The spent cartridge gets ejected out of the pistol, hitting Laura in the head before bouncing off onto the ground.
“Ouch, what are you shooting at?” Laura asks, rubbing the spot where the cartridge had hit her.
“Breakfast,” Victor replies as he stands up. Laura looks over to the direction in which Victor had shot and sees the dead bird, missing its head.
“You really do like shooting things in the head don’t you?” Victor just shrugs his shoulders. Laura is cheerful and happy.
“Wow, my first night in the wild under an open sky, it’s so cool. I thought it would be scarier and dangerous.” Laura is so happy; Victor decides to tell her nothing about the jaguar. He just hopes she does not see the footprints. While Laura is not looking, Victor quickly rubs out some of the jaguar’s prints with his shoes.
“What are you doing?” Laura is looking at him, head tilted to one side.
“I got bird shit on my shoe, just trying to get it off.”
Laura rolls her eyes at Victor and laughs. “Do you mind if I go and explore a bit further while you start the fire and cook the bird? I don’t really want to see you prepare it, not ready for that yet.” Laura is already making for the opening to the path she had started yesterday, machete in hand.
“Be careful, and yell if you need help or find anything, ok?” Laura does not comment, she just bounces towards the opening, all excited.
While Victor is busy collecting more twigs and branches for the fire, three men in a jeep make their way along the road from Vilcabamba.
“Do you think the tourists left? I did not hear a plane take off last night,” Anthony asks.
“I think they did, we must not have heard them leave, and maybe they left late at night, after their guide told them some scary campfire stories,” Morne comments, causing them all to burst out laughing.
“How will we know where they stopped?” Anthony is driving and is not sure what the plan is about finding out where the plane landed.
“Fancy tourists that rent a private plane and guide will not get their feet wet and muddy in a jungle, there must be some upscale facilities there, bet you there will be a road leading into the jungle, used to transport them. Reckon they will not walk much either, look out for a road or pathway into the forest, boys,” Boris replies.
The conversation dies off and each one tries to be the first to spot the entrance into the jungle.
“Look, Boss,” says Anthony, pointing to the airplane next to the road in a clearing. After pulling the jeep up next to the plane, he switches the jeep off and climbs out, then walks over to the plane and touches the outside of the plane where the engine is.
“It’s cold, Boss, they never left. I do not think it is tourists, maybe officials?”
Boris thinks for a moment then replies, “No, this is a private plane, there is no government insignia on it and the tail markings are not government.”
“Do you think it can be the missing agent we are supposed to meet?” asks Morne.
“Not sure, let’s be careful, looks like they went in there,” replies Boris as he points to some leaves and branches lying on the ground where Victor had cut them off to make a path.
With caution they enter the jungle, using the path Victor had created until they come to a spot where the path is not that clear.
“Which way, Boss?” asks Anthony.
“Not sure, you go directly on, me and Morne will take this path.” Anthony nods and continues on, unholstering his pistol and keeping it at the ready, safety removed. After a few minutes ducking under branches and climbing over others, he comes to the clearing. Carefully he peaks around the last scrub and sees Victor busy preparing to make a fire. He does not recognize Victor. Boris had shown them a photo of Russtoff so that they could easily identify him when needed. Whoever this man is, he will need to catch him alive so that they can find out what he knows.
Unaware of the danger Victor is in, Laura swings the machete with all her might to clear a path, eager to find the treasure. Yet it seems that as soon as she cuts down one branch, three more spring up to take its place. It is exhausting work, yet requires no mental effort, so Laura lets her mind slip to Cayman and the night at the Resort.
Victor had changed her life in so many ways, she wonders if it will all end when they find the lost city. She starts to wonder if he feels the same about her as she about him, or is she just another fling until he has finished his mission?
The thought infuriates her, and she transfers her fury into her next swing. The machete cuts through the air, hungry for more branches, yet it finds none as Laura’s swing is wild and without aim. The heavy machete pulls Laura off balance, causing her to lose her footing and fall face first down into the mud, crashing through the brush she was trying to cut down.
