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He batted away a few mosquitoes from his face before putting the camera viewfinder back to his eye. “Hold on a sec, I’m trying to get the right light on those fishermen on the river.” \n\nTravis sighed and sat on a rock “Oh, take your time; I was wondering if those malaria shots who got actually work.” He slapped another mosquito off his tail. \n\nBack at the studio in London \n\nTravis continued, “Michael was absolutely phenomenal; his enthusiasm really brought me back to some of my first expeditions. Which doesn’t seem like that long ago, but when I think about it... well, I need not age myself here.” \n\nThe host chuckled and unconsciously stroked a few gray furs on his cheeks. “Michael, how were the locals during the expedition in your experience? As an herbivore yourself, what did you think of the local cuisine? \n\nMichael thought about it for several moments, a number of thoughts flashing through his head before he replied. \n\n“These small villages are so far removed from any of the trade routes, highways, or big cities. It’s almost like going back in time. Small family groups are incorporated into the larger herd. Overall, especially as a fellow herbivore, I felt everyone was very welcoming and gracious. As for the food, now I have to admit I’m a city buck born and raised in New Toledo.”\n\nTravis leaned in. “What my rather tall colleague is saying is it took some getting used to not having his daily ration of missed Mr. Fuzzi pop and corn chips.\" Travis chuckled and stood up to gently punch Michael in the arm. \n\nMichael smiled with a bemused grin. “He’s not wrong; Travis, even being a flesh eater, was there to guide me and help me through the more delicate cultural situations from his many, many, many years of experience.“\n\nSeven months earlier in the Congo River basin. \n\nTravis sat just outside of the small rainforest village in a camping chair made for his size, sitting on top of a fallen log, eating a protein bar. Michael approached and held a wooden bowl full of what looked like some kind of local salad of sorts and sat on the same log. The bowl was full of different mushrooms, vegetables, and greenery from around the local area. Michael used one of his camping forks and munched slowly as he flipped through different photos on his digital camera. \n\nAfter flipping through the camera and eating about half of his lunch, Michael held out the camera for Travis to look. It was a front few of one of their guides and translators, the very pregnant and lovely Mona. Mona was very tall and athletic and normally very lean when she wasn’t pregnant. She was well respected in the herd for being levelheaded, kind, and generous to a fault. It didn’t hurt that Mona had a beautiful singing voice, and almost all of the herd members considered her very attractive. \n\nTravis looked at the picture; he put his nose nearly to the screen before he nodded and smiled. \n\n“Nice shots, old chap; nice shots indeed, very clean, very crisp, and good light. Can’t say I mind looking at those tits either; a little too large for me, but you antelope types... If you know what I mean, huh huh?” \n\nMichael rolled his eyes and let the camera hang around his neck. “Don’t be a pervert.”\n\nTravis held up a finger “We are in the middle of nowhere, and last I heard her mate was away. Anyways been called worse by far more important people than you.”\n\nMichael took another bite of his lunch and swallowed. \"Yeah, yeah, I bet. Anyway, she’s not my type; like we’ve gone over, I’m not antelope. It doesn’t matter that I have hooves. You have paws; that doesn’t make you a fox—closer to a weasel, really. Anyhow, Mona and I are just friends; nothing more; anything else would be improper.”\n\nTravis put his half-finished protein bar in his front pocket. “Ah sure, my tall friend sure is fair enough. Still, you don’t have to be the same species to appreciate udders like that. And no, definitely not a weasel; if I were, I would be selling used cars in Southwark, not in some mosquito-infested mud hole in the interior of bloody Africa!” \n\nMichael glared down his long muzzle at Travis and swallowed. “What is your problem? This is what we come here to do. We’re out here having an adventure and documenting how these people live and what life is like here. Unlike in New Toledo or London or wherever the hell you’re from?” \n\nTravis cocked his head “I was from Clerkenwell before someone blew it all to hell, since we all don’t want to live in some ultra-capitalist utopia!” \n\nMichael threw up his hands. “I was 13 years old at the time; what was I supposed to do about it? I became a wildlife photographer for a reason you know; I don’t believe in wars, much less corporate hostile takeovers of other countries.” \n\nTravis waved off the comment, “Yeah, I know I’m sorry, it’s not your fault. It’s just that we have been sent to the literal backwaters. We’ll be lucky if we make the back of the magazine more likely some article buried on the website. Maybe, and that’s a big maybe, if we get lucky, some of the stuff will end up in some middle school textbook.” \n\nMichael looked down at his camera and then around the small village. In truth, it was a village like those that have been photographed 1000 times before. \n\nMichael kicked a loose rock with the tip of a hoof. “I don’t know; it’s pretty interesting to me.” \n\nTravis sighed and leaned back in his small camping chair. “Ah, don’t let me ruin your vibe. It’s your first assignment. Just give it another 20 years, then see how you feel.” \n\nTravis looked around before he threw up his arms in frustration. “I just figured... I just, you know, I’ve been doing this for 20 years now? 20 years, and I haven’t been able to photograph or capture anything special or even all that interesting. Something that would make the front page or one of the specials. In 20 long damn years all I’ve got is a bunch of back of the magazine articles and B roll at best.” \n\nMichael set the wooden bowl aside. “Maybe we could have Mona take us out this evening to someplace special. If we get some really amazing shots, maybe we could get into the high school text book.” \n\nTravis chuckled, which then broke into a full laugh; he tried to hold it back, which made him snort, which made Michael break out in laughter too. \n\nTravis choked off his laughter and rubbed one eye. \"Gee, look at page 106 of Basics of Geography, 101, 8th addition. Yes, yes, I’m moving up in the world now.” \n\nHe shook his head and looked over at Michael’s bowl. Travis pointed. “Um, mate, did you wash those?” \n\nMichael looked over and picked up the bowl and nodded. \"Yes, of course Mona washed them. I watched. You know, you should probably eat more vegetables.” \n\nTravis scratched under his chin. \"Yes, you are right; I probably should eat a more balanced diet. Just wondering, did she wash those with that water?” He pointed through the woods towards the river. \n\nMichael looked and nodded yes, and then it hit him. “Yeah, the water from the river.” Michael looked at the bowl and the few remaining scraps left, and then over at the brown flowing river again. \n\nTravis cocked an eyebrow. \"I might need to borrow that camera of yours, Michael; I’m curious as a wildlife photographer and all. Do you non-antelope Cervidae