by Matt Rogers
As he fell, Koji blazed through the air a hair’s breadth above his head. It passed through the space he had been occupying barely a second earlier and continued onwards. Then it was gone from his vision. He plummeted down.
The cliff shot past. He looked down, and saw the branch rushing up to meet him. Its tip would just miss him if he kept the same trajectory. Precisely what he had intended.
He reached out and grabbed the other end of the vine with his right hand. The vine formed a U shape between his palms. Suddenly, the branch rushed past his face. He shot his arms out so that the length of vine caught onto the wood.
The force of the sudden stop was bone-wrenching. His fingers slid down the vine on either side, shearing skin off both palms. He screamed in pain. One shoulder jolted violently—maybe tearing a muscle. He opened his eyes to find himself hanging by the two ends of the vine. Just above, the vine was looped over the branch. It hadn’t snapped off the cliff face. He was alive.
But he still had to climb.
Behind him, he heard a distant bellow. He craned his neck to see Koji falling through the sky. The great shape fell for another few seconds, until it was nothing but a tiny dot, skewered against the rocks below. Up close, the impact would have been a grisly sight to behold.
The waterfall roared beside him as he hung, suspended from the vine. Thick streams of freshwater bounced off the uneven cliff face. He was already drenched from the spray. Mud and dirt washed from his clothes, taken away by the waterfall. It was a welcome relief, but his hold began to slip. He looked up and found that he had fallen further than he had anticipated. The thrill of survival against all odds was eating away at him, fuelling his body with energy. He could feel the pain in his arms though, even through the pulse-pounding rush. The tension of the deceleration had been tremendous. He had been lucky not to dislocate his shoulders.
The climb back up was slow and tentative. Jake couldn’t take any risks. The water beat down mercilessly as he moved up along the side of the waterfall. There were hundreds of rough handholds in the cliff, interspersed close enough to provide a way back up. It was free climbing, without the use of safety measures, on a slippery cliff face with damaged arms, all while getting bombarded by spray.
He had been rock climbing with friends twice in his life, but always indoors. Never like this.
Halfway up, he reached for a handhold, a small piece of rock jutting out from the cliff face. It broke off in his hand. Jake swung backwards.
The sudden lurch was almost as terrifying as the leap of faith he had taken moments earlier. But his scrabbling feet found purchase once more and he continued onwards, shaken up but safe. When he finally got a leg up over the edge and sprawled out flat on his stomach on the ground, he cried out in elation.
He didn’t move for twenty minutes. The sounds of the rainforest were all around him, but he didn’t care. It was peaceful. He took deep breaths, in through his nose and out through his mouth. Water dripped off his clothes as he stared out across the Amazon Rainforest. It was still relatively early in the morning. The sun was glinting off the treetops down in the valley. Birds were calling. He smiled.
I’m alive.
Everything had been so bleak, so hopeless. But he had beaten Mabaya, he had beaten six mercenaries, and he had beaten an eight-foot super slayer. He was almost bursting with ecstasy.
Eventually his mind rolled back to the present. Sam, Link and Felix were back at the warehouse, suffering from unknown injuries. And here he was lying in a heap on the ground.
Reluctantly, he got up. Pain flared in his right arm. The whole thing was on fire, from fingertips to shoulder.
He dwelled on the fact that it had only been a couple of hours since he had woken to find a slayer in their campsite. That felt like a week ago.
The sun beat down on the back of his neck. It was scorching in its intensity, even this early in the morning. The humid forest enclosed around him as he walked back in the direction he had come from, cradling his throbbing arm.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jake reached the lip of the valley within the hour, following Koji’s trail of destruction back through the jungle. His arm had become increasingly painful over the trek back, so much so that each step brought a new wave of throbbing through the limb. He kept it close to his chest in an attempt to minimise movement. His head was throbbing, too.