For a moment Laura lies motionless, angry at herself for being so careless, when suddenly a deep low growl right in front of her rips her out of her thoughts. Again, a deep low growl comes from in front of her, this time even closer, it feels like the sound vibrated through her whole body, and Laura can suddenly hear the breathing of something big. She almost cannot get herself to look up, yet she has to.
Slowly, Laura lifts her head, and comes eye to eye with a massive jaguar, twice as large as a normal jaguar. The jaguar opens its jaws and growls again, only an inch from Laura’s face, its breath almost as nauseating as the thought of those large teeth sinking into her skull.
Laura’s whole body trembles with fear, and tears start to form in her eyes.
Mauled by a jaguar, she never imagined this is how she would die. She only wishes that it will be quick and relatively painless. The big cat senses her fear. It smells it on her, a prey to die, another meal, yet seconds ticks by without it attacking.
Time stands still for Laura, and after what seems like hours, yet was less than two minutes, she finally gets the courage to try to crawl backwards, away from the beast. Slowly, she lifts her head, being careful not to make eye contact with the beast and provoke it. She starts to inch backward in the mud. A growl from the beast stops her dead in her tracks, frozen. However, this time the sound is not as threatening as the others, almost like pleading.
Mustering all the courage she has, Laura looks up, right into the beast’s eyes. The jaguar meets her gaze, and it is almost as if their souls communicate, the jaguar pleading for help from Laura. Slowly, Laura lowers her gaze, and then she sees it.
The jaguar’s front right paw is trapped by a wire noose, possibly put there by a hunter to catch smaller game. The wire has cut into the jaguar’s flesh as it struggled to get loose, and Laura can see that there is no way the jaguar will be able to free itself.
Does he really want me to free him? Looking up again, Laura searches for the jaguar’s eyes, but it turns its head away, as if it does not want to frighten her, and submits to her.
Softly and unsure Laura says, “Ppplease don’t eat me.” The jaguar makes neither movement nor sound, yet still keeps looking away from her.
With great uncertainty, Laura slowly stretches out her arms to try to reach the noose. However, she is too far away to reach it, she has to move closer. Carefully, she inches forward until she can touch the noose.
Gently, she tries to pry the wire noose open and loose, yet she has no strength to do it with her arms stretched out, she has to move even closer. Again Laura inches forward very slowly, until she feels she can work on the wire. Her head is almost right by the jaguar’s paw, and her back is under its head. With great care she starts to work the wire loose, pulling it out of the jaguar’s flesh. Suddenly the jaguar growls so loud and deep that the ground under Laura vibrates, sending chills through her body, yet the jaguar does not move.
When Laura gets the wire noose wide enough open to free the jaguar’s paw, she gently takes its massive paw with both hands and lifts. The jaguar senses her movement and lifts its paw, allowing the wire to slip off freely. The jaguar licks its injured paw while Laura does not dare to move, being right under th
e big cat. Suddenly, the jaguar lowers its head and gives Laura a lick on the cheek, then jumps over her and disappears into the jungle. Laura can hear it moving through the bush for only a few seconds before all goes silent.
It takes Laura a good five minutes before she gets the strength to get up and return to Victor. She somehow feels richer from the experience, as if she has made a difference in the world, as if her life is actually worth something, as if she has a role to play in life.
Laura just hopes that saving the jaguar is not the highlight of her life, nor that she will regret it later when it returns to eat her. She slowly backtracks her steps through the bush towards the ruins and Victor, hoping that he will have been able to start the camp fire and cook the bird, she is a bit hungry after all the hard work and excitement.
Although the going is easier, she is in no hurry to fall down again, so she moves at a slow and cautious pace, not knowing what is awaiting her.
Victor has managed to get a few dry twigs from around the ruins and places them criss cross over each other to allow the air to move between the twigs. He then takes scrap paper from his notebook and crumples it up, placing it between the twigs. Victor removes the back end of the survival knife, which serves as a housing for the compass and lid for the hollow handle. The handle can store a number of small things used for survival, this one contains a small packet with 10 safety matches, a striking strip, two fish hooks and fishing line, two needles with some thread, and a steel cutting cable with rings on each end allowing one to hold the cable with your index fingers and cut wood with it like a saw.