get four stomach aches, or is it basically just one really big one?” \n\nMichael set the bowl aside and held up one finger as he stood up to leave. “Excuse me for a minute?” \n\nTravis dug in his pack, “Here...HERE, don’t forget the handy wipes!” \n\nBack in the studio in London \n\nMichael took a sip of water before he spoke, “Yes, I would agree. It was definitely, um, let’s say, a learning experience. When it’s your first time on such an amazing assignment, you can only prepare yourself so much. The rest you’re just going to have to kind of learn and roll with the bumps as you go.” \n\nThe host chuckled, “I remember my first time out in the field many moons ago. Now Travis, what led up to the incident we are about to show?” \n\nTravis leaned forward in his chair before looking at the host. “Up to that point we had done a number of very interesting interviews with locals; we had spent a number of days with the villagers documenting their daily lives and their amazing and beautiful culture. Unfortunately, we knew that our guides to help us on the hike out would be arriving in another day or two. And we were very sorry to be leaving our new friends so soon. To our horror, our visit the herd, and more so, Mona wanted to take us to a very special place for them.” \n\nMichael jumped in “that part of the jungle maybe an hour from the village that they considered very sacred and only would be shown to tribal members and special guests that they considered part of the herd. As outsiders, it was a great honor to even receive the invitation.” \n\nSeven months earlier in the Congo river basin\n\nTravis stood on a low tree branch so he could look Michael in the eyes. “You better have good news, because we got nothing... NO-THING, these backwater jungle people are boring as unbuttered toast. I’m telling you, even for British television, this is dull! The expectations on this expedition were low, but even by those standards, we got nothing!” \n\nMichael held up a hand for Travis to stop his high-pitched snicking. “She’ll take us to the forbidden area. She says it’s dangerous, but she’ll do it.”\n\nTravis gave thumbs up. “Great, great!”\n\nMichael held up a hand again. “She’ll do it for 400 pounds.“ \n\nTravis’s jaw dropped. “What?!”\n\nMichael shrugged, “400 pounds, and we get to see the forbidden dark forest or something.” \n\nTravis made a gesture like he wanted to choke Michael if his hands would fit around his neck. “You went in to make a deal with someone whose main currency is beads and mud, and she wants 400 pounds!? To most likely show us just another endless stretch of rainforest for 400 pounds, are you crazy?! I told you to offer a snickers bar or something; you’re an American; make a deal; threaten to bomb them.” \n\nMichael shook his head. “She didn’t want to at all at first; apparently it’s haunted or has evil spirits.” \n\nTravis walked back-and-forth on the skinny tree branch. “For 400 pounds, these spirits better show up on camera.”\n\nMichael sighed and rubbed one of his antlers against the same tree Travis was standing on. “Probably not; maybe add some ghost in on post?”\n\nTravis stopped his pacing and looked up at Michael. What are we the discovery channel?” \n\nBack in the studio in London \n\nTravis continued, “We didn’t want to intrude; it just would’ve been considered rude to turn down such an invitation.”\n\nThe host leaned forward on the desk, intrigued, or at least doing a very good job of pretending to be. “Did you have to prepare for this? Was there any kind of ritual since this was supposedly a sacred place?” \n\nTravis and Michael looked at each other briefly, both remembering sneaking out of camp as the sun started to set and standing by the river, smoking cigarettes as they wanted for Mona to arrive. \n\nTravis shook his head no. “There was going to be some ceremony to the spirits once we arrived; unfortunately, we never got that far.\" Michael just put a hand under his chin and tried to look contemplative. \n\nThe host nodded and turned a screen off to one side of the stage. “As we prepare to play this footage, tell us what led up to where the starts.” \n\nMichael started “After the evening meal, Mona led us towards this sacred land of the spirits. I’m not sure if I’m getting that term correct; the translation was a little difficult. We walked for about an hour and were very near the area; I started filming moments after it all started.” \n\nSeven months earlier in the Congo jungle.\n\nMichael nearly silently walked behind the equally silent Mona, their hooves barely making a sound on the jungle floor. Travis sat on Michael’s right shoulder, which is how they hiked in since there was no other way Travis could keep up. \n\nMona held up a hand for them to stop, which Michael was happy to do. After too many processed veggie burgers, bean burritos, and refined bread. He wasn’t in the best shape, even if that had improved the past few weeks. He quickly put Travis down and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. Travis stretched his legs and stretched his back, nearly turning himself into a pretzel shape, which always made Michael cringe. \n\nMona suddenly went from just standing in place to catching her breath just ahead of the two international geographic members. Then it seemed like she lost her balance and tripped and fell. Michael and Travis didn’t notice for a moment or two before they looked over from a soft rustling noise. \n\nMichael thought that she must’ve caught a hoof on a tree root and immediately rushed over to help her up. Travis scurried after him and tried to keep up with Michael, lest he lose sight of him in the thick foliage. \n\nMichael stopped a few feet short and gasped at what he saw; he couldn’t believe it at first. It was the thing of legends—old fairytales of sea and land monsters come to life. The thing of nightmares worse than a pack of angry, hungry wolves wanting nothing more than to eat your guts. Worse than getting a letter from the government, you or a family member has been selected for culling. It was evil come to life, like walking out to catch the bus or train and a fire breathing dragon dropping down in front of you, or worse yet, a politician saying they are here to help. \n\nMichael’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to catch his breath to yell out as he looked at the nearly translucent tentacles wrapping themselves around Mona. One of the tentacles had already forced its way into her mouth... Just as Michael felt something shoot up his right leg onto his back, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he bleated. “ITS GOT ME, OH FUCK, IT GOT ME!!!!” \n\nTravis was nearly crushed as Michael slammed his back against a tree, Travis quickly squirming to Michael’s front as the cameraman buck ran through the woods, bleating like a mad deer. \n\nTravis tried yelling out to him as a tree branch nearly smacked him off. “YO YO MIKE, MIKE STOP IT!!” \n\nTravis felt himself get grabbed by the midsection as Michael reared back to hurl him into the stratosphere. Travis thought fast and grabbed a hold of Michael’s wrist. And quickly scurried up his arm, finally getting right in Michael’s face. “STOP STOP ITS ME!” Michael finally stopped completely wide-eyed and kept looking around before Travis grabbed him by the antlers, his feet on Mike's chest, and got him to stop looking around. “What was that?” \n\nBack in the studio in London\n\nMichael “Oh yes, we were both quite startled. I mean, who expects to see such a thing? Just when you’re out in the wilderness, you try to be prepared as much as possible for the unexpected. That way, when you do run into these once in a lifetime opportunities, you’re prepared to capture them at least on film.