He gazed out upon the contents of the valley. To his surprise, the far side was over half a kilometre away. His mind had been preoccupied on other matters the first time he had been led here. The warehouse looked peaceful from above.
The sun gave a luminous quality to the landscape, beating down on the canopy of treetops. Any other time, the view would have been calming. He descended the slope with caution. There was no use in needlessly adding to the injuries that had already been sustained.
The entrance door lay ajar. He walked through with caution, senses heightened.
“Oh my god, Jake!” a voice shouted. It was filled with relief.
He blinked twice as his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. There was more light than there had previously been, because half of the far wall was now missing. The entire sheet of metal had been torn off from its adjacent panels when Koji had thrown Felix against it. Jake guessed it hadn’t been constructed with safety in mind.
The seven mercenaries were arranged face-down, side-by-side, on the floor. Half of them were conscious. The other half were still out cold from their injuries. They all seemed like they would live. Cable ties locked their hands behind their back and bound their feet together. Jake recognised the plastic strips as Sam’s.
Felix was standing over them, gun in hand. He looked horrible. All the skin from his shoulder to his elbow was swathed in thick bandages, some already stained red. His shirt was torn in half. Huge, ugly bruises were plastered across his stomach and chest. His eyes were dark with pain, but they lightened as he saw Jake.
“Jesus, man, I thought you were dead,” he said, and clamped a hand down on Jake’s shoulder, as if to prove that he was really there.
“I thought I was dead too,” Jake said.
“What happened? Where’s Koji?”
“At the bottom of a waterfall. He fell.” Jake had no energy to elaborate.
“You saw it die?”
“I checked twice. It’s dead, alright. The impact almost cut it in half.”
Felix nodded in satisfaction. “Good man.”
“Where’s Sam?”
“Downstairs. Searching Koji’s cage.”
He trailed off. Jake cocked an eyebrow.
“And Link?”
Felix paused.
“We can’t find him,” he said.
“What?”
“He’s gone, man. Sam was dizzy as all hell after Koji smashed them together, but he swears he saw Link run out after Koji with a gun in his hand.”
“Trying to protect me?”
Felix nodded.
“I didn't see him out there…”
“The Amazon’s a big place, Jake. We’re going to have to wait it out, though. But he’ll find his way back, don’t worry. You did.”
“Let’s hope so.”
There was movement from the entrance to Koji’s lair. Sam came climbing up the stairs. He was a mess too. Dried blood was caked over the bottom half of his face. His arm was pinned tight to his body, bent at a right angle and resting in a sling fashioned from bandages.
“Jake!” he cried. “We thought Koji got you, bro. We were ready to start searching.”
“What’s the situation down there?” Felix said.
Sam shrugged. “Nothing, dude. Just a dark hole in the ground. There’s a load of animal skeletons down there. I’m guessing our mercenary friends shot the local wildlife and tossed it down for Koji to eat.”
Jake shuddered.
“What are we going to do about this lot?” he said, motioning to the struggling row of men on the floor.
Sam shrugged again. “Let’s wait for Link to
get back to sort that out. We can’t just leave them here.”
“They tried to kill us,” Felix said icily.
“Tried, bro,” Sam said. “They failed. I’m all for revenge, but I’m not going to let these guys die of dehydration and hunger. They deserve more than that.”
“They don’t deserve anything. Back in Delta, we would have killed them slowly.”
“We’re not in Delta anymore, Felix. Remember our pact? No more humans. There’s worse things than a bunch of amateur soldiers out here.”
“Out here, it’s kill or be killed,” Felix said. “We won. Let’s leave them.”
Jake stepped forwards. “We’ll let Link decide. Until then, there’s no point arguing about it. They can last a day, I guess.”
They settled down and waited. The warehouse provided shelter from sunburn, so they sat on the floor and sipped water from their bottles. Mabaya and his goons spat and swore at them. Sam retaliated by trickling water out onto the floor, just out of their reach.
