Page 21 of Hunter's Mission

When I slammed into a tree’s canopy, leaves exploded around me, and branches snapped as I bounced my way to the mud below.

Wyatt’s grunts and groans confirmed his landing was as rugged as mine. As I unclipped from my tether, Wyatt slapped into the wet ground twenty feet away.

“Well, that was fun,” he said.

I marched toward him. “Is your knee okay?” His knee had been reduced to mush in that aircraft carrier incident that ruined our careers, and his limp was worse than mine.

“It’s fine.”

“You right to roll?”

“Does a bear shit in the woods?” Wyatt flashed a grin.

The oppressive heat and humidity smothered me. Sweat soaked through my clothes, and every breath was like inhaling steam.

“Which way?” Wyatt asked.

I studied my GPS. “Northwest.” I pointed in the direction and peered into the endless expanse of greenery. “Let's move.”

Unfortunately, moving was slow. Mud squelched up to our ankles, and every step required a branch to be shoved aside. I led the way, hacking through thick underbrush with my machete. Bird noises and sounds from other creatures filled the air, but I couldn’t see anything but enormous plants.

“Remember that snake in the mess hall that time?” Wyatt said as we stepped over a large fallen log. “Bet he's got nothing on the ones out here.”

“Yeah, well, I hope we don’t find out.”

“You and me both.”

As Wyatt and I took turns hacking deeper into the jungle, the ground sloped steeply upward. The thick mud morphed into a rough surface that crumbled away with each step. Roots from the massive trees twisted across our path and were as slippery as all hell. The pungent smell of rotting vegetation and the faint, sweet tang of something else filled the air.

Spindly vines wrapped around my ankles and several nearly tipped me ass over as I shoved through them.

“Fuck me,” Wyatt said.

I spun to him and followed his wide gaze. A massive yellow snake coiled on a branch I’d just ducked under.

“Christ. I missed it. Is that an anaconda?”

The snake’s scales shimmered in the dim light as if they were made of pure silver.

“Ain’t no way I’m getting swallowed by no giant snake.” Wyatt scrambled beneath the branch like his ass was on fire. “No way. Nah huh. Not this little black duck.”

I shuddered at the thought of that thing being wrapped around my body. “That’d be a fucked way to go, that’s for sure. Let’s move. And keep your eyes open.”

“Me? You’re the one who missed that thing.” He bugged his eyes at me.

“Sorry about that. You want to lead?”

“Roger that.”

With Wyatt leading, we picked our way through a minefield of vines and as many stagnant pools as there were running streams.

A terrifying scream echoed through the trees.

“What the hell was that?” Wyatt ducked down.

I crouched too and clutching my weapon, I scanned the bushes. “That better not be your fucking pigmies!”

Movement high in the canopy caught my eye. “Up there.” I pointed to a pair of monkeys swinging through the trees.

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