After sunrise, Rick was still tired, and he built himself a hammock, using a sheet as he lay down in the hammock on a sunny morning in the heart of the Rain Forest, sipping a cup of coffee; Rick had the displeasure of viewing with distrust this dangerous creature, as it slithered from branch to branch in the tree above him.
The deadly serpent was about 6 feet long. It was yellow on the belly and black on the back, and at times, it stuck its forked tongue out and wobbled it in the air. Its movement was as effortless as flowing water pouring itself across the leaves, limbs, and branches.
What mechanism of action produced such seamless movement? He did not know what to do, but it was remarkable and striking. Sometimes, it launched itself on very frail limbs that miraculously did not crack under its considerable weight. At other times, it lifted half its body into thin air as it reached for another limb. The snake effortlessly bridged significant gaps that humans with hands and feet would have difficulty crossing. Before he knew it, the creature was way down towards the other side of the tree, down towards the bottom near to the river, and out of his sight.
Rick had never felt as scared as he did; Jack came out of the Cabin; he looked like he had seen a ghost. Is everything okay?
"Yes, I am fine." Rick answered, "It's almost 7 am; we should cross that river, then we might be able to see Nicole.
Rick remembered the snake slithering into the water. The mountains stood silently in the background, a brooding presence of sky-punching majesty. Brooches of snow covered their lofty peaks, encircling them in wreaths of angel-white. A weeping waterfall poured from a gash in the rock face. It looked like a slide of silk-blue flowing down the mountain. Carrying its load of ice crystals, it appeared hemmed with silver. A distant thrumming sound emanated from it, like the steady rumble of a drum roll. Glinting brightly, it fed the river, the lifeblood of the forest. It was an awe-inspiring sight.
Rick's gaze returned to the swirling brook. They could see now how the water had gained its glassy clarity. The runoff from the ice made it appear clear, and the surface glinted as if dream dust had been scattered over it. Speckled trout drifted under the shady eaves of the bank, flicking their tails lazily. If a juicy fly happened to pass them, they would explode from the pebbled bed like angels of death. Arcing into the air, they hovered briefly, performing the river ballet. Then, with a plunking sound, they would dart back to the shadowed depths, their catch already safe in their spotted bellies. The watery grace of the river seemed magical to Jack at that moment.
The rainforest was lined with pods of wild peas. The pods were black, but inside there were tiny, succulent, fresh peas. Jack tasted one, and it was scrumptious. Never did food wrapped in the devil's cloak taste so good! Bending down, Jack scooped a hand through the water and drank his fill. It was thirst-quenching. He leaned my back against a rock and closed his eyes, hoping to hear Nicole; the echos of the wonderous forest were astounding; after the long cold night, they enjoyed the sun's warmth. The sweet perfume of the forest drifted to my nostrils as he reflected on the beauty of nature.
"Are you sure us crossing here is a good idea?" Rick questioned as they started to step on the rock, attempting to cross the thirty-centimeter river flow; Jack felt something watering around his leg; as he looked down at the crystal clear water, he saw the six-foot-long snake slithering; the top of the snake was black, could it be a black mamba?
He heard of watersnakes, but with his knowledge, most water snakes are three to four feet between a meter and a meter and a half; this was a black six-foot snake; Rick, who was barely a meter ahead of him, stopped and looked back at Jack.
We have to get out of this water; I saw earlier a snake going in the water.
"You never thought to tell me that?"
Rick followed Jack's eyes, "OH SHIT," he panicked. Do not move; a ripple will trigger this snake to strike.
Take out your gun, "do you want me to shoot the snake?" what if I miss?"
"If you miss, im dead if you do not shoot it, I am dead."
Rick's hands started to sweat, and his heart began to race, would now be a good time to tell you I have Ophidiophobia, "Rick listens to me; you are going to shoot this thing if you miss, we both dead; you won't survive a day out here alone without me.
Rick had reached for the gun, holding both hands on it as his hands were shaky, "aim it and shoot." Jack became more anxious the longer Rick had taken to pull the Trigger, and any sudden movements from Jack could trigger the snake to strike; Rick closed his eyes as he leveled the pistol at the snake, his fingers quaking as he felt the cold metal grow increasingly heavy with the passing second. I didn't even feel his finger twitch on the trigger. The shot was muffled, as though the sound traveled through the water as he pulled the trigger with a reverberating bang.
Jack's eyes were closed as he slowly opened his eyes and saw redness coating the clear water streaming down, and there the snake was motionless.
With relief, he gasped, "You Killed the snake." Ricks's eyes were still closed " "I killed it?" Rick opened his eyes, looking down " I killed the snake." He repeated.
We had to keep moving; they had crossed the river, where there were high trees. There was no visibility beyond those trees only way to see what was on the other side was to walk through it; look there Jack pointed upwards, "it is smoke, and smoke is signs of life."
Rick felt a sense of relief, "finally; they were able to track Nicole; as they closed on the smoke, there was an opening.
They scampered about as quietly as possible, still tense with fear of awakening the unknown creatures deep within the forest. But the forest that was once drenched in silence would now and then hear the chirp of a bird or the call of an animal.
What is that? Rick whispered, "it looks like some sort of tribe; men were dancing around a fire on the open ground, wearing clothes around their waist, and they had spears."
On their forehead, they had a black painting of a snake.
If this is the snake tribe, as we just killed one, they will skin us alive, "there are only a dozen of them, Jack said bravely, but we got to find Nicole; I bet she is in one of these huts."
They had suddenly stopped dancing, and they stood in a row facing the but. As two men exited the but, they were carrying a long plank, and on this plank, someone was hanging a man with clothes on.
His mouth was gagged as they walked over to the fire.
"They are going to burn him alive; these are cannibals Rick panicked.
They set the man down on the ground before and danced around him; it was a spiritual dance.
I can't see this, "Rick wanted to walk away, then Jack pulled him back." you can't do that. What if Nicole is in there? We can call for help then, Jack.
There won't be time; we have to sit tight and try to rescue her if she is in there.
Jack and Rick saw how they lifted the man onto the hot flames as the man began to scream; they had no emotion as they stood there watching him burn; Rick covered his eyes as he heard the man scream until he went silent.
These people are inhuman; Rick stepped back as one of the tribal men turned around and looked in their direction; Jack covered Rick's mouth.
The man then ignored the sound. As Jack lets go of Rick's mouth, do not move Rick. He whispered. As the men stood for hours, burning the body. Jack and Rick stood on one spot.
The men walked up to the body with their sharpened knives and started to slice the pieces and eat the flesh; Rick wanted to throw up at the sight.
Eventually, after they were done, it was sunset as the crowd of men dispersed into the shadows of the night.
Jack walked out to the opening and looked around; there was no sign of Nicole, "we have just wasted time said Rick as they turned around to leave there. Nicole stood in fear hiding behind a tree; Jack walked up to her as she stepped back, reaching down for a plank and holding it in front of her like a spear. Do not come closer, she pleaded. Her we're was bewildered; after what she had just witnessed, she was bound to be scared.
Jack and Rick kept their arms up, "we are not here to hurt you; we come in peace; we want to take you home to your family." "Family?"She repeated; Jack slowly reached into his pocket, taking his phone and showing her a picture of her and her family with him.