When The Jaguar Sleeps: A jungle adventure Read Free Page B

sunrays began to penetrate the dense wall of greenery, illuminating distant corners of the jungle that had so far been mired in darkness. The light shone on droplets of moisture suspended in the leaves, making them glitter with a diamond-like splendour. Calming silence reigned everywhere, broken only from time to time by the vigorous buzzing of insects, chirping and clicking noises of cicadas, a loud cry of a monkey, or the singing and squealing of an unfamiliar bird. In the heat and humidity, both men found themselves panting and gasping for air as if after a long run. The debilitating conditions slowed their brains, making them feel indifferent and lazy as if reacting to everything in slow motion.
    Finally, Florent forced his body to move again. He soaked a cotton shirt in water and gently washed the blood from Didier’s face. His head wound, although still bleeding, was superficial and should easily heal without leaving scars. The wound on his own leg looked more serious; the skin around it was flushed and swollen and it hurt badly when touched. He also noticed several cuts and scratches on his arms and stomach that needed to be cleaned. Fortunately, in Anna’s backpack he found a good first aid kit.
    The lazy minutes dragged on.
    Another hour passed.
    The Swiss couple remained unconscious, but Anna’s breathing was becoming gradually more regular and her pulse was clearly perceptible. Sandro was lying flat on his back with his eyes closed, his head turned aside without showing any signs of consciousness, only moaning weakly from time to time. His body felt very hot to the touch and his forehead was pearled with thick beads of sweat. When they removed the makeshift dressing, they saw that his leg at the fracture site had become more swollen and turned a bluish-violet colour. They cleaned the wound again and bandaged it carefully.
    Afterwards they removed their blood and sweat stained clothes and found some dry and clean long-sleeved shirts and trousers to put on. Then they meticulously applied an insect repellent to all exposed skin.
    ‘Maybe those damn mosquitoes will finally leave us in peace,’ said Florent
    He turned to Didier. ‘How long will it take before someone finds us here?’
    ‘How should I know? I doubt any help will arrive today, but tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, who knows? I am optimistic. But soon we better start to get ready for the night.’
    ‘I’m worried about Anna and Sandro,’ he added. ‘They need urgent medical care. Without it they are not going to last long. How are we going to sleep? There’s no suitable place to lie down and feel safe. I can’t imagine spending the night in the open air, unprotected. Surely some wild beast would come and attack us. What a horrible way to die. Far worse than in a plane crash.’
    ‘Worrying is useless. Believe me, it gets you nowhere. So why waste your energy? We have done all we could to save Anna and Sandro. Now we must think about our own survival. Is it your first night in the jungle?’ he asked Florent. ‘Four years ago I was in Borneo and went for a short three-day trip to a tropical forest. We slept in cabins with basic equipment and went everywhere with a guide, but I learned from him a few useful things about survival in the jungle, how to move around, build my own hut, avoid toxic plants.’ As soon as the words left his mouth Didier sighed with relief, realising that the memory of his life’s earlier events remained intact. He just couldn’t recall the moment of the crash or any event immediately preceding it. But he remembered well his journey to Borneo. It was all coming back now. And his father’s death a year later...
    ‘Yes, it is the first time for me,’ said Florent ‘I’ve never been in the jungle before but have dreamt of exploring it since I was a young boy. But I should not have wished for a tough jungle adventure. I never thought it would come true, at least not like this. Now I have my chance but it’s not at