Scene 44

Jungle Outpost in the Guyana Highlands

All of us quickly rushed to the mound of rock covering the mouth of the mine. I carefully climbed to the top of the pile and saw that there was a small gap. That was good; it meant that those inside could still get air.

“Hello in the mine!” I called through the gap. “Is everyone okay in there?”

I paused to listen for a response, but heard none.

“Watch out,” I said to those behind me. “I’m going to make this hole bigger.”

Those gathered around the base of the rock pile moved back as I started to pull rocks away from the gap. I took several minutes before the gap was big enough for me to slip through.

“Toss me a light,” I said to Greg, who quickly pulled the flashlight from his vest and tossed it up to me.

I turned on the light and directed the beam of light into the hole. I couldn’t make out anything, so I slid through. Unable to catch myself on the other side, I slid to the floor of the cavern.

“Jamie, Todd, are you in here?” I called down the corridor.

My foot hit something softer than a rock, so I glanced down. There, half covered in rocks, was the body of a guard. I examined him and found he was dead.

I began to make my way slowly into the mountain. There had to be someone alive in here.

As I rounded a corner, I felt a body hit me and I fell to the ground. The flashlight was knocked from my hand by the impact. Whoever had hit me grabbed the light and pointed it directly at my face. I was nearly blinded, but I could just make out a second body pointing a rifle at me.

“Wait, I’m here to rescue you!” I called out desparately, as I held my hands in front of me.

“Dave?” I heard in disbelief.

As the light was taken from my face, I felt hands pull me up and take me into an embrace.

“Is that really you?” came the voice from behind the rifle, who I now recognized as Todd.

The man holding me released his grip and I could see that it was Standard.

“Yes, it’s me,” I answered, “and I’ve got help outside. Where are the others?”

“Farther back in the mine,” Todd answered. “When we heard the rock slide, we came to investigate. We found the guard dead under the rocks and took his rifle. What happened out there?”

“Time enough for explanations later,” I told him. “Is anyone hurt?”

Todd shook his head. “None of us are in very good shape. A week of hard labor and little food has taken its toll.”

Just then we heard more rock slide behind us and we turned to see what caused it. We saw the young native hunter climbing to his feet. Pivat had followed me through the hole to help.

“Mayja, aye kum hep yu!”

“Who is that?” Todd exclaimed in disbelief.

I chuckled a bit. “Todd, let me introduce you to one of the people you came to look for. This is Pivat from Hekata.”