and extreme displeasure with how the past day had gone. He struck the mongrel animal square across the jaw with it, a loud crunch where bone met mineral.

 It whimpered and retreated back a few steps  but the other two were far  from done, leaping in to avenge their comrade’s injury. Jack managed to get a kick but the other got a hold of his right arm.

 “ AAAAHHHH!!!!” Jack’s pained outburst, higher in pitch than his normal voice was felt, the vice like grip of his foe’s jaw and razor sharp canines setting his nerves ablaze. He felt his tissue sliced apart by the sheer force of the bite.

 With his free hand, he jabbed at its eyes, the softest and most delicate part of its face. Instantly, the jaw released his arm and he pulled it free, rivers of blood spewing from his hand. He tried to stand, the pain was making it hard to focus, his vision blurry and the ground uneven, it was shaking, as if he were caught in an earthquake, even the savage beasts before him were experiencing it.

“ Wait, that’s not right…” He noted worryingly, shouldn’t such hallucinations be restricted to him. Each of the dogs had noticed it too and all turned in the direction of snapping bark. Trees were being flung aside , collapsing into a heap. Jack felt his stomach flutter, he knew what was coming.

Jessica.

 ******

   Jessica spotted the clearing, she’d never been here but once she heard the barks, she knew where to go, her ears picking up on the sound all too easily and unlike most people, she was able to pinpoint the direction of the sound.

 Jack’s screams moments later confirmed it , she was going at full speed after that, crashing through anything that was in her way. Trees and any plant life were smashed to a pulp under her  When she reached the incline, it was knee high to her but she was more focused on the scene unfolding before her very eyes.

  Her heart pumped furiously as she tensed up at the sight before. While the far end of the clearing could be reached through several long strides, she was aware of how little time she had.

  She’d have to eliminate the threat before she dealt with Jack. Bending her knees slightly, she aimed for the dog closest to her, it would give her the biggest margin for error. Then she pushed herself off, jumping hundreds of feet in to the air.

 A shadow fell on her target, the dog trying its best to get out of the crush zone but alas, it was too slow and became a flattened mess of blood and guts, a smear on the underside of her foot.

*******

Jack was thrown back by the force of Jessica landing, the impact  cracked the granite that lay beneath the surface, leaving him flat on his ass.  Something wet hit his cheek and when he tasted the liquid, he instantly gagged for it was blood. Jack looked at Jessica’s feet, she had crushed an animal! He backed away slowly as he let Jessica work her magic.

 With one swing of her arm, Jessica used the  dog to her left as a baseball, the back of her hand launching it high into the air. The only sound it made had come from each bone shattering from the force of the impact, there was no opportunity for a bark or a growl.

 Jessica turned to the last dog and with one stomp, crushed its body to a bloody pulp.Jack watched on in both fear and admiration. He had tried to be tough around them, they thrashed him after calling his bluff but Jessica had dealt with them as if they were roached.

 With moon at her back, Jack could not get a proper look at her face , Jessica’s silhouette was visible. Jessica approached him ,Jack’s heart in his mouth as she stood over him, pausing to choose her next move. Jack could not see it from all the way below thanks to her chest but had been able to see her, he would have noticed the disgusted expression on her face, her sneer as she eyed the pathetic little man before her.

For Jack, this was the first time he was seeing Jessica from the ground and it filled him with a sense of wonder, as if he were a goddess for the first time. Her toes wiggled, causing slight tremors before she finally made a move, grabbing Jack by the back of his shirt and pulling him up by his shirt using her thumb and index finger.

 “ Hey, you could at least-”

“ SHUT UP!” Jessica’s voice was as loud as a thunderclap, Jack grabbing his ears in pain. For the first time since he arrived on the island, he had a real reason to be afraid of Jessica, who eyed him with a great amount of irascibility. He was screwed.