Authors: Judy Angelo
She grinned back. “Don’t you worry about me,” she said. “It’s you
who should worry about keeping up.”
Lani’s words turned out to be only too true. Aurelio led the way,
chopping at bushes as he made a path for them through the thick foliage. Lani
followed close behind and Ridge brought up the rear. It was tough, being a foot
taller than the two people ahead of him. Aurelio might think he was clearing
the way and his efforts worked for him and Lani but definitely not for Ridge.
The path that the little man was clearing was not high enough for Ridge, not by
a long shot. He’d been slapped in the face by enough swinging leaves and
branches to gather the bruises to prove it.
Unfortunately, after all that hiking, that evening they returned to
camp empty-handed. He could see the disappointment on Lani’s face.
“Tomorrow we find some good samples,” Aurelio reassured her. “We go
deeper next time. Two days walk, not one.”
The guide’s declaration made her perk up considerably but Ridge
frowned. “Two days? So we won’t come back to camp tomorrow night?”
Aurelio shook his head. “No, we must go deep, deep into the forest.
Two days’ walk, maybe three.”
“What the…” Ridge turned to Lani. “You never told me we would have
to go through all this.”
She shrugged, looking unconcerned. “I didn’t know but if Aurelio
says we have to go deeper then that’s what we’ll do.”
“I told you, you should have let someone else make the trip,” he
grumbled. “What about that guy who works for you? Chris whatever-his-name-is.
This is no place for a woman.”
Lani gave him a mischievous grin. “Or maybe you should say, this is
no place for a pampered rich guy who can’t manage jungle living.”
That shut him up. It would be a long time before Lani heard another
complaint out of him. He would not give her the satisfaction of calling him
soft.
And so the next morning he made it a point to be up and ready before
Aurelio and Lani even began to stir. They wanted a mountain man? They would get
one. By the time Aurelio crawled out of the tent Ridge had the coffee ready and
when Lani finally peeped out he’d finished making a full breakfast of beef
jerky and powdered eggs.
“Hmm, smells good,” she told him and then she gave them a
demonstration of her healthy appetite when she wolfed down two platefuls. Even
Aurelio raised his eyebrows in surprise. She was such a tiny girl. Who could
have guessed she could sock away that much grub?
But Lani must have known what she was doing when she ate that much because
they were three hours into their journey when Ridge began to feel the hunger
pangs. Of even greater concern was the fact that it looked like Aurelio and
Lani had gotten their second wind and had no plans to stop any time soon. But
Ridge was not about to beg them to stop. He’d already resolved that he wasn’t
going to come off like a wimp and if it meant sucking in his gut and suffering
through his hunger then so be it.
It was another two hours before their guide called the hike to a
halt. By this time Ridge was so hungry he wasn’t even feeling the pangs in his
stomach anymore. They’d moved up to his head and now he was suffering from a
splitting headache. Damn him for being too stubborn and too stupid to speak up
when it would have made a difference. Now that they’d come to a halt all he
could do was slide the rucksack off his back and collapse onto the ground
beside it.
“This is great,” Lani said as she came to sit beside him. “Aurelio
said we’re getting there.”
Ridge only grunted and reached for his canteen. He was in no mood to
hear how good they were doing when he felt like crap.
“It’s a good thing I did all those work-outs in preparation for the
trip. I spent my lunch hours at the gym. I told you about it, didn’t I?”
Ridge gave her a sour look. “No, you didn’t. How come I didn’t know
you were supposed to do special preparation for this trip?”
“Oh. I guess,” she glanced away, looking thoughtful, “I guess it was
because it wasn’t in the plan for you to be on this trip.”
In response to that Ridge only grimaced.
Later, though, after their break he began to feel a whole lot better
and actually kept up with the two ‘Energizer Bunnies’ ahead of him. And on top
of his admiration for Lani’s stamina he now had a healthy dose of respect for
Aurelio. Despite his years the man had energy that would rival someone half his
age. Maybe the old man was already consuming whatever plant Lani was seeking, the
one she felt would be the answer to so many ills. Whatever Aurelio’s secret was,
Ridge knew he had to get some.
That night when they made camp as the twilight turned to dusk, Lani
came to sit by him and as she leaned against him and he felt the warmth of her
body against his Ridge was tempted to wrap his arms around her but he resisted
the urge. He still didn’t have a good handle on Lani and her moods. He decided
not to make any move and just let her take the lead. That was the safest way.
She didn’t take things any further, seeming comfortable just
relaxing against him, probably not realizing the way she was ratcheting up the
tension in his body. He was actually relieved when she moved away, deciding to
make it an early night. He waited until she’d fallen asleep before stretching
out on the leaves beside her.
Next morning they were up early, ready to take on the last lap of
the journey. With their new burst of energy from being so close it didn’t take
them long, only a few hours, so that by the middle of the day they had reached
their destination. Slowly, almost reverently, Aurelio approached the waterfall.
“It is a special kind of fern,” he said, his voice hushed. “It grows
in the caves behind this waterfall. We must approach it very carefully.”
“We have to go through the water?” Lani looked doubtful.
Aurelio shook his head. “No, there is another way. I know a path
that goes behind it, but it is dangerous.” He glanced at Ridge. “You will hold
her as we cross?”
“You bet.” Ridge reached out to take hold of Lani but she shook off
his hand.
“Not yet. We’re not even there.” Then she cocked an eyebrow. “And I
might have to be the one holding on to you. I’m not a novice at mountain
climbing, you know.”
Ridge didn’t even bother responding to that one. He was just glad
she didn’t seem scared at the prospect of climbing behind a pounding cascade of
water.