“ \n\nTravis nodded his agreement. “See, this is why we make such a good team in the field and will continue to do so with our future expeditions coming up this next spring. You have to stay cool under pressure and understand sometimes nature can be scarier than anything that can happen to you, even on the streets of London.” \n\nSeven months earlier in the Congo jungle\n\nTravis slapped Michael across the muzzle. “What did you see? Why are you running away? What was that?” \n\nMichael just panted. Travis reached back to smack him in the nose before Mike spit out in a breathless voice. “Acid… ACID eater Black Death, na na Nightshade vines.” \n\nTravis still held Michael’s antlers; his paws and tail on Travis‘s chest shook his head. “Bullshit, those haven’t been seen in a 100 years; even those reports were probably bullshit. Listen, calm yourself. I know you, deer tend to be a little neurotic, but you’re getting out of hand here! Mona probably just got herself tangled up in something and you’re seeing fairytale monsters; calm down.” \n\nTravis let go of one of Michael’s antlers and swung himself up onto his shoulder. “Now come on, poor Mona has probably already got herself picked up and wondering where we ran off to.” \n\nMichael just stood there and looked back the way they came. “If... if that’s true, why hasn’t she called out to us?” \n\nTravis tilted his head and listened for several long moments and heard nothing; actually, the jungle was strangely silent. “That is odd. Why hasn’t she? Well, let’s go. Maybe she is hurt and needs help.” \n\nMichael swallowed and looked around before slowly and carefully starting to walk back the way they had come. \n\nAs the two found the path, they saw Mona lying on her back and nothing else. Travis sat on Michael’s shoulder, turned to him, and gestured forward. \"See, hopefully she isn’t badly hurt.” Travis yelled out for her with no reply as Michael picked up the pace. As he was about 10 feet away from her, they both saw it. Michael’s tail shot straight up, and he started to turn to run again. At the same time, Travis’s eyes went wide and his heart jumped; he stood up and leaned closer to get a better view. Before Mike could take more than a step to run, a small paw with small yet sharp claws grabbed his right ear. \n\nMichael grimaced and clenched his teeth as Travis whispered into his ear, “Don’t you dare run, goddammit, this hasn’t been seen in modern times... Don’t run!” he repeated. \n\nMike just gave one small nod while Travis let go of his ear. “Now film starts now; don’t worry if the shot is perfect; if the old wives tales are right, we got some time.”\n\nMichael just stood frozen in fear, \"We we we we.” Travis smacked Mike on the nose. “What are you doing, film, you fool?”\n\nMichael swallowed hard. “We need to help her; we need to do something?!”\n\nTravis shook his head. “As soon as you get involved, you put yourself at risk, and what did we practice?“\n\nMichael sighed, “The cameramen never die.” \n\nTravis nodded. “Thats right, the cameraman never dies; now go watch that pregnant doe or whatever gets eaten from the inside out. Than we can go home and never be worried about high school text books again.!” \n\nMichael closed his eyes for several long moments, then reached for his camera, removed the lens cap, and looked through the viewfinder. \n\nMona squirmed and writhed in pain and fear as the near invisible tentacles wrapped tighter and tighter around her arms and legs. While several other tentacles forced their way inside her. Despite Mona thrashing her head from side to side, one of the tentacles pushed itself further and further down her throat. Mike saw her nostrils flare as she tried to gag as her throat bulged.\n\nAnother larger tentacle pushed itself between her legs deep into her sweet pussy... her very pregnant pussy. The same pussy Michael had buried his muzzle in just a few hours prior and had enjoyed breeding almost every night, sometimes a few times a night since they had arrived in the village. A fair amount of his cum still coated Mona’s insides as the tentacle forced its way up towards her womb. \n\nMona’s mate was on a supply run and not expected back for a few more weeks, so it was their little secret. Plus a unique exploration for them both, and obviously no risk of pregnancy. \n\nBack in the studio in London\n\nTravis narrated the film as Michael mostly stared off into the distance, deep in thought. \n\n“Just like in the legends, surprisingly enough, the Nightshade Death Vines or more accurate tentacles are nearly invisible from any distance. It’s almost like they absorb light and someways let light pass right through others.”\n\nThe Red Fox host transfixed on the footage, even after seeing it multiple different times. “An ambush predator hardly describes it.”\n\nTravis nodded as he watched. “Yes indeed, at first myself and Michael were 40 or 50 feet from it, and we couldn’t see a thing.” \n\n“You see in the footage, freeze that, thank you. Even now, once it started to feed on its prey. Now that the prey’s blood and tissue have started to absorb into the nightshade. If you turn and look at it from this angle, you can’t hardly see it from 10 feet away!” The frozen image only showed what looks like maybe a blur in the image around poor Mona, seeming frozen and sheer terror and pain. \n\n“As our footage shows, and the old fairytales will tell us once one of these Nightshades grabs a victim, it forces its way inside any orifice or opening it can squeeze into. Once inside, it releases a powerful, or what we believe to be powerful, poison and acid.” \n\nThe host held up a finger as to ask a question, and the footage stopped again. “The at-home audience will no doubt be asking why so much speculation? Why can’t we study these amazing and terrifying creatures more?” \n\nTravis took a sip of water before he replied, “That’s the thing and why these mysterious predators.”