Jungle Tango

A romantic adventure. A short story. Dave's next challenge.

This story was another challenge given to me by

The Man Behind the Screen

, and oh boy did it make me sweat! Jokes aside, I’m not confident about this story. The setting was supposed to be a jungle, plus a dashing adventurer and his cunning female companion. The story might be a bit rough, but I gave it a shot, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.🩶

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“Unbelievable! You’re unbelievable!” He yelled into the humming, grim twilight of the ancient jungle. Rarely a man had set foot in these lands, every step meant breaking through a thick wall of parasite-infested plants. As if it wasn’t enough, he had to deal with this self-proclaimed explorer, in other words, a whiny bimbo…

“I saved your life, mister! You should show a little gratitude and help me out here!”

Johnny gave a loud laughter in reply, breaking his way through the thorny flora.

She was insane! She was the reason Johnny got into this nonsensical situation in the first place! Damn! He should’ve been more careful! It took him a full hour to comprehend that the young mechanic the agency sent to substitute the retired José, wasn’t a mechanic at all! In fact, it wasn’t even a man!

“If it wasn’t for you, I’d be in the village already, not having a nice afternoon walk through Los arbustos del infierno!” Johnny bellowed. This part of the jungle wasn’t the place you’d want to end up in with a crashed and burned plane, and a dead pilot.

An easy job, that’s what this was supposed to be. Just a quick flight to the village over a deadly part of the jungle to visit a mad professor who had been lost to all communication over the last couple of weeks. Apparently, his daughter was just as mad as the professor! Not only did she hire Johnny through the detective agency, but when they refused her presence on the plane, she bribed them and disguised as a man! Everybody knew Johnny would never take a woman into the jungle along with him.

“Let me remind you I pulled you out of the burning plane!” She screamed behind his back.

“Which would not be necessary, if you were a real mechanic!”

“I am a real mechanic! The plane was fine! Your pilot was drunk!”

“My pilot is always drunk! Never once did he crash!”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything! Wait up, please!” The young woman limped behind him on the thorny narrow path he cut through with his machete. That, a kettle for water and a couple more items were what they managed to salvage before the plane burned to a crisp.

In truth, Cristina did save him. When they crashed, Johnny had banged his head and passed out. She pulled him out the burning corpse of the plane and slapped his cheeks until he woke up.

“What did you say?!” He yelled.

“Wait up, please!”

“I didn’t quite hear that!”

“Please!” She squealed.

“That’s the reason I don’t like women on my jobs, you’re always in need of saving!” Johnny grunted pacing back to her.

“You think you’re so tough?! You’re nothing but a…” she didn’t finish, because Johnny pulled out his pistol, marching toward her with a determined stare in his brown eyes, his steady hand holding the gun firmly, pointed at her forehead.

“No!” She wheezed as the shot rang through the rainforest.

The next thing Cris heard was Johnny’s laughter. She opened her eyes to Johny raising something up from the ground. It was an emerald tree boa, obviously the snake had been hanging above Cris’s head just seconds before the gunshot.

“You could’ve said something before shooting!”

“Okay, next time I’ll talk first and shoot later, maybe the snake will wait,” Johnny shrugged, grinning. Cris hissed at his charming smile. He was shamelessly handsome for a job this dangerous; leading explorers to an ancient village, he was well-known by the indigenous villagers, bringing them medicine and other supplies from the ‘civilized world’. A tall dashing guy, tawny from an obvious indigenous ancestry, with a wide frame, and a handsome bearded face. The only reminder of the perilous business he did for a living was a large scar across his left cheek.

He shoved the dead snake into his sachet.

“What do we need that for?”

“We?!”

“You’re not leaving me here! It’s not my fault I sprained my ankle! You can’t leave me!”

Johnny took a deep breath.

“And what am I getting out of it?!”

Cristina or Cris was how she introduced herself disguised as a man, gave Johnny an infuriated stare from her squinted eyes.

“Everybody clamed you’re a gentleman!” She spat out.

“Even gentlemen have their needs!” He retorted innocently but turned serious right after. “Listen, lady! I’d love to have fun, but this isn’t the right time or the place. We won’t make it to the village till the dark, so we must build a shelter. And quick,” he looked around the rainforest wildlife. Both heard the green dusk crawling with unseen life, it was only a matter of time before the darkness of the jungle would feed on them.

“Even I don’t want to stick around here at night. Los arbustos del infierno is no joke,” he said.

“Please, don’t leave me!” She begged looking around with fear, something was observing them from the depth of the untamed wildlife, some hateful power following them from the crashed plane, and if not for Cris spraining her ankle a moment ago, they wouldn’t have lingered in this spot.

“It won’t get better around here. We have to get a move on, see if we can find a safer place to spend the night.” Johnny made her grab onto him, and they moved onward, fighting through the stubborn plants, thorns ripping their clothes, Johnny sweating like never before.

