"Haaa, Australia, here I am!" Adam shouted, exhilaration surging through him.
People turned to look at him as if he were insane, but he didn't care. He was too excited to care — not that he would've cared under normal circumstances anyway.
Finally, having released all that pent‑up energy, he pulled out his phone to make a call.
Ding ding ding.
"Hey Adam, you made it! Are you in front already? I'm coming to pick you up!" a stranger's voice said before immediately hanging up.
Adam stared at his phone, dumbfounded.
Still the same, huh… He sighed, already feeling this journey was going to be very long.
He dialed again.
"Don't you dare fucking hang up on me! You don't even know where I am!" he shouted, exasperated — and admittedly a little amused.
"Fuck off, I'm a pro. I know what I'm doing, and it's not like there are thousands of airport entrances in Cairns," Blake laughed on the other end, cursing loudly.
"It's my first time here, but I can already tell how chaotic the place is, so don't try to brush me off with that kind of excuse," Adam said, again feeling that Blake was his absolute nemesis. Then he continued quickly before Blake could start rambling again:
"Anyway, I'm at Gate 3, right outside. You can't miss me: black jacket, white trousers, white shirt, and a big‑ass black luggage. More importantly, I'm tall and handsome, and you won't find anybody as striking as me in the crowd."
He finished, chin tilted proudly upward.
"Yeah, impossible not to notice somebody with such a stupid face," Blake snickered.
Adam rolled his eyes so hard it almost hurt. "You wish you had a face like mine."
They kept throwing insults back and forth for the next few minutes, each comeback more childish and satisfying than the last. A couple of people nearby glanced at Adam, confused about why this man was yelling profanities into his phone at 9 a.m., but he didn't care. This was their normal.
Finally, both feeling oddly refreshed by the exchange, they stopped.
"I'm here in five minutes," Blake said, still sounding like he was grinning.
"See you later, dickhead," Adam replied.
"Yeah, you too, fuckface," Blake shot back before hanging up.
Adam lowered his phone, exhaling through his nose. He scrolled aimlessly for a few minutes, letting the crowd flow around him. The usual airport chaos — rolling suitcases, crying kids, people shouting into phones — but here everything felt… louder. Sharper. That unmistakable Aussie twang cutting through the noise.
Outside, the sun was brutal. A heavy, dry heat pressed against the glass doors, almost daring him to step out. He shifted his weight, feeling a bead of sweat slide down his neck despite the airport's air‑conditioning.
Something tickled his forearm.
He looked down.
A chunky, overly confident Australian insect — the kind that acted like it paid rent — had landed on him. Bigger than he expected. Noticeably bigger, actually.
"Seriously?" Adam muttered, swatting it off with a flick.
The bug flew away lazily, completely unbothered, as if he were the intruder here.
He glanced around. Now that he thought about it — a fly buzzing near the entrance, a grasshopper perched on a railing, a spider sitting perfectly still on a support pole. All of them larger than they had any right to be. Not monstrous. Just… off. The kind of thing you'd dismiss if you weren't paying attention.
Adam frowned faintly, then let it go. Maybe that was just Australia.
Then something caught his eye.
A car was weaving through the traffic outside the terminal like it had a personal vendetta against road safety. It cut between taxis, honked at a bus and blasted music loud enough for Adam to hear it through the automatic doors.
He blinked.
"…No way."
The car swerved again, narrowly avoiding a luggage cart someone was pushing across the pedestrian lane.
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose.
Of course. Of course it's him.
The car screeched to a halt right in front of him, the trunk popping open with a sharp click.
"Come on, Adam, jump in! I don't have all day!" Blake yelled, his head sticking out of the window.
"That's how you greet me, fucker?" Adam asked as he tossed his luggage into the trunk in one smooth motion and climbed into the car.
"Haha, come on, that's just my way of showing love." Blake grinned, holding out a fist for a bump.
Adam rolled his eyes then bumped his fist anyway.
"Tsk. Don't make it weird," he said finally.
"Haha, you'll get used to it," Blake replied. Then, turning the music up again, he slammed his foot on the accelerator and they blasted out of the airport.
Adam was thrown back into his seat and hurried to buckle his seatbelt.
"Bro, you do know there's a traffic code you're supposed to follow!" he shouted over the wind and the music, watching Blake swerve between cars without a shred of concern.
"Yeah, but don't worry. I don't have the code anyway," Blake answered confidently.
"That's not how it works!" Adam yelled.
But he couldn't help it — a laugh burst out of him. He glanced at Blake — tall, lanky, messy brown hair, the kind of face that looked perpetually innocent. It was deeply misleading.
"Are we going to meet the team right now?" Adam finally asked, now that they hadn't crashed and, miraculously, no police sirens were chasing them.
