Chapter 15
Pain! Agonizing, all-consuming, phenomenal pain. Jack awoke but dared not open his eyes for fear the pressure in his skull would cause them to explode from the sockets. He lay on his side, hands bound behind. He could smell food and hear the sounds of men eating and talking only a few feet away. Rolling to his back he moaned as the pain intensified. The voices in the room went quiet and then, as suddenly, returned. Someone lifted Jack by the arms setting him in a chair.
Eyes now open wide he could see that he was in a small dining room with about fifteen men, all seated at a long table, talking, laughing and eating. They all ignored him.
As he sat watching and listening he perceived that they were Charlie’s men and that they were planning to follow the Germans into the jungle. Two of the older men were arguing about which direction they should set out.
“They left the city going north Tari, why would they go west?” One man said.
“Because that is where they must go to meet the others.” Tari replied. “I will not argue any more. Who will follow me and who will follow Rapu?”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the room as the groups loyalties were put to the test.
“I know where they are going.” Jack said in a croaking voice.
The man called Rapu rose from his seat and approached Jack. Standing before him Rapu reached out, grabbed a patch of Jack’s dark hair, yanked his head back and placed the sharp, jagged edge of a knife against his throat.
“Tell me where they have gone.” Rapu insisted.
“What’s in it for me?” Jack gambled.
“I will not torture you before I kill you, how is that? Now tell me, where have they gone?” Rapu pressed the knife hard against Jack’s neck, warm blood began trickling down to his chest.
“I know why they are here.” Jack pleaded.
“We do not care why they are here, only that they have come and taken the food from our mouths, and now they will never leave here.”
“They found gold in the Mato Grosso, enough that you will never go hungry again.”
A loud ruckus arose in the room as the men became excited at Jacks reference to gold. Rapu released Jack’s head and shouted at the group ordering them to get out. Tari stood and began pushing the protesting men out the door at the opposite end of the room. Closing and blocking the door he then moved to Rapu’s side. The two men whispered to each other for several moments.
“There is no gold in the Mato Grosso white man. Your people have been looking for five hundred years. There is no gold!”
“I have seen it.”
“You lie. To save yourself, you lie.”
“Are you willing to take that chance? And, if I am lying, you can always kill me later.”
Rapu returned to Tari’s side and the two men argued a bit more.
“What do you want in trade for this information?” Tari asked.
“To go with you, kill the Germans, save my woman and her father.”
“And are we to believe you will leave the gold to us?”
“Like I said, you can always kill me later. Free me and I will lead you to them, otherwise, kill me now, my head hurts too much to argue anymore.”
“If you are lying I will make you watch while I kill your woman, and then I will kill you!”
The two Indian’s walked away from Jack speaking to one another in agitated tones. At one point they both became silent and turned back to look at him. Jack knew then that he had sold them. On what he did not know for at this point he was simply trying to stay alive.
Jack did not know how long he had been unconscious but he was starting to feel better. He was still dizzy, weak and in pain but he was moving forward toward his two objectives, saving Sophie and, destroying the men that had killed Jolly.
Jack and Charlie’s men set out on foot early the next morning moving quickly through the jungle. This near to the city there were plenty of trails to follow. The band of hoodlums sang loudly, visions of gold and thoughts of future riches foremost in their minds and conversations. They were a few miles out when the trails narrowed and turned to pathways frequented only by animals. By the morning of the second day, the trail had narrowed and so the group had to walk single file, a heavy mist drifting around them like scentless white smoke.
The jungle canopy was becoming more and more dense, choking out the smaller plants that grew below. Still, great ferns and tall saplings reached out with their leaves and limbs slowing the pace. Vines and creeping plants stretched like trip wires across the path and the moisture in the air made the trail greasy and slippery making walking difficult and dicey.
By noon of the second day the jungle felt like a greenhouse, the air torrid and stifling. Huge insects whizzed past only inches from Jack’s face and the hum of tiny biting flies droned and reverberated in his ears.
That night, as the men lay wrapped in their blankets on the ground or in a hammock stretched between two trees, a piercing scream sliced through the darkness.
One of the men, sleeping on the ground, had been bitten by a Brazilian Wandering spider. A hideous eight legged man killer, the spider had a ten inch leg span with fangs almost one inch long. The spider produces venom that causes intense pain, similar to a red hot branding iron touching the skin. In a matter of seconds the malady spreads from the point of injection like wild fire throughout the victims muscles. Eventually these begin to cramp and convulse adding an aching pain to the affliction. As the toxin spreads into the vital organs the lungs become paralyzed and the victim slowly suffocates.
Jack watched from his hammock as the man writhed in agony and, as the pain grew, his wailing and whimpering amplified chasing away their sleep. In the morning, the man was rigid except for the muscles in his lower extremities, which quivered and seized repeatedly. Each time a muscle would clench the poor man would scream out.
