Midge Check

Author's note: just a fun little FM romance with an exhibitionist theme

*****

Three figures a few feet apart in a line made their way up the switchbacks. The trail weaved back and forth through the lush foliage and it was cool even in mid-afternoon. High above, the thick mesh of branches and leaves almost entirely shielded the high-latitude sun from finding its way to the forest floor. They were deep in callidendrous rainforest, the most common type in Tasmania, having a canopy exceeding 40 meters in height. During the first hour of hiking that morning, every few minutes one of the students would stop to gaze high above in wonder and point out a detail to the others, but after enough time and repetition, the routine of even this beautiful environment had set in—along with a realization of the demands of the day's ambitious distance goal—and they were now plodding continuously up the slope without comment.

Oliver walked second in the little group. Anna, at the head of the line, heard the squish of his hiking boot every time his left foot hit the gravel, and couldn't resist a smile. During the last stream crossing he had plunged it in deeper than he intended, soaking it and probably his sock, too. She thought of how often he had been clumsy on this first day of their two-day trip in the Tasmanian wilderness, and how this, somehow combined with his always-too-serious expression, endeared him to her. She thought of his attractive angular face and lean build, and wondered if she would get a chance to help him dry off by the fire tonight at the hut. It would be fun to explore what was under those hiking khakis, if he could manage to get them off without falling over in a heap while he balanced on one leg. The image made her smile again.

She could tell by his small noises that he was gathering his courage to tell her something, and was flattered that he seemed nervous around her. The fantasy that he found her attractive had crept in, and she wanted to nourish this notion. Anna hadn't had guys fall for her much in her life yet. She was pretty enough—actually quite pretty—but she blamed her lack of a natural flirting personality for not getting any further than she had in the few furtive relationships she'd tried. Part of her reason for this travel was to reinvent herself overseas—to take that shy girl from Rhode Island and let her take some risks and be bold. To have an adventure!

"Anna," he started.

"Mmm?" she replied noncommittally.

"Midge valley is just over that ridge, you can see it there. We should get in a couple hours after that, just before dark."

They had been hiking since dawn, after parking at the western edge of the little town of Hobart. Poul—their team leader—and his girlfriend Camilla, already ahead of them on the trail, had been insistent on getting the earliest of starts. The three had learned quickly not to go against Poul's wishes. Anna knew he was a bit of a strange fellow, she'd seen that much during his visits to the dorm hall to see Camilla, but now she wondered if there was even more to him. Camilla was from Norway, part of the same international exchange program Anna was taking part in that summer; Anna from America and Madge from Sweden. Oliver was the only one of the weekend adventure group of five who hailed from Tasmania itself.

Oliver continued, "I, um, I just wanted to apologize. In advance. You know, for tonight."

Anna had no idea what he was talking about.

"Do you plan on saying something rude to me tonight?" she said with an attempted flirt in her voice. She was still learning how to pull that off.

"Oh no, of course not. I just meant the midge check, you know."

Anne enjoyed his Australian accent, and understood the words he spoke, but didn't understand what he was anxious about. Madge had told her about the midges. It was a major feature of this hike. A last hurdle of sorts before the day's hiking ended at the hut—a hut owned by a mysterious contact of Poul's, where they were to spend the night—and this hurdle was in the form of a deep and moist canyon called Middleton Valley. Beautifully thick with vegetation and streams, but also thick with clouds of the famous tiny Tasmanian biting flies. There was no way to detour around it and it would be an hour or more of enduring the discomfort of the natural world, the temperate rainforest at that, before the day would be over.

At least that's what Anna had heard from others. She had never been on this trek before. But to a person, including Anna's new best Swedish friend Madge, the cute and stammering Oliver, and of course the brooding and mercurial Poul and his beautiful black-haired woman Camilla, they all insisted it was the only negative of the entire hike, and a small price to pay for the lifetime experience of seeing the beauty of the deep Tasmanian wilderness on this rarely traveled trail.

The locals referred to this place of ordeal as Midge Valley instead of its proper name, and the students had some fun calling it Madge Valley as a wordplay in honor of their Swede.

