said Didier. ‘My arms feel damn sore from the constant swinging.’
‘Which direction shall we take? We were supposed to follow the water trail, but the stream goes into this narrow, creepy looking gorge. Not that I am scared… but we’d better take another way. Later, we might come across some other stream.’
Didier agreed. ‘Who knows what dangerous beasts live in that gorge. In the muddy ground, next to the pool, I saw footprints, really big paws. They could be a jaguar’s. And what if we got stuck between some rocks and weren’t able to get out? Forget it. It’s too risky.’
They set off, moving slowly, choosing their way where the terrain was a bit flatter, easier to cross, but venturing constantly deeper into the dark, hostile and wild jungle thicket. Soon their shirts were wet again and stuck tightly to their skin. Dishevelled wet strands of hair were clinging to their foreheads and thin rivulets of sweat were constantly running down their faces and backs. Every now and then Florent stopped abruptly and started scratching furiously all over his body.
‘It itches like hell. These damn bugs are everywhere and are ceaselessly bothering me. What a pity there is no insect repellent left.’
Didier endured the insect attacks without much complaining, but finally even he gave up and began to scratch violently at the multiple bites covering his reddened skin.
They kept marching, trying to get as far as possible that day. Often, out of the corner of their eyes, they would see the long, thick shiny body of a snake noiselessly gliding among the foliage and the tangle of roots and vines protruding above the earth and would move quickly to avoid it.
They kept going through the afternoon but as evening came on decided they’d done enough for the day and would find somewhere to build a hut for the night. It wasn’t easy because the ground all around was soggy, the sticky soil covered everywhere with slippery, damp, rotting leaves.
They both realized perfectly well that it was little probable that anybody would ever look for them there in that far corner of the rainforest. They had drifted too far away from the plane crash site.
So actually they were all alone and could only rely on their own strength and their own survival skills. This bitter realisation gave them somehow extra strength.
With a few branches they succeeded in making a skeleton of a shelter. They covered it with palm and banana leaves and put some on the ground as well to create a sleeping place. Then Didier placed two empty bottles under the edge of a big leaf hanging down from the roof.
‘It’s sure to rain again tonight so I’ll catch some water.’
It was their fourth night in the jungle. This time the darkness that wrapped them without warning like a velvet robe was even more overwhelming, and the sounds of animals seemed even more sinister. Their minds were plagued with gloomy, restless thoughts.
‘Do you really believe that we will ever get out of here?’ Florent asked, expressing his inner anxiety, his voice full of doubt. ‘We’ve marched miles and still found nothing, no way out. I have the impression that we’ve been going deeper and deeper into the jungle, towards its very heart. Maybe we should have waited at the crash site. It’s my fault, I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but I totally did not realise the immensity of the jungle. It was probably a stupid decision.’ He spoke in a subdued voice, running his fingers through his messy hair.
‘Don’t blame yourself,’ said Didier. ‘There’s no turning back now. We’ve gone so far anyway that I doubt we would ever manage to retrace our steps. Maybe rescue teams have already arrived at the crash site, and not finding anyone alive have gone away and will never come back.’
Florent looked dismayed. ‘So we’re just going to die here eventually from exhaustion, hunger or snakebites, or maybe some other wild beast will attack us. We should stop
‘Which direction shall we take? We were supposed to follow the water trail, but the stream goes into this narrow, creepy looking gorge. Not that I am scared… but we’d better take another way. Later, we might come across some other stream.’
Didier agreed. ‘Who knows what dangerous beasts live in that gorge. In the muddy ground, next to the pool, I saw footprints, really big paws. They could be a jaguar’s. And what if we got stuck between some rocks and weren’t able to get out? Forget it. It’s too risky.’
They set off, moving slowly, choosing their way where the terrain was a bit flatter, easier to cross, but venturing constantly deeper into the dark, hostile and wild jungle thicket. Soon their shirts were wet again and stuck tightly to their skin. Dishevelled wet strands of hair were clinging to their foreheads and thin rivulets of sweat were constantly running down their faces and backs. Every now and then Florent stopped abruptly and started scratching furiously all over his body.
‘It itches like hell. These damn bugs are everywhere and are ceaselessly bothering me. What a pity there is no insect repellent left.’
Didier endured the insect attacks without much complaining, but finally even he gave up and began to scratch violently at the multiple bites covering his reddened skin.
They kept marching, trying to get as far as possible that day. Often, out of the corner of their eyes, they would see the long, thick shiny body of a snake noiselessly gliding among the foliage and the tangle of roots and vines protruding above the earth and would move quickly to avoid it.
They kept going through the afternoon but as evening came on decided they’d done enough for the day and would find somewhere to build a hut for the night. It wasn’t easy because the ground all around was soggy, the sticky soil covered everywhere with slippery, damp, rotting leaves.
They both realized perfectly well that it was little probable that anybody would ever look for them there in that far corner of the rainforest. They had drifted too far away from the plane crash site.
So actually they were all alone and could only rely on their own strength and their own survival skills. This bitter realisation gave them somehow extra strength.
With a few branches they succeeded in making a skeleton of a shelter. They covered it with palm and banana leaves and put some on the ground as well to create a sleeping place. Then Didier placed two empty bottles under the edge of a big leaf hanging down from the roof.
‘It’s sure to rain again tonight so I’ll catch some water.’
It was their fourth night in the jungle. This time the darkness that wrapped them without warning like a velvet robe was even more overwhelming, and the sounds of animals seemed even more sinister. Their minds were plagued with gloomy, restless thoughts.
‘Do you really believe that we will ever get out of here?’ Florent asked, expressing his inner anxiety, his voice full of doubt. ‘We’ve marched miles and still found nothing, no way out. I have the impression that we’ve been going deeper and deeper into the jungle, towards its very heart. Maybe we should have waited at the crash site. It’s my fault, I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but I totally did not realise the immensity of the jungle. It was probably a stupid decision.’ He spoke in a subdued voice, running his fingers through his messy hair.
‘Don’t blame yourself,’ said Didier. ‘There’s no turning back now. We’ve gone so far anyway that I doubt we would ever manage to retrace our steps. Maybe rescue teams have already arrived at the crash site, and not finding anyone alive have gone away and will never come back.’
Florent looked dismayed. ‘So we’re just going to die here eventually from exhaustion, hunger or snakebites, or maybe some other wild beast will attack us. We should stop
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