“What are those?” Delta whispered to Bianca.
“Coatimundis, or Coatis. They’re a combination of raccoon, monkey and squirrel. Neat, huh?”
Delta smiled as she heard the animals scurry up another tree trunk. It was at this moment that she felt something stir inside her—probably the same kind of feeling Megan had when she first saw the magnificence unfold around her. This, which lay before her, was Life; not the hustle and bustle of city streets, nor neon billboards and graffiti-covered walls. What boggled Delta most was that this peaceful life was happening at the same time as she was chasing down muggers, robbers, rapists and murderers. This incredible display of nature’s splendor went on while she was stuck in commuter traffic, triple-locking her door at night, or waiting in line at the store. This was Life with a capital L, and she’d almost missed it.
“Why do you look so sad?” Bianca asked when Delta’s horse pulled alongside hers.
Looking up, Delta shrugged. “This is some place you have here, Bianca. I just wish I were here under different circumstances, that’s all. I just wish...” Delta let her words trail off into the same abyss as her thoughts.
“Maybe when you find your friend, you can see the rest of the country. There’s so much more to Costa Rica than the rainforests.”
Delta forced a grin and nodded. In silence, they rode on beyond the trail’s end into the heart of the jungle. Delta noted the increasing humidity. The plants and trees were different from those they had seen at the beginning of their trek. Suddenly, Delta realized she needed to pay attention to these changes. The jungle, like the city, had various personalities, depending on where one went.
“Your friend…could she survive in here by herself?” Bianca asked after twenty minutes more of silent riding.
Delta glanced around. Three years ago, Megan might have crumbled at the prospect of getting herself out of the rainforest. But the past two years had drastically changed her. Now Megan had the strength to do anything Delta could do. Now, Megan was a woman who had a life worth living. Get herself out of the jungle? Delta had no doubt that Megan could.
“Megan lived in a concrete jungle with animals who kill for no reason.”
Manny pshawed this and waved her off. “Animals do not kill for no reason.”
“She was talking about men, Manny.”
Delta glanced over at Bianca and winked.
“We must stop,” Manny said suddenly.
Delta looked at the path ahead. “Why?”
“Look at your horse.”
Delta leaned over in the saddle and was horrified to see its entire neck painted with blood. “Shit!” she exclaimed, down as gracefully as her haste would allow. “What happened?”
Manny dismounted and pulled a towel out of his backpack. Toweling off his horse first, he replied, “Zancudos.”
“Mosquitoes?” Delta guessed.
Manny nodded. “Sí. We spray them down before we leave, but then the horses sweat and the bugs find places to bite.” Wiping down the other horses, Manny sprayed them with repellent and then lifted his horse’s front feet. Delta and Bianca double-checked their gear while he examined the other horses in turn.
“Camp before it gets too dark,” Bianca admonished, looking up at the sky. “You have about two hours of light left, but not much more. Don’t be tempted to go through the jungle in the dark.”
Delta nodded. “The sun sets at what time?”
“Six. No more, no less. Trust me, Delta, don’t push it. You should be setting your camp around five-thirty.” Bianca’s intense features conveyed the seriousness of her words. “And be sure to string the hammock up. If you sleep on the ground, the bugs will be all over you.”
“Sí,” Manny added. “And spray yourself all over with the spray. Gringas are not used to the insects like we are. It will be a horrible night for you if you do not spray yourself.”
Delta nodded. “I’ll be sure to do that.”
When Manny finished with the horses, he walked over and squatted down next to Delta. “We will have to leave you now. My horse had a stone in her shoe, and it would not be wise to push her any further.” Manny held up the stone and looked at it before tossing it into the bushes.
Rising, Delta nodded. “My friend Connie Rivera will come looking for me when she reaches Rivas. I’d really appreciate it if you could show her the way.”
Bianca reached out and shook Delta’s hand. “Good luck to you, then. My friends and I will be looking for Connie. What does she look like?”
