Chapter 56

Finally she hunkered down beside a thick tree to catch her breath. She remained very still to listen, trying to keep her breathing silent. She could hear only the breeze shaking the leaves in the trees over her head and the birds and parrots chatting with their friends.

She took the minute to try and remember her geography. The high, snow-capped mountains to the west were the Andes. The jungle to the east was the Amazon. Hadn’t Craig said that the river through the capital eventually ran into the Amazon? She needed to get closer to a large city, and that meant east to Brazil or north toward Colombia. How many weeks or months would that take? Would there be any difference? She had to get away. She had to.

All her fears roared around in her head. She was alone in the middle of nowhere. There were animals and bugs around that she knew nothing about. There was treacherous terrain between here and…and where? Wherever she ended up.