Chapter 41
Ostin nodded to Raul. "Okay."
"Okay," Raul said. He split a leaf, then began applying the salve to Zeus's burned flesh, murmuring something to Ostin as he worked.
"He said this will help," Ostin said.
"Let's hope so," Jack said.
Abigail continued to hold Zeus's hand.
"How are you holding up?" Zeus asked Abigail. She was weary from her constant exertion, but she forced a smile. "Still better than you."
As Raul worked, Ostin explained his plan, then the two of them had a long discussion. When it was over, Ostin said, "Raul knows where we can find dynamite. It's about a three-hour walk from here. But he'll need help carrying it."
"Someone's going to carry dynamite for three hours through a slippery jungle?" Wade said. "That sounds like a death wish."
"Wade and I will go," Jack said.
"What?" Wade said.
"Someone's got to do it," Jack said. "We'll do it."
Wade just shook his head.
Raul handed Jack's knife back to him, then pointed to Jack and Wade and said something.
"He said you should leave a little before sunrise," Ostin said.
Jack nodded. "Si."
Wade looked distressed. "Great. I won't even get a last meal."
As darkness fell, Mrs.Vey approached Ostin, who was sketching out a map of the compound in the dirt. "Ostin?"
He looked up. "Yes, Mrs. Vey?"
"It's really a great plan you came up with."
Ostin blushed. "Thank you."
She kissed Ostin on the forehead. "You're a good friend to Michael. That's why he loves you so much. And when we get back to Idaho, I'm making you waffles."
Ostin pumped his fist. "Yes!"
Ostin was still smiling when Taylor approached him a few minutes later.
"Hey," she said.
Ostin looked up.
"About your idea," Taylor said. "It's brilliant."
"Thanks."
She took a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It wasn't your fault. I was just upset."
"I know," Ostin said.
"You do?"
He nodded.
"I was afraid you wouldn't know that. I mean, you're so smart about everything except girls. Well, girls and pretty much anything social..."
"McKenna explained it to me," Ostin said.
"Oh," Taylor said. "I feel awful about what I said about you being a bad friend. You're not. You're a great friend." She looked into his eyes. "Can you forgive me?"
"Yes."
"I know I tease you a lot, but I'm glad we're friends, too."
"Really?" Ostin asked.
Taylor nodded. "Really."
Ostin put out his fist. "Bones?"
Taylor smiled and put out hers. "Bones."
The group huddled together for the night, sleeping on the dirt. The Amazonian floor receives less than 2 percent of the sunlight, so very little grows, making it soft, like a decaying mulch pile.
The night air was moist and a little too cool for comfort, but they didn't dare make a fire or even let McKenna light herself up for fear that they'd be discovered by an Elgen patrol-it was dangerous enough that most of them glowed naturally.
Everyone was thirsty. Raul took Ostin with him into the jungle, and when they came back Ostin was holding a tan, tennis-ball-size glob from which he pinched out pieces, rolled them into small b.a.l.l.s, and handed them out to everyone.
"What is this?" Taylor said.
"It's gum," Ostin said. "It will make you less thirsty."
"Where did you find gum?"
"It's called chicle. It comes from the sap of the sapodilla tree. That's how they make gum."
"Chicle. Chiclets," McKenna said.
"Exacto," Ostin said. "That's where it got its name."
Taylor put some in her mouth and chewed. "It's kind of sweet. But it tastes like gum you've already
"It's tree sap," Ostin said. "What did you expect, Bazooka bubble gum?"
Taylor shrugged. "That would be nice."
The jungle came alive at night, as noisy and bustling as Times Square. Maybe noisier. As exhausted as he was, Ian volunteered to stand guard. It wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be, as observing the jungle at night was like watching a live presentation of the Discovery Channel. He watched two scorpions, locked in combat, battle to the death. He saw a jaguar climb a tree to catch a monkey, and an entire colony of vampire bats emerge from a rotted tree to seek blood. Everything in the jungle seemed engaged in a life-and-death struggle. Just like them.
