Page 65 of Wild Temple
A shriek pierced the jungle, followed by a stream of obscenities in the local tongue.
The tall soldier had wandered off to smoke a cigarette after he ate his MRE. Sitting at the base of a tree, he’d had an encounter he’d soon regret.
40
The 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 placeno 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.
