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I
felt the ground move beneath my feet and
I went to my knees -- and then to my
feet and backing away as quickly as I could.
Through the debris of leaves and twigs, I saw the undulations of the
largest snake I had ever seen.
I
don't mind snakes. They're fine animals.
But when you land on one in the middle of the jungle and he's as wide as both
your legs, you have a moment of existential understanding about your place in
the universe. Or in the jungle. And that place might well be 'dinner' right
now.
Edmond
simply shrieked and climbed up the tree to the first branch, about ten feet
above me. I didn't want to tell him that
I doubted that would help. This guy
could pull down the tree if he wanted to.
Apparently
we weren't interesting enough. I stood
very still and watched this titan of snakes disappear into the underbrush. I didn't move. I barely breathed. I stood there a long time, and then with a
force of will, I turned my head and looked upward.
"You
might as well come back down," I said.
"There
is no way I am ever setting foot on that ground," Edmond replied. He sat with his ears back, his tail
twitching, and gave a little jump when something made a loud squawk not far
away.
"I'll
carry you," I said. "Besides,
these snakes can climb trees pretty easily --"
He
leapt down and landed on my shoulder, digging all his claws in before he
tumbled off onto the ground. I yelped
and nearly fell, but we managed not to go down.
"Stay
close to trees. If you go down, I want a
quick escape."
"And
what about me?"
"I'll
yell a lot and hope something can help."
That
sounded like the best plan at this point.
I took a step forward, slowly testing the ground. It gave way a little but nothing actually
moved. A few steps away from the tree
and the ground felt solid. Things moved,
but they were small and quiet down here.
There was far more noise in the trees above us now.
We
were intruders, Edmond and I. We said
little, both of us listening for trouble.
It would be coming. This was a
dangerous place. The creatures that
leapt through the trees or flapped across the open spaces were many and loud --
I didn't worry so much about those as the ones we couldn't see, like giant
snakes hidden in the shadows. I did keep
closer to trees for Edmond's sake and hoped that I'd have a chance to climb as
well.
Sometimes
I looked up and tried to see the bridge.
I was doing my best to head in the same direction, but we had to detour
around a swampy area -- snakes again, but not as big as the one we'd first
seen, and maybe even crocodiles. Or were
they alligators? Caymen? Did it matter at this point? I saw eyes looking out of the muck and mud
and simply hurried past. Edmond who had
been complaining about the bugs, said nothing at all.
One
of them moved through the muck, keeping pace with us. I didn't run.
I thought very hard about magic, though, trying to figure out what I
could do. I needed protection.
The
area was clear over the swamp, though. I
looked up and thought I saw the distant bridge.
I tried to keep that in mind as I circled around this large area and
headed back into the jungle again.
"We'll
need to rest soon," Edmond said. He
sounded far less exuberant than usual. I
felt badly, knowing he had leapt off the bridge to stay with me. How do you thank that kind of loyalty? I'd start by not letting him be dinner for
some snake.
"I
don't think there's any place safe here, Edmond," I said.
"No,
there isn't," he agreed. "But
walking around until you're too tired to keep to your feet won't help either of
us."
"I
want to see a destination," I said.
"I want to know we're getting somewhere."
"Maybe
we'll see something later," Edmond said.
He sounded worried and I wasn't certain why. You need rest before you head off in the
wrong direction. Tired humans do odd
things. Let's just sit down for a
while."
He
did have a point. And this area had a
little cover but also open spots that let me see if anything was coming our
way. I found a boulder that I climbed up
on -- Edmond even left my shoulder when he saw nothing sat atop it. It was uneven and uncomfortable, but a slight
dip towards the top gave me a place to sit.
I brushed the layer of water out and settled in. I was not comfortable, but I was still. Edmond came and settled in my lap.
"We'll
get out of this," he said.
"We've gotten out of a lot of stuff already."
"You
jumped off the bridge to join me. That
was crazy, Edmond."
"It
was," he agreed. "But I
couldn't let you go off alone."
I
scratched his neck and back. He purred.
The
light never changed, but a slight breeze blew through the area. The insects were more interested in the swamp
than in us at the moment, and as we rested, so did most of the creatures around
us, no longer protesting our movements through their world. It was not really quiet --
A
huge head appeared around the base of a tree across from us. The largest damned snake I had ever
seen. It blinked.
"Oh,
hello," he said, his voice rumbling and deep.
Then
he took a step forward. Yes a step forward. The long neck rose higher than me. The huge legs crushed the ground beneath him.
Yup.
I'd
found the dinosaurs.
To Be Continued. . . .
984 Words
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