\n\nMichael frowned and softly interjected, \"MMonsters.” \n\nTravis ignored him. “These very unique creatures, if killed or somehow know they have been captured, seem to completely disintegrate into mush within minutes. Within a few hours at best, all your left with is a puddle of indistinguishable goo, for lack of a better phrase.” \n\nThe host tilted his head and pressed his fingers together as if deep into thought. “You mentioned some kind of acid; is this how they feed?” \n\nTravis nodded yet again. “Best we can tell, the Nightshade Vines have no teeth, fangs, claws, or any other sharp bits to speak of. I wish there was a more scientific way to put it. But essentially the Nightshade acts almost like a liquid itself and drinks or absorbs its prey; it was quite fascinating to witness.” \n\n7 months earlier in the Congo jungle\n\nTravis stood on Michael’s shoulder and looked down at the raw, brutal force of nature unfolding in front of them. Mona lay still, with only the occasional twitch of a finger or involuntary kick of a leg. There was only the occasional whistle from her nostrils and slow blink as blood started to leak from her eyes and nostrils. \n\nTravis pointed at the tentacle between Mona’s legs. “Oh my heavens, look, they are starting to change color again, and gawd damn you smell that?” \n\nMichael tried to ignore the smell of rotting or burning skin; he couldn’t decide which. And both look and not look at the same time; he was careful to get the right shots and keep the camera steady while he tried to dissociate as much as he reasonably could. \n\nTravis’s comment snapped Mike back into the moment, and he looked and zoomed in just in time. The tentacle that disappeared into Mona’s pussy seemed to pulse and recoil before bulging larger and larger. Mona’s belly rose and contracted with the tentacle before a large mass inside the tentacle forced its way out between Mona’s legs. Mike wasn’t sure what it was at first, then he zoomed in and even lowered the camera for a better look. \n\nAs the two watched, Mona’s unborn calve, already half liquefied, was pulled deeper into the tentacle. Followed very shortly by its mother‘s womb, ovaries, and the beginnings of her colon and lower intestines. \n\nMichael handed the camera to Travis and leaned over and puked. Travis, for his part, was just transfixed as Mona’s healthy figure seemed to shrink down by the minute. Her once-pregnant belly is now nearly flat, and her long, strong legs are looking more and more bony. \n\nMichael spit a few more times before he stood back up straight and took a step back. “I didn’t sign up for this... I thought I thought...\n\nTravis jumped back onto his shoulder and handed him the camera. “Natural can be scary as anything one of those war correspondences has to deal with. We’ll have plenty of time to deal with the trauma later, mate, or you can try my favorite method.”\n\nMichael studied the camera and made sure he wasn’t missing anything, as Mona seemed to get thinner and thinner by the moment. “Yeah, what’s that’s, proper therapy, meditation?” \n\nTravis held onto one of Michael’s antlers and shook his head. “Drink until nothing seems to matter anymore; screw a few river otter whores and make horrible life choices than pack your bags and do it all again.” \n\nBack in the studio in London. \n\nAs the footage started to near its end, Mona’s eyes sunken to where they looked almost like just two black holes, her ribs and bones shown through her skin like a carcass that had been left on the sun for weeks. The host turned to Michael. \n\n“From a prey species this most have been terribly difficult to witness, how did you maintain your composure?”\n\nMichael scratched the base of one antler for several long moments and remembered towards the end. After the Nightshade had burned its way into Mona’s womb and sucked out her unborn calf and burned through her stomach from the other end. \n\nHe had just wanted to run and not stop running until his heart blew up in his own chest. But for some reason he couldn’t honestly answer to himself. He stood there and filmed. As the Nightshade sucked Mona’s intestines, livers, and kidneys, and the rest of her organs and most of her other fluids out until she looked like little more than a dried-out skeleton. All in no more than an hour after she was walking, talking, and guiding them to some place. Her herd either meditated or dumped trash, or dumb tourists could’ve been any of the above. \n\nMike blinked then gave his standard/scripted answer, “In truth, I remembered excellent guidance and words of wisdom from a truly amazing wildlife photographer and conservationist and someone that has been an inspiration in my career and has truly helped me get this far... Steve Edwin.” \n\nTravis tossed his arms up and shook his head in fake exasperation. \n\nMichael smiled and chuckled. “Travis helped a little too, I suppose, growing up in a middle-class family. We always knew, even in the New Incorporated States of America, that any of us could potentially end up on the chopping block. Still, I’m not going to lie, it was a scary thing to see right in front of you.” \n\nTravis jumped onto Michael’s shoulder with the image of Mona’s nearly mummified remains behind them. \n\nMichael: “And if you want to see more adventures with Travis and myself?” \n\nTravis: “Where we seek out strange and mysterious creatures.” \n\nMichael “Many thought to be just legends or extinct!” \n\nTravis “Mark your calendars coming next spring for our new show, a partnership between international geographic and Discovered channel!” \n\nBoth in unison, “Creature Hunters!”\n\nThe lights dimmed on the stage and the cameras turned off. Handshakes were done between all involved. \n\nTravis jumped off Michael’s shoulder. “You up for a drink?” \n\nMichael looked over to the desk Travis was standing on. “Way ahead of yeah, started be we got here.” \n\nTravis reached into his jacket pocket and held up a miniature flask. “I taught you well; we got an early flight tomorrow to Fiji.” \n\nMichael rubbed one eye. “Guess we better start early than, what is this one anyway, sea monster?”\n\nTravis shrugged, “For $50,000 per episode to start, I don’t much care, do you?”\n\nMichael shrugged “You think we’ve sold out?”\n\nTravis took a drink, gritted his teeth, and coughed, “I know I just bought a boat... you?”\n\nMichael: “Few hundred acres of prime radiation-free farm land out west.” \n\nTravis held up his flask, and they tapped their flasks together before Mike tossed Travis on his shoulder and headed for the exit off to their next expedition.\n\nFIN \n\n\nIf you enjoyed the art or story as always please leave a comment below, I always love hearing from all of you. Also what does everyone think of how Mike and Travis handled that situation, is there really anything else they could have done or should have done??\n\nArt by my good friend and partner in crime https://inkbunny.net/bladapacha\n\n\n",
"description_bbcode_parsed": "The International Geographic theme played as the spinning globe logo appeared on screen. As the logo disappeared and the theme music ended, a red British fox in a three-piece pinstriped suit appeared sitting behind the desk. He smiled at the camera before he spoke. “For over 100 years, we here at International Geographic have brought readers and now views amazing sights and wild stories from around the globe!”
“As with that long-storied history here at International Geographic, we bring you today’s special. Today, for the first time in modern history, we have the first documented cases of a Nightshade Death Vines captured live on video feeding on its prey. I warn you, the video you are about to see is graphic in nature. And that my two colleagues here today risked life and limb to bring these truly amazing pictures and videos back to us. And I assure you what you’re about to see is nature at its most primal; no Hollywood movie tricks or special effects involved.“
The Fox host turned to his right, and the camera followed to show a Stoat in a fine business suit of his own sitting in an elevated chair due to his small statue. Next to him as the camera panned out slightly. An American Whitetail buck in dress pants, a bottom-up shirt, and an open, unbuttoned business corduroy jacket. The host turned to the stool first and held out a paw to shake.
