by Thom J Poore
Emilio stops for a moment as the rest of the group disappear into the thick vegetation surrounding the village. He takes in the scene of the camp, the huts, the villagers, the burnt out fire and the two thrones. Although he knows he will never experience anything like this again he smiles, as an uplifting wave of emotion washes over him. Emilio says one last goodbye to the villagers, takes a deep breath and turns to catch up with the rest of the gang. Elmanda leads them along a lush green tunnel through the trees. Rays of sunshine break through, creating a beautiful dappled light. At the end of the tunnel is a steep muddy hill, the roots of the surrounding trees forming rudimentary steps. They slowly make their way down until the low hanging branches of the forest open out onto a lake, beyond which lies an enormous mountain range. Moored to a tree stump is Elmanda’s prized boat. The boat is light blue with a white roof, sheltering two rows of wooden seats covered in blue cushions, which have seen better days since the boat was originally built in the mid-thirties. At the back is a large transparent plastic box attached to a long hose and a motor, which Elmanda uses to suck up sediment from the riverbed. Elmanda leaps aboard and beckons the group to join him. Emilio and Valencia follow without hesitation, but Karl remains standing on the riverbank. He's dreading the thought of travelling on the water, even though the boat seems sturdy. After the shark attack he is terrified of what may be lurking beneath the surface.
“Come on Karl, we need to get going.” Emilio calls.
“I’m not travelling on the water, Emilio. There are Bull Sharks in there. There’s probably alligators and all other kinds of evil creatures in that God forsaken river!”
Elmanda looks at Karl with bewilderment.
"A Bull Shark! Are you sure? They’re extremely rare in these waters.”
“It was definitely a shark, and the only shark that could survive in a river system like this is a Bull.” Emilio confirms.
“That’s true, but are you sure it wasn’t a black Caiman, they’re very common around these parts, and they’ll try and eat just about anything.”
“What’s a Caiman?” Karl asks fretfully.
“They are huge aggressive black crocodiles.” Replies Elmanda.
“Oh, that’s just great! You know you’re supposed to be setting my mind at ease, not scaring the shit out of me.” Karl places his hands atop his head and turns in a semi-circle with despair.
“No, it was definitely a shark, dorsal fin and everything. It looked like it was almost three meters long. Anyway, it’s probably dead now, I speared it in the face.” Continues Emilio.
“Well, I guess it was, I’ve heard of Bull Sharks as far down as Iquitos. I’ve just never seen one around here.” Elmanda is surprised.
“Look, you’ll be fine Karl. I’ve been out on this boat many times with Elmanda, and you’re in safe hands.” Valencia soothes reassuringly.
“I don’t care, I’d rather walk than come face to face with another river monster.”
Karl stands with his arms crossed resolutely while Emilio and Valencia excitedly enjoy shifting between the various empty seats, searching for a favoured position and point of view. Elmanda starts the boat’s large outboard motor and prepares to untie it from the mooring. Karl doesn’t like the prospect of being left alone, and has little choice other than to join them. He steps on board, mumbling his dissatisfaction under his breath while selecting a seat at the back and sitting with his arms firmly crossed.
Elmanda fires the engine and unties the boat, then runs across the deck to the steering wheel, guiding the boat gently as it cruises along the tranquil river. The group embrace the wonder of the wildlife that surrounds them. The musky smell of decaying plants and wood mingles with the drone of insects. Giant dragonflies buzz beside the boat, attracted by the light reflected in the metal surfaces. Karl is uncertain if they are getting any closer to their destination or heading further in the wrong direction entirely. Emilio remains ever optimistic and fully immersed in his goal.
The boat continues cutting through the peaceful waters at an easy pace, meandering with the river until it reaches a fork. Elmanda guides the boat to the left, the miles slipping away behind them, drawing them closer to their destination. A slick black-feathered Harpy Eagle circles the trees along the bank, before swooping down on a dead squirrel monkey, which is floating facedown on the surface of the river. As it touches upon the murky waters and grips the monkey an alligator rises from the depths. The large eagle flaps its powerful wings erratically as it is dragged under and drowned. Karl stands up abruptly, pointing in shock.
“Did you see that? This water is croc infested! We’re all gonna die!” He blurts.
Elmanda laughs and pats Karl on the back vigorously, in an attempt to calm him down. The pressure being applied makes Karl feel a sudden discomfort in his bowels.
“Oh man, my stomach doesn’t feel so good!”
“You said you swam in the river earlier?” Elmanda asks, seeing Karl gripping his stomach.