“Thirsty, boys?” he said, grinning.
They continued to yell until they realised the effort was only further drying their throats. Then they shut up. They were clearly in severe discomfort. Jake couldn’t care less. He found it hard to find sympathy for a group of men who had been ready to kill him earlier this morning.
After a while, he noticed something.
“Where’s Quentin?” he said. “And the other guy?”
“Gone too,” Felix said. “After you, Koji and Link went out, they followed. Must have recognised an opportunity to escape. I don’t fancy they’ll last long out there, though, with no water or food.”
“Link doesn’t have water or food either.”
“He’ll be right,” Felix said, reassuring someone, perhaps himself. “You found your way back, remember?”
“All I had to do was follow the broken branches,” Jake said. “Without the trail that Koji left I would never have made it back.”
*
One hour rolled into two. Time ticked away, and before long it was late in the afternoon. The sun had reached its peak around one. By five, it was touching the horizon, casting an orange glow over everything outside.
Jake had fallen asleep long ago. A firm hand on his shoulder woke him. It was Felix, sporting a pained expression. It only took one glance at the man’s face to realise that there had still been no sign of Link. Jake was surprised to see that it was dark outside.
“What time is it?” he said, rubbing his eyes.
“Just after six.”
“No Link?”
Felix shook his head. “I don’t know where the hell he is. And I’m scared.”
Jake sat up from the dusty concrete floor and rested his back against the wall.
“How can he be so lost, man?” Sam said from across the room. There was audible tension in his voice. “How?”
“Remember,” Felix said, “that he’s never been here before. We have, Sam.”
“He could still be walking in the wrong direction,” Jake said, his stomach sinking further and further.
“You’re right, everything looks the same out there,” Sam said. “We only knew our bearings because of the GPS. Link’s got nothing on him. Nothing at all. He doesn’t even have water, man.”
“You want my opinion?” Jake said hesitantly.
Felix glanced at him. “I always want your opinion. You know how I feel about what I said back at the house. We’re all equal, buddy.”
Jake nodded. “We stay here tonight. If Link’s not back by morning, we go for Archfiend. And Wolfe. Link’s capable. He’ll find a way to stay alive. And every second we spend waiting for him is a second that he would want us to spend hunting Archfiend.”
“That’s what I was going to say,” Sam said. “Link’ll figure something out,” – he slapped Felix on the back – “he always does, brother.”
“Are we going to sleep on the floor?” Jake asked. It hadn’t been too bad.
“These guys don’t sleep on the floor,” Felix said, motioning to the mercenaries.
Sam strode up to Mabaya. He drew a pistol and pressed the barrel into the man’s neck. “Where do you sleep?”
“Piss off,” Mabaya snarled.
The butt of the weapon slammed into the small of his back. Mabaya grunted. It was clear he was trying to contain the amount of pain he was in.
“This can go on all day,” Sam said. “Tell me where you boys sleep.”
“On the floor.”
“No you don’t.” Sam hit him again, in the same spot.
Mabaya cried out. “Upstairs! In the attic … part of the wall folds out … near the front door.”
Jake was already up, pack on one shoulder, running his hands over the knobbly surface. Sure enough, he chanced upon a seamless vertical line that would have otherwise been unnoticeable. There was a small knob of welded metal protruding from the wall, like a doorknob. Jake tugged on it. A section of the wall swung outwards from hinges on the other side, revealing a narrow wooden staircase, rotting in places, spiralling up into darkness.
“Looks like we won’t be sleeping in tents tonight,” Felix said.
The steps led to a long, low attic, spanning probably half of the floorspace below. There were small wooden bunk beds and two tiny windows, one at each end. Orange light filtered in, illuminating the dust mites in the air. A lone bulb swung from the rafters. Felix found a switch and turned it on. It did little to brighten the room, and Jake imagined that when the sun fully set it would be close to pitch black in here. But the bunks were made up with pillows and rough sheets, which was infinitely preferable to a tent. He didn’t care who had slept there before. He dumped his bag by the side of one of the beds and collapsed onto the mattress.
