FicWad

The woman ran through the jungle in terror. She could hear the thing pursuing her getting closer. She risked a look over her shoulder and saw nothing, but she knew it was there. It was a creature of the jungle, and it knew how to camouflage itself. Turning she screamed in terror as the creature appeared suddenly before her, smiling ferally, it’s yellow fangs dripping with venom and salvia. She stepped back and the creature sprang at her, sinking its fangs into her neck. The poison hit quickly and she sank to her knees. As the blackness began to creep into her vision, she saw someone she knew and had trusted lean over her. She realized at that moment what a fool she had been, then she was overcome by the blackness and breathed her last.

Alison and Pam sat in the taxi, watching in excited anticipation as their hotel drew near. Two whole weeks, doing nothing but sunning themselves and talking to cute guys.
“I’m glad you talked me into this,” Alison said to Pam, when their taxi stopped, and the driver got out to help them with their luggage.
They stood on the sidewalk for a moment, breathing in the fresh salty air and admiring the vast expanse of white sand, with the gleaming blue sea shining after it.
Finally Alison paid the driver and they gathered up their suitcases before entering the lobby. As Pam struggled with her suitcases she bumped into someone and stumbled dropping one of her bags.
“Watch where you’re going,” a voice snapped, Pam looked up and saw a beautiful blonde girl glaring at her. “I swear these tourists are so clumsy,” she said to the two girls with her and they all laughed, walking away.
Pam glared at the retreating back of the blonde girl and Alison said, “don’t let her bother you. We’re here for fun in the sun.”
Pam sighed, “you’re right,” she said and they approached the checkout desk.
They rang the bell on the counter and a dark-haired man appeared. Pam gasped when she saw his face, he was really good looking.
“What can. I do for you ladies,” he asked staring at Pam.
“We have a room reserved,” Alison said, when Pam just stood there. “It’ll be under Pam Walker.”
The man checked his register, “right, here we go,” he said, reaching under the counter and bringing out a key. “You ladies enjoy yourselves, and if you’re interested there’s a clam bake down on the beach tonight. It’ll be a lot of fun,” he stared at Pam again and winked.
Alison and Pam walked away from the counter toward the elevator. As soon as they got in, and the doors closed, Alison grabbed Pam’s arm.
“Oh my God,” she said, “he was totally into you.”
Pam blushed and said, “I don’t know, he was probably being friendly.”
Alison pinched her friend’s arm and said, “hello, earth to Pam. He was staring at you, he barely even noticed I was alive.”
Pam giggled, “he is a hottie,” then she stopped, “but what about Marshall.”
Alison waved her hand, “Marshall is back home in Ohio, and besides what happens in Cancun, stays in Cancun.”
Pam pinched Alison’s arm, “that’s Vegas,” she said as their elevator reached their floor and they stepped off.”
Alison laughed, “well it works here too.”
They walked giggling down the hall and had just reached their hotel room, when Pam felt like she was being watched, she turned and saw an old man with wild hair standing in the shadow of the ice machine staring at her. She gasped and Alison looked up from fumbling with the card key.
“What’s the matter,” she asked with concern.
“That man,” Pam said then stopped. He had disappeared, “nothing,” she said, then followed Alison into the cool dark hotel room.

That night Pam and Alison walked down to the beach, the clam bake had just started and it looked like everyone who was staying in the hotel was there.
“Hey you came,” a voice said behind them and they turned.
The man who had checked them in was standing there,
Pam stepped forward, “you said it would be a lot of fun,” she said smiling, “so we decided to check it out.” She held out her hand, “my name is Pam and this is my friend Alison.”
The man took her hand, smiling flirtatiously, “I’m Rico. Do you want to go for a walk?”
Pam looked at Alison, “go ahead” Alison said.
As Pam and Rico walked away, Alison saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw the blonde girl from the lobby, she was glaring angrily at Rico and Pam. Alison started forward, the blonde girl turned and seeing her coming quickly melted into the gathering crowd.