Luckily, they found a small puddle with a pure water source filling it, the area was as gloomy as everything around here, but at least it was something. Johnny got to making their shelter without hesitation; the night was approaching. To his great surprise Cris gladly helped him despite her hurt ankle. 

“Hm…”

“Hm - what?” She asked.

“Maybe, you’re not a useless bimbo after all,” he said grinning.

“Of course, I’m not! I’m a mechanic!” She replied proudly, both stared into each other’s eyes until they burst out laughing.

But there was not much time for fun. After putting together the rough shelter, Johnny struggled to make a fire in the humid air, while Cris stared at the sweat drops sliding down his bare chest.

“What?” He growled.

“The agency said you’re the best.”

“I am the best, trust me.” The fiery stare of his brown eyes dug into Cris’s blue eyes, until she blushed and turned away.

He managed to start the fire right before the dark. The smoke drove away the clouds of buzzing mosquitos, woken by the pitch-black darkness. And dark it was indeed. Never before had Cris heard sounds so terrifying, while Johnny had heard them far too often, and knew the danger they brought with them.

There was only one bedding underneath the rough roof of the shelter. A small rain dripped onto the canopy. Chris couldn’t imagine falling asleep in the darkness of the jungle; even the air seemed alive, filled with tiny parasites waiting to suck the life out of her.

Johnny cleared his throat.

“Go get some rest. I’ll sit on guard and keep the fire burning.”

“If you’d try a bit harder, I might even believe you’re a gentleman,” she said, “thank you for the kind offer, but I can’t sleep in this…”

A sudden noise made her go quiet. A menacing hiss nearing and turning into a growl. Footsteps parting the jungle plants, two red dots floating toward the from the darkness.

Cris gave a shriek. Johnny got up and marched toward the red eyes, with his gun held at them. He fired a shot, a low quiet growl marked the silence, then the red dots disappeared.

“Did you kill it?” Cris whispered as Johnny returned to the fire. She wrapped around him, tiny and frightened, shivering from the fright and cold.

“I don’t think so.”

“What was that thing?”

“The villagers told me of the red beast living in this area. I’ve never met it before. Guess, there’s a first time for everything,” he smirked.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to scare you,” Johnny looked into her eyes smiling, “thought you had enough excitement for one day.”

“Aren’t you at least a tiny bit scared?” She squeezed him tighter, hiding in his embrace.

“No, I’m not afraid of anything,” he replied with the flames of their fire reflecting in his dark eyes, “and you?”

“I’m scared we won’t survive till morning. I’m scared I’ll never see my father again. I’m… afraid I’ll die without ever… falling in love or learning to tango. I never thought I’d want to learn it, but I do now…”

“Oh, tango? I can teach you.”

“Can you?” She looked at him with disbelief.

“I spent five years in Buenos Aires,” he assumed the position required for the dance, still holding her close, and whispered in her ear, “you haven’t truly lived until you’ve learned to tango.”

They moved slowly around the fire, despite the thick darkness of the buzzing and shrieking nighttime jungle around them. Cris forgot herself dancing in his strong arms. After quite a while she whispered,

“You fulfilled my wish. Thank you.”

“I can fulfil another one, if you want…” he said, before their lips met with fiery passion.

Oh, the jungle was dark, and the night frightening, but they made love despite the notion of death threats surrounding them, or maybe because of it? Their heated bodies danced lying in the light of the dying embers, and the dawn found them still holding each other close.

“Eeeh, hola Juanito! Dormiste bien?” A hoarse voice full of ridicule woke Cris from her sweet slumber. Johnny laid by her side, wide grin all over his face. He smiled at a group of indigenous villagers standing around the half-naked lovers.

Johnny exchanged some pleasantries with the men and Cris got the impression they knew each other well.

“Ask them! Is my father well?” She begged. After a short conversation she found out, the professor indeed was ill, but he was recovering in the village.

“So, tell me; did you know they’d find us in the morning?” Cris asked Johnny holding on to him, and limping slowly onward, as the men led them to the village.

“Well… I knew they would see the smoke from the plane and our fire, but they would never investigate it in the dark,” he replied innocently.

Cris slapped his cheek, while the villagers smirked and chuckled.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” She yelled in Johnny’s face.

“And if I did, would it stop you?” He smiled warmly. Cris raised her arm for another slap but kissed him instead.

“I lied,” he said quietly after the kiss.

“What?”

“I am afraid of something. I’m scared of growing old alone. Would you… become my partner? I could use a good mechanic.”

“Is that a proposal?” She said bursting out in happy laughter.

“I am a gentleman, and you’re the best woman I’ve ever met.”

Whatever she whispered in his ear, Johnny raised her up and swirled in a dance, while the villagers cheered and laughed.

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