The Amazon Triangle (NaNoWriMo 2016 Project)

Chapter 9 (Justin and Edith)

 Justin and Edith were far from safe. When Justin took off in a separate direction from Edith and Ben, he ran over bushes and fallen logs, through soft bogs and narrow pathways, focused only on extending the distance to perhaps deter and lose the predator that chased them. He would have probably kept right on running if a vine hadn't caught him right in the face, bringing his mad dash to a screeching halt. Justin stopped and flailed his arms, much like Ben had done early that morning, shoving the thick, sticky vine away. He didn't hear the threatening growl of the reptile, or the crackle of underbrush, so he stopped to catch his breath and take stock of his surroundings.

Thick vines hung around him on three sides, and ancient deciduous trees spread gnarled boughs over him, sort of like low rafter beams under a high-vaulted "ceiling" of tree branches creating the upper canopy. Everything was various shades of green, from deep-dark, almost black, to vibrant, near-glowing green-yellow. The forest around him clustered so thick that he couldn't even hear the river. He didn't know where to go from here to get back to it, and he had no idea where Ben and Edith ended up. The warm humidity still hung in the air like an invisible blanket, leaving him soaked and dripping as his body crawled with atmospheric moisture and sweat.

Justin felt his stomach wrench as the adrenaline wore off, and the fatigue and hunger set in. They had made it all this way on pretty-much-empty stomachs, and now he was stranded with no map and no directional equipment. Professor Morrison had kept most of the camping equipment. Justin slung the pack off his back and opened it. He had a change of clothes (why on earth had he deemed that such a necessity when he packed it?) a waterbottle (oh sweet relief!), and a few granola bars (priorities, man!). He grabbed the bottle and drained about half of it before his brain could complete the next thought. He stopped drinking, grabbed one of the granola bars, and just about swallowed it whole. The twisting, heaving feeling of his stomach subsided—but he knew that his best chance of survival would be to find the others—and hope neither of them had ended up with the caiman on their tail. Where to start, though?

Justin squinted up toward the treetops. From where he was standing, they were too thick to see any part of the sky through—but the thick curtain of vines in front of him seemed to disguise even deeper shadows. Dare he retrace his path, or should he move forward into the blackness and hope to emerge safely on the other side?

A movement among the vines helped answer the question for him: a large, black, hairy tarantula crawled languidly over the green curtain. Justin felt the panic tighten in his chest. No way was he going to go through that! Something rustled the bushes behind him, and Justin whirled around just in time to catch himself from smacking into another person who emerged into the small space behind him.

"Edie!" he cried.

"Justin!" she gasped, throwing her arms around him.

He accepted the hug, putting his arms around her as he gazed back toward the path she came from. "Did it come after you at all?"

"No," Edith responded, standing up again and glancing over her shoulder. "I don't think so. I guess it didn't go after you either?"

Justin shook his head. "But that would leave—"

Edith gasped and looked terrified. "Ben!" she wailed. "Did you cross paths with him at all? Did you see him?"

Justin shook his head. "I just ran all by myself till I stopped here when I realized it wasn't chasing me."

Edith was evaluating the path forward and behind them. "Oh man, we need to find him! Which way do you think he went?" She moved toward the vines, but the tarantula made a second appearance, and she returned to standing by Justin.

He shook his head. "I have honestly no idea. It was all survival mode for—I don't even know how long."

Edith dropped the large pack she'd been running with and bent over like she was going to be sick. Her breath came ragged and raspy. "This is not good! This is so not good! Oh man! Oh man!" She grimaced and tears sprang into her eyes as sobs crowded in her throat and her body trembled as the adrenaline didn't let up, but fear crowded in and scrambled her sensibility.