Rico and Pam walked down the beach, away from the crowd, until they were alone. Rico cupped Pam’s face in his hands and kissed her gently, she closed her eyes and moved into the kiss. Enjoying the sensation of his lips against hers. They kissed for some time then finally Pam pulled away.
“It’s so beautiful here,” she said, looking out toward the ocean.
Rico reached for her again, “you’re beautiful.”
Pam turned back toward Rico, when something white in the jungle caught her eye.
“What’s that,” she asked, and started toward the jungle.
Rico followed her and they cleared away the clinging vines. Pam stumbled back in terror as the decomposing face of a woman was reveled. She began to scream in terror, and Rico grabbed her arms and pulled her quickly away, back toward the clam bake.
Alison came running up when Rico half carried half dragged back down the beach. “What’s wrong,” she asked?
Rico yelled, “someone call the police quickly,” then he briefly explained to Alison what they had found in the jungle.
Pam had gone quiet with shock and gave no resistence when Rico picked her up and carried her into the hotel lobby.
He gently set her down on one of the couches, “ stay with her, I’m going to see if someone called the police,” he said to Alison.
He then went through the doors that led to the beach.

The cops came quickly and questioned Pam, but there was little that she could tell them. Other then the fact that she had seen something white in the jungle and gone to investigate what it was. After finished questioning her, she was allowed to go back to the hotel room.
Alison was drawing the curtains back when she saw Rico and the blonde girl arguing on the beach, Rico grabbed the girl’s arm and she slapped him. Rico turned, looking up toward the window, as the girl stomped away and Alison quickly stepped back into the shadows.

The next day when Pam woke up and insisted that she felt better, the two went down to the beach, they had just laid out their towels when the blonde girl walked up to him.
“Stay away from Rico if you know what’s good for you,” she hissed at Pam.
Suddenly she turned white and walked away, after she spotted something behind Pam’s shoulder. Pam turned and looked, Rico was behind her, staring at the blonde girl’s retreating back. The look on his face was almost murderous, and suddenly despite the warm sun, Pam felt a chill run down her spine.
Rico saw Pam looking at him and the look disappeared as suddenly as it came. He walked down the steps that led to the beach and hugged Pam.
“Are you feeling better,” he asked her?
“Who is that blonde woman?” Pam asked and she thought she saw an annoyed look pass over Rico’s face. It was gone so fast, that she wondered if she imagined it.
“That is Lucinda,” he said, “she’s the hotel owner’s daughter. We used to date, but I broke it off with her and she can’t seem to accept that.”
He gave Alison a look, and she wondered if he had seen her watching them last night.
“I heard from the police,” he said suddenly changing the subject. “The woman was a tourist and they think she wandered into the jungle and got bit by a poisonous snake.”
“What kind of snake?” Alison asked.
“They’re not sure, it seems like there are a bunch of different snake venoms are in her body,” Rico said and Pam felt the chill again.
He smiled at Pam again, “I must go to work now, but I will see you later.” He kissed her on the cheek and turned, walking back into the hotel lobby.
Pam sat down next to Alison, and rubbed her arms. She couldn’t seem to get rid of the chill. Alison looked at her with concern, “are you ok?” She asked and Pam shrugged.
“I just feel like something bad is going to happen,” she told Alison. Then shook her head, “I’m sure it’s just and after effect from last night.”
Then she turned over onto her stomach and closed her eyes, Alison stared at her friend in concern, then did the same.

Lucinda walked down the same stretch of beach that Rico and Pam had walked the night before. She was so lost in thought that at first she didn’t hear the hush that fell over the jungle, like a predator was approaching. She realized suddenly how quiet it was and she looked around in trepidation. It was getting dark and she was far from the hotel, she looked into the jungle, remembering the woman’s body that had been found there and she began to tremble in fear.
Suddenly a crashing noise made her scream and she froze in terror when something burst out of the jungle. She screamed again when she saw the horrible fanged monster stalking her, she turned to run, but she was too late. The monster was upon her in seconds, sinking its fangs into her neck. Lucinda fell to the ground as the venom raced through her veins. She saw a familiar figure walk out of the jungle and she raised her hand weakly as if asking for help. The poison struck her heart and she dropped to the ground, lifeless.

