Jungle Flame: The Truth Revealed

By Tope Babalola

Thirteen-year-old Anna McAllister and her siblings, Josh and Julie, have already been through much more than they ever bargained for when they agreed to vacation in the Bahamas with their billionaire scientist parents. After parachuting from a malfunctioning plane over the ocean, losing their parents in a fiery crash moments later, and landing on a mysterious island, they have taken on a search for four element jewels that they hope will lead them to riches to replace what their ruthless uncle Fredrick has already stolen from them.

Now on the hunt for the third jewel, the McAllisters and their new ally, Colton Forester, must venture into some of the most dangerous parts of the island inhabited by bigger and more vicious creatures. But just as the mysterious jungle begins to reveal its hidden nature, everything begins to unravel at the McAllister home in Palm Coast, Florida, where Uncle Fredrick is taking extreme measures to keep his own dirty secrets buried.

In this continuing adventure tale, Team Jungle Flame embarks on a risky quest to find a precious jewel; they must put their own secrets on the line before they corrupt their fragile group and destroy the only real weapon they have against the islandtheir trust in each other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Apr 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491728123

Tope Babalola

Tope Babalola is sixteen years old, has been writing since he was in the first grade and is the author of The Impossible Mission and the first book in the Jungle Flame series—Jungle Flame: The Search Begins. Tope lives in Manitoba, Canada, with his mother, father, and twin sister, where he is hard at work on the next book in the Jungle Flame series.

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JUNGLE FLAME

THE TRUTH REVEALED

Copyright © 2014 Tope Babalola.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4917-2813-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-2814-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-2812-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014904829

iUniverse rev. date: 04/24/2014

CONTENTS

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

For the GNG:

Tayo, Grace, Dyanna, Jade, & Alexa

CHAPTER

One

J OSH McAllister pushed the brackish water anxiously. His eyes were now becoming red from the saltwater, burning his corneas, and his scratched-up arms and legs were aching from swimming for so long. But he couldn’t stop—he wouldn’t stop. He made it to the bottom of the Lake and began to frantically search the floor with his hands, feeling around for anything that could be a water jewel. He felt everywhere on the lake floor, but all he could feel was grainy sand and small smooth pebbles. There was nothing else t here.

Josh’s eyes opened wide in astonishment, allowing more saltwater in his eyes. He felt like his lungs were about to explode. The jewels were gone and he was stuck. The piranha—all nine of them—made it to the bottom of the Lake and surrounded him. Their blank eyes showed no expression, but he could tell they weren’t happy to see him intruding in their territory. Some of the fish were over top of him, which would make it extremely difficult to get through them without getting injured. But once again, he acted before thinking, and swam up, trying to pass through the piranha overhead.

Josh felt a massive heap of pain engulf his arms and legs as he swam up. He could see the cuts on his arms appear; the blood starting to seep out of his wounds, diffusing with the water around him. All parts of his body were stinging, and the saltwater wasn’t helping to ease the pain. Suddenly, he saw something that was impossible to miss—a sapphire jewel. One of the water jewels had landed on a small ledge that stuck out from the side of the rocky, lake wall. Josh quickly swam to the lake wall and grabbed the jewel with his left hand. He held it firmly in his hand, his fingernails digging into his wrinkled palm. He wasn’t going to let this jewel, the last water jewel, get out of his possession.

Josh felt another bite on his left foot. He yelled, but only bubbles came out of his mouth as water started to flood his lungs. It felt much more painful than the other bites from the piranha. He continued to swim up, but was starting to lose air, and quickly. His head broke the surface of the water. It felt like the sun had attacked him by surprise, immediately exposing him to heat that felt like he had been away from for days. The mix of its vibrant rays and the saltwater in his eyes clouded his vision, making it hard to see what direction he was facing. His mouth felt dry, even though he’d been underwater, and all he tasted was a crude combination of salt and blood.

As the sun began to settle into Josh’s surroundings, he began to see clearer. He could see his sister Anna standing next to the Lake with a worried look. Her chestnut-coloured hair, the same color as his unkempt mop of hair, sat just past her shoulders and slightly covered the sides of her face, framing her scared McAllister family trademark cobalt eyes in a wavy sea of dark brown. His other sister Julie sat beside a debilitated Colton Forester, both with nervous looks on their faces. Julie’s elbow-length blonde hair reflected the sunlight, almost obscuring his vision again. He quickly swam to the edge of the Lake, taking on even more pain, and met up with Anna. She helped him out of the Lake, and began to help him over to Julie and Colton. He stumbled as he made his way onto the soft, damp sand that surrounded the perimeter of the Lake. He felt the urge to scream as the grains of sand seeped into the open wounds and his arms and legs.