Unfortunately, as they told Anna, even when taking every precaution, the midges were likely to get into every crevice of one's clothes and leave nasty, itchy bites. Poul and his friends had developed a routine they called the midge check, where a special salve applied to each bite aims to prevent swelling and itching that would otherwise drive you mad for a few days and nights. That's what Madge said, anyway. Poul was insistent that there be no use of the DEET chemicals, wanting humans to remain pure and not pollute the environment. Poul was already sounding like a handful to deal with on this trip, in Anna's opinion.

Poul and Camilla had gone far ahead on the trail a half hour previous, and were probably well into Midge Valley itself by now. Poul wanted to get ahead to prepare the fires in the hut for the furnace, shower and hot tub. It was supposed to be no small feat of engineering what Poul's friend had built there over the years. Nobody knew how Poul got to know this Tasmanian local, but nobody knew much of anything about Poul, or for that matter much of anything that Poul did.

She continued walking, rounding the final switchback to the long uphill she could see spreading out before her, that led to the ridge just in front of the buggy valley. She wanted to understand what was just said.

"Oliver, what are you talking about?"

"Well, I mean, I don't really know you very well, and you are a pretty girl, if you don't mind me saying so."

A hazy thought started to form in Anna's mind. She stopped in the middle of the track, holding up both Oliver and Madge, who was directly behind him.

"Madge," Anna said in a sharp voice. Madge looked up innocently, peering over the side of Oliver. She continued, "You told me that to do this hike I had to agree to this midge check thing in the hut."

"Yes, Anna," she said quietly, in her almost-perfect Swedish-accent English.

"You said it was non-negotiable and Poul insisted on it as a condition of being invited on his little getaway. That otherwise the midge bites would fester and he wouldn't be responsible for that."

"Yes," she said, again.

"You said we'd go as fast as possible through the valley, run into the hut, jump into a hot shower and then we'd check each other for bites, over our whole body."

"Yes," she said.

"Then you'll check me, right?"

"Yes," she said yet again with a smile, showing a friendly but slightly impatient expression like when will this questioning be done? Anna sighed in relief that she hadn't misunderstood anything.

"Oliver, then why are you apologizing to me about the midge check and talking about how pretty I am? And by the way, thanks for the compliment." She threw him a little smile she hoped was encouraging. She had her hands on her hips, resting on her tight poly top that hugged all her curves quite well, as she knew. She was glad that he had noticed her curves, evidently.

Oliver stood silently, looking nervously at her, contemplating how to answer.

"I think I understand the confusion," Madge broke in, with her Swedish accent. Anna felt like she was talking with one of the Abba singers—that blonde one—with her accent and sweet and clear voice. "You are American. I forget that you have a problem with nudity."

Anna was taken aback. "I don't think I have that big a problem with it," she said defensively. She'd been in locker rooms, although it was true that she had never liked undressing in front of others, but she did it, and she and Madge and had known each other long enough at the university dorms this summer to try on clothes and goof around in their rooms in their bras and panties with no reserves that Anna could remember.

Madge continued. "You may select me to check you, yes that is correct. But this thing is a— how do I say?—sort of a ceremony, done together. Poul and Camilla insist on this way. For the experience. You know Poul, he is an unusual man—very serious about experiences, about discovering truth, about life, about . . ." she raised her hands and waved at the natural scene around us, "the environment and the gaia."

Anna had her mouth hanging open from Madge's earlier comment. "Wait. What does 'done together mean'? Madge, what the hell did you sign me up for? I'm not going to be part of some Lord of the Flies bullshit out here in the middle of nowhere!"

"Anna, it is not Lord of the Flies. It is a sensual experience, yes." She reflected for a moment and rocked her head back, considering. "I like it. I think you might, too."

In reaction to this new information, Anna put her hands to her eyes, covering them in disbelief, still standing in the path blocking the others' progress. "Wait, let me get this straight." She opened her hands to look directly at Oliver. "You are part of this experience, too?"

"Yes, we all do it," he said.

"Like, we all do it together? Get naked in front of each other?"

"Yes, for the midge check. If you don't do it, the bites will itch badly tomorrow."