“First off we have our seasoned correspondence, Travis Mayberry, welcome back to the show.”
Travis smiled and gave a little two-finger salute towards the camera, "Thank you, thank you, glad to be here.”
The host stood and shook the bucks hand before sitting back behind the desk. “Secondly, we have a first-time correspondent and videographer all the way from the Incorporated States of America. Mr. Michael Steamwell, welcome, welcome.”
Michael nodded. “Yes, thank you, thank you; it’s great to be here in London. I’ve always wanted to see the sites, and it was amazing to see that Big Ben was open for tours.”
The host nodded without a smile or much enthusiasm, “Yes, over the past 10 years London’s restoration has come a long way, and thankfully the war is but a memory in many places around the city.”
Michael swallowed hard, having realized a little too late that speaking of the rebuilding might still be a tender subject with the Brits.
Thankfully, for Michael, the host turned to his colleague Travis. “So Travis, you and Michael were sent to the Congo this past fall?”
Travis nodded. “We were sent to live with a herd of Okapi near the Congo River basin for two weeks. To document and learn more about their culture, society, and just generally how they live.”
The host nodded and leaned forward on the desk. “And this herd wasn’t concerned with having a fierce predator like yourself in their village?”
Travis smiled, laughed, and knocked a small fist on the arm of the elevated chair. “Well, they were thinking of sending Oliver, but even if he is getting up there in years now. And I personally haven’t seen him chase anything more than a story or dessert cart in many years. A 136 kg lion, I’m sorry to say, is probably just a smidge more intimidating than little old me.”
The Red Fox host smiled and chuckled before turning over to Michael. “This was your first assignment here at International Geographic, if I am correct?”
Michael nodded his large antlers almost completely out of frame. “Yes, yes, and I was so thankful to have Travis as a guide and mentor on this assignment. To tell the truth, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, and his professionalism and dedication were a great example and encouragement to me.” Michael held an outfist out to Travis, and they bumped fists.
Seven months earlier in the Congo River basin...
Travis, dressed in mud-splattered cargo shorts and a dirty brown safari shirt, slapped the back of his neck, “DAMN BLOODY DAMNED Mosquitoes! Michael DO... YOU... Mind getting your shots before I am carried away by these bugs or I sink up to my neck in this disgusting mud?”
Michael was dressed the same, but the mud and dirt only extended up to his hocks. He batted away a few mosquitoes from his face before putting the camera viewfinder back to his eye. “Hold on a sec, I’m trying to get the right light on those fishermen on the river.”
Travis sighed and sat on a rock “Oh, take your time; I was wondering if those malaria shots who got actually work.” He slapped another mosquito off his tail.
Back at the studio in London
Travis continued, “Michael was absolutely phenomenal; his enthusiasm really brought me back to some of my first expeditions. Which doesn’t seem like that long ago, but when I think about it... well, I need not age myself here.”
The host chuckled and unconsciously stroked a few gray furs on his cheeks. “Michael, how were the locals during the expedition in your experience? As an herbivore yourself, what did you think of the local cuisine?
Michael thought about it for several moments, a number of thoughts flashing through his head before he replied.
“These small villages are so far removed from any of the trade routes, highways, or big cities. It’s almost like going back in time. Small family groups are incorporated into the larger herd. Overall, especially as a fellow herbivore, I felt everyone was very welcoming and gracious. As for the food, now I have to admit I’m a city buck born and raised in New Toledo.”
Travis leaned in. “What my rather tall colleague is saying is it took some getting used to not having his daily ration of missed Mr. Fuzzi pop and corn chips." Travis chuckled and stood up to gently punch Michael in the arm.
Michael smiled with a bemused grin. “He’s not wrong; Travis, even being a flesh eater, was there to guide me and help me through the more delicate cultural situations from his many, many, many years of experience.“
Seven months earlier in the Congo River basin.
Travis sat just outside of the small rainforest village in a camping chair made for his size, sitting on top of a fallen log, eating a protein bar. Michael approached and held a wooden bowl full of what looked like some kind of local salad of sorts and sat on the same log. The bowl was full of different mushrooms, vegetables, and greenery from around the local area. Michael used one of his camping forks and munched slowly as he flipped through different photos on his digital camera.
After flipping through the camera and eating about half of his lunch, Michael held out the camera for Travis to look. It was a front few of one of their guides and translators, the very pregnant and lovely Mona. Mona was very tall and athletic and normally very lean when she wasn’t pregnant. She was well respected in the herd for being levelheaded, kind, and generous to a fault. It didn’t hurt that Mona had a beautiful singing voice, and almost all of the herd members considered her very attractive.
Travis looked at the picture; he put his nose nearly to the screen before he nodded and smiled.
“Nice shots, old chap; nice shots indeed, very clean, very crisp, and good light. Can’t say I mind looking at those tits either; a little too large for me, but you antelope types... If you know what I mean, huh huh?”
Michael rolled his eyes and let the camera hang around his neck. “Don’t be a pervert.”
Travis held up a finger “We are in the middle of nowhere, and last I heard her mate was away. Anyways been called worse by far more important people than you.”
Michael took another bite of his lunch and swallowed. "Yeah, yeah, I bet. Anyway, she’s not my type; like we’ve gone over, I’m not antelope. It doesn’t matter that I have hooves. You have paws; that doesn’t make you a fox—closer to a weasel, really. Anyhow, Mona and I are just friends; nothing more; anything else would be improper.”
Travis put his half-finished protein bar in his front pocket. “Ah sure, my tall friend sure is fair enough. Still, you don’t have to be the same species to appreciate udders like that. And no, definitely not a weasel; if I were, I would be selling used cars in Southwark, not in some mosquito-infested mud hole in the interior of bloody Africa!”
Michael glared down his long muzzle at Travis and swallowed. “What is your problem? This is what we come here to do. We’re out here having an adventure and documenting how these people live and what life is like here. Unlike in New Toledo or London or wherever the hell you’re from?”
Travis cocked his head “I was from Clerkenwell before someone blew it all to hell, since we all don’t want to live in some ultra-capitalist utopia!”
Michael threw up his hands. “I was 13 years old at the time; what was I supposed to do about it? I became a wildlife photographer for a reason you know; I don’t believe in wars, much less corporate hostile takeovers of other countries.”
Travis waved off the comment, “Yeah, I know I’m sorry, it’s not your fault. It’s just that we have been sent to the literal backwaters. We’ll be lucky if we make the back of the magazine more likely some article buried on the website. Maybe, and that’s a big maybe, if we get lucky, some of the stuff will end up in some middle school textbook.”