At this point Josh felt like he emitted pain. He could definitely feel it all over his aching body, he was seeing red as he trudged along the soggy beach, the taste in his mouth only got worse, his ears were ringing louder than they ever had, and if it was possible to smell pain, he smelled way too much of it. He had gotten so skinny over the course of his search, he was surprised he had just done what he had done.

Julie, get me the spray, Anna commanded, as she carefully laid Josh down on the left side of Colton.

Julie unzipped a bright yellow pack and took out a white, plastic first-aid kit, opened it, and pulled out a metal can with a spray nozzle on the top of it. She handed the can to Anna who pushed down on the nozzle. Liquid spewed out of the nozzle and it hit Josh’s tanned, wet skin. She sprayed the liquid everywhere Josh had been cut or bitten.

Suddenly, the cuts and scratches on Josh’s skin started to close up. The stinging pain decreased. Soon there was nothing on his skin except for water droplets that began to evaporate.

Thanks, Josh said breathlessly.

He got up from the ground and opened his left hand. Anna and Julie looked over to see the twinkling sapphire gemstone that Josh held in his crinkly palm. Julie took the jewel, put it in the first-aid kit beside a topaz-coloured one that they had found earlier on the island, and then began to put the first-aid kit back in the survival pack.

So now that the second jewel is out of the way, what’s next? Colton asked, as he tried to get himself to sit up.

"Maybe if you’re patient, someone might say something," Anna snapped back fiercely.

Josh rolled his eyes. Anna had never seen Colton eye-to-eye since the McAllister family first met him. No one really knew why, but it was getting more and more obnoxious every time she retorted a spiteful remark.

As soon as Julie put the kit back, she helped Colton sit up straight. Then she pulled an old, crumpled, folded map from her right pocket. She unfolded it, laid it on her lap, and read from the back of it.

The map says, ‘If it is the third jewel you seek, then you must go to the jungle’s highest peak.’. So does that mean we have to go to the highest point in the jungle?

"I guess so. The next jewel is the air jewel, right?" Anna asked.

Julie looked over the back of the map. Yep, it’s the air jewel.

Okay, but how are we going to get Colton up there? We probably have to climb up a mountain. Are we going to carry him the entire time? Josh asked.

Don’t worry, Josh. The map says it’s about ten to fifteen miles from here to the mountain. We can just spray Colton every few hours. By the time we reach the mountain, he should be good enough to walk. Julie quickly came up with a plan.

No, Anna said angrily.

What are you talking about? Josh asked in confusion.

"I’m not going to be part of a team where we have to waste our main way of survival on some freeloader!" Anna folded her arms.

Julie got up from the ground, walked up to Anna, and looked right into her angry eyes.

"Fine then, you carry him the entire time," she said.

Anna moaned, trying to get all of her anger out of her system. She walked over to the survival kit, took out the first-aid kit, furiously opened it, and took a bottle of the fast acting healing spray. She shook the bottle and sprayed some of the contents over Colton’s face, letting the liquid continuously spew out on his face. Colton started to choke on the liquid. If he could flail his arms at the moment, he would have, but he was completely helpless to the attack.

Josh saw what was happening and immediately took a big step towards Anna and knocked the bottle out of her hands. Colton stopped choking and Josh watched as the bottle rolled away, into the lake Murchison had named the Lake of Destiny. He and the others watched as the bottle was devoured by one of the piranha. Colton started to cough and spit, gasping for the oxygen that Anna deprived him of and trying to get the liquid from out of his mouth.

Josh! What in the world is your problem? You made us lose a bottle! Anna said enraged.

"My problem . . . what’s yours?! You almost killed him!" Josh snapped back.

"Mom may have not told you this, but the spray is non-toxic. If he absentmindedly swallowed it, it wouldn’t kill him." Anna explained, still annoyed with Josh.

"Yeah, I know that it’s non-toxic, but he was choking on it! Whether with toxic liquid or not, I’m pretty sure choking always leads to the same thing. He stared into her eyes, which were almost as blue as the jewel he had just fished from the water. Why do you hate him so much?" he yelled.