"I know," she said, "but, oh my God," as it sunk in. They'd been hiking most of the day and there was no turning back now, a couple of hours before dark in the middle of the thick Tasmanian forest. She wouldn't know the way back even in the daylight with the many twists and turns and unmarked junctions Poul had guided them through. Up ahead was this borderline lunatic hippy guy and his scary girlfriend, and she needed to keep in their favor to get a hot shower and bed tonight and they insisted on some sort of naked cleansing ceremony? She couldn't believe Madge let her get into this, but with all their co-ed hot tubs and saunas, Anna guessed that Swedes didn't think anything special about group nudity.

She couldn't see any way around it for the time being, so she spun around in a daze and started trudging up the trail, racking her brain as she walked, wondering how she could convince Poul to let Madge check her for midges privately. But he had already lost his temper this morning when Oliver confessed that he left his water bottle on the bus, and at Madge when she got out a brightly-colored branded Adidas jacket from her backpack. He gave them all a ten minute lecture about purity and the natural order and the evils of corporate branding and fascism. I should have listened right then to my inner doubts and turned around and spent the day shopping in the cute little Hobart downtown, staying in a hotel for tonight, she thought to herself. Rhode Island seemed nice and safe to her at the moment.

In time, they gathered at the top of the ridge, looking down to Middleton Valley. It was beautifully verdant and nothing could be detected that was out of the ordinary. In fact, it seemed quite the welcoming trail. Of course, they didn't call these little nasty bugs "no see ums" for no reason. The travelers looked at each other, shrugged, then pivoted to head down the trail in their line of three, right into the thick of it.

There isn't much of note to tell about the next couple hours other than it was a tough hike down, across the valley and thickly vegetated streams, and then up again, and the whole time Anna could feel those little suckers wriggle in everywhere under her clothes. She had tucked in all the fabric she could into pants and shoe cuffs and collars but they must have been getting in through somewhere in small holes. She didn't notice the pain of any bites, but their trick is that you don't notice until later, it was said, so as a group they just walked purposefully and as fast as they could without actually running—the last thing they wanted was a sprained ankle—and tried to get in and out of that valley as soon as possible. At least she hadn't thought about the naked ceremony bullshit much while just trying to get through the valley alive without being eaten up by the insects.

Finally they crested the ridge on the far side of the valley, and followed the easy meandering trail across the meadow for another half an hour. It was during this time that Anna brought her mind back to the challenge facing her yet today.

She was a good looking girl, she knew that. She wasn't embarrassed about her body, in fact she was proud of it. She was athletic, and ate well, and tried to get as much sleep as she needed. She celebrated her eighteenth birthday only recently and her youth and vitality shone through her skin and hair and face and body.

But it was her body. It was a secret that was supposed to be only hers, and only she knew the exact way the private parts of her body were made—the way her breast curved away from her chest, the shape and color of her delicate nipples, how her butt had smooth and soft skin, and of course her most private area, the way she looked between her legs. Her family always went to church, and although she never thought of herself as a prude, she made sure to wear appropriate clothes. Even her boyfriend or two had never seen her fully naked, even when they fooled around a little.

Oliver had been quiet through the valley and on this last approach. Maybe he was also thinking of the ceremony. Oliver was her way out of this, she figured. She didn't mind being naked in front of him, so much. That thought also made her nervous, but it was exciting too. It gave her heart a little skip. The thought of Poul looking at her exposed, seeing her most private parts, was what made her shiver.

They rounded a corner and in front of them there was the hut. The door opened as they approached. Poul stepped into the frame, still in his full hiking gear, with a strange, maybe even demonic, smile across his face.

"You have made it through hell!" he shouted in a loud voice, with his head angled up and his chin protruding as if he was talking to someone ten feet above us, as Anna had seen him do in the dorms a few times when he was excited. "Come, come, and see what awaits you inside!" he exclaimed in a booming voice like he was at a performing arts center.

He was a strange dude for sure, Anna thought, and shook her head after he pulled back into the hut. There was no way out now, and her anxiety turned to resignation as she laughed to herself, thinking of her desire for some adventure this summer. If she had only seen this one coming.