Rapu ordered everyone to move out leading to much discussion and debate as to the afflicted man’s fate. The older, wiser Rapu ended the argument when he removed a revolver from his belt and removed all but one bullet. The other men, quiet and dejected turned and walked away as Rapu handed the gun to the dying man. Jack followed him as he fell in with the troop. The report from the weapon followed a few moments later, the reverberation sending dozens of brightly colored birds screeching into flight and setting a group of monkeys to howling in alarm. The sound shattered the men’s spirit and turned the mood sour.
The incident had shaken the men. Jack led the demoralized party through the jungle as the oppressive heat of the day crushed down upon them and the humidity smothered them. The endless buzzing of the tiny biting flies droning in their ears made the outlaws cranky and the flies bite made them antagonistic. Tari poked Jack in the back with the barrel of his rifle.
“How much further?” He demanded angrily.
“I don’t know. Two days, maybe three.” Jack replied casually.
As he spoke, a clamor arose behind them, angry voices escalating to foul language and threats coming from somewhere in the rank’s. Tari, raising his own voice, moved toward the ruckus in an attempt to moderate the dispute. Gunshots erupted.
One of the men slipped causing two others to fall with him. Now covered in mud and fighting they drew their weapons and began to shoot each other.
Rapu moved to Jack’s side.
“These men, they are not as strong as Rapu.” He said to Jack in an even, cool tone. “They have grown soft, living in the city under Fat Charlie’s roof and have forgotten how to travel in the jungle. Rapu has not forgotten. Rapu will follow and wait. These others though are bad men. They will not wait, not long.”
Rapu turned to face Jack, moved in close, pushing a revolver into his ribs.
“Rapu will protect you if he can. But if you try to escape, Rapu will find you and let these men have you.”
“Move!” Tari returned pushing Jack forward.
Two more fights broke out, resulting in a stab wound and a killing. These events sharpened
the tension of the group and focused Tari’s malice directly on Jack. Jacks back became tender and bruised from the relentless prodding of Tari’s gun barrel. With each jab, Jack’s temper grew hotter, but he could do or say nothing without setting a match to the explosive mood of the other’s. He would simply have to endure the abuse. Jack focused his mind on Sophie and her rescue. What was she enduring at this very moment? Was she safe? The Germans must realize that if they harmed her, in any way, her father would never cooperate with them.
Putting those thoughts out of his mind Jack replayed the events of the night Fat Charlie died. The man, Venoma, had said the professor would not cooperate. Why did they need a physicist for a treasure hunt? Venoma also said that Charlie could not help him with what he was ‘really’ looking for. If they were not after El Dorados gold, then what were they after? What about Quaid, why was he still with them? He must know that they killed Jolly. Jack was counting on his help to save Sophie and her father. Jack could only hope that his friend was keeping her safe and that he anticipated Jack coming to rescue her.
The morning mist drifted and swirled around the group as they walked toward a small river. Walking single file, they entered the waist deep slow moving water. Jack lingered uneasily near the water’s edge. Three men passed Jack entering the water. Tari prodded Jack with his rifle barrel and followed him into the murky water. Half of the group had disappeared into the thick mist hanging over the river when a splash and a muffled cry rolled back toward Jack. More splashing, followed by shrill screams. The men in the water, alarmed and frightened, came splashing and yelling back to shore. Peering through the white cloudy vapors, Jack saw churning, red tinged, roiling water and flashes of green knobby skin. Six men had entered the water. Only Jack and one other made it back to the riverbank. Caiman had taken the rest. Tari was missing.
The survivors of the Caiman attack were ranting and gesturing wildly while firing their weapons into the mist and water. Rapu called for a ceasefire, however, the men were still very agitated and alarmed. The irate men were convinced that Jack had led them to the Caiman infested water on purpose. Hungry, dirty and tired the men wanted to shoot Jack and return to Planaltina. Rapu only gained control after threatening to shoot any coward that deserted. Irritated he now turned his attention to Jack, his voice quivering with animosity.
“These men want to kill you. I have convinced them to continue with the promise of the gold and weapons we will have when the Germans are dead. You had better find them for us soon, or I will let these have you.”
Pushing violently he ordered Jack to lead the way, his rifle barrel finding the tender spot that Tari had left. As Jack moved into the jungle heading up river to find a shallower place to cross, he was careful to hide his wry grin. The Green Lady, it seemed, was on Jack’s side. If the jungle continued to whittle away at Rapu’s men he just might have a chance of surviving this ordeal. The Amazon jungle though was a fickle girl. Jack knew she would turn on him in a heartbeat and so he would need to be alert and not take anything for granted. Sophie’s life depended on it. Jack was not sure what he would do once they caught up to the Germans, Rapu and his men did not stand a chance against them but, perhaps they would be enough of a distraction for him to retrieve Sophie and her father. The Nazis were moving fast, for now, but soon they would be forced to abandon their vehicles. The German soldiers had also appeared to be sick when he and Jolly had rescued the professor and this would slow them down even more. If Jack could keep himself alive, he and Rapu’s men should catch up in a few days.
“Hang on Sophie, I’m coming!” He said under his breath as Rapu’s rifle barrel found the tender spot again.