Choc started chopping into the thick bush which was almost like a chaparral. I saw him stop suddenly, then continued. “Only a King Coral,251” he said, as he continued chopping.
“Are you sure?” asked Robertson. “If it’s still there, better safe than sorry. Kill it. ‘Red and yellow kill a fellow, Red and black …’”
“I know what it is,” blurted out Choc, forcibly, not breaking in his chopping. “We don’t kill King Corals. They kill other kumätz, specially the Yellow-jawed Tommygoff.”252 Robertson did not respond, but as we got deeper into the dense vegetation, I noted that he kept looking around nervously.
Within twenty feet, we were out of the dense riverside growth and once again in the relatively clear floor of the closed canopy. Choc stopped to rest and told Rhys to pick up the chopping and he would take over at the rear of the file. We were lucky as the bamboo came to within only fifteen and twenty feet of the river. The terrain became rugged, however, as we started descending a rocky hogback.253 There was some scree,254 but thankfully not a lot. Yet, we did slide downward, occasionally, and had to grab onto each other or any available branch to stop the slide. So, we continued downward with difficulty, sweating, itchy, stink, cussing the most profane words. Yet, we were progressing.
Taat, who was behind Rhys, held up his hand, his head tilted up towards the bamboo as he sniffed the air. “Weech“,255 he said, then added, “Not worth it to stop.”
“Depends on how many,” Choco said. “I’m sure Rhys wouldn’t mind some hamadili256 tonight.”
“No time to search. We’re behind target hours,” I pointed out, “so no weech tonight.” Bamboo was a favorite place for not only weech, but also for haaleb and kitam. That day, however, we had to leave them alone.
We finally reached below the falls and the land leveled off having only a medium incline. We were still walking beside the bamboo patch, but I hoped we’d soon reach the end of it. Many times, bamboo patches grew where trees had fallen over, as in a flood, so they were not usually very extensive. Suddenly, the bamboo gave way to the usual wall of dense bushes on the riverside. Luckily, however, they were not as thick as the chaparral like ones Choc had to machete through just before. Rhys immediately began chopping a trail to the river. I saw that he was tired, but he kept on going, did not ask for help, and we were soon at the bankside.
Getting down to the river was easy as a sani-bay was just below where we stood. We all just threw ourselves down, lying against out bergens, and drank from our water bottles.
Rhys looked at his watch. “It’s noon,” he informed us. “We were to be at the main branch at 1130 hours. We’re fokin late.” He sighed. “¡Hijueputa!” he swore. “I’m tired.”
Robertson got up and walked to the center of the river, looking downstream. He took out his compass. “The river widens up ahead and I don’t see any rapids,” he shouted. “Quite flat and slow moving. Does not appear deep. Seems like we’re going into a bit of a valley.” He looked back at his compass. “The river’s going north.” He turned to us, beaming. “I don’t think we’re far away from the main branch,” he surmised, as he walked back towards us.
“We probably should have a snack now,” suggested Rhys.
“We wait. Men. The walk from here on should be easy. We’re behind schedule, so let’s continue. When we get to the main branch, we’ll reassess.”
“Sarge!” they shouted, getting up.
“Choc, you’re in front again.”
“Sarge!”
“Set a good pace. I want to get to the main branch.”
“Sarge!”
The river was getting wider and a small valley was opening up as Robertson had said. Choc had us moving as fast as the sand and water allowed us. He stayed close to the bank, more a sani-bay than bank, the water only six inches deep at times. As there was no canopy above us, the midday sun and its buddy, the humidity, were draining every bit of sweat out of our bodies. Robertson gave us salt tablets again and kept reminding us to drink water. Otherwise, no one spoke. There were only the soft sounds of the river, the chirp-chirp, the cries and calls of my jungle. Then came several pig-like grunts along with a noisy exchange.
Robertson frowned. “You heard that. Sounds like a pig. Could it be a peccary … kitam … pikayri?”
“I heard it too,” confirmed Rhys, “but it didn’t come from the ground. It came from the canopy.”
