They were the last words he ever said.
Laura pulled up the Bren Ten in a single motion and shot him through the forehead.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
That was well done, Laura,” I said. She laid the Bren Ten back against her stomach. “One minute we were alone, the next, he just appeared. You rattled him. It gave me the chance I needed.”
We took his weapon and three candy bars from his pants pocket. Soon Savich was stamping his feet into new boots. “They fit perfectly,” he said. “And he has water too.”
I said, “That shot could attract anyone else out there. Savich and I should look around. We shouldn’t be much longer than ten minutes.”
Laura said, “Go. We’ll be all right.”
Savich and I went together, back toward where they’d come from. We saw a green boa wrapped at least three times around a tree we had just passed. I felt a chill slide over my flesh. “There are too many things alive in this place. Every step you take you’ve got to look everywhere, up and down and sideways, all the time. I just touched a tree that was covered with spikes. It’s all so bloody wild and we’re not in control here.”
“If Laura hadn’t taken that machete,” Savich said, “we wouldn’t be here at all.”
I traced the flight of a scarlet macaw, its brilliant red feathers blending down its back into yellow, then blue. He landed, hovering on the very end of a branch not three feet from us that pumped up and down with the bird’s weight. I wondered what Nolan would think of this otherworldly bird.
“A trail or two might be nice,” Savich said. “There’s no sign of anyone else. Let’s get back.”
It was so hot now it was hard to breathe. The humidity was crushing. Our shirts were soaked with sweat. The sweat was so deep on my forearm I could see insects drowning before they could bite me.
“It’s still morning,” Savich said. “I can’t wait to see how much hotter it gets by this afternoon. Look at this damned soil-it’s clay. I don’t want it to rain. Maybe it’s not the rainy season, you think?” He laughed, shaking his head at himself.
I said to Savich, “It’s not even ten o’clock yet, but we shouldn’t stay here. What do you think? Carrying Sher-lock and Laura and all the supplies, can we make maybe half a mile before collapsing under a tree?”
“At most,” Savich said. “If we have to use the machete to get through, we might not make more than a couple of miles all day.”
“Better the women are down than us. I can just see Laura trying to tote my carcass over her shoulder.”
Savich laughed, then sobered. “If Laura’s wound gets infected, she’s in major trouble.”
“We’ve got some more shirts. We’ll cover every naked bit of her. The shirts might not smell real sweet, but they’re blessed protection against the filth and the bugs.”
I looked up at the dense canopy overhead, saw a big reddish monkey staring down at us. “There are so many colors,” I said, “everywhere. Look, Savich, mangoes. They’re even ripe. We can eat our Baby Ruths, then have mangoes for dessert.” I picked about half a dozen of the best. I was surprised that some of the critters hadn’t already nabbed them.
At one o’clock in the afternoon, we broke into a small clearing, maybe two square meters, that wasn’t overflowing with growing green things. The canopy wasn’t as thick here and more light came through. That light brought us some breathing space, literally. I stood a moment, Laura in my arms, under a thick shaft of hot, clear sunlight. I laid her on a blanket right beneath that blessed shaft of light. “Soak it up,” I told her. “Let it dry you to your toes.”
I dragged the thick net that held the water bottles over the last thirty or so yards. Two snakes flashed across the ground so fast I couldn’t imagine any predator catching them. I had no idea if they’d kill you with a bite or not.
I spread out the blankets, then scraped away more foliage to create a small perimeter. Laura had been largely silent for the past two hours. I think she’d slept part of the time, so drugged that she couldn’t stay awake. I laid my palm across her forehead. She was hot as hell, but maybe that was normal in this hellhole. It had to be near one hundred percent humidity on the floor of the rain forest. At least her skin didn’t feel clammy.