Chapter 61
Chapter Sixty-One
I’m a diver, not a jungle warfare specialist. But, boy, do I wish I could channel me some SEAL or some of whatever Rory studied when he said it was ‘everything.’ Because I’m freaked out.
Thank god I have a light.
At least I had the wherewithal to cover the light with a leaf so it would dim the shine, and hopefully hide it from zombie stalker.
I offer another prayer to the jungle gods—because it seems right for the situation as I am in the thickest, most remote place I’ve dared set foot. Please let these batteries hold.
The light might lead my attacker to me, but there’s no way I could move through Jurassic Park without it. This human girl needs all the tech help she can get .
The guy chasing me must have had his phone light, because there is no way with his popping eyeball and his concussion he could navigate this place in the dark.
Unless…
I shiver and a choking sound comes out of me. Unless he really is a walking dead man.
With that thought, I speed up, hoisting myself quickly over a fallen tree, and down a small incline.
This place feels…snakey.
Another choking sound escapes me. Give me sharks, electric eels, fish with poisonous barbs any day. No snakes, no way, no how.
When a twig snaps behind me, I jump so high my feet leave the ground.
What was that?
Heart thrumming the back of my sternum like a heavy-metal guitarist, I shine my light around. Probably not the brightest move, but I’d rather see what’s coming. At least I can hit him again if I know where he is…
A flicker of light through the dense foliage makes my whole body lock up.
Oh good grief! Him again.
Definitely using his phone’s light.
Now my prayer to the jungle gods is for his battery to run out.
But in the meantime, I need to disappear. Sliding behind a tree, I make my breathing shallow and listen.
Uncoordinated footsteps, more like thrashing, is barely audible over the rain and jungle sound.
He’s close.
Turning the light off, I clutch it to my chest with my taped hands. The last thing I have time to do is gnaw through the duct tape. That comes after I know I’m in the clear.
Minutes go by.
My adrenaline peaks and starts to wane. It’s a miracle I have any left after this week.
I pause a while longer to listen, holding my breath. Now it’s been a long time since I’ve heard him. His light isn’t visible from where I’m hiding.
A cold drop of water falls off a leaf above me and lands on my nose, runs down my chin and drops onto my chest through the mesh vest.
If I wasn’t so freaked out I’d laugh.
Yep. I’m ready for this night to be over.