“How the madafok can a pig … pikayri … kitam … or whatever the madafok you want to call it be in the canopy, Rhys?” Teul shook his head, no grinning that time. “My pipl from City,” he lamented.257
“Let me help the uninformed,” I interjected. “It did come from the canopy and it does sound like a pig, but is definitely not a pig or a kitam.” I laughed. “And I do agree, Teul, I’ve never seen a pig or a kitam in the canopy. It’s the cry of a bird called the Ppilankeuel.258 When you hear a noisy commotion like that, it is usually the Ppilankeuel arguing and trying to steal a cavity from a woodpecker for its nest. They’re more common in open fields.”
I see,” responded Robertson. He raised his eyebrows.
“You mean you didn’t know that, Medic,” smirked Choc.
“Okay! Let’s tab men,” I ordered, curtailing further discussions.
The valley kept opening up, the edges of the river becoming mushy with water, clay, sand, and grass. Mountains, with their dense jungle, towered above us, their slopes coming down sharply forming the valley. Birds and butterflies were everywhere, as was an occasional troop of k’oys. Small fish ran in and out between our legs. The next mile or two of the valley were relatively flat, but beyond that, to the north, the mountains began again, seemingly bringing the valley to an end.
Katy-Katy-yu-baby-di cry.
“Katy-Katy again,” shouted Teul.
“Main Branch ahead,” shouted Choc.
“If I wasn’t so foking tired, I’d race you …”, began Rhys.
“Who gets there first,” I shouted and all of us immediately forgot how tired we were. Of course, it was not like running on dry land and there seem to be more water splashing than advancing. But we were laughing. As I felt the breeze against my face, I recalled the races Bas and I always had. I was always amazed at how his short legs could move so quickly. Even though my legs were longer than his, he always beat me.
Teul was, of course, at the Main Branch first. He chose a shallow path, crossed to the northern side then stood there, looking back at us, grinning, urging us on. The small valley, blue skies, light breeze, wide river were a needed treat. We followed Teul’s shallow path and, to my increasing delight, there were deeper pools that were four or five feet deep.
“Temporary camp,” I shouted as we arrived at the northern bank. Taat and Choc were a short distance away, looking closely at the sand and mud. From time to time they felt the sand then smelled their fingers as they spoke briskly to each other. They were confirming what I had already seen. Teul and Choco were also glancing at the mud and sand. Rhys and Robertson were oblivious as they still had a bit of way to go with signs of the jungle, but they were learning. We all placed our bergens together, each of us leaning our rifle and machete against it.
“Briefing!” The men came around. They looked tired. We had been in the jungle and mountains for five days, not knowing what lay ahead at any point on the way. We just knew that we were following an enemy, into what, we didn’t know. However, I knew that young Maya were good soldiers. Warriors. The best of my people. And Rhys and Robertson, they too were becoming Warriors, and quickly. The men were looking at me as I drifted, a pleased look on my face.
“Sarge,” Rhys reminded me. “The briefing.”
I looked at them, realized what had happened, and just smiled. “I was just thinking what able Warriors you are,” I said.
“Is that so? asked Teul. “You looked like you were thinking of something else. That look you had on your face, I only get that when I am doing something real madafok delicious.” The me
n started to chuckle.
“Okay men,” intervened Robertson. “Let’s get ahead. We’re behind schedule.” He looked at me.
“It’s 1330 hours. We’re two hours behind,” advised Rhys. “Let’s get ahead with the briefing.” He looked at me. I nodded.
“I had expected us to be here around 1130 hours,” I began. “That’s only two hours off target, but it’ an important two hours. I estimate that it will take us about six hours to reach the next Chiquibul tributary. It’s all mountains and jungle to go through, no river to walk up. If we were to continue directly to our target, no unexpected difficulties, we’ll probably arrive there about 2030. That means at least two hours of darkness. So, that takes care of that. We will walk until about 1800 and make camp. I don’t see any rivers on the map. Keep that in mind. Tomorrow, if we leave camp at 0600 hours, we should reach the tributary by 0900. We will then be on the Vaca Plateau. From there, we walk upriver northeasterly for five miles to Holec Camp. Any questions? Okay. We will spend an hour here. We bathe and we eat. Taat and Choc. Go ahead with your report on the tracking.”
