Deep In The Jungle

  DEEP IN THE JUNGLE

  Gerry Griffiths

  Copyright 2017 by Gerry Griffiths

  DEDICATION

  For my brother, Steve

  1

  A scream from the other side of the village woke Diogo, but he was uncertain if the sound had been real. His spirit soul was somewhere outside his body. He vaguely remembered the shaman’s offering and drinking the brew that drove the demons forcefully, spewing out of him at both ends. The tremors had finally stopped, leaving him weak, but at least his body was rid of the parasites.

  His lips were chapped and cracked, his throat raw. The jungle heat pulled at his pores, leaving his brown skin caked white with dried sweat. As his spirit soul returned and he became more himself, he dangled one leg out of the hammock.

  The shellbacks of the scurrying cockroaches brushed the bottoms of his toes and the sole of his foot.

  Another scream pierced the night.

  A slant of moonlight shined inside his hut through the arched doorway. He could see the edge of the jungle but could not hear it, which he found strange and alarming. The jungle always spoke to him—why not tonight?

  Swinging his other leg over the edge of the netting, Diogo attempted to stand. As soon as his feet touched the ground, his knees buckled but not enough to fall. He clung to the hammock, waiting for the swooning to leave his head.

  Diogo looked down and watched the scavenging horde flitting between and over his feet. Whenever he would wake in the night and look down, the roaches were going in all directions, seeking food.

  Tonight, they were clearly running away in one direction.

  He shuffled toward the doorway, shoving the insects aside rather than squashing them with his bare feet.

  A man yelled from nearby. Then, a woman screamed.

  Diogo staggered out of his hut and looked out at the moonlit clearing in the center of the ring of huts. Villagers were running out of their thatched dwellings, shouting hysterically and screaming.

  Giant spirit animals were attacking his people.

  They were bigger than a man and walked on six legs.

  He watched in horror as one stood up on its two hind legs and grabbed a frightened native woman with its other four appendages. It pulled her close in a lover’s embrace and bit off her head at the neck with its razor-sharp jaws.

  One of the creatures ran toward the jungle, carrying a crying baby in its mouth.

  Some of the men had armed themselves with spears and knives, but the weapons were unable to penetrate the heavily armored skin of the intruders. Diogo could only watch as his village was overrun and his people were slaughtered.

  The monsters that weren’t pinning their victims to the ground and slashing apart their bodies were carrying ravaged chunks in their jaws and marching single file through a tunneled path carved in the vegetation.

  Diogo heard something behind him and looked up.

  Two of the black abominations were on the dome roof of his hut, looking down at him.

  With new energy—and an immense desire to stay alive—Diogo dashed into the jungle, praying the evil spirits wouldn’t follow.

  2

  Frank Travis looked at Wanda seated next to him. She was taking a nap, and understandably so. They’d been in the air for almost ten hours. It had been dark when they departed the Mineta San Jose International Airport and it would be dark by the time they arrived at the Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, given the advanced three-hour time difference.

  Convincing Wanda that Amazonas was the perfect place for their honeymoon had been a hard sell. Frank was sure it would be a week they would never forget, full of adventure with gorgeous landscapes and memories they would cherish for years to come.

  Wanda had balked at first, citing she couldn’t just pack up and leave her town without a sheriff. But then she did have a new deputy, and after some persuasion, she finally agreed Prospect would get by just fine despite her absence.

  He knew that wasn’t the real reason for her not wanting to come—it wasn’t easy for someone who hated bugs with a passion to up and marry an entomologist. But then, didn’t a lot of folks have strange bedfellows? Opposites attract, and all that.

  Relationships these days were always complicated, especially when they involved marrying a woman with three kids of her own who had been graciously included in the honeymoon package.

  Frank glanced across the aisle.

  Ryan was in the aisle seat, reading the same in-flight magazine for the umpteenth time. Recently out of high school, he had entered a carpentry apprentice program. When he told his foreman he had an opportunity to go to Brazil, his boss was more than happy to give Ryan the week off as the young man had proved to be a fast learner, was a dedicated worker, and by all counts was going to be a promising tradesman.

  In the middle seat was Ally. She’d be a high school senior after the summer was over. Being athletic and a star runner on the track team, she was looking forward to hiking the jungle trails. She had her eyes closed, listening to music through her earbuds.

  Seven-year-old Dillon was in the third seat, gazing out the window at the fluffy white clouds and lush greenery below. He had been genuinely excited about the trip as he thought Frank’s job, teaching college students about bugs at UC Davis, was the coolest thing ever.

  The pilot’s voice sounded over the address system. They would be landing in the next ten minutes. Manaus was 82 degrees with humidity of 84%.

  Frank figured after they claimed their bags and spent time standing outside waiting for a taxi, their clothes would be wet rags.

  He gently nudged Wanda awake.

  “Are we there?” she asked, blinking her eyes.

  “Almost.”

  Wanda turned and looked out her window. “Is that an oil slick?”

  “Let me see,” Frank said, scooting over so he could see what Wanda was looking at.

