Scene 29

Jungle Outpost in the Guyana Highlands

I examined the parts of the camp that I could see from my position. I was strung up in the middle of the clearing between the mine entrance and the main building. As I watched, a man would regularly come out of the mine and empty a basket into the wagon.

I noticed that there were no women in sight. I could only assume that they were all being held in the building on the side of the mountain.

The two men guarding me stood nearby. I would be unable to get to my bonds while they were there.

I noticed a bit of movement to the side and turned my head to look, but I couldn’t see anything.

Were the members of my team coming to help?

As I waited, I noticed two more men had gone up the side of the mountain and were bringing down another woman. This one was darker skinned but not a native. She was probably from one of the cities in the area. The woman struggled against the guards, obviously knowing what awaited her, but one of the guards struck her with his rifle, causing her to fall to the ground. The guards again pulled her to her feet and drug her towards the building.

As they watched the two men pull the woman towards the building, my guards laughed at her situation.

I felt anger growing inside me at the brutality of these men, but what could I do; I was bound securely.

My answer came at that very moment. One of my guards suddenly fell forward, an arrow sticking out of his back.

The other guard yelled out and spun around, just in time to receive another arrow in his chest. His hands flew to the arrow as he fell over backwards.

“Manna Konnal, Aye eppu,” I heard from behind me as the rope holding my right hand was cut.

As my bonds were being cut, the guards with the woman had noticed their companions had fallen. One held the woman tightly as the other started towards me.

As my last bond was cut, I dove for my fallen guards rifle. Even though my left arm was nearly useless, I was able to brace the rifle on the fallen man’s body and fire. The guard running towards me fell back.

The other man shoved the woman away and I saw her slam into the building. As she fell to the ground, the man raised his rifle and aimed at me. I quickly shifted my aim towards him and pulled the trigger.

The rifle jammed, leaving me defenseless. I glanced back at who had freed me. The hunter cringed from the gunfire.

He grabbed my shirt and tugged. “Manna Konnal,” he pleaded, “cum inna junga!”

I started to follow him when the bullet hit the ground near us and we both hit the ground. I did my best to keep my rescuer’s body behind my own, shielding him from the gunfire.

As we lay on the ground, unable to get away. I again turned to look at the guard.

The man was adjusting his aim for a better shot when the woman plowed into him, knocking him to the ground. Amazingly, she struck the guard again and again, not allowing him to recover his weapon. He did the best he could to block her blows, but she continued to strike him furiously. After only a few moments, he lay still but she continued to strike him.

I rushed over to her to pull her away and she spun towards me. There was fury in her eyes as she pulled back to hit me, stopping at the last moment.

“Let’s go!” I said to her.

She nodded and followed me.

We ran towards the native who had rescued me. He was gesturing wildly for us to follow him.

Together, the three of us fled into the jungle.