They made their way into the small windowless room and swung the door loosely shut behind them, in memory of the midges. It was warm and cozy, Anna thought to herself, although she would have much preferred to replace two of the occupants with another two of her own choosing—or maybe to have the cabin empty with nobody but her and the cute and shy Oliver. That was a nice vision, she thought—they would settle in for the night together, she could check his midges and he would check hers! That she could do. Naked group ceremonies she wasn't sure about.

Camilla was there against the far wall, standing dark and tall and quiet, still in her full hiking gear. She and Poul hadn't been there very long, it seemed, but there was the crackling of freshly burning wood in the fireplace on the other side of the cabin. Pipes ran from it across the exposed ceiling boards to a small walled-off corner room which must be the home-made shower, Anna figured. She was cold and tired, and that shower by itself sounded delicious. She put aside, for the moment, thoughts of what else she might have to endure, when she saw the clouds of steam rising from above the partition.

Poul sealed up the hut door tight and displayed for the group with a flourish a handful of playing cards. He was a drama major, and it was difficult to tell when he was acting like an asshole and when he was actually an asshole. He put on his deep acting voice.

"Everyone. Attention! The midge check begins now. To a circle. There is no talking!"

Jesus Christ, Anna thought, flashing a look over to Madge and Oliver, neither of whom gave a reaction. She put her full trust in them that there was going to be nothing else wacko here besides the nudity. That was bad enough, but if she had been in this room alone with just Poul and Camilla, she would have been legitimately scared of some authentic creepy cult shit from those two.

He flashed his full attention to Anna in a sudden movement. She flinched backwards involuntarily.

"The virgin picks first!" He bellowed right over the top of her head.

What the fuck? Oh, then she understood, he meant that she hadn't done the Lord Piggy conch shell ceremony before.

He flashed the cards impatiently up and down in front of her. She took a step towards him and selected what turned out to be the four of spades when she flipped it over. She didn't know what this meant but waited to see what was next. She didn't want to ask any questions for fear of drawing Poul's wrath.

The others drew cards and in order there was an ace for Camilla, two for Poul, three for Madge, and a five for Oliver, all spades. As Camilla silently withdrew to the shower corner, it became clear that this was the order for the ceremony.

Camilla stripped off her gear and with her own flourish snapped off her bra and undies and quickly jumped behind the wooden wall of the shower. Anna looked to Madge and Oliver for guidance on what to do next. But they were silent. So she waited.

"We prepare the ointment," Poul commanded, pointing over-dramatically at the fireplace, and then strode directly to it. He placed several wooden sticks leaning on the wall into the embers and twisted them around. Anna's eyes went wide at that and she looked over at Madge again—Poul was facing the fireplace—who returned a "don't worry" motion with her hands. Anna tried to relax. The hell I am going to get poked with a burning stick! she thought to herself.

This went a few minutes until he heard Camilla turn off the shower. Moments later, the dark haired woman strode out buck naked into the center of the circle, facing Poul and the fireplace. She put her hands straight out to her sides. Anna couldn't help but admire her figure. Tall, with a bold breast line, protruding nipples, slender waist, luscious hips, and a huge mass of curly black hair at her bush. Anna preferred keeping herself trim, but somehow the old school look fit Camilla just right. She was dark and brooding but she cut a classic figure of beauty. Poul brought one of his hot sticks back to the circle and faced her.

"You must now choose!" He said loudly to a point somewhere over Camilla's head. Anna had to resist rolling her eyes. Instead, she looked at Camilla's skin on the side that was closest to her. A few tiny red dots were clustered there. Midge bites. A band of them also ran around where her pants waistband must have been, and another cluster by an ankle.

Camilla pointed directly at Poul, selecting him, in what was no surprise to any of the adventurers. He started with her head, lifting her hair up and dabbing the stick at her skin whenever he found a new red mark. She flinched at the initial heat, but after every smudge of charcoal, he rubbed a fingerful of cream into her skin, scooped up from a glass dish near to him atop a wooden crate. It took some time as he rubbed carefully into each bite. Anna wasn't sure if the charcoal had any effect, but the cream looked soothing to her.