  Below was a large river, the length of its surface divided roughly up the middle by brown silty water on one side and water the color of dark tea on the other, like two liquids incapable of mixing.

  “They’re actually two different rivers sources that flow beside each other for miles but never actually blend as one,” Frank explained. “The Rio Negro and the Rio Salimoes. Together they form the Amazon River. The phenomenon is called the Meeting of the Waters.”

  “Like water and oil.”

  “Somewhat.”

  “Look at the beautiful sunset,” Wanda said, as she took Frank’s hand and pulled him in close so they could enjoy the distant view together as the dark blue sky bruised purple and the orange crown of the sun dipped into the horizon.

  Wanda was an attractive woman in her mid-forties, and Frank was deeply in love with her even though she wasn’t overly affectionate, which he attributed to not having male companionship for a number of years. That is, until they met a year ago.

  But perhaps that was all about to change. As at the moment, Wanda showed no sign of wanting to let go of Frank’s hand. Frank decided to put all of his personal fears aside and just go with the flow.

  This might prove to be a great vacation after all.

  3

  Frank could see everyone was clearly exhausted when they arrived at the low-budget hotel and knew he had made the right choice by not further extending their traveling until the next day. After checking in at the desk, the family traipsed up the stairs to the second floor where they had booked two adjacent rooms.

  It had been previously decided Wanda and Ally would share a room while Frank and the boys bunked together.

  When Frank unlocked both doors and everyone looked inside their rooms, they saw the accommodations were sparse with no amenities whatsoever. No televisions, WiFi, or radios. Just
single size beds for each occupant, and a small table and a chair in each room.

  There was no air conditioning, only an overhead fan with a single light bulb and a window that had been left open to allow some airflow into the tiny spaces.

  The plan was to use the hotel as a stopover and get a good night’s sleep. After breakfast the family would continue their trip and board a riverboat that would take them on a four-hour journey down the Amazon River to a jungle resort where they would spend the remainder of their stay.

  “Certainly not the Hilton,” Wanda quipped.

  “No, but it’s clean,” Frank said. “And no bed bugs,” he added with some assurance.

  Wanda shot him a skeptical look.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Maybe is right,” Wanda said, scratching her arm as if Frank had just sent her a subliminal message.

  Ally went into the room, dropped her bag on the floor and flopped onto one of the beds.

  Ryan and Dillon dragged their wheeled duffels into the other room and parked them inside the doorway. Frank came in and tossed his travel bag on the bed by the window. “So what do you guys think?” he asked. “Pretty bare bones, eh?”

  “It’s not so bad,” Dillon said, already digging into his bag and pulling out a worn DC Kids Comic.

  Ryan took out his smartphone and checked it for reception. “Good thing I have satellite,” he said and smiled.

  “Believe me, after everyone’s gotten some rest and is fresh tomorrow, there’s going to be so much to do, you two are going to forget about all these distractions.”

  Neither Ryan nor Dillon commented. Ryan was too busy flipping through his favorites while Dillon’s nose was glued to another Batman adventure.

  The overhead fan did little to cool the room, as it was still stifling from having been closed up during the day.

  Frank went over, looked out the window, and saw a small courtyard and a fountain below, lit up by tiny lights strung between two palm trees. He could hear the songfest of the katydids as the bush crickets rubbed their forewings together to either allure a mate or ward off aggressors.

  He took a deep breath and could smell the river. It had been nearly three years since he had been back in the Amazon. He suddenly realized how much he had missed being here. He hoped Wanda would give the place a chance during their vacation.

  That’s when he heard Wanda and Ally yell.

  Frank bolted into the hall and ran into the next room. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Wanda and Ally had backed into a corner of the room. Ally was pointing at something big, crawling slowly across the blanket on the bed by the window.

  “Frank! What the hell is that?” Wanda shouted.

  He took another step in the room for a closer look.

  Ryan and Dillon rushed to the doorway but didn’t venture further when they saw the thing on the bed.

  “That’s a Goliath birdeater.”

  “Are you serious? That thing eats birds?” Wanda said.

  “So it’s been said. Some call it the chicken-eating spider.”

  Dillon walked slowly into the room and stood next to Frank. “Can we catch it?”

  “Dilly, you’ll do no such thing,” Wanda said adamantly.

  The brown tarantula stopped moving as if sensing it had become a main attraction. Its body was the size of a guava fruit and had a leg span of almost ten inches.

  Frank thought better than to mention they were looking at a species of spider that was the biggest in the world, as he didn’t want to freak everyone out, especially Wanda, who at the moment looked like she was about to come unglued.

  “Here, I’ll take it outside.”

  “You’re not going to kill it?” Wanda said.

  “Heavens no.” Frank went over to the bed.

  “Be careful,” Ally warned.

  Wanda put her arm around her daughter. “Frank? Are you sure? Isn’t it poisonous?”

  “No more than a wasp sting.”

  Frank put his hand on the blanket and lightly drummed his fingers to coax the spider, which stepped slowly up onto his palm. “Must weigh a good six ounces.”

  “Can I hold it?” Dillon asked, putting both hands out.

  “You can touch it, but don’t frighten it.”