Taat indicated to Choc and the latter began. “The packs of hach-k’ek’ens and kitams travelled up the river we just came through, just as we did, crossed over the Main Branch as we did, and have continued on a northerly track into the jungle and mountains ahead, as we plan to do. There were also tracts of batz, which we have not seen before. A batz is a Howler, Medic and Rhys. They passed early this morning, about eight hours ago. I do not smell them in the area, at this time, so we can relax.”
“We’ll still keep one man posted while we bathe,” instructed Rhys. “I’ll use fifteen-minute watches. “Teul, you’ll do the first.”
“Oh madafok!” Teul complained, loudly. Rhys glared at him. “Just cussing as usual. Happy to do my duty,” he grinned.
“Let’s bathe. Lay out your combats and boots in the direct sun. We must try to dry them out so after bathing just use your boxers or shorts. Rhys will arrange food before we leave.”
“Do I have to wear my boxers or shorts?” asked Teul. “Can’t I just stay naked.”
“Dress or don’t dress. Do anything you want, Teul. Be ‘one with nature’ if you wish. I don’t give a fok as long as you’re ready when we tab.”
“Sarge!” he replied, and we had no choice but to smile at his grin.
Everyone, except Teul was soon in the river and in the deeper pools. The cool mountain water was very refreshing, taking away all the itching, aches, tiredness. The only thing it didn’t take away completely was our smell and no one seemed to want to bother with soap. Rhys and I sat in a pool, neck deep, but we scarcely spoke. The men were also just relaxing, throwing a nasty comment at Teul, now and again, as he sat on the sand, smoking a’kl and watching us. He had already undressed, his combats spread out and his boots open and facing the sun, his rifle shouldered across his naked torso.
“When do you think it will begin?” Rhys asked.
I took in a deep breath. “Soon, my friend. Fokin soon.” We spoke no more for a while.
Teul stood up. “Hey! Fifteen minutes gone.”
“I’ll go relieve him and get the snack ready,” said Rhys. I nodded. Before Rhys reached the bank, Teul was already leaping into the water. I gave the men another fifteen minutes then told them that, unfortunately, we had to go up.
The sun was so hot that we didn’t need our towel to dry. That was preferable, anyhow, as the towel stunk more than we did. As soon as we were dry, we put on our boxers, except Teul who was playing ‘one with nature’, and sat in a circle to await Rhys.
“Salt tablet, high-energy cereal bars, beef jerky, and nut and fruit mix. I have some orange powder for a drink. We won’t have anything else until tonight. If you are out of candy, let me know. Choc will distribute the a’kl,” finished Rhys.
“How are we with a’kl,” I asked.
“Have a good supply,” responded Choc. “I resupply whenever the leaves are available.”
“Choc.”
“Sarge.”
“You do most of the macheting.”
“Yes, Sarge. I’m used to it.”
“Well, I want the other men to get used to it too.”
He looked at me, a bit puzzled then he gave a short, knowing smile, knitting his eyebrows. “Yes, Sarge. It’s good for them to practice. They need to should one have to take over from me.”
I nodded. “So, we’ll all do our share in macheting, won’t we,” I shouted.
“Sarge!” shouted back the men.
After eating the snacks, we filled our mess cups with water from our bottles for the orange drink. Teul had to go down to the river as he was out of water. I kept looking at him as he walked. He stood by the river edge, the sun beating down on his brown muscular body and deep black hair. He kept looking at the mountains in the west where Kinich Ahau was beginning to make his night journey. He put down his mess cup and passed his hands over the sand and I wondered if he was thinking about our people, our kings, our Warriors, those who had walked, planted, fought, built cities on that very land. He stood up, raised his arms into the air as if giving honor to the mountains that were his homeland, to Kinich Ahau that was his god. It may have looked funny to some, but that afternoon by the Chiquibul Branch River, Teul’s action filled me with awe for I remembered my journey into the majestic but dangerous world of my people. There was not a sound from the section and as I looked at them, I realized that they were all watching Teul. I saw in the eyes of my Maya brothers a longing for what we had lost, the things that would never come back. I was giving them a chance to live what I had lived and I realized, as a deep feeling of elation came over me, that the spirits of my ancestors lived where we were. Then I felt fear for Teul, for all of them, including Rhys and Robertson, for I didn’t know if they would ever return from where I was taking them, from where Sisimito, his Kechelaj Komon, and his Kechelaj Jupuq were taking us. I didn’t know if the cost to my section for trying to rescue Molly would be too great, too much. Teul slowly put down his hands, stooped down to fill his mess cup and slowly, but not slovenly, returned to our circle. I saw in his face a look of peace and acceptance only seen in those who are one with their people, one with their fate, and the fear in my heart was even deeper that time.