Victor takes one of the matches and strikes it on the striking pad. The match flares up and Victor carefully cups the precious flame in his left hand as he brings the match to the paper. Just as he is about to light the paper Victor feels a sharp blow to his ribs as someone kicks him so hard that he is lifted a foot in the air. Even as pain rushes through his body and he struggles to breathe, his mind is sharp and his reflexes quick.
As he lands he rolls onto his back to enable him to see his attacker, just in time to see the second kick. Lifting his knees, Victor blocks the kick aimed at his ribs and grabs the attacker’s leg. With all his power, he holds on to the attacker’s leg and kicks as hard as he can against the man’s knee of the leg he is standing on. Victor can hear the sharp snap sound as the attacker’s knee gives in and breaks.
The attacker drops to the ground screaming from the pain. Even as the man is collapsing, Victor rolls over backwards and jumps to his feet while pulling his pistol from behind his back where he had it tucked into his pants. As Victor brings the gun up, he has a split second to see his attacker in full for the first time. A well tanned 6 foot athletically built man, possibly Italian, with brown hair and gray eyes. He holds his knee with both hands, looking up at Victor and the gun in Victor’s hand now aimed at his chest.
Gently, Victor starts to squeeze the trigger. The sound of the shot is loud and causes the jungle to fall silent immediately. The bullet hits Victor low in the right side, spinning him around while knocking him to the ground. As he hits the ground, he knocks his head on the rocks he had used to make the camp fire the night before, causing him to lose his grip on his pistol and it slides away from him. Victor’s vision is blurred for a few seconds from the fall, and as it starts to clear he can make out two more men emerging from the jungle, one holding a 9mm Parabellem pistol, with a small smoke trail coming from the barrel.
The man who fired the gun is a Russian about 5 feet tall, stocky and overweight, while the second guy is South African, possibly ex-military.
Boris walks over to his friend on the ground and inspects his knee.
“How are you doing, Anthony?”
“The fucker broke my knee Boris, kill him!”
“In due time, in due time.”
Morne is scanning the area as he walks over to Victor. He immediately notices that the thatched leaves on the ground used as bedding have two body imprints in, and knows there is someone missing. Looking around, he sees Laura’s sandal prints in the soft ground, leading to a path into the jungle.
After giving Victor a thorough scan up and down, noting that Victor is losing blood fast, he smiles and speaks. “Ja broer, vandag het jy jou gat gesien.”
“Gaan kak in die mielies,” Victor replies weakly, his strength slowly draining from him.
“Windgat, wag tot ons jou girlfriend kry,” Morne replies but makes no further movement, save to watch Victor roll onto his side and close his eyes.
“Morne, keep an eye on him while I help Anthony to the jeep.” Morne only nods his head slightly in response.
Laura is about 500 feet from the ruins when she hears the gunshot, causing her to freeze with shock and horror. “Has the jaguar attacked Victor, forcing him to shoot it?” Immediately, she starts running through the bush to the ruins as fast as she can. She suddenly becomes aware of just how much she cares for him and how much he has become a part of her life in so short a time.
As Laura nears the ruins, she starts shouting his name, calling for him. Just as Laura breaks through the last branches into the clearing, she sees Victor on the ground with a Russian next to him, holding a gun to his head. Before Laura can react, a fist slams into her jaw with such force that her head is thrown backwards and her body lifts an inch off the ground. Her feet slip out from under her and she comes down hard on her back. As she lies there, half dazed, she can hear the men laughing at her.
Suddenly, someone grabs her by her hair and drags her towards the centre of the camp. Tears fill Laura’s eyes from pain, and she grabs the hand holding her hair, digging her nails into the flesh. Laura gets a punch in the stomach for her troubles that almost takes all the air from her lungs. While still gasping for air from the punch, she is dropped next to Victor, who is now only half conscious due to blood loss.
