Tourist Trap

Chapter 20

"Damn it, I'm hungry," Zeke groaned as he clutched at his stomach. "Do you think we could find something to eat around here that's not poisonous?" 

"I don't know," Daedalus shrugged. "Maybe we can kill a wild rabbit or something. I'll keep my eyes peeled." 

They had descended from the bridge about an hour ago and continued on their downstream course. Daedalus had cut the last remaining rope once Zeke was safely across. It caused another river worm to burst forth when it landed in the water but this time they were well out of harm's way.  

The intervening time had been mostly uneventful, although Zeke had wandered a little too close to a blood sucking plant and sustained a scratch on his hand. He had been in the process of asking why certain plants had body parts attached to them, in this case noses, when he discovered the hard way that they were a means for bloodsuckers to sense nearby prey. Fortunately he had pulled his hand away quickly and suffered only a minor injury. 

Zeke was glad for the relative lack of excitement, but the dull ache in his belly was starting to bother him quite a bit. He hadn't really had much in the way of nourishment for the past few days and he was beginning to feel a little weak.  

His visions of big juicy cheeseburgers were interrupted by a joyous whoop from Daedalus. 

"We're in luck!" the saber-toothed tiger shouted. "Flesh trees!" 

"Say what?" Zeke asked in confusion as he followed his companion's gaze towards a tree that resembled a large purple humanoid arm that ended in a hand with five fingers for branches. Looking closer it did appear to be made of flesh-like substance and he could see large veins protruding through the trunk. 

"These things are a godsend!" Daedalus enthused as he began hacking away at it with his spear. A sizable fountain of blood sprayed out where he had pierced it. 

Despite his intense hunger Zeke felt a wave of nausea wash over him. "You're going to eat that thing?" 

"Of course," Daedalus looked at him like he was crazy. "I'm ravenous. What are you just standing around for? Dig in." 

"Aren't there any edible roots or berries we could forage for?" 

"Do whatever you want, but I'm fixing to have myself a feast," Daedalus said as he prepared a small cooking fire from some sticks and twigs that lay on the ground. 

In the end hunger won out as Zeke realized he was going to have to overcome his aversion to blood or starve. He wrinkled his nose in distaste and cut out a sizable chunk of meat from the tree trunk. "Do these things feel pain?" he wondered aloud. 

"Probably," Daedalus mumbled through a full mouth. "But they don't protest or fight back, so who cares?" 

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Zeke said as he skewered the meat on his spear and held it over the fire to cook. "But I can't help but feel a little sorry for the poor tree." 

"Most of the trees in this jungle would eat you in a second given half the chance," Daedalus replied as he licked at his paws. "Just consider yourself lucky you're on the right side of the food chain this time. Speaking of which, sorry I threatened to eat you back in that pit. I was half-mad with hunger and you just looked so damn tasty." 

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Zeke said, not entirely comfortable with this topic of conversation.  

His meat looked relatively well done so he ventured to take a bite. It could have used a bit of ketchup, but it wasn't too terrible. He polished it off and decided to go back for a second helping.  

"So how'd you get captured by those barbarians anyway?" Zeke asked. "You seem like a pretty formidable fighter. I can't imagine them overpowering you. I know you said you were taking a nap but I still haven't seen you sleep. So what's the deal?"