I thought I already told you this, Anna pointed to Colton, who’s coughing had subsided. This guy can’t be trusted. This guy came out of nowhere and you just let him into the group. We hardly even know him!

Well what did you want me to do about it, Anna? I couldn’t just leave him there! He needed help!

"Well, we could have helped him, then left him,"

Josh looked around frantically, as though he were searching for someone, with eyes that said: Do you believe this girl? Anna, are you even hearing yourself right now? You sound like Uncle Fredrick. You’re a selfish little brat who doesn’t care about anyone except herself! he yelled.

Anna stopped arguing with Josh and stood silently with an astonished look on her face, her eyes glued to him, attempting to hold back tears. She stared at him with a look that bore through his walls of resentment and anger. Josh noticed Julie looking down in dismay, not meeting his eyes. He turned his attention back to Anna, whose tears broke free, despite her obvious restraint, and started to form in the corners of her reddening eyes. She bit back her lip, to refrain from showing weakness again. Josh immediately realized he had made a mistake and made a stuttering effort to apologize.

Josh watched as Anna turned her back on him and walked away. She sat down about ten metres away from the others. He sighed heavily as he sat back down on the dirt that surrounded the Lake.

Fredrick McAllister is the reason the siblings were on the island in the first place. Being the brother of Dave McAllister, one of the richest people in the country (and the kids’ father), could be pretty hard and unbearable at times. The McAllister’s were planning their trip to the Bahamas while Fredrick was sneakily scheming in the shadows. Three years before the trip, Fredrick had secretly placed an order for a plane set to explode on his command. He had only received his purchase a few weeks before the McAllisters went on their trip. He custom-ordered a model that looked exactly like the family’s private plane and sent his family aboard the plane. He had hidden the original plane. Josh had figured out that it wasn’t the real plane, only because Fredrick had left out some key components that were on the original plane.

Unfortunately, the plane had crashed over the ocean, causing the McAllister parents to send their kids off the plane on parachutes. Their parents had died in the plane when it lit up the sky with fire and smoke. That had been Fredrick’s plan all along. He knew what he wanted and would stop at nothing to get it. All he wanted was the family fortune, and now he could get it with his brother and all other possible heirs out of his way.

But little did Fredrick know, that his nephew and nieces were very much alive, finding their way off the island they crashed on, while searching for jewels that could lead them to more riches than they could imagine.

Why did I say that? Josh wondered aloud.

Julie stared at Josh, who was anxiously waiting for a response, which would assure him that what he said wasn’t so bad. But like he feared, nothing came out of Julie’s lips. She turned around and started to treat Colton’s wounds with the healing spray.

What came over me? Josh thought.

Julie wasn’t sure how Josh could even think of saying something like that. Of all the times her brother and sister had fought, it hadn’t ever gotten that far. And she would know—she was always caught in the crossfire of every argument. But not this time, she was choosing to stay out of it. She didn’t have time to worry about her siblings. She had to worry about Colton. Technically, all three of them were to be taking care of Colton, but she was the only one doing so. Josh was too busy arguing with Anna about Colton, and Anna didn’t help because—well—she just didn’t like Colton. That caused the youngest of the group to take over all the responsibilities of the group, one of which held a human life in the balance.

Besides, Julie still had many things on her mind. She wasn’t sure if Colton would ever be able to walk again, despite all of the healing spray that was being applied on him. Never in her life would she think that the life of a ten-year-old could be so hectic.

She was also concerned for Josh and Anna’s well-being. She knew that this fight could last a long time. She also knew that Colton was the reason why all this fighting had started, but she couldn’t abandon him at a time like this. If she did, he’d be alone, having to endure injuries that under normal circumstances could take months to heal.

Then her parents—the people she had loved the most—they’d only been away from her for just a little more than a week, but it felt like a lifetime. She’d been away from them longer than this, but she always knew she’d see them when she returned. Now, she wanted to believe they were alive, although the odds seemed to be against her. Even if they were alive, she’d have no way to find them. And how would they survive? She and her siblings already took all of the supplies.

Julie tried to take that thought out of her head. She missed them deeply, but she couldn’t be the whiny little sister that she knew she once was. She needed to grow up and show a sign of maturity. Her days of singing everywhere she went and prancing through the daisies were over, at least until they got off the island.

All that mattered was finding the jewels.

CHAPTER

Two

I F anyone wants to meet a quick thinker, they should meet Joshua Josh McAlli ster.