“Kitty’s got claws boys, I think she wants to play,” Morne says laughingly, “Can I play with her Boris?”
“Do as you please, you have ten minutes then kill her and the guy, we have to go,” Boris replies while helping Anthony up.
Morne grabs Laura by the hair again and pulls her to her feet then kisses her. Laura slams her fists into his chest, but it has no effect on him. She then scratches his face, digging her nails in as deep as she can while biting his lower lip. Morne screams and punches Laura in the face, knocking her down, and she almost loses consciousness.
Blood is dripping down from Morne’s lower lip, as he puts his hand to his face he sees blood on his hand, Laura has scratched him to the bone.
“You will pay for this little girl,” he hisses as he slowly bends down over the semi-conscious Laura and grabs her by the top of her cotton shirt, ripping it open, exposing her bikini and breasts.
“I am going to have fun with you,” Morne growls as he starts to undo Laura’s belt and pants. Grabbing her unzipped pants by the top, he pulls them down in one fast jerk to her knees. Her bikini bottom half stays in place, just covering her womanhood. Morne reaches down and is about to touch her bikini bottom to rip it down when suddenly a massive commotion from the bush causes him to stop and look up.
He is just in time to see a gaping jaw and rows of deadly teeth coming straight for his face. The jaguar grabs Morne by the face and bites down, crunching bones while teeth sink into his head and face. Morne lets out a bone chilling scream as the jaguar crushes his head and face, his bones shattering, his brains and blood spilling onto the ground.
Anthony looks on in horror as his friend is mauled by the jaguar. Boris, unaffected by the scene, pulls his gun from his holster, carefully aims for the jaguar’s head and squeezes the trigger. Just before he manages to fire the shot, a steel cutting wire circles his neck and is quickly pulled from left to right. The wire rips into his flesh, severing his carotid arteries and windpipe.
He falls to the ground with Victor, who has regained consciousness long enough to attack him but is now again slipping away due to blood loss and shock.
An
thony pulls himself together to a degree, and manages to pull his gun from his holster while standing up on his good leg. Shaking from fear he aims at the jaguar and fires. The shot is wide and misses the jaguar, angering it. The jaguar turns to attack Anthony, who manages to calm himself down enough to steady the pistol and take careful aim. There is no question that this will be a killing shot, and once he is done with the jaguar he will kill the girl and guy. A smile breaks out on his face as he thinks about all the money he will have and the things he will do with it after he has sold the treasure.
His smile suddenly changes to surprise and then pain as three spear tips thrust through his back and burst out of his chest. With shock he looks down at the steel protruding from his chest, blood oozing from each wound. Slowly he turns to see native Peru warriors with shields and spears slowly coming out of the bush all around him. One has on a massive feathered hat ornamented with gold jewelry, clearly he is the leader.
With effort, Anthony lifts the pistol to shoot the leader, but ten more spears fly through the air at the same time and bury themselves with such force into his chest that he is lifted into the air half a foot. He is dead before his body hits the ground.
Laura pulls herself to a sitting position with effort while pulling up her pants and tying what is left of her shirt closed as best she can. With a shock she realizes that not only is she being surrounded by more than a hundred native warriors with spears and shields, but also that the jaguar is right next to her.
The warriors are now only 10 feet away from her and lift their spears to stab her. Suddenly, the jaguar gives a loud deep growl that can raise the hairs of the dead, then goes to lie down in front of Laura, putting its massive head in her lap. Laura is so shocked by the jaguar’s actions that she reacts instinctively and strokes its large head, causing the jaguar to purr like a household kitten.
The native warriors all have a shocked expression on their faces and immediately drop to the ground, putting their hands in front of them and their faces in the ground while saying something in a native language over and over again, almost like chanting. Slowly, the leader makes his way through the warriors, each moving to the side to let him pass without looking up or pulling their hands back from in front of them. When the leader is five feet in front of Laura, he slowly drops to his knees and assumes the same position as the warriors.
Laura 01 The Jaguar Prophecy Page 19
