Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68509 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68509 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“You set the pace,” Wick said when we’d both finished chewing and gave our bodies a couple of minutes to digest.
So I did, knowing full well that I was barely taxing Wick, but not wanting to push myself too hard and wind up needing a break sooner than either of us wanted.
“God, it’s been like two hours, right?” I asked, stopping and bending forward, arms on thighs, trying to catch my breath. My legs and face and lungs all felt like they were on fire.
“More like forty-five minutes,” Wick said, a little breathless himself. Which was more comforting than it should have been. “But we kept a good pace.”
Something caught his eye beyond me, and I watched as he walked over toward a small tree, reached up, and pulled down something green and oblong.
“What is it?”
“Guava.”
“I’ve never had it. What does it taste like?”
“Um, I guess like a blend of strawberry and pear. It’s mostly sweet with just a hint of tartness. You might not have had the fruit, but you’ve probably had it in a smoothie or health drink… no?”
“People don’t generally mention me and ‘health drinks’ in the same sentence. I’m more of a ‘this probably has a lot of toxic chemicals in it, but that’s also what makes it taste good’ kind of person.”
Wick pulled a knife out of his bag, then sliced the fruit in half. “Try it. I think you’ll like it.”
I was thirsty enough that I didn’t care what it tasted like if it contained some fluid content.
I wasn’t prepared to decide right on the spot that it was my new favorite fruit of all time.
“Good?” Wick asked, making me realize I’d moaned out loud.
“Oh, my God. These are better than the oranges on your island. And I didn’t think that was possible. How many are on that tree? Can I pack my bag with them?”
“There’s plenty. Eat a few. We’ll take a few with us. But we don’t want to get weighed down if we need to run again.”
“Fiiiiine,” I grumbled.
“There should be plenty more as we keep going. Plus some more bananas. We definitely won’t starve.”
“But we’re getting out of here today, right? Right?” I pressed when he didn’t meet my gaze.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s really hard to stay the course in here.”
“You have your compass, though.”
“I do. But I have no idea if this particular area of the rainforest is deeper than where we came in. It’s not like the whole thing has a straight line border.”
Right.
That made sense.
“But not more than another day, right?” At his pause, a whimper escaped me. “You’re not serious.”
“I just don’t want to promise you something I have no idea about. A person could get lost in the rainforest for weeks. Longer, even. That’s why you bring a guide.”
The word weeks swirled around my brain as we ate and then started to walk once again.
“What is it?” Wick asked, studying my profile as we walked in a steady ‘power walk’ instead of a jog.
“Weeks. Stuck here for weeks. We will run out of protein bars.”
“There is plenty of food here. We won’t starve.”
“Plenty of what? Guava and bananas?”
“Yeah. There should be Brazil nuts and some other fruits, possibly, too. And various protein sources.”
“If you suggest we are going to be eating bugs, I swear to God…”
“I mean, they are a great—and abundant—protein source.”
“I’d rather suffocate and eat you,” I said, getting another laugh out of him.
“Good to know, duchess. But I wasn’t thinking bugs anyway. There are tons of smaller streams and rivers that lead into the Amazon River. Lots of fish in them.”
“You know how to fish?”
“Yep. Do you eat fish?”
“I mean, it would never be my first choice, but yeah. What kind of fish?”
“Pacu, peacock bass, armored catfish, and piranha are all—”
“Wait, you can eat piranha? The things that can eat us?”
“I mean, the whole piranha eating people thing is grossly exaggerated in film. But, yeah, piranha are a pretty common food source around here. They’re used in a lot of different soups and stews.”
“We would cook them, right? Before eating them?”
“Not a sushi fan, I take it.”
“I basically like all of my food cooked, if possible. Preferably cooked in some nice butter or oil and lots of spices. Served over rice. Or pasta. Or with some crunchy chips for dipping…”
“Maybe we should stop talking about food,” Wick suggested, giving me a soft smile.
“Probably smart. You owe me an all-you-can-eat buffet after this.”
“You got—” he started to say when, suddenly, we heard raised male voices. Just talking at first.
But then, “There!”
“Fuck,” Wick said, grabbing my hand.
And then we were off, running as fast as our legs could carry us, Wick half-dragging me when I lagged behind on my shorter ones.
This time, though, we didn’t have the advantage of not being spotted by them. They were hot on our heels and heavily armed.