No one, outside of Raul, got much sleep. Between their growing thirst, the symphony of insects, and the continuous a.s.sault of mosquitoes, everyone was miserable.
In the middle of the night the sound of thunder rolled across the forest accompanied by the excited chatter of monkeys. Even though they could hear the sound of rain hitting the trees, the thick, lush canopy of leaves kept them dry. Ian found a stream of water rolling down a tree and let it gather in a leaf to drink.
Tanner woke up three times in the night screaming. On the third occasion, Mrs. Vey went to his side and comforted him, gently stroking his forehead. He broke down crying, and she held him, rocking him like a baby.
The only thing that really concerned Ian was when he spotted a guard sneaking back to the pipe. Isn't he going to be surprised? Ian thought.
A half hour later, the guard, having found the cap locked, reemerged from the pipe's mouth and ran back in the direction he had come from.
Ian was still awake when Raul, Jack, and Wade left at the first hint of dawn.
Ostin awoke an hour later covered with mosquito and spider bites. "I can't spend another night here," he said, scratching his arm.
"I know what you mean," Ian said.
"Did Jack and Raul already leave?"
"And Wade."
"I hope they make it."
"Me too," Ian said. Then added, "It's a jungle out there."
The three didn't return until late afternoon. They were carrying large, overstuffed packs. Jack had two, one strapped to his front as well as his back, and Raul was carrying a bag in his hand in addition to his pack. Wade was a physical and emotional wreck and his clothes were soaked through with sweat. He took off his pack and carefully set it on the ground, overjoyed to be free of it.
"You made it," Taylor said to them.
"That was farther than I thought it was," Jack said. "Nice hike."
Taylor turned to Wade. "So how was it?"
"It was a death march," he said. "Nothing like carrying death on your back through a dangerous, death-filled jungle."
"The good thing is that if the dynamite had gone off you'd never even know it," Jack said.
"Comforting," Wade said.
"Well," Taylor said, "if you gotta go, that's the way to go. Oblivious."
"Just like my great-grandfather," Jack said. "He died in his sleep. Much more peacefully than the screaming pa.s.sengers in the car he was driving."
"You just made that up, didn't you?" Taylor said.
Jack grinned. "Yep." He lifted one of the packs and tossed it to her. It landed on the ground a few feet in front of her.
Taylor jumped back. "What are you doing?"
Jack laughed. "It's not dynamite. I brought back some food and water. Also some gauze for Zeus."
Taylor opened the pack. Inside were a dozen bottles of water, four large, crusted loaves of bread, and green fruits that were slightly smaller than a grapefruit, with the texture of an avocado. She drank some water, then took one of the fruits from the pack.
"What's this?" she asked.
"No idea," Jack said. "He said it was a cherry or something. But it's pretty good."
"Cherimoya," said Raul, who was eating one a few yards away.
"I'll take your word for it," Taylor said. She grabbed two more bottles of water, three fruits, and a loaf of bread to take to Mrs. Vey and Tanner.
Jack walked around distributing food and water. McKenna was so happy when she saw the water that she started to cry. "Water."
"I got two bottles for you," Jack said. "I know how you need it."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said, opening a bottle. "You're my hero."
"I thought I was," Ostin said.
McKenna drank half the bottle, then said, "You still are."
Relieved, Ostin asked, "Are those cherimoyas?"
"Something like that," Jack said, tossing him one. "Is there anything you don't know?"
"The meaning of life," Ostin said. "And how girls think." He peeled back the fruit's glossy green skin and took a bite, juice dribbling down his chin. "Oh man. That's good."
"What does it taste like?" McKenna asked.
"The flavor falls somewhere between strawberry and bubble gum."
"I want one," she said.
"Mark Twain called the cherimoya the most delicious fruit known to man," Ostin said.
"I definitely want one," McKenna said.
Jack handed her a fruit.