Chapter 29
Luis guided the boat into a small inlet that was overhung with thick canopy, and again we were obscured in shadow. Jaime climbed out onto the bow as Luis ran the boat up onto the sh.o.r.e, startling several small caimans and sending them scurrying back into the water. Jaime jumped out onto dry ground with a coil of rope. He pulled the boat farther up onto the bank and lashed the end of the rope around the trunk of a peculiarly shaped tree. "Amigos, hurry," he said.
We grabbed our packs and one by one climbed out of the boat. Ostin and I were the last out. As I was stepping down Jaime put his arm on my shoulder, stopping me. "Senor, do you have your device?"
I held up the packet. "It's in here."
"I'm sorry, you cannot take the packet."
"What?"
"It is too dangerous. If the Elgen find it they will know we are helping you. Do you remember the instructions for the device?"
"Colby Cross. Yes. Can I at least take the map?"
"No, senor."
"It's okay," Ostin said, tapping his temple. "I've got it all right here."
I took the iPod out of the envelope and handed the rest back to Jaime. He unlashed the boat.
"Dios este contigo," he said.
"G.o.d be with you," Ostin translated.
"Gracias," I replied.
Jaime pushed the boat off the bank, jumping into it in one fluid motion. He gave us a salute, then the boat pulled back out into the river, reversed direction, and sped back the way we had come.
"How far is it to the compound?" Wade asked.
"I think it's about the same distance as our hike to the boat," I said. "Everyone ready?"
Everyone looked tired and anxious, but they all nodded.
"Okay," I said. "Let's go."
Jack held up his machete. "I'll take the lead."
We all followed him back into the jungle. Insects continued to flare off my skin in bright blue flashes. Ten minutes into our hike Jack stopped.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Look."
A jaguar was standing in our path, about fifty feet ahead of us, its green eyes pale in the distance.
"Zeus," I said. Zeus quickly stepped up. "We might need you. Just in case it decides to hunt one of us."
"n.o.body run," Ostin said. "We should be okay."
"Why are we okay?" Taylor asked.
"We don't look like what they usually eat. But if you run, it triggers the chase instinct."
"Good to know," Wade said.
The cat looked more bored than hungry. After a few minutes it turned away and lumbered off into the thick foliage.
We breathed a collective sigh of relief, then continued hiking.
Ostin said to Taylor, "I hope we don't have to deal with those rats. I hate rats. Even without electricity they're bad."
Taylor sighed. "You're going to tell me everything you know about rats, aren't you?"
"Rats," Ostin said, "are the most successful survivor of any mammal on earth. They can live almost three weeks without sleep, keep themselves afloat in water for three days, and fall fifty feet without getting hurt. That's the equivalent of us falling off a twenty-six-story building.
"They're also breeding machines. In ideal conditions a single pair of rats could produce, in three years, three and a half million offspring. That's why nearly ninety percent of the world's islands have been overrun by rats. They cause about half the extinctions of reptile and bird species."
"You're not making this any easier," Taylor said.
"Did you know that rats are ticklish and actually giggle?"
"No."
"And they have belly b.u.t.tons but no thumbs?"
"Why would I want to know that?"
"Did you know
"No. Really?"
"Did you know that rats regulate their temperatures through their tails because they can't sweat?"
"Nope. Didn't know that either."
"Did you know that there's a temple in India where rats are wors.h.i.+pped?"
"No," Taylor said. "Maybe you should go there."
"Did you know that rats can't vomit?"
"Okay, enough. No more rat trivia."
"I'm just pa.s.sing time."
"Then talk about something besides rats."
Ostin thought about it. "How about snakes? These jungles are slithering with them."
"Michael, your turn," Taylor said, pulling me next to Ostin.
We hiked another forty minutes before we saw light ahead of us-the edge of the forest. I stopped everyone. "All right, everyone, stay alert."
