Chapter 5.
It was hours before I stumbled ashore, for now the river was turning into a mangrove swamp and was flowing much slower. I collapsed on the shore and frowned as I grimly remembered my last visit to the mangroves. I swept my hair out of my eyes and put my hand to my lips in an attempt to staunch the blood flow. I dropped the spear by my side and let out a sigh. I'd travelled miles and miles, there was no way any rescue crew (If there was one) could find me now. I tried to figure out some way of escaping this dreadful jungle but my mind remained as clear as the river. Something moved a little way off and I diverted my eyes from the sky to the area of movement. I was not alarmed by the movement although I was curious and so I intently studied the area of interest for a while before resuming my cloud watching. Suddenly there was more movement in the same area and I once again diverted my gaze, more from annoyance than curiosity this time. For a whole minute I watched the area and the phrase "A watched kettle never boils" came to mind, so I turned away for the third time but I continued to watch the area out of the corner of my eye. Something moved and I jumped up, pointing at the spot. There, standing on one of the water-branches, was a big white bird. It froze in the middle of a step as soon as I moved and looked fearfully at me. I relaxed and laughed at myself for being so distracted by one bird. The bird stood frozen and once my laughter had died down I got up and slowly walked towards it. I stopped at the edge of the mangroves and weighed the risk to the gain. I stopped and contented myself with the current distance. I lay down on the ground to watch it.
After a while the bird slowly finished its step. Its knees bent backwards and I found its attempt at a graceful walk hilarious. The bird slowly took one step and when I didn't move took another. It slowly increased its pace until it was moving normally. For all its funny walk the bird managed to walk quite fast and in only a couple of minutes it had disappeared into a thick fog that was slowly appearing. I retreated from the mangroves and resumed my previous position on the edge of the river. It was obvious that I couldn't take much more and the mangroves were sure to be difficult to cross. On the other hand, to go around would mean facing the horrors of Amazonian plant and animal life. There was no way I would be able to go back up the river (I was going to be eaten by the natives for no reason at all, so I didn't want to know what they did with people who caused the camotion I did at their camp). I would have to take my chances going round the mangrove. I crawled a bit further into the bush to hide myself and fell asleep.
I awoke just as the sun was rising. I pulled my aching legs into action and got up. For a while I was lost, but after a while I remembered were I was. I was in the Amazon, hunted by cannibalistic natives, potential first course to a fish and breeding place for flies. I cleared my head and began my long walk.
The jungle was thick and it wasn't even and hour before I was out of breath and cut to pieces. I was badly in need of some rest and shelter and so I examined the area, looking for somewhere to rest. While I was looking I came across what looked like leaves painted onto a tree. On further examination I concluded that it was some type of parasite vine, probably a young one. There were about 15 thick leathery leaves on it and no roots were visible. It was stuck firmly to the tree and even when I pulled my hardest I couldn't budge the vine. I guessed that it must suck on the tree for nutrients and water. I put all my weight on pulling one end and just when I was about to give up I went flying backwards. I landed heavily on the ground and the vine landed on my chest. I cried out as its roots thrashed wildly in my face. I knocked it off my chest and it lay twisting on the ground like a decapitated snake. After a while it disappeared into the undergrowth. I went back to the tree it was once attached to. There were about thirty holes in the tree where a river of sap was pouring out. I swallowed hard as I remembered the thrashing thing on my chest. I found a small shelter of trees in the opposite direction to where the vine went and settled down, only after examining every tree within 50 metres for more vines. When I found none I relaxed in the shelter and slowly drifted into sleep.
When I awoke I jumped up and straight away checked myself and the surrounding area for wildly thrashing tentacled vines. I found none and relaxed a bit. I continued my long walk around the mangrove until I once again came to a river flowing slowly into the mangrove. After a while I found a place to cross and I quickly traversed the river. I kept walking until sunset when I collapsed from hunger under a small bush. I slept were I was, not bothering to check for danger, for the energy used to get up might well be my last.
I awoke sluggishly. My energy was gone and most of my wounds were infected. After a short minute of bumping into trees I located my spear and pressed on. My eyes were half closed and it was a fight to lift my feet. After a while I realised I was going up hill. I awaked my senses slightly and took more careful steps. It wasn't long before I was down on my knees, crawling slowly through the forest. I felt a cold wind and a drop of rain hit me. It was swiftly followed by more until I could hardly see three metres in front of myself. I stumbled to my feet and took a step. There was nothing under my feet and I fell before I knew what was happening. I crashed through bushes and vines, cutting big gashes in my arms and legs. I tried weakly to stop myself but now that the cold had settled in my hands were going numb. I was falling asleep as I fell. I was getting very tired....
I opened my eyes suddenly at the feeling of coldness and instantly I was wide awake. I had fallen into a wide river and I guessed I must be in one of the branches of the Amazon river. I floated down stream at a tremendous rate and occasionally I hit a few rocks. As I drifted I noticed a lot of similar birds were sitting along overhanging branches and on rocks. They were black and watched me flow past them with evil laughter in their eyes. Some of the birds even followed me a little down stream but gave up when they saw that I was not planning to become their next meal. The sun was almost gone and I was getting even colder. I clenched my teeth and tried to pull myself onto the bank. After a while I gave up, the current was too strong. Slowly I was swept down stream. My eyes stopped obeying me and drooped shut....
I awoke slowly, for the lack of food had weakened me so much. I coughed out a little water which I must have swallowed and opened my eyes. I was amazed and shocked at what I saw. Water ran for as far as I could see, with only a faint outline of mountains and a shore in the distance. I was moving so slowly it took me nearly 10 minutes to realise it. I slowly swam towards what looked like the nearest shore.
After about an hour I stopped. The shore wasn't even visible any more and even the mountains were starting to disappear. I must have been going round in circles. I was so tired and hungry that my vision was now permanently hazed. I tried to make out some kind of land mark to swim towards but my vision was getting worse and the clouds were getting lower. Soon it would be foggy and I wouldn't stand a chance of getting to shore. I rested for a few minutes and during that time I figured the rough direction of the current. I did a few minutes of freestyle the direction of the current, but my arms felt like bricks and I soon gave up. I rested for another minute before closing my eyes and swimming.