Page 40 of Wild Temple (Tyson Wild Thriller #84)

T he tall soldier scampered away from the tree, flailing wildly. His skin went pale, and fear drenched his eyes.

It drew the attention of the other soldiers.

I didn't speak the language and couldn’t make out what was said. But the tone wasn’t good. His body language told me everything I needed to know. Tallboy studied his left hand with panicked eyes. The other soldiers surveyed the wound—two puncture marks.

He’d been bitten by a snake.

Sweat misted his face, then he started to hyperventilate. He was going into shock.

The other soldiers didn't take the situation lightly. Cautious eyes searched the surrounding jungle for the offending culprit.

I figured the snake was just as scared as the platoon was .

The commotion had drawn the attention of Caspian and his men. They asked questions, and one of the soldiers said, “Taring Hantu.”

Caspian’s face wrinkled. He didn't understand.

“Ghost Fang. Bad. Very Bad.” With a grave shake of his head, he didn't need to say anymore. “Guardian of the temple.”

There was nothing they could do for the guy. The platoon watched with a mix of terror and relief. Relief because they hadn’t been bitten.

With the platoon distracted, it was a good opportunity to escape. But where would we go? How far would we get? And would they just gun us down when they caught up to us?

Within 10 minutes, the tall soldier's arm went numb. He began to struggle for breath. The fast-acting neurotoxin induced systemic paralysis. It shut down his ability to breathe.

Within 15 minutes, he was dead.

There was nothing anybody could do. No antivenom.

His lifeless body lay on the ground, his blank eyes staring at the canopy above.

The sun had dipped over the horizon, and the dusk sky faded to gray.

The incident had caused a morale shift among the troops. That much was certain. Fearful whispers circulated among the platoon.

The platoon leader said to Caspian, "Bad omen. This place no good. We must find another place to camp for the night.” He cautioned. “The spirits are angry. Very angry."

This was a superstitious bunch, and they didn't want anything to do with Ghost Fang.

After seeing what happened to the soldier, it didn't take much convincing for Caspian to agree. The soldiers packed up their gear, and I took the opportunity to steal the dead man's shoes. He didn't need them anymore. I did.

But the damn things were a size too small.

Still, they were better than nothing.

The soldiers left the body where it lay.

They didn't want any part of that. We were too deep into the jungle to carry Tallboy back, and nobody wanted to traipse around the area looking for a burial site with that snake slithering around.

The jungle was full of those things, but this place was cursed in their minds now. Best to move on.

We relocated up the mountain several hundred yards and set up a new camp. The soldiers started a new fire and settled in. We were no safer in this location than we were at the old campsite, but it made the soldiers feel better.

Caspian approached. He squatted down next to Brooke and shoved a map in her face. "You're going to tell me exactly where the temple is. No more bullshit. Point it out on this map.”

Brooke glanced at me with concerned eyes, then studied Caspian's map. Up until this point, she had been telling him which direction to go to and pointing out destinations on his map that were somewhat shy of the real location .

Brooke pointed to a spot on the map. "We need to go here. When we get there, I'll tell you where we need to go next.”

Caspian clenched his jaw and pulled a pistol from his holster, and put it to her head. "You tell me exactly where it is right now, or I'm going to blow your brains out.”

Brooke stared him dead in the eye and didn't flinch. This whole experience hardened her. She wasn't the same girl that I had met in the chasm by the waterfalls. Brooke called his bluff. “No, you won't. What if I lie? You need me.”

Caspian doubled down and pointed the gun at my head. "Well, if you don't care about yourself, maybe you care about somebody else?”

Brookes’ eyes filled with fear. "You're just going to kill us all anyway? What's the difference between now and later? If you kill us all now, you'll never get what you want. I swear to God, if you hurt any of us, I'll never tell you where the temple is. I don't care what you do to me.”

Caspian's cheeks reddened, and his finger gripped tight around the trigger. He wanted to squeeze. Bad. I'd killed several of his men and had become a huge pain in the ass. It took all his willpower not to do it.

After a long beat that elevated my blood pressure and sent my heart pounding, Caspian pulled the gun away from my face. He glared at Brooke, then stormed away, defeated.

I shared a glance with Brooke.

She shrugged. "I'm tired of letting people push me around.”

“I see that. ”

A soldier kept an eye on us as I cleared out an area to sleep. I made a makeshift bed out of banana leaves. During the night would be our best opportunity for escape.

I tried to get a little shut-eye in the early part of the evening.

The mosquitoes swarmed, and I spent most of the evening swatting at the vampires.

My troubles seemed to amuse the guard that watched over us.

He could enjoy himself all he wanted, but the minute he closed his eyes, I'd snap his neck and take his rifle.

The soldiers took shifts guarding us throughout the evening, two at a time. They kept the fire burning throughout the night. It helped keep the big predators away.

It was a little after midnight when the guard's eyes grew heavy. They closed for an instant, and his head nodded. Before I could make a move, his eyes snapped open, and he glared at me.

The other guard had stepped away from camp to smoke a cigarette. The cherry glowed, and smoke wafted through the trees, backlit by the dappled rays of moonlight. The faint traces of tobacco filled the camp.

I bided my time, watching and waiting, pretending to be asleep.

The guard closest to us kept drooping and nodding.

This went on for an hour.

I figured he couldn't hold out much longer.

Just when his eyes closed for real, the alarm on his watch went off, snapping him awake. It was time for a shift change .

The two soldiers woke their counterparts, and the new guards came on shift while the old ones went to sleep.

I waited to see if the relief squad would doze off quickly at their posts, but they stayed alert. I waited the rest of the night for an opportunity, but nothing ever came. I managed to get a little sleep and was woken in the morning with a nudge from the barrel of an AK-47.

The amount of mosquito bites I had over my entire body was insane. I would probably turn into a mosquito.

After the soldiers had breakfast, we were on our feet and marching through the jungle again.

At least it was cool at this time of the morning.

It was almost a full day's hike to the temple.

I'm not sure what was worse, walking through the jungle barefoot or traipsing through the mud and muck in boots a size too small.

They wore blisters on my heels in short order, and I had no doubt my toenails would fall off from the abuse.

By midday, I was tired, sore, aching, and sunburned. I kept thinking about Rex, wondering if he was still alive. Maybe he managed to crawl back to the falls and get help, but that would have been a long trek for someone in his condition.

Brooke kept teasing the location of Pura Jiva, holding the carrot in front of Caspian’s face. From my brief glimpse at the map, I knew we were close.

It looked like we were going to get another afternoon shower.

A few clouds rolled in and blotted out the sun.

The jungle grew dark just as we reached a stone totem with intricate carvings.

It was covered in vines and ivy. An eerie fog spilled down the mountain and enveloped us. Odd for this time of day .

The platoon stopped, and concerned whispers ran through the unit.

Annoyed at the delay, Caspian said, “What is it?”