Page 4 of Knox's Mission

What if she didn’t come back out? Would her mom survive losing both of her children a little more than a year apart? Garrett’s death had knocked her legs out from underneath her. Maurine Hunt was just now regaining her footing. Now they would never know the news he’d said he wanted to tell them in person.

A.J. whistled. Donnie sat up again.

“Looks like we’re in the clear for now,” A.J. said.

What would they have done without their guide to warn them? Thankfully, they didn’t have to find out since he was along for the entire journey.

Hours passed. Amy wasn’t sure how many as she tried to memorize normal monkey calls so she could detect a difference from mercenaries or the tribe’s call that would porcupine her. She was still worried about Lorna. Was her friend feeling better? Worse?

The two were going to have a serious sit down once this was over. Lorna hadn’t prepared Amy nearly well enough for this ‘adventure’ as she’d called it. Adventure wasn’t the word Amy would use to describe this boat ride.

A.J. stopped at a patch of green in what felt like an endless lake. Were those treetops springing out of the water only a few feet high? How deep was this water?

Stars reflected in the water, giving the impression Amy was so close to the heavens she could reach up and touch the sky. A blanket of sparkling velvet lay in front of her, twinkling, reflecting. Green foliage that resembled rolling hills reached toward the stars.

“The Flooded Forest?” she whispered, afraid to speak much above a whisper.

“Looks like we made it,” Donnie said louder. She had to stop herself from shushing him. He was somewhat of an expert on the Amazon according toLorna. Would her friend be well enough to join them tomorrow and see this? For selfish reasons, Amy hoped so. But also because she wanted her friend to be well enough to experience this place. It might not be Amy’s cup of tea, but Lorna lit up when she revealed the true destination. Her eyes widened and there was a spark that had been missing recently.

A.J. exited first, stepping lightly onto the patch of green that was roughly eight feet by ten feet. Stepping out of the canoe and onto the greenspace was like walking on a waterbed. The whole ground moved in a wave like she walked on top of some kind of green ocean. The wobble caused her to reach for the side of the canoe to stabilize herself. Falling into the glassy water wasn’t an option. This scenery was like walking into a fairy tale but dangers beyond her wildest imagination lurked below the surface. Of that she was certain. Gripping the side of the canoe helped with balance.

Her gaze flew to A.J., who had locked onto something. Spine stiff, eyes focused, stress lines cracked his forehead. What did he see? A porcupine tribe member? A mercenary? A jaguar?

Panic gripped her as she followed his gaze. Saw nothing. At least, nothing she recognized as a threat. What did he see that she couldn’t?

“Donnie,” she whispered, gesturing with her head to clue him into what was going on with A.J.Maybe Donnie could figure out what caused A.J. to stand there, frozen, locked onto something imaginary or real.

Donnie exited the canoe, shrugging on his backpack after a casual glance at the guide. “It’s fine.” He lost balance, slipped, and fell on his ass. “We’ll make camp here. A.J. says there’s a good chance we can find an anaconda tonight.”

A shiver raced down her spine at the thought of a thirty-plus-foot snake slithering through water that was a little too close for comfort. It was still too dark for her to see clearly for very far. A snake could be behind her before she realized it. The thought had her checking, just in case.

As Amy scanned the area behind her, A.J. said something to Donnie as he passed by and hopped into the canoe. A.J.’s gaze was laser-like, fixed on something Amy could not see.

He paddled five feet away from the green ground cover that she now realized was a thick coating of moss. And then ten feet. Fifteen.

A.J. kept going until he disappeared.

“Shit,” Donnie muttered. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

“What did he say?” Amy asked, grabbing hold of Donnie’s forearm.

“Something out there spooked him,” Donnie said, jerking free from her grasp and then raking his fingers through his hair. The hopeless look sentmore of those icy shivers racing through her. “Which means he’s not coming back.”

Amy’s first thought about dying was immediately followed by wondering how her mom would survive the loss.

A noise to her left shocked her out of her reverie and shot her pulse sky-high. Donnie started after something. What was moving over there?

2

Knox Preston stared at the silver dollar attached to a chain in the palm of his hand. Its twin was with his target. He closed his fingers around the pieces of metal that should still reside around his best friend Garrett Hunt’s neck. The charm was meant to bring good luck. Knox issued a grunt in response. Luck was made.

Feet dangling out the open door, Knox sat on the edge of the chopper waiting for the signal from Captain Booker Hayes to jump. Garrett died in a chopper crash a little more than a year ago. Now, his little sister Amy was in trouble.

Hayes didn’t have a landing permit, so they’d had to get creative. Fine. They’d found a way around it.They wouldn’t ‘technically’ land. When Hayes had said those words, he’d used his index fingers to make air quotes around the wordtechnically.The plan for Knox to unhook himself from the monkey harness and then make the leap to the ground on Haye’s signal was a workaround. No harm. No foul.

Still.

Garrett should be the one sitting here in the chopper, preparing to rescue his baby sister instead of Knox. Sharp pain at the spot right in between his eyes blurred his vision. The headaches weren’t getting better but nothing would stop him from the rescue mission.

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