The Amazons

Six

The birds sang their strange and wondrous secrets to the trees. Bugs filled the hot, humid air. Plants dripped with moisture. The damp soil lurked at the roots of the trees like a hungry, patient predator.

Ira and Jett crept silently through the undergrowth. The earth clinging to their bare feet.

The pig snuffled in the dirt, scavenging for food.

Ira stopped and flicked her gestured for Jett to take aim. Jett prepared his spear and pointed it in the direction of the pig, but he wasn't hidden well enough, and the pig noticed him. As his spear flew through the air, the pig ran off and the weapon landed uselessly in the mud.

Ira shot him an angry look and ran off in pursuit of their meal.

Jett retrieved his spear and ran after her. He sprinted through the undergrowth, jumping over tree roots. He dodged vines hanging off branches that slashed and whipped and grabbed at him.

He stopped just behind Ira. She crouched behind a plant and gestured for him to try again, her eyes daring him to fail.

Jett crept forward. The pig looked around anxiously, listening for any threatening sounds. Jett took this as his chance. He drew back his hand to throw the spear. But as he did so, the end of the stick hit a rock, making a loud sound.

The pig took off again. Ira growled. She sped off once more after the pig and Jett followed, leaving his spear behind him.

Ira dashed over to a tall tree and she scaled it with ease, Jett reached the tree and waited at the bottom. Ira pulled an unripened fruit off a branch and dropped it, it fell into the stream with a satisfying plop. The pig jumped skittishly and looked around, Ira whistled and it looked up at the tree towards the noise, without a second to lose she threw her spear so quickly Jett could only see it when it was in the pig's head. The animal fell dead instantly, the only mark on its body being a trickle of red blood where the spear had penetrated its skull.

Ira dropped from the tree, landing on her feet like a cat. She walked over to the dead animal and pulled out her spear. She heaved the pig onto her shoulder and walked over to Jett.

"It seems that hunting isn't your strong point." She shoved the beast into Jett's chest.

"Give me a gun any day." Jett muttered.

"A what?"

"Doesn't matter."

Ira's eyebrows drew together for a moment. Then she shook it off.

"Follow me." She called as she strode off into the jungle.

After a while they reached a rock cliff. Ira started climbing immediately, scaling the rock face with grace and elegance. Jett stared at her as she went from foothold to handhold with ease.

She stopped halfway up and looked down at Jett.

"When I say 'follow me' I expect you to understand. I don't need to teach you to speak as well as hunt do I?" Jett sighed heavily and adjusted the animal on his shoulder. He started climbing.

Jett found climbing with one hand a lot harder than climbing with two. He also found that keeping his balance with a dead pig on his shoulder was much harder than he expected.

Ira was waiting for him at the top. She crouched down to get a better look at him and examine his technique. Jett scrambled to keep hold of the pig and find safe footholds and handholds to pull himself up.

Finally he reached the top. He dropped the pig onto the ground and put his head in between his knees. Ira looked down at him.

"I was going to tell you to leave the pig. It's of no use to us up here."