Michael looked down at his camera and then around the small village. In truth, it was a village like those that have been photographed 1000 times before.
Michael kicked a loose rock with the tip of a hoof. “I don’t know; it’s pretty interesting to me.”
Travis sighed and leaned back in his small camping chair. “Ah, don’t let me ruin your vibe. It’s your first assignment. Just give it another 20 years, then see how you feel.”
Travis looked around before he threw up his arms in frustration. “I just figured... I just, you know, I’ve been doing this for 20 years now? 20 years, and I haven’t been able to photograph or capture anything special or even all that interesting. Something that would make the front page or one of the specials. In 20 long damn years all I’ve got is a bunch of back of the magazine articles and B roll at best.”
Michael set the wooden bowl aside. “Maybe we could have Mona take us out this evening to someplace special. If we get some really amazing shots, maybe we could get into the high school text book.”
Travis chuckled, which then broke into a full laugh; he tried to hold it back, which made him snort, which made Michael break out in laughter too.
Travis choked off his laughter and rubbed one eye. "Gee, look at page 106 of Basics of Geography, 101, 8th addition. Yes, yes, I’m moving up in the world now.”
He shook his head and looked over at Michael’s bowl. Travis pointed. “Um, mate, did you wash those?”
Michael looked over and picked up the bowl and nodded. "Yes, of course Mona washed them. I watched. You know, you should probably eat more vegetables.”
Travis scratched under his chin. "Yes, you are right; I probably should eat a more balanced diet. Just wondering, did she wash those with that water?” He pointed through the woods towards the river.
Michael looked and nodded yes, and then it hit him. “Yeah, the water from the river.” Michael looked at the bowl and the few remaining scraps left, and then over at the brown flowing river again.
Travis cocked an eyebrow. "I might need to borrow that camera of yours, Michael; I’m curious as a wildlife photographer and all. Do you non-antelope Cervidae get four stomach aches, or is it basically just one really big one?”
Michael set the bowl aside and held up one finger as he stood up to leave. “Excuse me for a minute?”
Travis dug in his pack, “Here...HERE, don’t forget the handy wipes!”
Back in the studio in London
Michael took a sip of water before he spoke, “Yes, I would agree. It was definitely, um, let’s say, a learning experience. When it’s your first time on such an amazing assignment, you can only prepare yourself so much. The rest you’re just going to have to kind of learn and roll with the bumps as you go.”
The host chuckled, “I remember my first time out in the field many moons ago. Now Travis, what led up to the incident we are about to show?”
Travis leaned forward in his chair before looking at the host. “Up to that point we had done a number of very interesting interviews with locals; we had spent a number of days with the villagers documenting their daily lives and their amazing and beautiful culture. Unfortunately, we knew that our guides to help us on the hike out would be arriving in another day or two. And we were very sorry to be leaving our new friends so soon. To our horror, our visit the herd, and more so, Mona wanted to take us to a very special place for them.”
Michael jumped in “that part of the jungle maybe an hour from the village that they considered very sacred and only would be shown to tribal members and special guests that they considered part of the herd. As outsiders, it was a great honor to even receive the invitation.”
Seven months earlier in the Congo river basin
Travis stood on a low tree branch so he could look Michael in the eyes. “You better have good news, because we got nothing... NO-THING, these backwater jungle people are boring as unbuttered toast. I’m telling you, even for British television, this is dull! The expectations on this expedition were low, but even by those standards, we got nothing!”
Michael held up a hand for Travis to stop his high-pitched snicking. “She’ll take us to the forbidden area. She says it’s dangerous, but she’ll do it.”
Travis gave thumbs up. “Great, great!”
Michael held up a hand again. “She’ll do it for 400 pounds.“
Travis’s jaw dropped. “What?!”
Michael shrugged, “400 pounds, and we get to see the forbidden dark forest or something.”
Travis made a gesture like he wanted to choke Michael if his hands would fit around his neck. “You went in to make a deal with someone whose main currency is beads and mud, and she wants 400 pounds!? To most likely show us just another endless stretch of rainforest for 400 pounds, are you crazy?! I told you to offer a snickers bar or something; you’re an American; make a deal; threaten to bomb them.”
Michael shook his head. “She didn’t want to at all at first; apparently it’s haunted or has evil spirits.”
Travis walked back-and-forth on the skinny tree branch. “For 400 pounds, these spirits better show up on camera.”
Michael sighed and rubbed one of his antlers against the same tree Travis was standing on. “Probably not; maybe add some ghost in on post?”
Travis stopped his pacing and looked up at Michael. What are we the discovery channel?”
Back in the studio in London
Travis continued, “We didn’t want to intrude; it just would’ve been considered rude to turn down such an invitation.”
The host leaned forward on the desk, intrigued, or at least doing a very good job of pretending to be. “Did you have to prepare for this? Was there any kind of ritual since this was supposedly a sacred place?”
Travis and Michael looked at each other briefly, both remembering sneaking out of camp as the sun started to set and standing by the river, smoking cigarettes as they wanted for Mona to arrive.
Travis shook his head no. “There was going to be some ceremony to the spirits once we arrived; unfortunately, we never got that far." Michael just put a hand under his chin and tried to look contemplative.
The host nodded and turned a screen off to one side of the stage. “As we prepare to play this footage, tell us what led up to where the starts.”
Michael started “After the evening meal, Mona led us towards this sacred land of the spirits. I’m not sure if I’m getting that term correct; the translation was a little difficult. We walked for about an hour and were very near the area; I started filming moments after it all started.”
Seven months earlier in the Congo jungle.
Michael nearly silently walked behind the equally silent Mona, their hooves barely making a sound on the jungle floor. Travis sat on Michael’s right shoulder, which is how they hiked in since there was no other way Travis could keep up.
Mona held up a hand for them to stop, which Michael was happy to do. After too many processed veggie burgers, bean burritos, and refined bread. He wasn’t in the best shape, even if that had improved the past few weeks. He quickly put Travis down and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. Travis stretched his legs and stretched his back, nearly turning himself into a pretzel shape, which always made Michael cringe.
Mona suddenly went from just standing in place to catching her breath just ahead of the two international geographic members. Then it seemed like she lost her balance and tripped and fell. Michael and Travis didn’t notice for a moment or two before they looked over from a soft rustling noise.