“Yeah, I was nearly eaten by that shark.”
Elmanda sits and dwells for a moment on a friend of his who died after ingesting Candiru. As soon as one of these toothpick-sized parasites gets inside you it begins to feed on your flesh and blood, growing in size until it’s too late. Elmanda shakes off the negative thought.
“Did you swallow any water when you were in the river?” Elmanda tries to keep his voice neutral.
“Why, is that bad?” Responds Karl, immediately concerned.
“These aren’t the cleanest waters to drink from!” Elmanda replies honestly.
“I did swallow a little bit. Will I be ok?”
“You should be fine, don’t worry.”
Karl starts to worry about swallowing river water, which gives him a nervous stomach. He feels his belly churn and becomes desperate to relieve himself.
“I need to go to the toilet right now, I can’t wait!”
Karl begins to drop his pants in an attempt go over the side of the boat.
“That’s disgusting! You are not shitting on this boat while I’m sitting here!” Valencia is revolted. Emilio is equally repulsed and insists on pulling the boat over to the riverbank so that Karl can go in the rainforest.
“What’s the problem? All the animals go in the river! I can’t hold it.” Karl fights against the urge.
“Well, your gonna have to hold it! I’m not letting you shit off the side of my boat.” Elmanda replies, trying not to laugh.
Elmanda quickly steers the boat over to the bank and Karl jumps off, nearly emptying his bowels in the process. He jogs into the undergrowth, so the rest of the party cannot see him. He finds a dense patch of vegetation and squats down to relive himself with his pants pushed firmly down around his ankles. After a few minutes of painfully explosive diarrhoea, Karl hears a strange sound, indistinguishable from a deep cough. Ten feet from where he is squatting is a two hundred and fifty pound male Jaguar. Karl freezes, trying to control his fear, and his bowels, but to no avail. The Jaguar moves slowly, with its back arched and head low to the ground, ready to pounce. Karl is reduced to tears, unable to move or call out. Just as the Jaguar gets ready to pounce it suddenly shifts its attention, as a dead howler monkey is flung onto the ground a few feet from Karl. Scooping up the dark brown monkey in its jaws, the feline slinks away into the undergrowth. Elmanda stands not five yards from Karl and calls out for him to make his way over. Paralysed with fear, Karl has to resort to crawling to Elmanda on his hands and knees. Elmanda reaches out to Karl and the pair lock hands as Elmanda helps Karl to his feet. The two look at each in silence, a mutual understanding and respect forming between them. They walk back to the boat together and climb aboard, ignoring every question that is asked of them. Emilio and Valencia are relentless, but Karl is too shaken and drained to engage. Elmanda knows the boys are in well over their heads, and wonders how long th
ey would have survived had they not stumbled upon the tribe.
“My stomach’s hurting again!” Karl moans, struggling to get comfortable.
“Does it feel like your stomach is cramping?” Elmanda is concerned.
“Yeah, I feel cold, too. I’m starting to shiver. What the hell’s going on Elmanda? I’m going to die, aren’t I?”
Karl clutches the side of the boat, feeling weak. Cold flushes pulse through him, making him feel like throwing up.
“You must have consumed some of the river water! You may have caught a bug.”
“Sounds like dysentery!” Emilio chips in.
“What’s dysentery, Emilio?” Karl begins to panic, fearing the worst.
“It’s when your intestines get inflamed, and it can cause some really bad diarrhoea. But don’t worry, you’re young and strong enough to fight it, but you need to drink loads of clean water!” Emilio answers confidently, but Elmanda is hesitant to agree quite so soon.
“It may not be. Dysentery can be severe. We’ll soon know if it is. But yes, you do need to drink plenty of clean water.”
“Well I’m screwed then, aren’t I? It’s not like a convenience store is gonna pop up on the riverbank. Where the hell I’m I gonna get bottled water from?”
Elmanda reaches into his bag and pulls out a large brown water canteen. Casually taking a swig from it Elmanda taunts Karl, pretending he is drinking the most refreshing drink in the entire world. Elmanda is trying to raise the group’s spirits by poking fun at Karl. Karl swipes the canteen from Elmanda’s hand and sinks half the contents, gasping in relief as he stops to take a breath.
“You need to go easy and pace yourself, in case it takes us a while to find a fresh water source.”
“What if we can’t find fresh water, Elmanda, have you thought about that?”
“Don’t worry, I will find us plenty of fresh water. Have faith, Karl. I will look after you.”
Chapter 13: The hike