"Yeah, we're crashing at a local's place. He's responsible for guiding us during the trip and, you know, finding the spot where you want to kill yourself," Blake said, completely serious.
"But don't worry, I'll make sure your stunt honors your death," he continued, wiping fake tears from his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm counting on you to make it perfect," Adam played along, placing a firm hand on Blake's shoulder.
Blake just gave him a thumbs‑up.
Ten minutes later, they stopped in front of a house on the outskirts of Cairns. It was pretty big — large enough to accommodate the entire team.
Adam scrambled out of the car in a rush, bracing his hands on his knees as he took deep breaths to calm himself down. When he finally straightened up, he glanced over at Blake, who was casually pulling out the luggage with sunglasses still on, looking like he'd just finished a leisurely Sunday drive.
Adam had underestimated Blake. Badly. Once they'd left Cairns' traffic behind, Blake somehow got worse — swerving, accelerating, overtaking like he was auditioning for a stunt show.
Blake came up behind him and patted him on the back.
"Come on, it's just a little driving. You gotta get used to high speed, haha," he said, laughing as he headed toward the entrance.
Adam quickly joined him.
Blake, as casual as ever, thumped on the door.
"Open up, guys! Our main character is here!" he announced heroically, convinced it sounded epic.
Silence.
A vein twitched on his forehead. He thumped harder this time.
"Oi! Fucking open the door! Don't tell me you're already drunk at noon!" he shouted.
Finally, footsteps and voices could be heard approaching.
"You fucking idiot, it's already open!" a man yelled, yanking the door open with unnecessary violence.
He was thin, with a hooked nose and glasses. Adam took one look at him and immediately got the feeling this was the kind of guy who could erupt at any moment.
Blake didn't look the slightest bit ashamed. He just turned to Adam and casually pointed at the man.
"He's Austin — the local who joined us. He'll be the one guiding us through Australia's environment and finding the perfect spot. And, uh, he's also housing us," Blake said.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, thanks for helping us," Adam said, shaking his hand.
"Yeah, nice to meet you. You won't find anyone who knows the region better than me!" Austin replied confidently.
Austin led them inside, toward the living room, where two other people were already there — one slouched on the couch, half‑asleep, and the other hunched over the table, tinkering with something with way too much focus.
They barely looked up, continuing whatever they were doing… or not doing.
Without hesitation, Blake marched over, grabbed both of them — one by the arm, the other by the collar of his hoodie — and hauled them upright. With an arm thrown over each of their shoulders like he was forcing a group hug, he introduced them with way too much enthusiasm.
"Here's Patty — he'll be the one patching you up and keeping an eye on your health," Blake said, gesturing to the Black man on his right. He wore glasses and definitely looked like the intellectual type… though the bags under his eyes made Adam wonder how reliable he actually was.
"Yeah… you can count on me…" Patty said, his voice dragging like he hadn't slept in three days.
"And this is Tom. He might not look like it, but he's a real pro — he'll be handling the drone and all the technical stuff," Blake added, patting the chubby guy on his left.
"Hey bro, you'll see — I'll get you the most epic shot," Tom said with enthusiasm.
After a bit of small talk, Adam headed upstairs to settle into one of the rooms. He ended up sharing with Blake. Once he'd set up his bed and casually organized his things, he went back downstairs.
When he came back downstairs, the others were still chatting casually in the living room. From the kitchen, Austin was busy cooking something that smelled warm and savory — some kind of traditional Australian dish he called a meat pie.
He sat down casually next to Patty on the couch, grabbed a handful of chips from the table, and said while munching:
"So, what's the plan? I was told we'd be looking for the perfect spot over the next few weeks, and I'll be training on the side with Blake."
"Yeah, we'll do just that. We already talked with Austin, and he's got multiple spots in mind, but we narrowed it down to three," Blake said. "Basically, they're all suitable — but they get progressively harder to access, more dangerous, more spectacular, and more exotic."
He leaned forward, counting on his fingers.
"First one's in the Daintree. Tropical jungle, waterfalls, cliffs covered in vines — humid as hell, but perfect for a clean first run. Good height, good wind corridors, nothing too crazy."
"Second one's inland, around the gorges. Higher cliffs, tighter gaps, way more technical. The terrain there is insane — natural corridors, sharp drops, rock walls you can skim by a few meters. It's a step up."
Then he grinned.
"And the last one… Cape York. The northernmost tip of the continent — literally the edge of Australia. Dense rainforest that drops straight into rust‑red cliffs, wild rivers you can't cross without a 4WD, crocodiles in every waterway. No roads worth mentioning, no people, no help." Blake paused, letting the weight of it settle.