We left that sacred place at 1500 hours, cutting through low bush and trees for about a half-mile after which we began the ascent into the mountains and jungle once again. Choc had set up his macheting detail in earnest as the canopy layer was not very tight and sunlight got to the jungle floor where the undergrowth was often thick and woody. Choc excluded me from his detail and, when I asked him about it, he simply said that I had a more important job to do and leave him to do his job. So, that was that.
The mountains in the area were not as high as the ones we had come through, but they tended to be steep. Because of that, we walked leaning forward so that the weight of the bergens did not pull us backwards. Another difficulty was that we tended to slip on the bushes that were being chopped and, at times, we had to climb over blowdowns.259 But we just kept on going, knowing that the soldier leading the file and macheting was searching the jungle for any dangers that lay ahead. Taat and Choc continued monitoring our flanks, and Rhys covered the rear while monitoring our direction with his compass.
The land was becoming more and more difficult as many thick vines were hanging from the trees to just above the jungle floor. There were occasional stranglers,260 some large enough that they had huge trees fully surrounded by thick and woody vines, beginning to squeeze the life out of their unfortunate hosts. The hanging vines made machete work difficult and dangerous and the second soldier in file had to remain some distance from Teul, who was then the machete man. Woody shrubs were also prevalent as well as young cohune trees. The prickles from haul-am-back261 vines were also tearing into our combats and flesh. That was only the beginning. When we started our descent from the first mountain, the jungle floor was covered with ix-tots.262
Cutting through those plants was exhausting and painful and once again the section was forced into the most imaginative cussing possible. The ix-tot was like the pineapple plant, just much bigger, the hooked and thorny leaves reaching as much as six feet long. The one good thing about the ix-tot was that its ripe yellow fruit was edible and they were in season. As we proceeded, Taat began collecting, putting them in his cuxtal which seemed to have no bottom.
We continued as best and as quickly as we could, but suddenly it was getting dark. I called Choc to my side. “We need to move faster,” I said. “This is not a good place to make camp.” I looked up at the sky, but couldn’t decide on the time.”
“Got it, Sarge.” Choc immediately sent Choco to join Teul.
I was not afraid of an accident as both of them knew how to work the machete and would be cautious as they chopped. I next called Rhys and Robertson. “What time is it, Rhys.”
“1830 hours.”
“Fok! This won’t do. Briefing!” I shouted. The men were immediately around me. “I don’t want us to camp here. Too many ix-tots and too steep. If we’re enveloped,263 we won’t stand a chance. We have to go on. All of us, probably except you Medic, have walked the jungle at night. We know what to do, so there should be no problems. The gorge below us is undoubtedly bushy and narrow. Not a place to make camp. A defensive stand there would also be impossible. I want to reach the summit of the next mountain. We’ll make camp there.”
“Sarge!”
“Medic. Get three headlights. Teul and Choco, take one each and get up front and let’s move. If the batteries burn out … they burn out. We’ll figure out something else then.”
“Sarge!”
“Rhys. You get the last light and continue at the rear. Keep your eyes on the compass. We continue going north.”
The large patch of ix-tots spread on both sides of us and as we were on a sharp ridge going downward, even if it were daylight, we could not go around the barbed plants due to the gorges on both sides. So, we continued. Before long, we all had bloodied scratches and digs, and parts of our combats were ripped. We finally came out and on reaching the bottom of the sharp ridge found a small creek.
Sisimito II--Xibalba Page 21