Delta reached into her wallet and pulled out a picture of Connie. It was the most recent picture they’d taken together, when the four of them had gone camping. Delta was wearing a baseball cap and had her arm around Connie, who held up a three-inch fish they’d caught.
Bianca took the picture and studied it a moment. “She could be Costa Rican.”
Delta smiled, wondering what silly story Connie would have launched into if she’d heard Bianca say that. “Oh, I’ll bet some part of her is.” Handing the reins of her horse to Bianca, Delta patted the horse’s nose one last time.
“We’ll be sure she gets your message, won’t we, Manny?”
Taking the picture back, Delta reached out to shake Manny’s hand. He appeared uncomfortable with her action. “Thank you, Manny, for all your help.”
“Don’t thank us yet, Delta. We may have brought you more trouble than you could ever know.”
Delta stood in silence as they remounted. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Bianca waved as she took the reins of Manny’s horse and quickly laced them to her saddle. Manny easily lifted himself into the saddle of Delta’s horse and grinned as he grabbed the reins. “Be safe.”
Bianca nodded. “We’ll be waiting!”
When she could no longer see the swishing of the horses’ tails, Delta turned to face the gaping mouth of Costa Rica’s largest rainforest. Something inside her told her she was doing the right thing. Now all she just needed to go the right way.
When Megan and Siobhan collapsed into their tent at last, it was almost dark. Megan estimated it was close to full sundown, maybe five or five-thirty. It had been a longer day than usual, and they had worked nonstop since lunch, with none of their usual breaks.
“I’m too tired to die,” Siobhan said, dropping onto her back.
Megan reached down and pulled the long knife from her boot, where it had remained since she’d stuffed it in there hours ago. “Too tired to escape?” Even in the near dark of the tent, the blade was still discernible. Looking at the knife, Siobhan bolted upright as if someone had given her an electrical shock. “What are you doing with that?”
“I told you. I have no intention of working my ass off or blowing that s.o.b. until they kill me. No thanks. I’d rather let a jaguar eat me than continue living under these conditions.”
“You’re not serious.”
“I certainly am.”
“But there is no escape. What will they do if they catch you? They might kill you!”
“They’ll do that whether or not I try to escape. Siobhan, they’re going to kill us when we’re through here. Don’t you see that? The minute that last flake of gold is packed away, we’re through. Well, I’m sorry, but I have a life that’s worth living, and I’d rather take my chances in the wild than here.”
Siobhan’s eyes grew wide. “But even if you do escape—”
“The odds of making it out of this rainforest are slim, I know. But at least I’ll go down fighting and not on my back. What I will not do is go down feeling like a victim.”
Siobhan lowered her voice. “When will you go?”
“A couple of days. It’d be foolish to go running without provisions. I’ll need a machete, some food and a water container.”
“I wish you’d reconsider, Megan.”
“Not a chance. Unless we find more gold, General Zahn will bury us in that cavern.”
“But you’ll be alone,” Siobhan whispered.
Megan grinned. �
�If you could have met the women I hang around with, you’d understand why I believe in the impossible. I’m going to make it, Siobhan, because I’m smarter than these assholes, and because I so want to live.”
Siobhan bowed her head. “You’re so much braver than I.”
Tucking the knife under her shirt, Megan lay down and stared at the tent ceiling. “The goddess creates only a handful of heroines.”
“Then you must be one.”
Megan laughed. “Not me. I’m more of a...heroine’s apprentice.”
Siobhan cocked her head in question.
“The real heroines are on their way this very instant.”
“Here? In Costa Rica?”
Megan shook her head. “Uh-uh. Here, in the rainforest. You can bet your life on that.”
Connie paced the airport’s small waiting area for nearly an hour. With every new arrival announced over the static P.A. system, she would stop, look up at the monitors, and sigh loudly if it wasn’t the flight she was waiting for.