*
Sometime within the next hour, Sam came to Jake with a ration pack. The food tasted just as bad as the first time, but it settled his growling stomach.
“We need to take shifts,” Sam said.
“Shifts?” Jake was still confused, a symptom of exhaustion.
“Keeping watch, bro. Imagine Quentin and his buddy come back and untie the seven dudes downstairs. We’ll be in a world of trouble.”
Felix checked his watch. “I can probably go till two. Not likely I’ll get much sleep out here anyway. Sam, I’ll wake you then. You take it to six.”
Sam nodded.
“What about me?” Jake said.
“You need rest. You’ve never had to keep watch before, and we didn’t train you for anything like this. It’s not easy. You have to sit still for three or four hours, in the dark, while everyone else is sleeping – and on top of all that you need to be constantly alert. It takes some practice, but it was pretty much routine in the Delta Force. We’ve got it.”
Normally, Jake would argue. He wanted to take some responsibility, was reluctant to be seen as the baby of the group, but he was half-asleep and agreed with everything Felix was saying. In his current state it was unlikely he would keep awake for more than ten minutes.
“Okay,” he mumbled, and fell back to the pillow.
*
Wolfe came to from a groggy stupor. His wrists ached and his joints were stiff. He was weak.
Archfiend had been feeding him half-heartedly, barely paying him any attention, knowing that he only had to remain alive until the rest of his team showed. It was just enough nutrition to keep him conscious: a raw fish here and there, the scraps of a cooked animal.
Archfiend strode in from the trees.
“You’re awake,” he stated.
“My team isn’t coming,” Wolfe said. “You’re wasting your time.”
“I’m afraid they are. In fact, they’ve had a run-in with Koji.”
“Koji?”
“One of my … larger creatures. I don’t fancy their chances of survival.”
Why are they coming for me? Wolfe thought. It’s a death trap.
“How do you know where they are?” he said.
Archfiend smiled. “I just kn
ow.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Jake rose before sunrise. It took him a few moments to shake off the fingers of sleep, trying in vain to drag him back down into slumber.
“Did I miss anything?” he asked as he stirred.
Sam looked up from the floor, taking a second to register the change in an atmosphere that had been the same for hours. He shook his head after a beat. “Nothing, brother. Uneventful night.”
Jake looked across, where Felix lay motionless, his huge chest rising and falling. “Any movement from the guys downstairs?”
“Not a peep,” Sam said quietly. “When Felix was on watch they were struggling against the bonds. Didn’t work, though. They’ve been quiet all night. Sleep probably caught up to them.”
“So, no Link?”
“No Link,” Sam said, even quieter. He was tapping his leg against the floor and staring vacantly past Jake, somewhere far off in his mind. Imagining Link’s peril, probably.
“He’ll come back,” Jake said. “Come on, Sam, you know he’s stronger than that. He wouldn’t die out here.”
Sam refused to make eye contact. “He was my friend.”
Silence.
“And now,” Sam said, misty-eyed, “he’s probably out there in the rainforest alone, surrounded by predators, sleeping on the open ground; no food, or water, or shelter.”
Jake shuddered. He forced the image from his mind, and told himself that Link was okay.
The morning’s preparations were undertaken in solemn silence. Sam and Felix barely uttered a word. Jake watched them move with lethargy, faces creased in anguish. At one point, Sam lashed out furiously, denting the wall with a single punch. They had been holding on to hope that was slowly diminishing, slipping away with each passing second.
Jake’s arm felt much better. It was still throbbing, but there was clearly no break.
“You’ve just jarred it,” Felix told him. “Don’t make any sudden movement and you’ll be alright.”
Jake felt like complaining more, but said nothing further. There were bigger issues than a sprained shoulder.
