It was at this moment I realized that the countless hours of watching remote survivor shows, judging the contestants from the comfort of my couch, was wasted. I was lost. More than lost, I was angry. “I didn’t even want to come on this stupid trip in the first place!” I muttered to myself. “Curse you and your unrealistic depictions of nature, national geographic!” I shouted into the nothingness of the trees surrounding me. With a sigh I trudged on, at least that gave me a chuckle. Taking in my surroundings I remarked that the dense tropical foliage had not changed in visual significance for some time. Progressing forward, I pushed through a particularly thick wall of vines with vague disinterest. I was so done with this place, more than done, I was utterly and completely over it.

Feeling a little hopeless, I spotted a dryish looking log and decided to take a break. I pulled my backpack around and downed a bit of my water canteen, “better try to conserve this, even though it’s hot as hell,” I muttered. The intense humidity of my tropical surroundings has seemed nice at first, but quickly turned into more of a bother when my clothes stuck to my skin in all sorts of unfortunate places. “Ughhhh.” I groaned, letting my head fall into my hands, my body sagging in defeat. I must have been walking for hours by now. We started this morning’s trek a little past dawn, trying to beat the oppressively hot climate. Spoiler, we didn’t.

Seeing movement out of the corner of my eye, I turned slightly spotting a small gecko hopping out of the underbrush, coming to rest on the other side of my particular log. Stopping, as if suddenly aware of my presence, he stared up at me inquisitively. “Hello there, were you listening to my griping?” I questioned the small creature. He stared, unblinking in response. “I don’t suppose you could tell me which direction is the closest road?” I inquired further. Turning his head, he gobbled up a crossing ant in reply. Carefully, I poured some of my precious water into the cap of my canteen, sliding it towards the curious reptile. He continued to eye me suspiciously before taking a few careful steps forward and sipping the water with a few quick projections of his sticky tongue. “Well, I expected as much. Still you’re not too bad, I’ll call you Ned.” Ned was the name of my car’s GPS back home, a device I took greatly for granted, I now realize when I needed its familiar guidance the most.

“Let me tell you Ned, this was not how I thought things would have gone.” I began deciding that I would regale this little creature with how I became so utterly lost. “Let’s start at the beginning, and what series of events led to my current predicament. My best friend, Greg, is getting married. Instead of having a normal bachelor party with strippers and booze, he opted for a backpacking adventure through remote parts of Southeast Asia.” At this I chucked at the sheer ridiculousness of his idea of a relaxing vacation. “I know what you’re thinking, a little over the top, am I right? Well, while supposedly crossing off a bucket list item for him, this trip is proving to be the bane of my existence. If I were the one getting married, let’s just say I would have opted for a simple bourbon tour or something.” Ned continued to stare at me, seemingly unfazed by my story.

“I remember Greg posing the plan to me clearly, this is his second marriage and his new fiancé is loaded, so why not splurge a little? Still, I have a long a list of other places I would have picked for an all-expenses paid vacation. Let me tell you.” I signed in frustration. “Plus the food here is weird,” I lamented. “Anyway, things started this morning normally enough. We all got up, ate some freeze dried crap in the name of “authenticity” (I even made the air quotes motion, to give Ned an accurate recollection of events), began our hike, heard very ominous noises coming from some very suspicious looking bushes, stupidly approached said noises, got the shit scared out of us by some very angry monkeys, and ran away, scattering like the pansies we were.” I groaned again, “I honestly didn’t think we had run that far but when I finally stopped to catch my breath, I couldn’t find anyone else.” Of course, I had tried shouting, cursing, and bargaining with the forest gods to help me find my group, but as this was a few hours into my solitude, I had run out of rational ideas.