Alison and Pam heard the sirens when they returned from shopping for souvenirs. They rushed to the beach and pushed their way into the crowd that had gathered.
Alison spotted one of the people from the clam bake and asked, “what’s going on?”
The guy shrugged, “they found a body down the beach,” he said, “that’s all I know.”
Pam pushed farther into the crowd as she spotted the paramedics approaching carrying something in a body bag. She felt the now familiar chill snake down her spine, and she shivered unconsciously. The paramedics placed the body on the stretcher and a arm flopped out, jarred from the movement.
Pam gasped, pushing her way back through the crowd to Alison, she hissed “the body is Lucinda’s.”
Alison looked at her, “how can you be sure?”
“Because of the ring,” Pam explained, “I noticed it on her finger before.”
They turned and watched the ambulance roar away, then Pam almost screamed when someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
She whirled around and saw Rico, “you scared me,” she said in an accusing tone, but he just smiled at her.
He stared pointedly at Alison who said, “oh, I’m going to take these bags up to our room,” and quickly left.
“Have dinner with me tonight,” he said in an almost boyish voice, as he pulled her toward him.
Suddenly Pam shoved him away, “Lucinda is dead,” she said. “How can you act like it doesn’t matter?”
Rico glared at her, “why do you care?” He said in a mean tone, “you didn’t even like Lucinda.”
“I care because she was a human, she didn’t deserve to die no matter how nasty she was.” Pam said coldly, then she turned away. “I’m not having dinner with you Rico. In fact I think it’s better if we don’t see each other again.”
Rico glared at her for a moment, then snapped “well if that’s the way you want it.” He began to stomp away, then turned quickly and spat out, “I’d be careful out there Pam, people are dying and you just may be next.”
Pam watched him go back into the hotel and she wrapped her arms around her waist. Suddenly she felt eyes on her and she turned, the old man from before was standing on the beach, staring at her. She shivered again and turned, running into the hotel.

Alison turned when Pam came through the door, “any big plans with Rico tonight?” She asked, then stopped when she saw the look on Pam’s face.
“What’s the matter?”
“I told Rico to get lost,” Pam said, sitting on the bed.
Alison came over and hugged Pam, sitting next to her, “I’m so sorry hon.,” she said.
Pam sniffed and dabbed at her eyes, “it’s ok. He was a big jerk anyway.”
“Then why are you crying?”
“I think we should go home,” Pam said, “I’ll refund you for the rest of the money you spent on the trip. But I just need to get out of Cancun.”
Alison nodded her head, “I understand and no you aren’t going to refund me the money.”
She stood up and grabbed her sandles, “I’m going to take one last walk on the beach, then we’ll pack up and go home.”
Pam nodded, laying down after Alison left the room. She closed her eyes and quickly fell in a deep sleep.