Michael thought that she must’ve caught a hoof on a tree root and immediately rushed over to help her up. Travis scurried after him and tried to keep up with Michael, lest he lose sight of him in the thick foliage.
Michael stopped a few feet short and gasped at what he saw; he couldn’t believe it at first. It was the thing of legends—old fairytales of sea and land monsters come to life. The thing of nightmares worse than a pack of angry, hungry wolves wanting nothing more than to eat your guts. Worse than getting a letter from the government, you or a family member has been selected for culling. It was evil come to life, like walking out to catch the bus or train and a fire breathing dragon dropping down in front of you, or worse yet, a politician saying they are here to help.
Michael’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to catch his breath to yell out as he looked at the nearly translucent tentacles wrapping themselves around Mona. One of the tentacles had already forced its way into her mouth... Just as Michael felt something shoot up his right leg onto his back, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he bleated. “ITS GOT ME, OH FUCK, IT GOT ME!!!!”
Travis was nearly crushed as Michael slammed his back against a tree, Travis quickly squirming to Michael’s front as the cameraman buck ran through the woods, bleating like a mad deer.
Travis tried yelling out to him as a tree branch nearly smacked him off. “YO YO MIKE, MIKE STOP IT!!”
Travis felt himself get grabbed by the midsection as Michael reared back to hurl him into the stratosphere. Travis thought fast and grabbed a hold of Michael’s wrist. And quickly scurried up his arm, finally getting right in Michael’s face. “STOP STOP ITS ME!” Michael finally stopped completely wide-eyed and kept looking around before Travis grabbed him by the antlers, his feet on Mike's chest, and got him to stop looking around. “What was that?”
Back in the studio in London
Michael “Oh yes, we were both quite startled. I mean, who expects to see such a thing? Just when you’re out in the wilderness, you try to be prepared as much as possible for the unexpected. That way, when you do run into these once in a lifetime opportunities, you’re prepared to capture them at least on film.“
Travis nodded his agreement. “See, this is why we make such a good team in the field and will continue to do so with our future expeditions coming up this next spring. You have to stay cool under pressure and understand sometimes nature can be scarier than anything that can happen to you, even on the streets of London.”
Seven months earlier in the Congo jungle
Travis slapped Michael across the muzzle. “What did you see? Why are you running away? What was that?”
Michael just panted. Travis reached back to smack him in the nose before Mike spit out in a breathless voice. “Acid… ACID eater Black Death, na na Nightshade vines.”
Travis still held Michael’s antlers; his paws and tail on Travis‘s chest shook his head. “Bullshit, those haven’t been seen in a 100 years; even those reports were probably bullshit. Listen, calm yourself. I know you, deer tend to be a little neurotic, but you’re getting out of hand here! Mona probably just got herself tangled up in something and you’re seeing fairytale monsters; calm down.”
Travis let go of one of Michael’s antlers and swung himself up onto his shoulder. “Now come on, poor Mona has probably already got herself picked up and wondering where we ran off to.”
Michael just stood there and looked back the way they came. “If... if that’s true, why hasn’t she called out to us?”
Travis tilted his head and listened for several long moments and heard nothing; actually, the jungle was strangely silent. “That is odd. Why hasn’t she? Well, let’s go. Maybe she is hurt and needs help.”
Michael swallowed and looked around before slowly and carefully starting to walk back the way they had come.
As the two found the path, they saw Mona lying on her back and nothing else. Travis sat on Michael’s shoulder, turned to him, and gestured forward. "See, hopefully she isn’t badly hurt.” Travis yelled out for her with no reply as Michael picked up the pace. As he was about 10 feet away from her, they both saw it. Michael’s tail shot straight up, and he started to turn to run again. At the same time, Travis’s eyes went wide and his heart jumped; he stood up and leaned closer to get a better view. Before Mike could take more than a step to run, a small paw with small yet sharp claws grabbed his right ear.
Michael grimaced and clenched his teeth as Travis whispered into his ear, “Don’t you dare run, goddammit, this hasn’t been seen in modern times... Don’t run!” he repeated.
Mike just gave one small nod while Travis let go of his ear. “Now film starts now; don’t worry if the shot is perfect; if the old wives tales are right, we got some time.”
Michael just stood frozen in fear, "We we we we.” Travis smacked Mike on the nose. “What are you doing, film, you fool?”
Michael swallowed hard. “We need to help her; we need to do something?!”
Travis shook his head. “As soon as you get involved, you put yourself at risk, and what did we practice?“
Michael sighed, “The cameramen never die.”
Travis nodded. “Thats right, the cameraman never dies; now go watch that pregnant doe or whatever gets eaten from the inside out. Than we can go home and never be worried about high school text books again.!”
Michael closed his eyes for several long moments, then reached for his camera, removed the lens cap, and looked through the viewfinder.
Mona squirmed and writhed in pain and fear as the near invisible tentacles wrapped tighter and tighter around her arms and legs. While several other tentacles forced their way inside her. Despite Mona thrashing her head from side to side, one of the tentacles pushed itself further and further down her throat. Mike saw her nostrils flare as she tried to gag as her throat bulged.
Another larger tentacle pushed itself between her legs deep into her sweet pussy... her very pregnant pussy. The same pussy Michael had buried his muzzle in just a few hours prior and had enjoyed breeding almost every night, sometimes a few times a night since they had arrived in the village. A fair amount of his cum still coated Mona’s insides as the tentacle forced its way up towards her womb.
Mona’s mate was on a supply run and not expected back for a few more weeks, so it was their little secret. Plus a unique exploration for them both, and obviously no risk of pregnancy.
Back in the studio in London
Travis narrated the film as Michael mostly stared off into the distance, deep in thought.
“Just like in the legends, surprisingly enough, the Nightshade Death Vines or more accurate tentacles are nearly invisible from any distance. It’s almost like they absorb light and someways let light pass right through others.”
The Red Fox host transfixed on the footage, even after seeing it multiple different times. “An ambush predator hardly describes it.”
Travis nodded as he watched. “Yes indeed, at first myself and Michael were 40 or 50 feet from it, and we couldn’t see a thing.”
“You see in the footage, freeze that, thank you. Even now, once it started to feed on its prey. Now that the prey’s blood and tissue have started to absorb into the nightshade. If you turn and look at it from this angle, you can’t hardly see it from 10 feet away!” The frozen image only showed what looks like maybe a blur in the image around poor Mona, seeming frozen and sheer terror and pain.