She had spent the night making numerous calls and preparing for her trip into the rainforest. She had managed to buy an “H” frame backpack from a Canadian high school student, who was more than happy to accept the exchange for three hundred dollars. After acquiring the backpack, she shopped for dried fruit, three canteens, nuts and anything else she thought they might need. She tossed in the food she’d packed back in River Valley, along with her compass, flashlight, army knife, change of socks and rope. The completely full backpack was now sitting in the Suzuki in front of the airport, waiting; waiting like Connie was waiting. It was driving her nuts: unanswered questions made the empty time seem that much longer. Where was Delta now? Was she safe?
Finally, the awaited-for flight was announced; Connie looked up at the monitor and smiled. Help was finally on the way.
Ten minutes later, following a crowd of returning Costa Ricans, a short, freckle-faced woman wearing army fatigues, black army boots and a camouflaged baseball cap bounced down the hall and into Connie’s arms.
“Sal! Thank you so much for coming!” Connie said, hugging the tiny woman tightly.
Pulling away, Sal looked hard into Connie’s eyes. “You okay? You look awful.”
Connie shrugged. “Didn’t get much sleep. There’s so much to do.”
Sal turned from Connie and addressed a tall, broad-shouldered man sporting a black beard and the very same style of attire Sal wore. When Connie saw him, she threw her arms around him and let out a gush of air as he squeezed her. “Josh, thanks for coming.”
“Where the squirt goes, I go,” he growled.
“You need an expert in jungle warfare, Josh is the man.” Sal patted him on the back and grinned up at him. Josh returned this gesture with a wink.
This was not the first time Sal and Josh had joined Connie in helping Delta out of a jam. Once, when Delta was almost raped and tortured in the desert, both Sal and Josh had killed in order to save her. From that moment, Sal had become part of their team. With her knowledge of electronics and all that her father’s Viet Nam buddies had taught her, Sal had proven time and time again to be an invaluable ally. And wherever Sal went, so did Josh. It was a package deal. Always had been, always would be. And for this mission, Connie would most definitely need both of their expertise.
“You and Delta are part of Sal’s family now,” Josh said, readjusting his cap. “Besides, she’d have come without me anyway. Too much like her father, this one.”
Sal beamed up at him, as their mutual affection tangibly flowed between them. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Connie could only shake her head at the diminutive would-be warrior. From the moment they’d met nearly a decade ago, Connie had liked Sal. She was spunky, smart and full of life. Sal never backed away from a challenge, not even when her father was decapitated in Viet Nam after saving several of his buddies’ lives. The friends, these survivors of the horror known as the Viet Nam War, returned home vowing to care for their hero’s little girl for the rest of her life. Sal might have lost a father, but she had gained a pack of brothers who would lay their lives down for her without hesitation. Josh, the youngest of them, was the last one her father had carried through the minefield before being captured. Josh had also been the one who found this same sergeant’s head rammed on a pole for gruesome display. That image still haunted him at night, and he would show up at Sal’s doorstep whenever he couldn’t shake the nightmares. Such was the nature of their relationship.
Whenever Delta and Connie needed help of any kind from Sal, she – and Josh - had dropped everything to come to their aid. Now, here they were once again, ready at a moment’s notice, to scour the wilderness for a friend. It was crystal clear to Connie that heroism and courage were deeply embedded in Sal’s genetic code. Like her father, she would go to enormous lengths for those she cared about, even if it meant risking her own life.
“Got a four-wheel drive?” Josh asked.
Connie nodded.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s do it!”
Early-morning sounds woke her even before the sunlight had a chance to. The rain forest was really two very separate and distinct worlds: green, well-lit, colorful and somewhat quiet during the days; spooky, dark and full of a thousand different sounds at night. Its nighttime serenade had lulled Delta to sleep, with the most incredible songs she had ever heard. Like some kind of witching-hour chorus, the nocturnal animals and insects seemed to give a special performance just for her. It was no wonder she’d fallen asleep so quickly—she’d had a lullaby played for her by musicians she would never see.