We cautiously approached the forest perimeter. The Elgen fence was only thirty feet from the clearing, and we could see dozens of bulls on the other side. The fence was about twenty feet high with horizontal wires eighteen inches apart. The fence was marked with DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE signs in both English and Spanish.
"It looks like a ranch," McKenna said.
"It is a ranch," I said. "Ostin, how far do you think we are from the gate?"
"It's about three miles southwest."
I stared ahead at the animals. "Can you see the compound?" I asked Ian.
"Barely. There's a lot of electrical interference. There are also a lot of security cameras between here and the compound."
"A lot?"
"More than a hundred."
I shook my head. "The Elgen and their cameras."
"What now?" Taylor asked. "How do we get in?"
"I think I could lift the wires high enough that everyone could climb under, but then what do we do?" I asked. "With all those cameras, we'd be surrounded by Elgen guards before we got within two miles of the place."
Zeus said, "Ian could spot the cameras and I could blow them out."
"Yeah, like they're not going to notice that?" Jack said snidely.
"Shut up," Zeus said. "I don't hear you coming up with anything."
"C'mon, guys," Ian said. "Quit fighting all the time."
"Maybe if he'd quit being such a jerk," Zeus said.
"You watch your back," Jack said.
"Is that a threat?" Zeus asked.
"Please, stop it," I said. "We've got enough to worry about." I sat down to think.
"We need them to come get us," Ostin said.
"Sure," Wade said. "Why don't we just call them and ask for a ride."
"Ostin, tell us your idea," I said.
"If we can somehow damage the fence, they'll have to send out a repair crew. While they're trying to repair the gate we'll jump them, take their uniforms and vehicle, and drive to the compound."
"How do we damage the fence?" Taylor asked.
McKenna was looking at the top of the fence. "We could drop a tree branch on it," she said.
"Brilliant," Ostin said. "We find a tree that hangs over the fence, then one of us climbs up with a machete and hacks a branch off so it falls on the fence."
"I could do that," Jack said.
"It's worth a shot," I said. "Let's find ourselves a branch."
We walked about a half mile along the fence line concealed in the shadow of the jungle until we found a tree with a large branch that hung over the fence. The branch provided enough shade that six large bulls were grazing beneath it.
Jack s.h.i.+mmied about forty feet up the tree, his machete slung through the back of his belt. He climbed out on the overhanging branch, then, straddling it, began hacking away.
"Be careful up there," Abigail said.
Jack smiled and pounded harder.
"That's a really big branch," Ostin said.
"It will have to be big to damage that wire," I said.
"Yeah. I'm just saying, it looks really heavy. I just hope when it breaks off, the tree doesn't flip back and catapult Jack through the jungle."
"We should be so lucky," Zeus said.
It took Jack almost fifteen minutes to hack through the branch, and he was soaked with sweat. With each slash of the machete he rained down perspiration.
When the branch began to crack Jack shouted, "Watch out. Here it goes." He gave the branch a few more whacks, then jumped onto another tree limb as the branch fell out from under him, directly onto the fence. Sparks shot out in a bright cascade but the branch just flipped off the top wire, doing no damage. We stood there speechless.
"c.r.a.p," Ostin said.
I looked up at Jack. He was shaking his head. "That fence is a lot stronger than it looks."
"And it looks pretty strong," Taylor said. "Any other ideas?"
"Watch out," Jack shouted. He let the machete fall. It stuck blade first into the marshy ground about ten feet from Ostin, who wasn't paying attention and jumped when it hit. Then Jack slid down the tree's trunk and joined us. "Didn't work," he said.
"You need a shower, dude," Zeus said.
Jack wiped his forehead. "Yeah, I'm starting to smell like you."
The two glared at each other.
"What we need," Ostin said, "is a car to drive through the fence."
I looked over at the fence and the bulls behind it. "How much does a car weigh?"
"That depends," Ostin said. "Are you talking about a Volkswagen or a six-wheeler?"