  “Don’t frighten it? What about us?” Wanda said.

  Dillon stroked the spider’s back. “This is so cool.”

  “Come on. Let’s go downstairs and put her outside.”

  “What, that’s a female?” Wanda asked with alarm.

  “Don’t worry, she’s not pregnant.” Frank didn’t elaborate that female Goliath birdeaters could lay up to two hundred eggs at one time and had a lifespan of up to twenty-five years, which added up to a ton of spiderlings.

  Frank pulled the drawer completely out from the small table to use as a carrying box and set the spider inside. “Ryan, can you grab something I can place over the top?”

  Ryan ran out into the hall and came back with a towel he had taken from the communal bathroom shared by all the residents on the second floor.

  “Perfect.” Frank draped the towel over the drawer. He didn’t want to risk carrying the giant spider in his hand and have another tourist come out of their room and panic, scaring the creature.

  Frank and Dillon were starting for the door when suddenly the floor beneath their feet began to tremble and the room shook. Wanda and Ally swayed but managed to stay on their feet as Ryan braced himself against the doorjamb.

  “I think we just had an earthquake,” Frank said, the drawer in one hand as he held on to Dillon.

  “My God, what next?” Wanda said.

  “We’ll be right back,” Frank said as he and Dillon left the room.

  As they went down the stairs, Frank could hear voices throughout the small hotel, people reacting to the tremor.

  Once outside, Frank and Dillon found a spot far enough away from the main entrance of the hotel and released the large spider under a broad-leaf fern.

  Upon their return, they found Wanda and Ally down on the floor on their hands and knees, inspecting under the beds. Frank noticed the window was closed.

  “Everyone okay?” he asked.

  “Just peachy,” Wanda replied. She got up and sat on the edge of the bed.

  Ally stood and looked over at Ryan, who was staring at his smartphone. “Anything?”

  “Here, in Manaus, it registered a magnitude of 1.5. The epicenter was four hundred miles away. There they think it was more like a 6.0.”

  “Oh my God,” Wanda said.

  “Lucky for us,” Frank said. He put his hands together and looked about the room. “Well, maybe it’s time we got some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a full day.”

  “After an earthquake and finding a humongous spider in our room,” Wanda said, “you really think we’re going to be able to sleep?”

  Frank gave everyone a weak smile. “Welcome to the Amazon.”

  4

  Despite the chaotic night, everyone managed to finally drift off to sleep, and before they realized, it was dawn. There were other tourists occupying rooms on the same floor but judging by the Do Not Disturb signs on their doorknobs—Manaus being famous for its nightlife—it was doubtful if Frank and his family would have to fight for the communal bathroom so early in the morning.

  Wanda and Ally were the first to use the showers. They were out in less than twenty minutes, surprising Frank and the boys, who were waiting impatiently out in the hall.

  “That was fast,” Frank said.

  Wanda walked by Frank, her hair still dripping and adding to a damp spot on the back of her shirt. Her flip-flops sounding like sharp gunfire as she strode down the hall.

  “There’s no hot water,” Wanda snapped. She made a quick turn and disappeared in her room.

  “I’m sorry, I should have mentioned that.”

  Ally rolled her eyes at Frank and hurried after her mother.

  Forty-five minutes later, after everyone had
gotten dressed and packed up their bags, they went down to the small restaurant and had a basic breakfast consisting of tapioquinha, a fruit-filled pancake, along with muesli cereal, baked bread, papaya, and mozzarella cheese.

  Ryan and Ally had orange juice, Dillon the chocolate powdered milk.

  Frank and Wanda polished off a tall carafe of strong Brazilian coffee, which was a nice, rejuvenating way to start the day.

  “So, how far to the boat dock?” Wanda asked, wiping her mouth with a paper napkin, no longer in a sour mood.

  “About a thirty-minute drive.” Frank looked at his watch. “In fact, the taxi should be arriving to pick us up right about now. Guys ready?”

  ***

  The riverboat was a long dugout with a canvas roof painted the same dark green as the hull. Wooden bench seats ran along the insides, enough space to accommodate a dozen passengers. A single crewmember—a short, barefoot local in white shorts and a Nike emblem t-shirt—steered the craft, which clipped steadily along at twenty miles an hour, propelled by a noisy 65 hp Evinrude mounted on the transom.

  It was a four-hour boat ride to their next destination: the Black Caiman Jungle Lodge and Resort.

  Besides Frank and his family, there were five other passengers on board. During the first hour of the journey everyone took the time to get to know one another as they were all headed to the same resort.

  The two sitting on the bench along with Frank, Wanda, and Dillon were Jackie Brice and Conroy Macklin. Conroy liked to be called Macky. They explained they were students on an extended field trip funded by their university.

  Jackie’s major was zoology; Macky’s, ichthyology. When Dillon asked what that was, Macky flapped his hands in front of his ears like gills and made a guppy face. Dillon caught on right away and burst out laughing.

  On the opposite side of the boat, Ryan had struck up a lengthy conversation with the student sitting to his right named Ben Turmain. He talked nonstop about his recent travels, which interested Ryan immensely.