Leo's face turned red with fury and his eyes narrowed to slits. 'I take full responsibility for what happened and will personally reimburse you for the camera.' His expression softened. 'Now, unless you want to turn back and walk for another week to buy a new one, I suggest we keep moving. We're within a couple days of our destination, and I, for one, am anxious to see what awaits us.'
Galen nodded and shouldered his pack again.
Merritt clapped him on the back. 'At least you still have a change of clothes.' He smiled and fell back in line ahead of Galen.
The pilot looked exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot and set deeply into dark sockets. Galen wondered if Merritt had slept at all over the last few days as he began to walk once more, grumbling under his breath.
They'd been hiking all morning without anything resembling an actual break. The sun hadn't even reached its zenith and it already felt like a sauna under the smothering canopy. He had accidentally ripped the mosquito netting for his hat and was now forced to use Samantha's sticky concoction. The mixture of lemon verbena and pennyroyal made his skin itch, yet still the mosquitoes found a way through his defenses. His legs ached. His back ached. He was tired and thirsty, and since dawn he had only seen five species of birds, all of them flocking so high in the upper branches that he had only caught occasional glimpses and heard their distant calls. Every tree was identical to the last, and he was tired of having to make sure that every vine didn't have eyes and fangs before brushing it aside. Five hours had passed, and they had stumbled upon nothing more exciting than---
Galen barely stopped in time to keep from running into Merritt's back. The entire group stood still. Ahead, he saw Rippeth holding up his fist, the signal to halt.
'Shh!' Morton hissed into his ear from behind.
He held his breath and waited.
No one moved.
What the hell was going on?
III
The moment Rippeth gave the signal, Merritt's old instincts reawakened. Adrenaline surged through his veins and his senses grew hypersensitive. He became one with the jungle, his body attuned to the very heartbeat of the Earth. He could feel even the slightest movement of one leaf rubbing against another, the sudden onset of tension radiating from his companions. Every sound was amplified. He heard their breathing, the nervous shuffle of their feet on the detritus, the patter of condensation dripping to the forest floor, and the soft rustle of movement from beyond the edge of sight.
He leaned forward and whispered into Sam's ear.
'Get ready.'
An eternal moment of silence passed, and still no one moved. His muscles tightened like springs, preparing to release their potential.
When Rippeth lowered his fist and lunged away from the path, Merritt was already in motion. He grabbed Sam around the waist and dove into the underbrush. She landed on top of him with a startled squeak. He rolled her over so that their faces were mere inches apart, her wide eyes staring directly into his. She opened her mouth to speak, but he pressed his forefinger to her lips to silence her. He leaned forward until their cheeks touched, removed his finger, and whispered directly into her ear.
'Stay down.'
Her breath tickled the fine hairs on his ear and raised the goosebumps along his arms when she spoke.
'Did you see anything?'
He drew his face away just far enough that she could see him shake his head in response. Her eyes held his for several rapid breaths.
'We need to sit up a little so we can see,' he whispered, their lips nearly brushing. 'Be prepared to run as fast as you can.'
She nodded and he helped position her so that she crouched directly in front of him. He could see the path over her shoulder through the branches. She shifted to the right for a better view. He took her hand, ready to haul her to her feet at the first hint of trouble. Her fingers trembled as she tightened her grip. He leaned forward against her to provide a measure of physical reassurance.
Together they studied the end of the path twenty yards away where it appeared to open into a clearing.
Something was definitely out there. All he could see were the shifting shadows of the ceiba trees, but he could sense it, moving invisibly through the darkness.
IV
'What do you see?' Dahlia whispered. Her breath on the fine hairs of his ear gave him goosebumps.
'Nothing yet.' Jay zoomed the camera down the path and into the small light gap beyond. It reminded him of the last one, only he couldn't see the fallen tree that had created it. There were other subtle differences. There were no clusters of saplings, and the wild grasses and ferns were much shorter, almost as though they'd been trimmed.
Still, none of the others had emerged from hiding. He could see their backs and occasional profiles through the foliage. Most of them appeared to be every bit as confused as he was.
And then he saw it. A large, dark shape lumbered into view. Its head swiveled nervously on top of a long, slender neck that stood perfectly erect from its impossibly wooly body. Four spindle-thin legs hardly appeared capable of bearing its weight.
'You've got to be kidding me,' Jay said. Shaking his head, he rose from behind the flowering orchid bush and lowered the camera. 'It's just one of those freaking llama-looking things.'
Colton leaned out across the path and waved for him to get back down.
Forget that. The bush was crawling with brown ants with pincers so big they could hardly lift their heads. He wasn't about to willingly climb back in there and provide them with lunch at his expense. No way. If none of the others were brave enough to approach this terrifying alpaca, then he was just going to have to---
'Get down!' Dahlia whispered. She jerked on his pant leg. It was only then that he noticed the black form standing perfectly still past the animal.
'Aw, crap.'
He dropped and scooted into the ant-covered leaves. Before he was even situated, he had the camera up and rolling. He zoomed past the fuzzy gray and black creature and onto the shadowed apparition. The camera focused on a man at the edge of the forest, just shy of the point where the sunlight forced back the shade. He was painted black from head to toe. No wonder Jay hadn't initially seen him. Of course, if he could see the man, then surely he had already seen them as well. If that was the case, then why was he still just standing there?
The man hovered at the fringe of the jungle for several long minutes while they all waited silently. Why didn't they just keep going? Jay wondered. They outnumbered and outgunned the man. Surely they were just being overly cautious, but still, it was always possible that the native was friendly and posed no threat. What in the world were they waiting for?
Finally, the painted man stepped out into the sunlight and approached the alpaca. He grabbed the braided rope hanging from the animal's neck, gave a sharp tug, and guided it toward the wall of foliage.
Raindrops pattered on the leaves above him as a gentle rain began to fall.
The man paused and looked up into the sky. He acknowledged the sudden onset of rain with a nod, and then continued into the dark forest. A moment later, he was gone.
'Did you get that?' Dahlia whispered.
'You mean that guy standing there doing nothing? Oh yeah, I got it. Fat lot of good it will do us though.'
