Julie and the Monkey Queen

Chapter 2

Things didn't go as well for Julie as she hoped. It turned out that she miscalculated/misjudged how far away the Teo Tribe's village was from the clearing they were in. She and Unaki jumped from tree to tree for what felt like several hours. It was already difficult to tell what time it was because of the thick foliage blocking the sun.

She stopped on one tree, getting down into a primal stance while Unaki struggled to reach the branch. The Paea girl gingerly balanced herself on the already-thick branch and walked up to Julie. "Do you know where you are?" she asked.

"Of course I do!" Julie replied excitedly. But although she tried to put on a brave face, she feared Unaki could see her nervousness a mile away.

"You do not know where we are," Unaki said, confirming Julie's fears. "And besides, I do not know who you are, and what you are doing on this island, palewoman."

"Well, I came here a year-and-a-half ago as part of what's known as a 'research expedition'," she said. "I'm from a land far away called California. I decided to live my life here because I fell in love with the jungle man Kaitan."

"You know Kaitan!?" Unaki said.

"He's my lover," she replied. "Do you trust me now?"

"A friend of Kaitan is a friend of the island," said Unaki. "I apologize for not trusting you."

"Well, I don't exactly blame you," said Julie. "So... um... how about you? What's your story?"

"I would rather be as far away from Oranta as possible," said Unaki. "She is... frightening."

"I don't blame you," said Julie. "Come on, let's see if we can find the village." She stood up, grabbed a vine and began to swing away.

Julie eventually knew where she was, as she could see the smoke rising from the tree line. It was only a matter of time until they reached the village of the Teo Tribe.

But things did not go as well as hoped. Out of the blue, a monkey jumped out of the foliage and swiped at Unaki. The Paea girl stumbled and almost collided with the tree.

"Unaki!" Julie shouted. A flash appeared and caught Unaki, and Julie sighed. "Thanks, honey!"

"You're welcome, Julie!" the brown-haired man, built like a gymnast and wearing nothing but a Tarzan loincloth replied. He gently set Unaki on the ground. The girl looked him over and blushed, making Julie shake her head. Kaitan, like Julie, was a paleman. However, he is the aforementioned Canadian (from Winnipeg, to be exact) who's become the local Tarzan clone. His brown eyes matched Julie's and just like her, was 23 years old. And thanks to his short brown hair, he looked kind of like Johnny Weismuller.

"Unaki, this is my mate Kaitan," said Julie. "Don't worry, you can trust him."

"So what's going on?" Kaitan asked whilst holding onto Unaki.

"She was being tortured by some bitch calling herself Oranta," said Julie. "We need to get to the Teo Tribe village. And we may have to warn them, too."

"You think they'll attack?" asked Kaitan.

"I have no doubt," said Julie.

"In that case, let's get moving," said Kaitan.

"Alright," said Julie. "Unaki, let's go!"

With Kaitan and Julie in the lead, the trio made their way towards the Teo Tribe's village. Now it was a lot easier, as Kaitan made it obvious he knew where he was going. It felt like several hours again—swinging, then taking time to rest in between—before Julie climbed up a tree to try and get some bearings. She smiled and sighed in relief when she saw some smoke rising from the canopy in the distance to the east. And it was the kind of smoke she'd recognize as coming from a bonfire, not a wildfire.