I’m just grouchy when I don’t get enough sleep.”
We folded our tarp and tent, returned them to Tessa’s pack, then started off again.
The route we cut ran parallel with the river. It would have been much easier and faster to walk along the bank, but we kept our distance from the water. It wasn’t long before I discovered why. Shortly before the sun came up we stopped to rest on the crest of a hill. Jaime left us for a few minutes, then returned.
“Be very quiet,” he said. He led me to where the hill started to slope toward the river. Peering out between the trees, I could make out about a quarter mile south of our vantage point, the Río de Madre de Dios below us, its pale brown water shimmering beneath the moon’s glow. Jaime touched his ear, and then I heard it. Somewhere in the distance was the whine of an outboard motor. A moment later he pointed and whispered, “Look.”
A motorboat filled with Elgen guards sped by. They held spotlights and guns, both of which they panned against the banks.
“They are patrolling the river,” Jaime said. “It is the second Elgen boat I have seen.”
“As long as they stay on the river, we’re okay, right?”
He turned and looked at me. “We still must cross the river to get to the highway.”
I looked back down at the wide river. “We have to swim across that?”
He nodded. “Sí. ”
“Aren’t there, like, alligators and piranhas in there?”
“And snakes,” Jaime said.
“At least we’ve got that to look forward to,” I said.
When we got back to our camp, Tessa was sitting on a log eating some jerky.
“Vámonos!” I said.
“Oh please, not you too,” she said. “It’s bad enough hearing it from him.” She shrugged on her pack, then stood. “Where’d you go?”
“Jaime wanted to show me the river. The Elgen are patrolling it.”
“For a moment I thought maybe you guys had left me.”
“Thought or hoped ?” I asked.
“Why would I hope you would leave me?”
“So you could sleep.”
“I’ll sleep after I’m dead,” she said.
*
We hiked all day, taking only a few short breaks to eat and drink. Jaime said little and even though he hadn’t slept, kept us going at a brisk pace. Tessa was stronger than she looked, and, in spite of our difficulty getting her up, once she was walking she just kept on. By twilight I could see that Jaime was finally starting to lose it. As the sun set I grabbed his arm.
“You need to sleep,” I said.
He looked almost confused with weariness. “We must keep on.”
“We’ll be okay,” I said. “You can’t keep walking like this forever.”
He looked around a moment, then said, “Okay, Mr. Michael. We will camp here. I will take the first watch.”
“No. You need to sleep. We all do.”
He looked at me anxiously.
“Look, no one is going to find us. I couldn’t find me here.”
Finally he took a deep breath and said, “Okay. Okay.”
We found a dark thicket of trees where we set up our tent and covered it with leaves and vines. By the time we were done you could have walked over it and not seen it. Then Jaime gathered dead leaves and threw them in a circle around the camp.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
“If someone comes near, it will wake us.”
“As tired as I am,” I said, “ I don’t think dynamite would wake me.”
“There’s no way dynamite would wake me,” Tessa said.
All three of us climbed into the tent, and Jaime pulled a cover of leaves down over the tent flap, sealing us in. It was a two-man tent (Tessa joked, “It’s okay; there are only two men, right?”), and it was cramped with three, but it was also cozy and dry. Not surprisingly Jaime was asleep within minutes of lying down, which was unfortunate since he snored loudly. After one especially loud snort, Tessa laughed. “So much for the camouflage.”
Even with Jaime’s snoring, Tessa also fell asleep quickly. Her face was next to mine, and for a moment I just looked at her. It was strange
We folded our tarp and tent, returned them to Tessa’s pack, then started off again.
The route we cut ran parallel with the river. It would have been much easier and faster to walk along the bank, but we kept our distance from the water. It wasn’t long before I discovered why. Shortly before the sun came up we stopped to rest on the crest of a hill. Jaime left us for a few minutes, then returned.
“Be very quiet,” he said. He led me to where the hill started to slope toward the river. Peering out between the trees, I could make out about a quarter mile south of our vantage point, the Río de Madre de Dios below us, its pale brown water shimmering beneath the moon’s glow. Jaime touched his ear, and then I heard it. Somewhere in the distance was the whine of an outboard motor. A moment later he pointed and whispered, “Look.”
A motorboat filled with Elgen guards sped by. They held spotlights and guns, both of which they panned against the banks.
“They are patrolling the river,” Jaime said. “It is the second Elgen boat I have seen.”
“As long as they stay on the river, we’re okay, right?”
He turned and looked at me. “We still must cross the river to get to the highway.”
I looked back down at the wide river. “We have to swim across that?”
He nodded. “Sí. ”
“Aren’t there, like, alligators and piranhas in there?”
“And snakes,” Jaime said.
“At least we’ve got that to look forward to,” I said.
When we got back to our camp, Tessa was sitting on a log eating some jerky.
“Vámonos!” I said.
“Oh please, not you too,” she said. “It’s bad enough hearing it from him.” She shrugged on her pack, then stood. “Where’d you go?”
“Jaime wanted to show me the river. The Elgen are patrolling it.”
“For a moment I thought maybe you guys had left me.”
“Thought or hoped ?” I asked.
“Why would I hope you would leave me?”
“So you could sleep.”
“I’ll sleep after I’m dead,” she said.
*
We hiked all day, taking only a few short breaks to eat and drink. Jaime said little and even though he hadn’t slept, kept us going at a brisk pace. Tessa was stronger than she looked, and, in spite of our difficulty getting her up, once she was walking she just kept on. By twilight I could see that Jaime was finally starting to lose it. As the sun set I grabbed his arm.
“You need to sleep,” I said.
He looked almost confused with weariness. “We must keep on.”
“We’ll be okay,” I said. “You can’t keep walking like this forever.”
He looked around a moment, then said, “Okay, Mr. Michael. We will camp here. I will take the first watch.”
“No. You need to sleep. We all do.”
He looked at me anxiously.
“Look, no one is going to find us. I couldn’t find me here.”
Finally he took a deep breath and said, “Okay. Okay.”
We found a dark thicket of trees where we set up our tent and covered it with leaves and vines. By the time we were done you could have walked over it and not seen it. Then Jaime gathered dead leaves and threw them in a circle around the camp.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
“If someone comes near, it will wake us.”
“As tired as I am,” I said, “ I don’t think dynamite would wake me.”
“There’s no way dynamite would wake me,” Tessa said.
All three of us climbed into the tent, and Jaime pulled a cover of leaves down over the tent flap, sealing us in. It was a two-man tent (Tessa joked, “It’s okay; there are only two men, right?”), and it was cramped with three, but it was also cozy and dry. Not surprisingly Jaime was asleep within minutes of lying down, which was unfortunate since he snored loudly. After one especially loud snort, Tessa laughed. “So much for the camouflage.”
Even with Jaime’s snoring, Tessa also fell asleep quickly. Her face was next to mine, and for a moment I just looked at her. It was strange
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