"Up there the sandstone forms massive walls that fall straight into narrow canyons — like someone carved corridors through the earth. Some ridges are so thin you can stand with a cliff on each side. And at the bottom of a few of those gorges, you've got deep, perfectly still waterholes carved into the rock. It's the most remote spot I've ever scouted — but the landscape? Nothing else on Earth comes close. If we want the best stunt possible, that's where it is."
Adam felt his excitement rising with each spot. By the time Blake mentioned the last one, his heart was thumping rapidly.
"The last one it is then!" he said, unable to contain his excitement.
Blake paused, staring at him for a second. He could practically see the adrenaline surging through Adam. Then he burst out laughing.
"Calm down, bro. We're not teleporting there tomorrow. We need to check the spots one by one and actually prepare ourselves. And even if we end up doing the final stunt in Cape York, we still need to train progressively on the first two."
"He's right," came a mumble from Patty, still slouched on the couch next to Adam, eyes closed. "We also need to check the environment and prep the equipment… It's not like the US. Here you've got insects, parasites, diseases we need to account for. And we'll have to analyze the water of whatever lake you dive into for the final jump…"
"Yeah, and getting there is another problem," Tom cut in. "Some spots we can reach on foot, but others will need a 4x4 at the very least — and the last one will probably require a helicopter. Sure, I can scout with the drone, but at some point we still need to be physically there to really get a feel for the terrain."
Adam calmed down hearing that, realizing proper preparation was needed. His excitement settled, and he furrowed his brows — it suddenly sounded like things were going to be pretty tough.
"Well, for the helicopter, I already contacted somebody," Blake continued. "He'll help us out. But he's only coming for the final spot. It'd cost way too much for your sponsor, BlueOx, to rent a helicopter and a pilot for weeks."
"Haha, makes sense… I kinda forgot we didn't have a limitless budget," Adam laughed awkwardly, thinking of the stern woman he'd negotiated the stunt with.
"It's already pretty crazy they invested that much in an upstart like you," Blake said, genuinely puzzled. "I mean, I know how good and anormal you are, but I didn't think they'd have the same insight."
"Well, I'm pretty good, and I've done some crazy feats in the past already. It blew up on social media," Adam replied, omitting the fact that his parents had pushed things a bit too. They were fairly well‑known in the sports community, after all.
At that moment, a warm, savory aroma drifted into the living room.
"Thanks, that looks amazing!" Adam said, grabbing his plate without hesitation and digging in.
They all started eating, chatting casually about everything and nothing, until the conversation naturally circled back to the stunt. As soon as the spots were mentioned again, Austin abruptly cut in.
"You can all forget about Cape York," he said, his tone suddenly stern, eyes sharp.
That got everyone's attention — even Adam, who paused mid‑bite, still chewing with enthusiasm.
"I don't know what you've heard, but things have been… strange lately," Austin continued. "You've probably noticed insects are bigger in Australia, right?"
He looked around the room. Everyone nodded.
"Sure, Australian wildlife is exotic and oversized — that's normal. But what I'm seeing now? That's not normal. Some insects are larger than they should be, some have slight mutations, and even certain birds and fish are starting to change. Most people wouldn't notice, but I'm out there all the time. I see it. Things are getting stranger — and more dangerous."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"I've seen a ten‑centimeter ant in the far north," he said quietly. "I didn't stick around to study it, but I can tell you it's not the only one — and definitely not the only strange thing I've come across. I don't know why nobody's talking about it, but a place like Cape York? It's far more dangerous than it used to be. And it was already pretty damn dangerous. That's my guide's intuition."
Silence ensued. Everyone was processing what they'd just heard.
"Mmm… you're the expert," Blake finally said, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But we haven't heard anything from the government, and, well… a ten‑centimeter ant is still just an ant, right? I mean… we can at least go check like we planned. If it's too dangerous, we bail, yeah?"
He let out a short, awkward laugh, finding the whole thing a bit absurd.
"Right… it shouldn't be that bad," he added, glancing around for support.
"Yeah… it should be fine…" Tom muttered.
"Mmh. Fine…" Patty echoed, though he didn't sound convinced.
Adam stayed silent, thinking of the mantis.
If I meet that in the region…
"How about I scout with the drone before we go anywhere on foot?" Tom proposed.
"That works. Should be fine like that," Blake said, regaining some confidence. "Right, Austin?"
Austin didn't answer immediately. His gaze moved from one face to another — Blake's forced optimism, Tom's nervous enthusiasm, Patty's half‑awake resignation. Then he looked at Adam.
"What about you? You're the captain here."
Adam hesitated for a heartbeat, his pulse quickening. Dangerous or not, he wanted to see it. Then he grinned.
"Of course we'll do it."
Blake whooped, Tom pumped a fist, Patty raised his plate in a lazy toast. The mood snapped back into excitement.
"Hooray for Adam!"
Austin exhaled slowly, the tension leaving his shoulders. He shook his head, but a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he finally joined in the celebration.