Yes, his thinking was sudden, but the only things faster were his actions. Sometimes his actions would come into play before he could even think about what he was going to do. That is why he was in the position he had been in: swimming down to the bottom of a lake with a bloody arm trying to find a jewel while being chased by a school of nine hungry, ferocious Pygocentrus nattereri—red-bellied piranha.

It sounded strange, but compared to the many other things that happened to this fourteen-year-old in this jungle, he would barely even rank this on his list of the top ten.

Josh had been eager to know if there were any sapphire-coloured jewels that the piranha hadn’t swallowed whole, like they had done to the others that had once rested in a mahogany chest that laid lopsided on the floor below. He had needed that jewel so he could use it to find the Sacred Temple, claim his family’s inheritance, and stop his fiend of an uncle from destroying the McAllister name.

All of this had started because of their Uncle Fredrick—making their plane crash in an attempt to kill Josh, his sisters, and his parents. He had murdered Josh’s parents, but he didn’t plan on the kids escaping, landing on an uncharted island, finding a map by an old man named Alexander Murchison, and going on the hunt of their lives, while avoiding strange creatures and natural mayhem, to a treasure and get off the island, or even meeting someone along the way. Then again, Josh didn’t even plan on that happening. It wasn’t exactly something he’d expect on a daily basis.

But if there hadn’t been a single jewel left in the subterranean cone-shaped lake, which had seemed more like a deep pond to Josh, then his valiant attempt of jumping in the water without having a single strategy could have been a total bust and waste of his time and dwindling energy.

His thirteen-year-old sister, Stephanie (or Anna), had told him not to go back in to look for the jewel, but Josh wasn’t willing to be the one to put their long search to an end—not after all they’d had to risk and sacrifice just to get this far. Besides, there was more to the picture. There was Josh’s other little sister, Juliette (she preferred to be called Julie), who was ten years old, and a thirteen-year-old boy named Colton Forester (the boy they met on the island), who practically broke most of the bones in his own body trying to help the McAllister’s get their jewels. Josh was glad he hadn’t left the water empty-handed. It would have haunted him for the rest of his life knowing that a stranger had risked his life for nothing, and if he had come up without the jewel, the rest of his life might not even be very long. The group needed Josh and his leadership if they were ever going to get off this island.

Anna knew that the group would have to keep moving if they wanted to get to the next jewel, but she felt as if she had to stay where she was. That was, until she spotted a dark cloud high in the sky, consisting of many tiny colourful dots. As the cloud descended, she got up from where she was sitting and ran over to the rest of the group.

We’ve got company, she said, looking up to the sky.

Immediately, Josh and Julie looked up to see the cloud, now perfectly clear—a large swarm of jungle bugs, a group of large fuzzy, multicoloured insects that had been harassing the team ever since they started the search. They had destroyed their hive earlier, but these few must have escaped from the explosion and were back for revenge for annihilating their siblings.

Let’s go. Josh commanded.

Without hesitation, the McAllister kids began to put the spray bottles into the first-aid kit. Anna picked up the first-aid kit and put it in the bright yellow survival pack. Josh carefully lifted Colton onto his back. Julie took the map out of her pocket and read the directions as fast as she could.

Okay, all we have to do is go down the trail behind those trees, Julie paused and pointed to a group of trees that surrounded the Lake of Destiny. Then we just keep going until we reach the Mountain of Virtue.

The group looked beyond the trees and saw a gigantic mountain in the background, looming over the jungle, as a white fog circled it oddly. Suddenly, the sound of buzzing wings became louder, which caused them to start running through the group of trees Julie had pointed to.

Josh struggled, trying to make sure Colton didn’t tumble off his back. The group panted heavily as the jungle bugs flew above them. They made the leaves rustle every time they zipped by one of the tall trees.

We can’t outrun them, Josh said, trying to keep Colton from slipping off his back. They’re too fast!

We need to hide from them! Julie replied. She looked up to see the jungle bugs descending upon them. Their deadly black eyes became much clearer.

Okay, follow my lead! Josh directed. He ran past Julie and Anna.

Josh made it to the front of the line. Suddenly, he manoeuvred a sharp turn and landed in a bush right on the side of the path. He landed on his stomach and Colton gently rolled of Josh’s back.

Anna copied Josh’s movements, and she also landed in the bush. Julie was the last to do so, and they all made it to the bush. Josh watched as the jungle bugs flew in between the trees and fly right past the group’s secret hiding spot.

