It was the smell that hit Pierce first. Floral. Salt. She cocked her ears, listening. The sound of a wave breaking the surf reached her ears.
She undid her blindfold and inhaled deeply. She was in a jungle, but she could hear the ocean nearby. At least she thought she heard the sounds of an ocean nearby; she’d never seen an ocean in person before. At least not that she remembered.
Unlike the desert scenario, there was plenty of wildlife in the jungle. Colorful butterflies danced through the air, obnoxiously loud birds screeched high among the treetops and monkeys swung from branch to branch above Pierce’s head. The humidity of the air smothered her, plastering her clothes against her skin within minutes.
I should climb a tree and find my bearings, she thought. She scanned the trees nearby, seeking out the tallest one with enough branches to use as grips. Something tickled her legs, like a feather brushing against her calves. Pierce glanced down and frantically swiped off the ants crawling all over her legs. The ants didn’t cling on tightly and were quickly taken care of. All the same, Pierce couldn’t get rid of the creepy feeling of those tiny leg scuttling all over her.
Some ants seemed to be swarming something. She bent down to get a better view of the point of interest; the ants had killed a small lizard and were tearing it to pieces with their sharp mandibles.
“Eww,” she said.
Then she realized there were more ants crawling all over her. Knowing what the ants could do, Pierce shook off the ants before they started biting her. I really need to get up a tree fast. I hope the ants don’t climb trees. Pierce ran over to the nearest decent sized tree and used a vine to hoist herself up.
The tree’s bark was smooth and gray, making it hard for Pierce to find traction against her sneakers. The nearest branch up was at least a hundred feet up high. She wrapped her hands around the vine even tighter, praying it was stronger than it looked. Then she started climbing the tree, half walking up the trunk and half pulling her body along with her arms. The vine held.
How much higher do I have to go? Pierce wondered. Since all of the branches were clustered near the top, she wasn’t able to take a break. Her arms were beginning to tire from supporting her weight. She tried to shift more of her weight to her legs, but that cased her to sway the vine violently. Better not try that again. If I let go of the vine, I’m as good as dead.
“I should’ve picked an easier tree to climb. One with more branches,” she muttered.
Pierce looked down to gauge her distance, then did a double take. The ground seemed to be a living carpet; a mass of ants had dominated the jungle floor. Pierce couldn’t believe what she was seeing; the ants marched onwards, regardless of whatever was in their way. They were an unstoppable, undefeatable moving army.
“Never mind,” said Pierce. “I think I’ll stick to this tree rather than risk my life with those ants.”
She looked up and groaned. The branches were still fifty vertical feet from her current position. There’s a huge different between vertical and horizontal distance, and right now they’re not in my favor, she thought.
Pierce shook out her left arm, relieving some of the pressure; but that only made her right arm tire faster. Suck it up and start climbing. Pierce reached up one hand and heaved herself, inch by inch, up the tree.
With twenty-five feet left to go, she began to worry. The vine was thinning out and trembling under her weight. Pierce reached up once more, grasping the vine to pull herself up while using her feet to provide additional support. The vine quivered and a chunk of it broke off.
