"Jameson, we're here."

The groggy Irishman woke up to the sound of Will's low voice speaking softly in his ear, his hand gently shaking Jameson's shoulder.

They were aboard a private plane Will had booked for the expedition, Jameson's head resting on Will's shoulder.

Jameson immediately sat up and smoothed out the invisible wrinkles in his shirt, looking away as his face burned a light red hue in embarrassment.

"Thank you pilot." Will nodded to the man up front as he gathered his belongings, seeming to not notice Jameson's awkwardness.

Jameson grabbed his suitcase and followed Will out of the plane to see a world of green around him, which looked much different than the concrete jungle he was accustomed to seeing in Ireland.

"We're a few miles away from Pretoria, the nearest village." Will informed Jameson as he began hacking through vines to clear a path for them.

"Why couldn't we land at the town?" Jameson interjected with a confused frown.

"There wouldn't be enough space for the plane to land. Now make sure you don't leave your things as we go." Will instructed.

"Everything around here looks the same." Jameson remarked as he glanced around at the thick shrubbery.

"Don't worry, just stick with me and you'll be fine." The Colonel assured Jameson.

The Irishman tore his gaze away from the scenery to focus on pushing branches and leaves out of his face to keep them from scratching him.

Jameson let out a startled cry when a tarantula the size of his fist landed on Will's back, the dark haired male not seeming to notice.

"Colonel!" Jameson squeaked as Will turned around with a confused frown, his eyes shining with concern.

"O-on your back." Jameson stammered.

"Damn these spiders." Colonel huffed in mild irritation as he swiped the tarantula off, sending it scuttling across the ground and out of sight.

"Please tell me we're close." Jameson pleaded, warily watching the trees in case more creatures came to attack.

"We've only got a couple more miles to go." Will replied, earning a low groan from the weary Irishman that made Will smirk.

They trudged on in silence, giving Jameson time to think about the predicament he was stuck in while Colonel forged ahead without hesitation.

"Hey Colonel?" Jameson spoke up.

"Yeah?" Will replied, sounding slightly out of breath from having to slice their way through the jungle.

"Why did you come to Ireland to look for someone to come with you? And why me?" Jameson asked, the questions constantly in his mind.

"I went to Ireland to spend time away from home, and I saw you. You looked like a brave man who could use some adventure." Will answered with a shrug.

"I'm not brave." Jameson pointed out, cringing inwardly when he remembered the spider encounter.

"You're brave because you're here. I had asked people back home to come with me, and they all said no....you're the first person to ever come with me on a safari hunt." Will remarked.

Jameson fell silent as he contemplated Will's words, Will returning to silently cutting through the vines.

"Wait." Colonel instructed, holding up a hand to motion for Jameson to stop.

Jameson returned to reality when he stumbled into Will, accidentally causing him to lose his balance and fall forward.

Instead of hitting the ground, Jameson was shocked to see Will start to sink into what looked like a large pit of sand.

"Great, quicksand." Colonel grumbled as his body began to rapidly sink in the soupy liquid, not sounding panicked much to Jameson's confusion.

Jameson instantly began looking for a branch he could grab, finding nothing long enough much to his frustration.

"I won't drown in this if that helps, you actors just pretend that it does for dramatic affect." Colonel added in a calm tone, his body still despite the sand swallowing him up.

"Stop being so damn calm and tell me what to do!" Jameson snapped in irritation.

"Wait, I see a vine, I think I can reach it." Will muttered, desperately struggling to free his arm.

He reached up to grab the vine, only to drag something down to him instead.

An African rock python.

"Jameson!" Will shouted, terror now evident in his voice as the snake slithered across what little skin he had left that wasn't submerged.

"Okay, I'll run to the village to get help!" Jameson declared.

"That's still another mile from here!" Will replied, warily eying the snake as it curled up on his head, its tail dangling in his face.

"Where's it's face?" Will spoke quietly.

"It's sniffing your neck." Jameson answered nervously.

"Can you kill it? My hunting bag is by you." Colonel stated, his eyes closed as he tried to ignore the feeling of scales stretching against his skin as the snake began to constrict him.

"I don't want to kill you." Jameson replied worriedly, retrieving the first gun he found.

It was a simple silver pistol with only two bullets in the chamber.

"Either I die by snake or I have a chance to live." Will countered, feeling the snake gradually tighten its grip.

"Okay." Jameson nodded, leveling the gun at the snake's head winding its way around Will's neck.

He had practiced shooting a fake gun for a movie, but having to shoot something in real life made his pulse race wildly.

"Ja-Jameson." Will choked out, black dots beginning to pepper his vision as it became near impossible to breath.

Jameson didn't respond as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to still his shaking hands.

He opened his eyes and aimed the barrel of the gun at the snake's head as it moved up, feeling a bead of sweat from his forehead trail down his face as he pulled the trigger.

Jameson watched as the python fell off of Will and into the quicksand, Will's body deathly still.

"Will?" Jameson whimpered, attempting to reach out towards the Colonel.

His hand was still a foot away, yet he didn't know what else to do.

Will spluttered as his eyes abruptly flew open, coughing hard as he struggled to regain his breath.

"Thank god." Jameson sighed in relief, running a hand through his hair as he sat on the ground.

"Give...me the gun." Will instructed once he could breathe normally.

Jameson tossed the gun to Will, watching him shoot a branch above him, causing it to fall in front of him.

Will caught the branch and tossed it to Jameson so he could be pulled out, holding the gun in his teeth to keep from losing it as he grabbed the end of the branch with both hands.

Jameson grunted as he managed to pull Colonel back onto firm ground, the two men breathing hard as they recouped from their near encounter with death.

"Do we still have the machete?" Jameson spoke up.

Will shook his head no, gesturing to the quicksand.

"Damnit." Jameson cursed as he grabbed his suitcase from where he had dropped it on the path.

"Your turn to carry me." Will joked with a smirk as he pushed himself up off of the ground, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he looked down at his ruined clothes.

"Hell no, I don't have muscles." Jameson chuckled, scooping up Will's weapon bag instead before trudging through the jungle once more.

Will continued to guide Jameson, yet his earlier energy had dissipated, causing him to shuffle along like a zombie.

"That fucking quicksand wasn't there last time." Jameson heard Will mumble bitterly under his breath.

"I'm sure the natives moved it there just for you." Jameson replied teasingly, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hardy-har har." Will scoffed, adjusting the brim of his hat to better shade his eyes from the sun.

"Here we are." Will breathed in relief once they came across a village, men and women alike roaming around and completing their daily tasks.

"welkom william en vriend." One of the men greeted them.

William nodded politely in acknowledgment, elbowing Jameson hard in the ribs.

"Uh, hello sir." Jameson greeted him with a forced smile, his teeth gritted in pain as he followed Will's suite.

Satisfied, the man guided them to a simple hut equipped with a bed, dresser, bathroom, and a table with chairs.

Will immediately disappeared into the bathroom to shower while Jameson flopped down onto the bed, glad to relax his weary bones and muscles.

His exhaustion instantly took hold of him in its blissful dark embrace as soon as his head hit the pillow after removing his hat.