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"I think something's wrong," Susan says.It takes some time for the words to trickle into Veronica's mind. She istoo busy breathing to pay much attention to anything outside her body.Her lungs feel on fire, her feet are alive with blisters, her mind is lost in afog of exhaustion. She doesn't even think to wonder why they havestopped until she registers the concern in Susan's voice.Veronica lifts her head, looks around, tries to re-engage with theworld. It seems like they have been trekking forever in this damp heat,up this steep and muddy trail. They are still in deep jungle. Montanerainforest, technically, but it feels like jungle, in the most alien and for- bidding sense of the word. There is a reason this is called the Impenet-rable Forest. The vegetation here is so violently, densely fecund that eventhe greenery has greenery: roots and branches are covered by moss,vines hang on vines, the boulders that dot the trail look like verdant hil-locks. Leaves and ferns glisten with water from recent rain. Birds chirp,monkeys hoot, water burbles, clouds of pure-white butterflies flutterthrough the damp air. Only a few shafts of light fall through the massivecanopy trees into the dense thickets below.Ahead of them a walkie-talkie emits a burst of static, followed by ahalf-dozen sentences in some African language. Their guide holds thewalkie-talkie close to his ear. In his other hand he holds his
panga
, a vi-ciously curved machete. He looks carved out of ebony, short and power-fully built. After a pause he pushes his radio's red TALK button andspeaks in a slow and careful voice. Veronica can't remember his name.Something biblical."What happened?" she asks Susan. "Why did we stop?"The blonde British girl shrugs. "I don't know. I think he sawsomething. On the ground."Veronica looks down and sees nothing but mud and underbrush. Butthen she is a city girl, while their guide has spent decades tracking goril-las through this rainforest, he can probably deduce volumes from a broken twig she wouldn't even notice. She had total faith in him when
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