“So, what do you think Ned, can you help me?” I questioned. My newfound companion continued to gaze at me, before in an act of surprising dexterity, licked his own eyeball, blinked one last time in my direction and scurried away in the same underbrush he had emerged from. My sigh deepened. “Your right Ned, I might as well keep going, this direction is as good as any” I said, brushing off my jeans while standing. I think my chat with Ned actually helped; at least now I was determined not to let myself completely lose hope and wallow in self-pity.

Thinking back, of course this would end poorly. I’m practically a city slicker, born and raised in Chicago. The most time I had spent outdoors in the past decade was kayak day trips with my friends. I got caught up in thought staring at the ground, trying to prevent another embarrassing faceplant. I had fallen pretty badly earlier in my wanderings resulting in two scraped knees, a bruised palm, and a severe blow to my pride. There had been four of us in total on this trip, Greg, myself, Brian (Greg’s little brother) and Dan. We were all old college buddies, save Brian, and have been there for each other through it all. Though, ‘it all’ seemed to have been dominated by a series of really poor choices in women, mainly on Dan and Brian’s part. I got my heart broken by my first love, a beautiful blonde I met at my first job right out of high school. When I proposed to her, she took the rock and ran, never to return my calls again. I should’ve known better; I did propose after only three months.

I shook my head in regret, the next several years flew by in a whirl, I was ‘focusing on my career’ and all that BS. Brian’s first wife had been his college sweetheart, and when he inherited his dad’s printing business, had taken him for all he was worth and split. That was before he met Tina on some ritzy dating site for business owners. Now life is all peaches and cream for them. Dan’s love life was a revolving door of women, who now were much too young for him. Still, they were happy which is more than I can say for myself. “I swear, when I get out of this, I am hooking up with the most desperate Instagram thot and making all of them pay for this!” I resolved aloud to no one in particular. I continued for what seemed like an eternity, until I came upon a suspiciously similar log. “Ned, if you can hear me, this direction is terrible!” I spat condemningly, kicking the dirt, and pointing into the underbrush in which he had departed. “This is ridiculous” I mumbled, my anger returning, I let it fuel my steps driving myself deeper into a different, but still randomly chosen direction.

Without realizing it, there was a subtle shift in the trees around me. Instead of growing into themselves in chaotic patterns, they started to part, revealing a semblance of a trail. “Oh, thank god” I breathed out, now feeling the fatigue of the day’s stresses. As I walked the path became more defined, the bushes and trees now creating a comfortable footpath for me to stroll through. Much to my confusion, the dense green brush began to thin out, giving way thick trees covered in the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. Stopping and leaning closer I realized they were orchids, hundreds of them. In every imaginable color and pattern, these enigmatic flowers surrounded me.

I pinched myself on the arm, hard. “Oww!” I gasped, Ok, that’s confirmation enough, this is not a dream, just a weird turn of events. They grew in long vines that circled the trees as high as I could see, intertwining in themselves along the branches growing over the path, providing some much-appreciated shade. It was like a long archway made of vines and flowers. “There must be people close by, no way this isn’t man made,” I mused to myself. The orchids continued to increase in density as I continued, now leisurely strolling forward in complete awe of my discovery. All too soon I came to a wall of delicate vines blocking my way. Slowly and deliberately I parted the curtain, tendrils of intense white light striking though the openings my intruding fingers created. Resolving to continue no matter what lay before me, I closed my eyes and pushed through.

I stumbled forward, my eyes needing time to adjust to the blinding light. Blinking a few times, I shielded my face from the intense change as a single figure pervaded my view. With my head tilted down I took her in from the ground up. The first thing I noticed was a beautiful deep pink fabric trailing along the ground before me, shimmering like nothing I had ever seen before. My eyes followed the train of her dress as it ascended, hugging the curve of her hips and waist. Taking my time to drink in her form, my eyes trailed upward to a single slender shoulder exposed to the air. Deliberately, as if time itself slowed to match the beating of my heart, she turned to look towards me.

