She had to get to it. This could be it, their chance of rescue – to get Mira the medical help she needed, to call the emergency services, have the police find Hannah’s body and get her out of the jungle. To help Naya and Scott and Carly get back home, without dehydrating or succumbing to heat exhaustion.
‘Hey, guys, do you hear that?’ Naya called out behind her. ‘I can hear cars – I think we’ve found a road!’
She started to move more quickly now, her tiredness and thirst pushing her forward, propelling her faster, if anything, rather than holding her back.
She could hear the others calling after her, urging her totake care, to slow down, be careful not to trip and fall, but it was as if she couldn’t hear them, it was as if Naya could only run towards the source of this sound – this beautiful, hopeful roar, which was getting louder with every step she took, with every dense chunk of leaves and vines she pushed through.
But she didn’t care; it didn’t matter what they told her – nothing would stop her from running. Naya was fighting back sobs of joy, of excitement. Of elation. They were going to be out of here; they’d be saved. They would be free. She could get out of this place, and she’d be the one to help the others get out too.
As she bolted on, her mind whirred through a hastily made plan. She’d flag down a passing car for help, ask for a ride to the nearest police station, tell them everything – everything she knew. And they’d help her then, wouldn’t they? Even though she had no phone on her now, and maybe not enough money in her bank account to pay for a new flight home – they’d be able to cover that, wouldn’t they, when she explained the situation? When she told them how much she needed to get out of Costa Rica; back home, back to her babies.
Bursting forward now, the sound so close, so loud, she could see the trees starting to thin out – there was something behind them, there was an end to them. She was almost there – she’d almost made it to the road!
Carving through the last thicket of branches and vines, she burst into the open air, exhilarated, breathless, ready to start waving at cars passing by, flagging down help.
When she saw what was in front of her, the disappointment slammed into her like a breaking dam; the knife fell from her hand to the ground.
This was not a road. It was a river; a stream, rushing by. She’d mistaken the sound of the current for the sound of cars.
How could I have been so stupid?
A wave of dizziness, of nausea, of raging disappointment, swept through the length of her body. Feeling the bile start to rise at the back of her throat, she took off her backpack, crouched down, dipped her head into her hands and took the deepest breath she could manage: in through her nose, out through her mouth.
In through her nose, out through her mouth.
It was not just an attempt to feel better; this was a necessity. She could not afford to vomit now – she’d barely drunk anything since yesterday afternoon, and her body needed desperately to hold on to every drop of liquid it could.
Hold it down, hold it down.
Still feeling the earth spin, she tried to picture something solid, something grounded. The kapok tree where they’d found Scott earlier, its height, its bulk. The way it seemed to carry on growing all the way up to the sky. The feel of it, as she rested her hand on its roots.Yes, that’s it. That’s good.The image was helping.
Another image landed in her mind.
Scott.
The tall, loping shape of him. The broad slope of his shoulders. His giant hands. When she thought about him, she felt herself come back to her body, to her very centre. She smiled; the worst of the nausea had passed. She could move again. But instead she was left with howls of rage; of disappointment. Of sadness.
None of this is how it was supposed to be.
‘Are you all still behind me?’ she called, in the direction she thought they’d last been. There was silence. ‘Carly? Scott? Mira?’ she said. ‘Are you still there – can you hear me?’ Still nothing. She crouched to the ground, picked up the knife, shoved it in her backpack. Then, quietly at first, but gradually getting louder, she heard the snap of twigs, the crackle of branches underfoot and finally, ‘Naya? Are you there?’ Scott, still supporting Mira, appeared through the trees; Carly was directly behind them.
They had caught up with her – she had to tell them. ‘I – I thought it was a road,’ she said. She could feel hot tears of shame and disappointment springing to her eyes, spilling over, splashing down her cheeks. ‘I’m sorry, everyone, for getting your hopes up – I feel so stupid now, but I was so sure of it.’
‘Hey,’ said Carly, moving towards her, reaching an arm out to touch her shoulder. ‘It might not be a road full of cars, but this is good – you’ve still found us something that’s going to help.’ She smiled at her. ‘Streams lead to rivers, and rivers lead to people – they can help us navigate our way out of here. It’s a really great spot to have brought us to.’
Naya nodded, grateful for the way Carly seemed able to turn her disappointment – her failure, even – into something hopeful.
Licking her dry lips, another idea occurred to her. ‘And can we drink it?’ she said. ‘The water here – it’s fresh, coming straight from these rocks, right?’ She leaned towards it, turned the palm of her hand up into a cup and started to gather some water inside it. She was about to lift her hand up to her lips, when Scott roared her name.
‘Naya, stop! No, you can’t bloody drink it,’ he said, hisvoice throbbing with anger. ‘You’ll make yourself sick with whatever parasites are living in the waters here.’
Please don’t yell at me.Naya looked at the ground; she felt stupid now, on yet another level.How did I not know that, with my medical training?Clearly, she had no business being here, as woefully underprepared as she was. A sudden thought made her stomach churn: imagine if she were stuck out here with her children instead? She’d have killed them, or at least made them fatally sick by now, if they were going on her advice and intuition.
She was getting it all so wrong –what was I even doing, thinking I’d cope somewhere like this?
But it wasn’t supposed tobelike this, she remembered.
Hannah was supposed to be here. They were never supposed to have been wandering around the wilderness like this, lost, in shock, grieving and afraid. A sob caught in her throat, and Scott must have caught the anguish on her face, because then he was moving towards her, reaching an arm out to hold her, reassuring her.
