Episode 11


A few days later….

    Wyn was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Gustavo was still fast sleep and she was inclined to let him sleep a bit longer before they headed out. It wasn’t often that she woke before him, but on this particular day her eyes caught the first moments of sunrise. Tomorrow was the day that they would head out on their another excursion. This time being out in the field for a full week to compensate for the distance they would need to travel to get to the second dig site. She was more than excited. Being out in the open air again, camping under the stars, listening to the sounds of nature around her. Honestly, she had been counting the days until they would be out in the jungles again. There was a feeling she had when they were out in the field, it felt like home, and warmth and pure bliss. It helped that the past couple of days had felt like a dream.

   Compared to their first outing, this location was a good 15 miles deeper into the jungle than they had first anticipated. Which she didn’t mind. After being successful in finding old topical maps, they had located several new potential areas to explore that branched off of their main survey site. With an extra day or two, they could get more done and procure more items for their research. 

Lately, Wyn had been even more intensely interested in the plant life that grew there. For the last few days it was like the flora was calling to her and she wanted to know more. Even though her gardening skills were not as high as her mother’s, she hoped to collect some seeds while out that she could grow back at the bungalow. It was still pretty early in the fall season, and Selvadorada was still incredibly warm.

   Suddenly she felt an urge to reach into her pocket and text her mom. Her hand reached down to her hip and she stopped suddenly, shaking her head. “Damnit,” she thought. She still hadn’t found her phone. When they got back from the caverns they had searched high and low. Which led her to believe that she must have lost it back in the town square. With a sigh she finished her cereal and started mentally building a list of items they would need for the trip.

Deep in thought she didn’t hear when Gustavo entered the kitchen,

“Mornin’” he quipped, patting her shoulder and leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. 

She smiled and looked up at him, rising to meet his gaze.


“Ahhh. Yeah. I guess you’re right. I wonder why that is?” he grinned and leaned down to kiss her neck.

Wyn enjoyed the feeling of him, his body enveloped hers comfortably. It was a little weird to be in a relationship again, it came suddenly and rightfully had caught her off guard. Considering that thoughts of staying single were embedded in her mind. But taking the risk, so far, seemed to have gone better than she could have imagined. It seemed as though as soon as they made it official, he became one thousand times more affectionate. And she enjoyed his lack of hesitation. Unless it was distracting her from something, like it was now.

“We have to get ready to leave…” his mouth was still on her neck and she could feel his hands starting to grope around her hips.

“Gustavo.” she groaned.

“Huh???” his voice was muffled against her skin.

“We have to go by the museum remember?” He stopped and sighed loudly.



It was around 11 when they made it to Mathias’ office. Mario greeted them warmly, and phone Mathias to let him know of their arrival. A moment later, his office door opened wide. He looked  bit disheveled, like he was running on copious amounts of coffee and no sleep.  

“Bronwyn! Gustavo. Come on in,” he waved them into the doorway. His office also seemed more cluttered than normal. Papers were strewn everywhere, a few books laid open across his desk, and a couple empty liquor glasses decorated the small side table adjacent to his desk.


He sat in his red plush chair and steepled his fingers, taking a breath before continuing on, “You’re leaving tomorrow, correct? Are you all set otherwise?”

“I think so. We just need these new maps and we are all set,” Bronwyn responded.

“Great! Is there anything else? All of your tech still working? I think I have extra batteries for that walkie around here somewhere…” he mumbled, looking off into space.

Wyn thought for a moment, “Actually, I think that I lost my phone. So, it would be best to call Gustavo from now on.” 

His face dropped, his eyes widening only for a moment before his quirky half smile returned, 

“Ah no. I’m so sorry dear. Pick pockets around here are terrible….. Uhm——” he snapped back to attention and  opened a low drawer on his desk rummaging through it, “Here. Take this,” he set an old apple iphone on the top shelf of his desk, within reaching distance of Wyn.

“It’s not much, but it has pretty good reception around here…and you really shouldn’t be without a phone,” he smiled but it came off as cold and detached.


“We have my phone she can use, that’s why she’s telling you to call me if you need something” Gustavo spoke up, leaning forward and pushing the phone back toward Mathias. 

Wyn looked between them and noticed the tension building in the air. Mathia’s eyes slightly narrowed in Gustavo’s direction, 

“Always better to have two than only one! Plus this little guy has local service. Best to have it, you never know what could pop up.” He pushed the phone back toward them, nodding at Wyn to take it.

Gustavo had a pained expression on his face, “I’m sure we will be fi-”,

Wyn reached out and grabbed the phone, “-Thank you. We will keep it for backup if we need it,” she looked between the two men. 

She knew Gustavo didn’t have fond feelings for the guy…but Mathias seemed uncomfortable with Gustavo’s presence too. All of this tension was making her anxious to leave as soon as possible.

After a moment of awkward silence, Gustavo cleared his throat, “-Are you going to give us the maps? Or? We really need to get back soon to start packing.” his voice was flat and a bit hostile. Mathias bristled a bit, his eyebrows scrunching together in annoyance before he reached to grab a folder containing their new information.


He handed them a few more items from the low drawer of his desk.

“Great. Thanks.” Gustavo said unenthusiastic tone, “Are we done here? We have a lot we still need to do to prepare.” Wyn tried to shoot him a ‘stop being rude look,’ but he never turned his head back in her direction.

 “Yes. We are done. Good luck this time around,” Mathias smiled a disingenuous smile and watched them as they exited his office.


Mathias eyes shot daggers at Gustavo’s back. “I wish I could knock this kid down a few notches,” he thought. The boy’s presence was annoying. Bronwyn was so much more pleasant to look at and to speak too. He didn’t know why Gustavo wasn’t with her back in the town square that day, but he was glad she was alone then. Now that he was back, it seemed like it would be infinitely more difficult to get Bronwyn by herself again.

Over the last few days he had tried everything to attempt to gain access to her password protected phone. He had even asked Mario to check with his “techy” friend who said it wasn’t possible to crack and the only thing that resulted from trying was almost accidentally deleting all the information from the cell. 

He hoped that by offering her his burner, he would have a record of her calls when she got back….and Fallon’s number. He always seemed to be away from the device when she received a call, and it infuriated him. 

So he had started sleeping in the office, downing energy drinks to try and stay awake just long enough to hear her phone ring. His patience had been growing thin, he just wanted to hear Her voice or…something. She was so close, but still incredibly inaccessible.


In the palm of his hands he held the key to capturing a part of her that wasn’t just a photograph. For a minute he daydreamed. She would have the same laugh, the same sparkling eyes, the same ample breast and curvaceous body…which was probably more accentuated now that she obviously had kids. Women were always more attractive after they popped out a kid or two. At this point he didn’t even care if she was widowed or not. His plan was coming close to fruition.

After Bronwyn and Gustavo surveyed site two, they would be going with Selenis on the Temple run….and ideally that would grant him what he so desperately wanted. He had half a mind to go with them, but decide that this plan would be a bit more successful in getting what he wanted. He just needed to be patient. And while it was growing difficult to do so, he had to, everything was riding on his patience.


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