Jungle of Deceit by Maureen A. Miller

the far bend was at such a great distance it blurred into an obscure merger of dirt and sky. The visible corner was capped with a security turret and two armed guards paced its perimeter like Stormtroopers on the Death Star.
    These people knew they were coming .
    Around her, an open courtyard of compressed red dirt and patchy grass resembled any prison grounds, but twenty yards away the earth yielded to a bed of cement and meticulous landscaping. Potted trees and sculpted bushes hugged the entrance to the first building and beyond that she noticed a fountain spouting water into a holding pool. The prisms captivated her as if inside this magical world fire did not exist−only rainbows. The fountain could have been plucked from the memorial gardens of a cemetery. The huge basin tempted her to run her fingertips through it, but she gave it a wide berth as if arsenic churned in the froth. A few more steps and it felt that the further she delved into the compound the more civilized the complex became.
    “ Señorita,” Solis held his hand out as they passed the first edifice, a two-story cinderblock structure painted the same almond color as the surrounding barricade. The building was tall, but not enough to be visible from outside.
    Alex looked past it towards the row of barracks.
    “ These are the living quarters,” he explained. “You are welcome to clean and rest here.” He pointed to a single-story edifice with very few windows, a building that looked more like a warehouse than living quarters. But if her men could clean up and get something to drink, it would afford her the time she needed to gather her wits.
    “ Thank you, that is very gracious.” She glanced over her shoulder at the fortified gate shocked to see the soldiers rolling the hoses back on their reels.
    “ What are they doing?” Alex cried. “Why are they stopping?”
    Solis placed a consoling hand on her forearm, which she shrugged off.
    “ There is no recourse but to let the fire burn itself out. The hoses aren’t going to help. They were a precaution from back before we excavated the perimeter. Don’t worry, you’re safe in here.”
    “ The wildlife…” she hesitated. “−you’re just leaving it to be slaughtered?”
    Alex recognized that Solis was right. They could not battle a jungle fire with a few hoses−a water gun would have just as much an effect. But the devastation and the loss of flora and fauna made her scramble for options.
    For the first time, Solis’s congenial smile faltered−and for a second she saw the eyes of the jaguar again. It lurked beneath black eyebrows, circling her, stalking her.
    “ Yes,” he said.
    Yes ?
    A portion of the Petén jungle was aflame, giving the air an acrid scent nourished by the spring heat, but Alex felt a chill that no amount of warmth could combat. In single file, her group was ushered into the building, swallowed by the shadowed doorway. When the last man paused and waited for her to join, Alex moved forward with the fervor of one heading to the gallows.
     
    “ Look, Alex, we’re safe,” Wes rationalized.
    “ The photographer isn’t here,” Chuck pointed out, his fist tapping against the wall as if testing its resilience. “Always wandering off, that guy was. With his luck he wandered far enough this time.” He shook his head.
    “ Mitch was right there with us.” Alex sat on a metal bench, fascinated by the blackened toe of her boot. “He was right next to me.” Her voice caught.
    Wes placed a hand on her shoulder. “It was chaos. Tim and Zach−and then the explosion−we were focused on that, and then−then it was just survival.”
    It was the last time she recalled seeing Mitch. He had his arm around her waist. No one touched her in such an intimate manner. No one dared. He held her for a moment, sensing her need for that reinforcement−or perhaps it was that his words rang true from earlier. Maybe I’m starting to feel a little something for you, Alex .
    He was an