Page 18 of Wild Temple
“This is all my fault,” she sobbed.
“Your name’s Brooke, right?”
Her face wrinkled with confusion. Then a flash of recognition filled her eyes.
“You’re staying at the Bamboo Lofts, right?”
She nodded.
“We spoke yesterday.”
Brooke wiped the tears from her eyes. “That’s right. About your friend.”
“Your friend’s name is Hannah, right?”
Brooke nodded.
“Tell me how many assailants.”
“Two.”
The guy I chased was a slim, wiry guy with dark hair, brown eyes, and a deep tan. Brooke told me the other guy had a similar build, just a little shorter.
I kept a watchful eye on our surroundings as we talked.
Brooke sniffled. “We hired these guides to take us into the jungle. I should have known something was shady. I just got bad vibes right away. I should have listened to that little voice in my head.”
“Sometimes that voice is hard to hear,” I said.
“Where did you meet theseguides?”
“At a bar on Sunset Row.” Her face tightened. “He bought Hannah and me a drink. We got to talking. I should have kept my dumb mouth shut. I told him about Pura Jiva and the map. But he seemed like such a nice guy. He said the water they sold on the street was fake and not to drink it.No shit, Sherlock. He told me he could take us to the real Pura Jiva. He said his uncle had found the temple, and he knew the way. But he swore us to secrecy. I should have known it was a scam.” Brooke shook her head, frustrated with herself. “We bought it, hook, line, and sinker. I just wanted to find it so bad.”
“Why?”
“You’ll think it’s silly.”
“I won’t,” I assured. “But right now, let’s focus on your friend and the guys who took her. Do you know their names?”
“Bayu. I can’t remember the other guy’s name.” She thought for a minute. “Pete. Well, Putu, but he said we could call him Pete.”
“What, exactly, happened?”
“We met them here, in the parking lot. They took us down to the falls and led us through the chasm. Then I saw Putu, Pete, whatever, stab Hannah in the thigh with a syringe. I freaked out. Bayu came after me. I kicked him in the balls, dropped my pack, and ran.” Tears spilled from her eyes again. “I’m such a coward. I should have stayed and fought for my friend.” Her chest heaved with jerking sobs.
“And you’d be abducted, too. No one would know you two were missing. You did the right thing.”
I told her to follow and led her back down the chasm. With my weapon drawn, I advanced with caution, but I knew these guys were long gone. We returned to the fork, and I veered to the right, following the passage. The chasm narrowed, and the overgrowth above blocked out most of the sun.
It was at the darkest part of the passage where we stumbled across both of their backpacks. The footprints in the dirt indicated a scuffle. It looked like things played out, just as Brooke had described.
I told her to leave the backpack where it was for now, then we continued on.
The chasm split again, offering two different paths. There were so many hikers that had traveled the area in recent days there were fresh footprints in all directions.
The path to the left was brighter. More sunlight spilled through. The path to the right was dark and dim.
Brooke followed as I advanced through the fissure to the right. I clicked on a small tactical flashlight. The beam slashed the darkness. After twenty yards, the passage grew uncomfortably narrow.