After they’d refreshed themselves they started off toward the
waterfall. The closer they got the louder the torrent sounded in their ears.
The water was pounding as it fell to the rocks below, sending sprays of water
high into the air, its deafening roar making it impossible for them to hear
each other speak. They were left to communicate by hand signals.
Within minutes they were dripping wet from the spray but they kept
going, Ridge staying close to Lani in case she stumbled.
Soon Aurelio was waving them on, directing them behind a wall of
bushes so thick it was hard to see farther than a few feet ahead. Their guide
did not slow his pace and Lani and Ridge had to hustle to keep up.
Then came the hard part. Aurelio signaled to them to be very careful
on the rest of the path with its loose rocks along the winding trail. What made
it worse, the trail led them onto a ledge which was little more than three feet
wide with nothing but a drop of over a hundred feet on one side. It was along
this treacherous path that they had to go to get to the entrance to the cave.
Signaling to Lani to press her back against the wall, Ridge went
ahead of her, sidling sideways, holding her hand as she followed every step he
took. He could feel her palm grow moist in his hand but he didn’t relax his
grip on her until they had shuffled the four or five yards it would take to get
them to safety. With the water cascading in front of them and water droplets
flying everywhere it was hard to see but Ridge gritted his teeth and kept going
until he was finally able to pull Lani to safety within the cavern that lay
behind the waterfall.
As soon as she was in she fell to the ground, laughing. “Whew. That
was exhilarating. Did you look down?”
Ridge drew his arm across his forehead, wiping away the water
droplets, then he gave her a look of disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I looked down.”
Ridge didn’t know what to make of that. The girl had a lot more
backbone than he’d thought. Heck, she was braver than he was. He hadn’t looked
down and he had no intention of trying it on the way back, either.
Aurelio was already far inside the cave and as soon as Ridge and
Lani realized they’d been left behind they hurried to catch up.
“Come, Miss,” he called out. “It is down here.”
Lani picked up pace, breaking into a run until she’d caught up to
her guide. “Is it much farther?” she asked, her voice breathless.
“No, we are almost there.”
They rounded a corner, disappearing from Ridge’s view, forcing him
to pick up speed so he wouldn’t lose sight of them. It wasn’t easy going on the
slippery surface of the cave floor and if he fell, a big man like him, it
wasn’t going to make a pretty picture. So he hurried along, but gingerly.
Just as he turned the corner he heard Lani cry out. “At last. Oh, my
Lord. There’s so much.”
He was just in time to see her gazing up at a huge wall covered from
top to bottom with thick ferns, their leaves giant in size. She reached out a
hand to touch one of the leaves.
“Wait.” Ridge hurried toward her. “There could be anything back
there.” He shone the flashlight on the spot she was about to touch, training
the beam on the leaves. “Let me check it out first before you touch anything.”
It took only a few minutes for Ridge to give Lani the all-clear and
then she started plucking the leaves and dropping them into a big black bag
she’d carried just for the purpose. Aurelio held the flashlight while she
gathered her select specimens and soon the plastic bag was full. Then she
forced the bag into her backpack.
Ridge watched her close it carefully then pass it to Aurelio to
carry. He shook his head. “So you’re telling me we came all the way to Brazil,
risking life and limb on the edge of a precipice, for this? A bag of weeds?”
“Not weeds. Ferns.” She threw him a caustic glare.
“And you couldn’t have hired someone to come do this for you?”
“No. I had to do it myself. There aren’t many people in Brazil who
would take this kind of risk.”
“Of coming all this way and climbing behind the waterfall?”
“No, of touching a plant that’s bewitched.”
“Be…what are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you notice Aurelio hasn’t touched the stuff even though he
took us here? Most of the locals consider it bad luck to touch it. That’s why I
sealed it in the plastic bag before putting it in my backpack.”
Ridge expelled his breath then planted his fists on his hips as he
glared down at her. “So the almost two hundred million people in Brazil see it
fit to avoid this plant but you decide you’re too smart to follow their
example?”
“Oh, come on, Ridge. It’s just silly superstition, plain and simple.
Do you think I’m going to let that stop me?” She shook her head. “The healing
potential of this plant is too great for me to let local folklore get in the
way.”
“I see,” he said, drawing out the word. “Dr. Fearless to the
rescue.”
She grinned. “If you want to call me that I’ll take it. I've been
called worse.”
Ridge gave a snort of exasperation. Was this woman afraid of nothing?
He turned, pointing the beam of light back the way they’d come. “Come on. You
got what you came for. Now let’s get out of here.”
He marched forward, ready to get the hell out of there and back to
civilization but he’d forgotten one critical thing. The slimy floor of the cave
was as slippery as an oil slick. He took two steps and the next thing Ridge
knew his left foot slipped and then his other leg shot out from under him and
he was tumbling backwards, the flashlight flying out of his hand to slam into
the cave wall. He only had time to let out a yell before he fell backwards to
the cave floor.
“Ridge!”
Lani’s scream was the last thing he heard before everything went black.
CHAPTER TEN
“Oh, my God. Ridge. Oh, no. Aurelio, help him. Where are you?” Lani
cried out in the darkness, shock shooting through her even as the icy fingers
of fear encircled her heart. “Ridge. Say something!”
She flung her arms wide, trying to get her bearings in a darkness so
solid it felt like a heavy weight pressing into her.
There was a sudden flash of light and Aurelio appeared. “I found my
flashlight, Doctor,” he said. “His shout. He made me drop it. I am here now.”
He ran forward to shine the light down on Ridge who lay flat on his
back before them.
Lani scrambled forward and dropped to her knees. “Ridge. Oh, Lord.
Ridge. Open your eyes. Please.”