After a few minutes of crouching down, Anna figured that it would be safe to keep going.

That was awesome! Julie exclaimed, as she brushed the dirt off her shirt.

Anna watched with a smile as her excited sister attempt to clean herself up. It was at that moment that Anna realized how ragged her clothes had been.

They were cut and torn from all the branches they’d had to run through. They were covered in patches of dirt from having to kneel and lay down on the paths. She had never thought she would ever see herself dressed so ruggedly, but looking at her torn clothes that seemed to accentuate her new scrawnier body, she didn’t really feel like herself. She felt like a completely different person, almost unrecognizable. She had never been one to feel self-conscious but she worried about how she would react if she had a mirror. She guessed her face had changed a lot. Anna looked up and saw that Julie, Josh, and Colton’s clothes were the same, tattered, dirty, and a bit of an eyesore.

Julie must have been noticed the look Anna had on her face because the next thing she said was, Anna, are there any extra clothes in the survival pack?

Anna took the bag off her back and unzipped it. She dug through the bag until she finally got to a black garbage bag at the bottom of the pack. She took the bag out of the survival pack, untied it, and found a few pairs of boys’ and girls’ shirts and pants. She had gone through the survival pack many times and had never actually gone to the bottom of it to see what else was there. She rummaged through the bag and took out a lavender-coloured shirt that was just her size.

Julie opened her eyes widely. A grin grew across her face as she pulled out a brown t-shirt and a pair of slim blue jeans for Josh. She took out a red long sleeve shirt for Colton and a pink t-shirt and khaki pants for herself. Anna took out a pair of blue jean shorts for herself. How did we miss this? Julie asked aloud.

It must have blended in with the bottom of the bag when I first did inventory. Anna replied, examining her fresh attire. She wasn’t sure why but just knowing she had a new set of clothes brought her new hope for the days to come.

•     •     •

Once everyone had picked out their clothes, the girls left the bush and ran to the other side of the dirt path to change, while the boys stayed where they were and changed. Colton quietly moaned as Josh helped him sit up straight. Josh carefully put the red shirt on his wounded partner.

Why does your sister hate me so much? Colton asked, still wincing from the sudden wave of pain.

He struggled to sit up so he could see Josh clearly. Josh looked at Colton with a look that said he knew something, then sighed. I don’t exactly know, he started. She told me that she doesn’t trust you. She thinks that you’re going to try to steal her fortune, or something. Honestly, I think it’s because she’s inferior to you. Both of you are super smart and I think that she wants to be the only smart one in the group.

You’re probably right, she doesn’t trust me, Colton said with a hoarse voice. I just don’t know why she doesn’t.

You haven’t done anything to her, Josh replied.

So, then why does she never talk to me but you and Julie do?

That’s something she’ll probably get over, Josh said.

At least I hope. He thought to himself.

A few minutes later, the girls came back to the boys. Regardless of how destroyed their old clothes seemed to be, Anna and Julie had them neatly folded. They placed them at the bottom of the survival kit and Josh threw his and Colton’s clothes into the bag sloppily. Julie rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. Josh zipped up the survival pack, and left it on the ground for Anna to pick up.

Anna grabbed the bag from the soil while Josh and Julie helped Colton up. They each supported him from under his arms. Julie then used her weight to push Colton onto Josh’s back. Colton groaned softly as he balanced himself on Josh’s back.

Julie took her hand off Colton after he was securely on Josh’s back. She drew the map from her pocket, unfolded it, and looked it over. Okay, from where we ran away from those jungle bugs, she said, trying hard to read exactly what she meant to say. We had done about an eighth of a mile.

"You’re kidding . . . only that much? Josh exclaimed. It’s gonna take forever for us to make it to the Mountain." he complained. He walked out of the bushes with Colton on his back. Anna followed him out of the bushes, as did Julie. She had the map held up in front of her.

Well, then we shouldn’t just be standing here complaining, Anna said tonelessly, her eyes seeming to look right through Josh’s body. Josh swore he could feel the cold of her gaze travel into him, conducting a shiver down his backbone. Start moving. Anna started to walk down the trail. As she was just about to pass Josh, she forcefully nudged him in the shoulder with the survival pack she carried on her back. The blow caught Josh off guard, made him lose his balance, and it sent Colton flying off his back. Colton screamed in agony as he hit the ground. Josh fell to the ground as well, but not in as much pain as Colton. He felt a sharp, but not