Her three-quarter view was picturesque, my eyes growing wide as I took in the silhouette of her upper body. The deep pink in the train of her dress gradually lightened to a cream blush where it met her bust line. As the color transitioned, her dress shown with silver and pink orchids embroidered in a swirling pattern, highlighting the sensuous curves of her body. Her left shoulder was covered by a sash that crossed her upper body, connecting at her opposing hip. The trail of the sash gently flowed behind her, as if swaying with a breeze that only affected her. My eyes traveled across her flawless skin of her face, leaving me awestruck. She had the soft features and almond eyes, common of the women in this area of the world, but her face was perfect, as if sculpted. Entranced by her eyes, I took a few unconscious steps forward. I stopped myself once I realized how foolish this action was, after all she was a gorgeous woman alone in the middle of a tropical maze.

“I’m so sorry to have intruded on you…” my words failed me as she smiled warmly, causing the breath to hitch in my throat. Realizing that I had been staring, I averted my eyes, my face burning with the rush of blood that no doubt made my cheeks flash crimson. While I was contemplating my own mortification, a small delicate hand appeared in my field of vision. Hooking a finger under my chin, she lifted my face to meet her gaze. Taking in her delicate features from a closer distance, I could only describe her face as ethereal. I’m not the romantic type and I’m certainly no poet but this strange woman before me was entrancing. “I’m lost…and need to find my group…” I stammered cursing my own ineloquence. Without a word, she simply continued to smile, the center of her eyes were a cream gold color melding with pink on the edges in a way that matched her dress. They were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.

I reached up tentatively, meeting her hand, which was cold to my hot touch. Tearing my gaze away from her I took in my surroundings. We were on the edge of a small, circular clearing. The center of which was covered in a blanket of vivid green moss. The edges were densely lined by a perfect circle of the same trees I has seen on the path that led me here, but this time the vines covering them were covered in pink and cream-colored orchids. Glancing behind me, it slowly registered that I had come through the only obvious entry point. “I really do apologize, I’m looking for someone who can help me find a way out of this forest…” my words faltered as she stepped closer to me, pulling my hand forward to meet her halfway.

Besides the hammering sound of my own heart in my ears, I realized that all the insect noise had stopped, in fact all other noise had stopped. As if she could read my mind, she began to hum a strange melody, breaking the silence and immediately making me feel at ease. Reaching out to me she gently turned my face towards hers, her eyes meeting mine, aligning her lips to the level of mine. She breathed out just as I breathed in, she smelled like flowers, a delicious yet heavy sweetness that had my mouthwatering immediately. I closed my eyes and leaned forward inhaling deeply, my lips parted in expectation, but they reached only air.

Dreamily I opened my eyes to see her receding to the center of the clearing. Tantalizing slow she began to rock back and forth, the breeze following her languid movements. As she gave herself into the swaying rhythm of her own humming, she danced around me. I was in the center of the clearing now, not quite remembering how I got there. Alternating between fluid steps, elegant leaps, and refined spins, her movements were the definition of grace. She raised her arms, her gown flowing outward as she performed her hypnotizing dance for me. Even when I closed my eyes, I saw her there dancing, her beauty radiating outwards lighting up the clearing.

While some of her movements seemed deliberately slow, others were so fast my eyes could not track them. This sent small chills down my spine that should have had me rethinking this series of events, but it only served as a tantalizing sensation as my mind became clouded with lust. Her dizzying movements gradually came closer to me, I was overwhelmed by the sensation of her softly dragging her fingertips across my shoulders, down my arms, over my face and through my hair. As she slowed, I felt her hands trail across my clothing, small suggestive pulling motions had me shrug off my pack and surrender to her touches. I felt her hands everywhere, tugging my shirt upwards, unbuckling my belt, deft fingers running through my hair, my pants falling on their own accord, I felt it all at once.

