Slayers (Jake Hawkins Book 1) (23 page)

The wide, paved roads of civilisation had morphed into a single muddy dirt track. The rainforest surrounded them on all sides. Thousands of trees towered far above their heads. Ferns and undergrowth covered
everything
. And it was hot. The humidity was stifling, worse than Iquitos. It was as if the rainforest trapped the heat in. Jake was surrounded by the sounds of the jungle. Far away, he heard a monkey hoot in response to the harsh cry of a macaw.

He stood alongside Sam and Zoe, in awe. The rainforest felt alive
.
It encompassed him.

The silence was shattered by the arrival of the second police van, skidding through the mud beside them. Crank, Link and Thorn got out. Felix came round from the front of the first van, and suddenly they were all together again.

“
So what
’
s going on?
”
Thorn said. Like Jake, he had been in the back the whole time, and was unaware of the plan.

“
We lost the cops,
”
Felix said.
“
Those vans sure are faster than I expected. We
’
re a five minute drive into the rainforest, but the track
’
s getting goddamn rocky up ahead. These vans won
’
t be able to take it.
”

“
Time to set out on foot, bro,
”
Sam said, clapping a hand down on Thorn
’
s shoulder. He had to reach up to do so.

“
We
’
ll have a good head start,
”
Link said.
“
They
’
ll never be able to follow us through here.
”

He motioned into the jungle.

“
Sounds good to me,
”
Jake said.

The other four men murmured their approval. The adults gathered together and began to debate back and forth on the opportune route. Jake walked back to Zoe.

“
You should go,
”
he said.
“
We
’
re setting off now.
”

“
Mmhmm.
”
She had calmed down. Her eyes were no longer filled with tears.

“
Are you okay?
”

“
I
’
m scared. But I
’
ve been scared before. It
’
s okay. Being raised in a million different places has its advantages.
”

He hesitated.
“
I know this isn
’
t the best time to ask for your number
…”
–
she laughed
–
“…
but I actually do need it. When we make it out, I
’
ll give you a call. We
’
ll come get you.
”

She extracted a notepad and pen from the back pocket of her military-style pants and scribbled a number down.
“
I don
’
t know how good the reception will be in Iquitos.
”

She tore it off and handed it over. Jake tucked it in one of his pockets.

“
I like you, Zoe,
”
he said.
“
I really do.
”

She stepped in and wrapped her arms around his torso. He could feel her heartbeat through the clothing. After a long minute, he broke off the hug and touched her cheek.

“
I like you too,
”
she said.
“
A lot. I
’
m glad I met you.
”

“
You
’
ll be fine. Remember what I said. We
’
re coming back for you.
”

“
Bye, Jake,
”
she said simply.

For a moment, slayers and Archfiend and Wolfe and the Amazon Rainforest were all forgotten. He looked deep into her eyes, then watched her turn and jog back up the muddy road.

He hesitated for a second.

Then he walked back to the group.

They had a job to do.

“
Done, Prince Charming?
”
Crank said, and tousled Jake
’
s hair.

“
Shut up,
”
Jake said.
“
I told her to lay low in Iquitos. Obviously it
’
s too dangerous for her to come with us. We can come back and get her after we
’
ve rescued Wolfe.
”

“
I admire your optimism.
”

“
So here
’
s the deal, Jake,
”
Thorn said, poking a map he had unfolded.
“
We have a three day trek ahead of us, at least. The tracker shows Wolfe is forty kilometres in front. Archfiend
’
s making a beeline for the exact place we predicted he would.
”

“
The clearing.
”

“
Exactly. It
’
s situated about eighty kilometres north-north-west of here, near the banks of the Napo River. We
’
re going to be following the Napo up. Travelling alongside it. Boats are too risky. We don
’
t want to draw attention to ourselves. Archfiend
’
s surely got slayers watching the river.
”

“
You sure this is a good idea?
”

“
We debated that for hours on the plane,
”
Felix said.
“
It
’
s the best option we
’
ve got.
”

“
Thorn and I were talking,
”
Crank said,
“
and actually, we think we should change it up.
”

Link turned.
“
What?
”

“
Archfiend is obviously expecting us. He
’
ll be ready. If we all travel in one big group, we
’
ll be sitting ducks. Thorn and I should split up from you four, and head around like this.
”
He traced a narrow C on the map.
“
If we travel light and fast, we
’
ll get to the clearing ahead of you, and we can scout it out for any activity. Then we
’
ll meet up with you, and go in with all guns blazing. That way, whatever forces Archfiend has in there, he has to split them into two if he wants to take both of us.
”

“
That could work,
”
Felix said.
“
No-one thought of that. We were too busy planning the route.
”

“
I agree,
”
Sam said, his eyes down on the map.
“
That
’
s a swell idea. If you guys are willing to do that, of course.
”

“
It
’
s cool,
”
Crank said.
“
Thorn
’
s good company.
”

“
No, it
’
s not cool,
”
Link said, raising his voice. He was enraged.
“
Why did we plan our entire route as a big group then? That
’
s what we
’
re prepared for. We can
’
t change our mind because of some spur-of-the-moment idea.
”

“
Yes we can,
”
Thorn said.
“
If that idea
’
s better.
”

“
Thorn and I will travel much faster by ourselves,
”
Crank said.
“
It means Archfiend can
’
t trap us all in one corner.
”

“
I vote yes,
”
Felix said.