Pam woke up abruptly, she looked groggily at the clock and realized she had been asleep for three hours. Sitting up she called Alison’s name, but received no answer. She flipped on the light and got off the bed, walking to the dresser, hoping that Alison had left a note. There was nothing and Pam felt that familiar chill snake down her spine again. She grabbed her sandles and almost ran down to the beach. She looked up and down the beach, which was almost deserted because of the growing clouds. Then she turned and ran toward the spot where she and Rico had stood two nights before. She looked around frantically, screaming Alison’s name, then in the jungle she thought she heard Alison cry out.
Without another thought, she plunged into the jungle, calling Alison’s name. Suddenly something stepped in her path and she screamed, stepping back quickly. The thing she could think of about the monstrosity that stalked toward her was, that it looked like a giant snake and she turned to run.
She smacked into a hard body and looked up at Rico, frantically she tugged on the arm that held her and almost screamed, “we need to run, quickly!”
Rico stared down at her with a bemused expression on his face, then turned her around to face the monster.
“Pam this is my brother Pablo.”
Pam stared at the monster in horror, unable to say anything.
Rico laughed harshly and sneered, “speechless are we? So was Lucinda when I told her and oh don’t forget the tourist you found the day I met you. I don’t think I ever got her name before I let Pablo kill her.”
Pam twisted, trying to escape Rico’s grasp, but he held her tight. “Why are you allowing him to murder innocent people?” She cried out.
Rico snarled and roughly twisted her around to face him, “because my dear I don’t like being rejected. I was driving down the road one day and saw this beautiful woman I had seen at the hotel standing there. Her rental had run out of gas and she needed a ride back into town. I gave her a ride and all I asked in return was for her to have dinner with me. She said she had plans, but I knew she was lying to me. They all lie to me, so I brought her here and gave her to Pablo.”
Pam stared at him in horror, “you’re crazy,” she breathed out in fear.
Rico continued as if she hadn’t even spoken. “Then there was Lucinda, beautiful cold-hearted Lucinda. I loved her from the first moment I saw her, and was so ecstatic when she agreed to go out with me. We dated for a while and I thought she was the one, but then she told me, she was breaking it off. Said that she couldn’t see herself marrying a man who worked as a desk clerk.”
Rico suddenly slammed his hand against a nearby tree trunk, causing Pam to jump.
“Rico where’s Alison?” Pam asked afraid of the answer.
He looked at her almost as if he was seeing her for the first time. “Allison is safe,” he said woodenly, “she doesn’t know who abducted her or why. I don’t want her to be punished, just you.”
He suddenly pushed Pam toward Pablo, who hissed with anticipation. Pam screamed with terror as Pablo lunged for her, then a shot rang through the air. A spot of red blossomed onto Pablo’s chest, before he dropped forward, dead.
Rico grabbed Pam, holding her in front of him, as a the old man who had been watching Pam stepped out of the jungle.
“One step farther and she dies,” Rico screamed, taking out a knife and holding it to Pam’s throat.
The old man stopped and glared at Rico with hatred. “You killed Lucinda, you bastard,” he shouted in anger. “She was my baby and you killed her.”
Rico gave a laugh that bordered on madness, then moving quickly he brought out a gun, he had hidden under his shirt and shot the old man.
Pam screamed in terror, when he spun around from the force of the shot, then fell on the ground unmoving.
Rico grabbed Pam roughly and hissed, “it looks like I’m going to have to kill you myself.”
In desperation Pam began to struggle, she kicked out and caught Rico in the groin, sending him to the ground. Turning she ran, pushing desperately through the jungle, trying to find her way back to the beach and safety. She suddenly heard Rico crashing behind her, screaming her name and she ran faster. She saw the beach between a gap in the jungle vines and trees, running for it desperately.
She screamed in terror, when Rico caught her right before she reached the beach, dragging her back into the jungle. She struggled with him, clawing at his face and trying to kick him again. He straddled her, holding up the knife and grinning almost gleefully at the panicked look on her face.
He had raised the knife, preparing to plunge it in her body, when a shot rang out. Rico looked down at his bloody chest in amazement, then slumped over breathing raggedly. Pam scrambled to her feet, as the police burst into the jungle, one of the police men knelt over Rico’s body and yelled for an ambulance. Gently Pam was led out of the jungle, back to the beach, where Alison was waiting for her. She began to sob at the sight of her friend and they hugged each other desperately, afraid to let each other go.
“How did you escape?” Pam asked Alison.
“A man freed me, then told me to go get the police.” Alison said.
She hugged Pam again, “thank God he did.”

Later Pam and Alison learned the whole story about Rico, his father was a great scientist, but one whose experiment bordered on cruelty. He used his youngest son for an experiment, one that went tragically wrong, turning the boy into a half snake half man monster. When Rico’s mother threatened to go to the police, his father killed her, then told Rico she had run off.
“I almost feel sorry for Rico,” Pam said as they stood and watched him be loaded into an ambulance. “All he must have known was pain and rejection, I think it would make anyone go a little mad.”
They began to turn away, then Pam saw the paramedics come out of the jungle with Lucinda’s father.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Alison who nodded and started back for the hotel.
Pam walked through the sand, stopping by the stretcher and smiling down at the man.
“Thank you for trying to save me,” she said.
He smiled, the white bandage on his shoulder a contrast against his dark skin.
“I couldn’t let that monster kill another innocent girl,” he said weakly.
Pam stepped away and watched them load him in the stretcher, then walked back to the hotel.
Alison was packing their suitcases, “I talked to the police and they said that it was fine for us to leave.” She said when she saw Pam come into the room.
Pam just nodded wearily and helped Alison pack, they checked out, quickly leaving the hotel and their nightmare behind.

The two policemen searched through the jungle where both Lucinda’s father and Pam had said Pablo had fallen, they found no trace of a body.
Finally one turned to the other, “I think the old man was loco,” he said, “probably from loss of blood.
“What about the gringa?” The other one asked.
“Ah you know these American tourists,” the first one said and made the crazy motion.
They both laughed and quickly abandoned the search, walking quickly back toward the beach. Hidden from view, two feral eyes watched the police officer’s retreat and a low hiss sounded through the jungle.