All rational thought was beyond my capabilities in this moment, I closed my eyes focusing on the sensation of her touch on any exposed skin. It was addicting and I craved more, I needed more. And I needed it now. Following her suggestions, I pulled my shirt over my head and dropped it carelessly to the ground. Stepping out of both shoes and socks, I showed no hesitation despite standing before her in nothing but my boxers. Approaching me, she continued to hum the same divine melody, one that lulled me further into a state of euphoria. I inhaled her scent again, this time letting it overwhelm my senses. Underneath the initial sweetness there was a spiciness that I wanted desperately to taste.

Gently, I reached out and cupped her face, leaning forward I carefully watched for any sign of hesitance or resistance, both of which were completely absent from her small smile. Closing my eyes, I kissed her gently. Her lips were as sweet as her fragrance and just as intoxicating. In a surprising turn, I felt her small hands grip the back of my head and neck, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. I couldn’t resist releasing a moan deep in my throat as I relished in the forward nature of her movements. My hands found her hips grabbing them in desperation, pulling her lower body forward to meet mine. The contact with my groin made my member throb in desire. Trailing my hands upwards to rid her of her dress, she stopped them with her own, leading them around to the small of her back. Running her fingertips up my chest, she drew soft circles across my skin and down my back, reaching the top of my hips, she grasped the band of my last remaining piece of clothing and slowly slid them down, letting it fall to the mossy ground.

My whole body shuddered, now completely nude in front of this mysterious woman. My hands still resting on the small of her back traveled lower to get a hold of that perfect ass. Giving her a small squeeze the action added fire to my groin, as my lips returned to hers, passionately but a little more hungrily this time. I wanted to feel her skin against mine. In response, she ground herself forward, causing me to gasp as the smooth fabric of her dress made contact with the naked skin of my shaft and balls. I was already harder than I could believe, trying to control my breathing as I did not want this experience to be over too quickly.

I felt her hands gently caress my lower back, pulling me tighter in her embrace. My brain completely fogged by desire; I let her lead our movements. A genuine part of me would like to say I was being considerate not wanting to lead her into anything she didn’t want to do, but honestly no distinct thought entered my mind as she sensually began to rock her hips against mine. Letting the feeling pervade my entire being, my head lulled to the side, my mouth open, gasping for air as she took full control. Her body seemed to move in waves as I felt the pressure on my manhood pressed between us. Slowly she rocked back and forth, rolling her hips then stomach to pleasure me from bottom to top. I was lost in how long she taunted me, bits of precum dripped from the head of my penis down my engorged shaft showing how ready I truly was. She didn’t let up until my breath became ragged, eyes squeezed shut, I felt her hand tenderly touch my face. My eyes shot open, knowingly she gazed into my face, the same warm smile plastered across her features.

Shifting, she turned her back to me, her hands reaching down to part the folds in her dress. Neatly, she pushed enough fabric aside for me to glimpse the base of her curved rear. Following my thoughts, she bent forward slightly while pulling me forward. I wanted to reach forward to touch her core, but she secured my hands at her waist with her own. Wanting to tease her as she had me, I slowly pushed myself between the nape of her parted thighs. Signaling her approval, she pushed her hips back to meet mine, again gyrating in a way that made me go crazy. I knew I couldn’t keep up this game for long, after pressing myself against her a few more times, she bent forward more, tilted her ass up slightly. Preparing for the plunge, I angled the head of my penis at her opening. I could feel the warmth of her entrance radiating outward, heating my already scorching skin.

Wanting to savor every second of this feeling, I pushed forward in one slow deliberate motion. Sparks flew behind my eyes as I felt her insides envelop me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt, certainly unlike any other woman I had ever been with before. Despite our lips not touching, I could taste the same sweetness from our kiss on my tongue. It seemed to permeate the very air as we made love. My carnal side taking charge, my hips thrust forward of their own accord. She met my frantic rhythm perfectly, increasing the grinding of her hips, giving me even deeper access to her core. My involuntarily moans increased as my breath quickened. I could feel her insides pulse with my pushes, the pressure increasing with every back and forth movement. We were both close and we knew it. I reached around, pulling her upper body closer to my chest, I wanted to hold her as we found our release. Wrapping my arms around her body, I felt her chest rise and fall with her own rapid breaths. Time seemed to slow as our bodies moved in tandem, then everything exploded.