“
So do I,
”
Sam said.

“
I don
’
t have a problem with that,
”
Jake said. Quite frankly, he didn
’
t care what they did. Something nagged at the back of his mind, something he couldn
’
t quite place, a certain wariness at the sudden change of plan. But he dismissed it. He was unqualified to make a decision, in terms of experience.

“
Well I
’
m saying that you
’
re not doing it,
”
Link said.
“
We stick to what we planned. We travel as a group.
”

“
You
’
re outvoted five to one, Link,
”
Felix said, mirroring what Link had told him back at the house. He turned to Crank and Thorn.
“
You two head off now. No time to waste. But keep in touch. Use the radio in your pack, Thorn. And don
’
t make any stupid moves before we get there.
”

They nodded in unison.

“
Travel fast, boys,
”
Sam said.
“
And if you find any slayers, make sure to pump them full of lead for me.
”

“
Will do,
”
Crank said.

He fist-bumped Sam and clapped Jake on the shoulder. Then the two men set off into the trees. Within a minute, they were out of sight.

*

Jake observed who was left.

Three men.

Sam was fastening the straps on his pack, as cool and calm as ever. His hair was still tied back in a ponytail. Felix stood tall. The man had a few inches over all of them. He was also the natural leader, after stepping up and taking the reigns in Wolfe
’
s absence.

And Link. The man was sweating bullets in the heat. He seemed agitated. Most likely from the overruling of his decision. But he was lethal. A force to be reckoned with. Jake felt safe in his company.

These were the three men that he would be travelling through the Amazon Rainforest with. He couldn
’
t have chosen a better team.

“
Ready?
”
Felix asked.

“
Ready,
”
Jake said.

The four of them set off.

Sweat.

It was all Jake had been thinking of for six hours straight. Felix
’
s explanation back in Melbourne had been spot-on.

You
’
re not going to enjoy it.

The rainforest was a living, breathing entity. It had spent the past few hours punishing him in every way imaginable. There was no escaping the humidity. Wherever he went it followed, drawing sweat from his pores. Trails of the salty stuff were running down his forehead, into his eyes.

They had been hiking all morning. It was now mid-afternoon. Quick, thirty-second breaks to quench their thirst was all that was acceptable. As a result, they
’
d made good time.

The packs were heavy. The air was thick. The trees were tough; hacking branches off them to clear a path through the jungle made for an exhausting ordeal. After an hour, Jake was spent. Every step he took only added to the fatigue.

Despite his training, the other three men were in another league of physical fitness. Jake had two months of gruelling experience under his belt, but these guys had two decades. Their lifestyles demanded that they adapt to the brutal conditions of the slayer world. Now they were adapting to the rainforest. He could see it. They bounded over logs with ease and the swings of their machetes had become automatic. It was a constant struggle to match their pace.

The wildlife surprised him the most. Everywhere he stepped something scuttled away underneath the ferns, or hissed, or growled a warning to stay away. One time, Felix had spun and planted a finger to his lips. Jake had swivelled his head just in time to see a fully-grown panther slink by. It had radiated power, huge and majestic, and his pulse had quickened involuntarily. It didn
’
t notice them.

There hadn
’
t been a single slayer sighting. Every sliver of movement in the scrub caused them to whip their pistols out, but it was always just wildlife. Whatever Archfiend was planning, Felix said, lay further into the jungle.

They adopted a tactic where two men took the lead for half an hour, hacking through the undergrowth with machetes. The blades sported serrated edges, perfect for moving through difficult terrain. It was hot, sweaty work. Jake and Felix paired up, as did Sam and Link, and they continued like this for the entire duration of their first day
’
s travels.

The sun set just before six. By then, Jake had slowed to a crawl. An hour earlier, Felix had suggested they slow down to prevent tiring out. It had been music to his ears. He had been running on autopilot for as long as he could remember, pushing on solely from the motivation that he couldn
’
t be seen as weak. It was the same drive he had felt when going through his training. They had accepted him into their ranks, even though he was twenty years younger. He had to prove he was worthy of the position.

When they pulled into an open area of grass, just as the sun dipped below the horizon, Jake was the first to announce it was a suitable place to set up camp. Sam agreed. The man
’
s ponytail had slipped out and his long hair was matted across his face. He looked horrible. Link hadn
’
t uttered a word of protest the whole trip, but he looked like a ghost. His skin, previously a soft pink, looked cold and clammy and white.

Felix was the fittest of the lot. Through the sheen of sweat glistening on his skin, his eyes hadn
’
t lost their vigour. It seemed he could continue on all night. However, after observing the state of the other three, he agreed that the small clearing was a perfect place to set up camp.

Jake muttered a word of gratitude and collapsed in a pile on the ground.