When she first lay down on her hammock, she’d been amazed at the denseness of the forest canopy. Try as she might, she could not find a single star in the night sky. Yet, when she woke at 5:15, the air felt crisper, the sounds were less intense, and the shadows were not as dark or as scary.
As she lay there listening to her personal concert, it suddenly, inexplicably stopped. Just like that, as if the conductor had fallen off her podium. The insects stopped buzzing and the night birds ceased their hooting. Sitting up and leaning on her elbows, Delta held her breath as she strained to hear the cause behind the sudden silence. From the west came the sound of a large animal thrashing its way through thick vegetation.
All the night critters seemed to be listening, too. Whatever it was...it was moving towards her.
As the crashing sound grew louder, Delta quickly ran through her options. It was too dark to see it, which could mean IT might not see her. Given the amount of noise it was making, Delta figured it must be huge. A large monkey? Surely the dreaded jaguar was much quieter when stalking its prey through the jungle. Delta picked up the long knife-like machete she had become so good at swinging. It felt heavy to her aching arm.
Taking the machete, she quickly gathered her gear and pushed it behind a tree trunk. Then she squatted down behind another large trunk and waited. She didn’t have to wait long. As the sound grew closer, Delta scrunched down lower. Wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans, Delta regripped the machete handle.
With the dull edge of the machete balanced on her shoulder so she could quickly swing it, Delta squinted through the dark. For a second, she thought she saw...Was that...? Yes, there it was again. A flash of light from the direction of the noise. The animals coming toward her weren’t jaguars or monkeys—they were humans.
If she was scared before, she was absolutely petrified now. What if they were the Colombians? Or the poachers? What if they were natives? Delta slowed her breath. Four Spanish-speaking men whispered to each other as they hurried past the tree she was hiding behind. In the semi-darkness, she couldn’t tell if they were Costa Rican or Colombian. But she did know one thing—they moved quickly away from her, hacking the foliage as they went. Frozen, afraid to move, Delta stayed in her crouched position for fifteen minutes before feeling it was safe enough to rise. After massaging her cramped left calf muscle, she prepared to follow them. “Storm,” she whispered to herself, �
�I think you just got your first big break.”
She grabbed up her gear and started out after the men, but they had already disappeared into the dense undergrowth. If she didn’t hustle, their trail would go cold: they were experts in the art of jungle travel, and Delta wasn’t even a novice. From here on out, she would have to slow down long enough to examine the breaks and cuts of the tree limbs hacked away by the men before her.
Standing back a moment, Delta thought about how she would approach this if she were on her home turf. I’d take a look at the big picture. In the growing light, she surveyed the bushes. It became clear that there was a pattern to the hack marks the men had made. Certain trees had certain bushes surrounding them, and it was these bushes the men seemed to be pushing through. If she could look for those same shrubs, she might be able to move more quickly than if she looked for hack marks.
Delta looked up at the forest canopy. For such a large wilderness, La Amistad sure had its share of human activity. Who were those men moving through the jungle so early in the morning? Locals foraging for plants? Delta was quickly learning that there were way too many questions and not nearly enough answers.
When the sweat from her forehead dripped into her eyes, stinging them to the point that she had to stop, Delta leaned against a tree and rested. A quick check of her watch told her she’d been trailing these men for almost two hours. It was almost seven, and even the canopy above could not stop the powerful rays of sun from reaching the forest floor.
Should she continue following them as her only possible lead, or head on back to Rivas to meet Connie?
Wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, Delta made the only decision that felt right to her. She wiped her sweaty palms, gripped her machete, and plunged deeper into the embrace of the jungle.
The guards came to Megan’s tent earlier than usual, and this alarmed her. If the general or someone else had noticed the knife missing, she was finished. For the first time since she’d been captured, Megan was afraid for her life. Sliding the knife into a seam on the inside of the tent wall, Megan glanced over to Siobhan and grinned. “It’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”
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