Camp

When we both landed in the clearing, the friction from grinding down had burned down the bottom of my shoes off.

I saw crates and tents everywhere. I took what remained of my shoes off and left them by the crates. It only made me more excited. Duncan and Dawn must be here! I couldn’t wait to see my friends again.

“Jane!” Tarzan called before stumbling into the closest tent.

I followed her in and saw that the only occupant was a young woman in her 20s with fair skin and long brown hair.

“Tarzan!” She said in surprise, her voice heavy in an American accent, looking up, and then noticed me, “And who is this?”

“Uh, hi there, I’m-” I began to introduce myself.

“Oh, you speak English!” Jane interrupted curiously, clearly delighted with the prospects of meeting someone else with a complete vocabulary. I couldn’t help but wonder if she only had Tarzan to talk to all day, “So then, obviously you’re not related to Tarzan… Are you here with the next expedition then, already? To study the Mangani?”

From reading the novels, I understood that the Mangani were a fictional ape species in this world.

“Highly doubtful,” another voice, clearly belonging to a British woman, replied, and we turned to watch an athletic woman with a double-barrelled shotgun stride into the tent. She had long black hair tied with a crimson band into a ponytail.

I noticed she kept her finger on the trigger. Following close behind her were Glaze and Tank.

“Felix!” Tank cried, and both she and Glaze ran to me.

“Glaze! Tank!” I cheered.

And then I remembered, and I could tell that Glaze remembered too: The fight on the Great Fox. I bet Glaze was gonna try and order us to leave. As if!

And with that, both me and Glaze crossed our arms as we determinedly looked away from each other.

“Aw shucks, you guys,” Tank said, looking to them both distraughtly, “We’re all together again! Can’t we work together?”

“I don’t know,” Glaze scoffed, “Can we?”

“Not with this guy I can’t,” I said, “Tank, where’s the Great Fox?”

“Why, so you can crash it again?” Glaze cut in before Tank could say anything, and I fumed.

“Oh, don’t start fighting again! Let’s make the most of this!” Tank pleaded and turned to me, “The cricket’s got it, it’s not too far from here.”

“Great Fox…?” Jane trailed off questioningly as she looked between us.

The British woman shrugged, "I found these strange creatures out in the jungle. I was close to shooting them until the red one talked. Almost shot then, too," she cleared her throat, "Disregard them, they’re just a circus of clowns. They’re not much use for hunting Mangani.”

“Ms. Clayton," Jane said forcefully, "We’re studying them! Not hunting them! This is research!”

Jane sighed as she turned back to us with a trying smile, her skirt swaying with the movement.

“Well, the more the merrier! Do make yourselves at home. So, do you have a name?"

Glaze didn't reply, so Tank spoke up, "I'm Tank, ma'am, and this here is Glaze," she chuckled, "She's kinda grumpy."

"I presume you’re Felix?”

“Yep!”

“Well," Jane curtsied formally, "I’m Jane Porter. I'm pleased to meet such creatures as yourselves. I had no idea this jungle might hide such unique beings. Please, if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask. And that was Ms. Willa Cecil Clayton. She’s here to navigate me through the jungle on our study expedition. Do excuse her demeanour, she’s simply rather set in her ways, if you will. And her mother was pushed off a cliff by gorillas."

"Well, anyway..." I said.

"I'm staying," the words had come from both me and Glaze at the same time.

"Huh?" I asked, "Fine. I'll let you tag along. For now."

“’Let you tag along’?! Why you little-!”

“Apparently, Tarzan was raised in this jungle by the Mangani," Jane explained, "Communicating with her still isn’t easy, but she’s learning.”

“So she was speaking in ‘Mangani’ back there?”

"Ah, that's right," Jane said with a nod of her head.

“I'm looking for Duncan and Dawn. I thought Tarzan said they’d be here, but I guess I misunderstood. I wish I could actually talk to her, though, to make sure,” I frowned.

"Well, you're the first people I've seen in months!" Jane started, followed by murmur, "And you are already better company than Ms. Clayton."

"That leaves just one place. Young man, we've been in this jungle for some time now. But we have yet to encounter these friends of yours," Clayton turned and pointed to Tarzan, "If they are indeed here, I'd wager they're with the Mangani. But Tarzan refuses to take us to them."

Jane sighed, exasperated, "Really, Ms. Clayton. Tarzan wouldn't hide-"

Clayton walked over, past Jane, and stood above Tarzan's crouched form.

"Then take us there!" Clayton demanded loudly, "Take us to the Mangani. Man-ga-ni."

"Tarzan go see Kerchak," she spoke in broken English.

"Tarzan, are you sure? Who is Kerchak?" Jane asked with a small measure of awe.

"He must be the leader. Perfect. I'll go along as an escort," Clayton nodded with a grin, "After all, the jungle is a dangerous place."