“As our footage shows, and the old fairytales will tell us once one of these Nightshades grabs a victim, it forces its way inside any orifice or opening it can squeeze into. Once inside, it releases a powerful, or what we believe to be powerful, poison and acid.”
The host held up a finger as to ask a question, and the footage stopped again. “The at-home audience will no doubt be asking why so much speculation? Why can’t we study these amazing and terrifying creatures more?”
Travis took a sip of water before he replied, “That’s the thing and why these mysterious predators.”
Michael frowned and softly interjected, "MMonsters.”
Travis ignored him. “These very unique creatures, if killed or somehow know they have been captured, seem to completely disintegrate into mush within minutes. Within a few hours at best, all your left with is a puddle of indistinguishable goo, for lack of a better phrase.”
The host tilted his head and pressed his fingers together as if deep into thought. “You mentioned some kind of acid; is this how they feed?”
Travis nodded yet again. “Best we can tell, the Nightshade Vines have no teeth, fangs, claws, or any other sharp bits to speak of. I wish there was a more scientific way to put it. But essentially the Nightshade acts almost like a liquid itself and drinks or absorbs its prey; it was quite fascinating to witness.”
7 months earlier in the Congo jungle
Travis stood on Michael’s shoulder and looked down at the raw, brutal force of nature unfolding in front of them. Mona lay still, with only the occasional twitch of a finger or involuntary kick of a leg. There was only the occasional whistle from her nostrils and slow blink as blood started to leak from her eyes and nostrils.
Travis pointed at the tentacle between Mona’s legs. “Oh my heavens, look, they are starting to change color again, and gawd damn you smell that?”
Michael tried to ignore the smell of rotting or burning skin; he couldn’t decide which. And both look and not look at the same time; he was careful to get the right shots and keep the camera steady while he tried to dissociate as much as he reasonably could.
Travis’s comment snapped Mike back into the moment, and he looked and zoomed in just in time. The tentacle that disappeared into Mona’s pussy seemed to pulse and recoil before bulging larger and larger. Mona’s belly rose and contracted with the tentacle before a large mass inside the tentacle forced its way out between Mona’s legs. Mike wasn’t sure what it was at first, then he zoomed in and even lowered the camera for a better look.
As the two watched, Mona’s unborn calve, already half liquefied, was pulled deeper into the tentacle. Followed very shortly by its mother‘s womb, ovaries, and the beginnings of her colon and lower intestines.
Michael handed the camera to Travis and leaned over and puked. Travis, for his part, was just transfixed as Mona’s healthy figure seemed to shrink down by the minute. Her once-pregnant belly is now nearly flat, and her long, strong legs are looking more and more bony.
Michael spit a few more times before he stood back up straight and took a step back. “I didn’t sign up for this... I thought I thought...
Travis jumped back onto his shoulder and handed him the camera. “Natural can be scary as anything one of those war correspondences has to deal with. We’ll have plenty of time to deal with the trauma later, mate, or you can try my favorite method.”
Michael studied the camera and made sure he wasn’t missing anything, as Mona seemed to get thinner and thinner by the moment. “Yeah, what’s that’s, proper therapy, meditation?”
Travis held onto one of Michael’s antlers and shook his head. “Drink until nothing seems to matter anymore; screw a few river otter whores and make horrible life choices than pack your bags and do it all again.”
Back in the studio in London.
As the footage started to near its end, Mona’s eyes sunken to where they looked almost like just two black holes, her ribs and bones shown through her skin like a carcass that had been left on the sun for weeks. The host turned to Michael.
“From a prey species this most have been terribly difficult to witness, how did you maintain your composure?”
Michael scratched the base of one antler for several long moments and remembered towards the end. After the Nightshade had burned its way into Mona’s womb and sucked out her unborn calf and burned through her stomach from the other end.
He had just wanted to run and not stop running until his heart blew up in his own chest. But for some reason he couldn’t honestly answer to himself. He stood there and filmed. As the Nightshade sucked Mona’s intestines, livers, and kidneys, and the rest of her organs and most of her other fluids out until she looked like little more than a dried-out skeleton. All in no more than an hour after she was walking, talking, and guiding them to some place. Her herd either meditated or dumped trash, or dumb tourists could’ve been any of the above.
Mike blinked then gave his standard/scripted answer, “In truth, I remembered excellent guidance and words of wisdom from a truly amazing wildlife photographer and conservationist and someone that has been an inspiration in my career and has truly helped me get this far... Steve Edwin.”
Travis tossed his arms up and shook his head in fake exasperation.
Michael smiled and chuckled. “Travis helped a little too, I suppose, growing up in a middle-class family. We always knew, even in the New Incorporated States of America, that any of us could potentially end up on the chopping block. Still, I’m not going to lie, it was a scary thing to see right in front of you.”
Travis jumped onto Michael’s shoulder with the image of Mona’s nearly mummified remains behind them.
Michael: “And if you want to see more adventures with Travis and myself?”
Travis: “Where we seek out strange and mysterious creatures.”
Michael “Many thought to be just legends or extinct!”
Travis “Mark your calendars coming next spring for our new show, a partnership between international geographic and Discovered channel!”
Both in unison, “Creature Hunters!”
The lights dimmed on the stage and the cameras turned off. Handshakes were done between all involved.
Travis jumped off Michael’s shoulder. “You up for a drink?”
Michael looked over to the desk Travis was standing on. “Way ahead of yeah, started be we got here.”
Travis reached into his jacket pocket and held up a miniature flask. “I taught you well; we got an early flight tomorrow to Fiji.”
Michael rubbed one eye. “Guess we better start early than, what is this one anyway, sea monster?”
Travis shrugged, “For $50,000 per episode to start, I don’t much care, do you?”
Michael shrugged “You think we’ve sold out?”
Travis took a drink, gritted his teeth, and coughed, “I know I just bought a boat... you?”
Michael: “Few hundred acres of prime radiation-free farm land out west.”
Travis held up his flask, and they tapped their flasks together before Mike tossed Travis on his shoulder and headed for the exit off to their next expedition.
FIN
If you enjoyed the art or story as always please leave a comment below, I always love hearing from all of you. Also what does everyone think of how Mike and Travis handled that situation, is there really anything else they could have done or should have done??
Art by my good friend and partner in crime https://inkbunny.net/bladapacha
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