Her body rose to my touch one final time before she found her own release, throwing her had back while shutting her eyes tight and opening her lips wide, mouthing a scream of pleasure without making a sound. The pressure on my manhood increased impossibly as I felt her insides undulate urging my movements further. I could feel her then, my hands grasping her chest and stomach pulling her even closer to me. I felt her entire upper body throbbing, fueled at a rate much too fast for me to call a heartbeat. Her ecstasy was too much to bear as I found my own end. Groaning in unbridled need I continued to thrust through her orgasm, drawing our her pleasure as well as adding to my own. I lost count with how many times I pumped into her, our combined liquids running down her thighs and dripping to the ground. Time stopped and that moment seemed to last a lifetime.

Completely drained, I released my grasp on her as she withdrew my now flaccid member and turned to face me. She kissed me gently and all too soon pulling away, taking immense effort I drowsily opened my eyes, squinting to adjust to the harsh light. As I took in her serene face the surroundings began to blur at the edges of my vision, I saw the flowers seem to come alive, moving with a life of their own. It was like a dream, hundreds of orchids took flight and began swirling around us in dizzying blurs of pink, blush, and cream.

My eyes widened taking in this dance of the orchids, it was like her own dance, but performed by the hundreds of flowers now encircling our forms. Extending my hand without thought or intention, I simply wanted to touch the petals to make sure they were real. The tight clicking sound of wings drew my attention away as one of the orchids came to rest on my forearm. I marveled at the tiny creature in front of me, it was not a flower as I had thought, but a small mantis insect. It inspected me closely with familiar cream and pink eyes, I was entranced by its delicate movements as it turned away from my gaze and flew back into the storm of color. Not flowers, I then realized, but hundreds of Orchid Mantis insects twirled around us.

I vaguely registered the feeling of her cool hands moving up my back, trailing gently down my shoulders, resting to grasp my biceps. My eyes, never leaving her face, flickered down when I began to hear a sickening cracking noise. Using her delicate fingers, she pushed my chin up to meet her face as I saw it begin to change. The light pink of the edges of her eyes grew to fill the white of spaces until rather than the human circular pattern, her eyes shown vertical stripes of cream and pink color. They also grew in size, terrifyingly large in proportion to the other features of her once delicate face. In fear, I tried to use my legs to push away only to feel something strong holding my hips in place. It was then I registered that my feet no longer touched the ground.

Shaking loose of her grip on my chin, I looked down frantically trying to find reason in what was happening. My feet dangled several feet above the ground, my hips secured between the joints of two impossible long limbs that supported my weight effortlessly. I released a scream of terror as my mind registered the woman’s beautiful pink dress had grown to become one with a smooth exoskeleton of the same color. Her four hind walking legs were supporting her long slender abdomen that had changed from the gorgeous women I was holding moments before into something entirely new.

My mind was overwhelmed as I felt her breath that same sweet scent into my open mouth. Carefully she pushed me to my knees, adjusting my torso so that I was laying on the ground. I was in a complete haze when I saw her insect form receding from me. The swarm of mantis seemed to undulate, following her movements. Standing tall on her back four legs, she raised her raptorial forelimbs high, allowing four translucent wings to be released form her back.

Her insect features appraised my shivering form, both terrified and captivated by her true body. She had gotten what she needed from me, and now it was her time to depart. I think back on that day often, never recalling the events aloud to any living soul. I barely believed my own memory sometimes, the main thing I can picture was her silhouette. Rising from the ground, suspended by her unearthly wings. Such is the haunting beauty of the true form of the Orchid Queen.

THE END