Rapid Agenda by Maureen A. Miller

Author:Maureen A. Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Maureen A. Miller
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The sun came out.

Radiance speared through the foliage with white hot lasers. The orb and sky were concealed beyond the tree awning, but it was enough to illuminate this netherworld, and enough to gauge the angle of the rays to determine the sun’s position in the sky.

“Only a few hours of daylight left,” Chuck surmised. “We have to start searching for a place to make a shelter.”

Faith tipped her head back and looked up. “Are we heading north still?”

“Generally speaking, yes.”

She swatted at a bug on her arm and then winced when she struck near her cut.

“Here—” She began to unwind his shirt. “They’re going to eat you alive.”

He felt her eyes slide down his chest and further before they jerked back up to his. A pleasant blush stole over her cheeks, and then his eyes turned mutinous, dropping to her lips and lingering there for too long.

“I wanted to find water before we take that shirt off your arm. Hold on for a little longer.”

“But—”

“I’ll live. And there’s always mud.”

“Mud?”

“Sure. Rub that all over you and the mosquitos can’t get through.”

Faith nodded. Her eyes were wide and curious like many of the creatures of the jungle. Unlike those creatures, there was a sharp cognizance behind her stare. Her curiosity triggered absorption. She took it all in. And she learned from it.

The physical toll of their hike grew evident. Faith’s pace slowed. Often he would claim he needed a breather just to let her have one. The stubborn woman would keep on going until she dropped. The most alarming sign was that her constant chatter had wound down. He missed the dialogue. It offered him a cadence to march to.

“So, Faith? That’s a very inspirational name. Were your parents very religious?”

A tired snort sounded behind him along with the waning swipes of her stick.

“No,” she replied. “My mother was a big George Michael fan.”

Another reminder of her age.

“You are younger than many of my students,” he muttered and nearly smacked himself for letting the thought slip.

“Oh right, I forgot what a dinosaur you claim to be. Maybe I can get some sort of archeology degree for digging you up.”

Chuck snorted and jabbed a fallen tree trunk with his stick to jar any snakes lying in wait. By the gaps of light between the fern fronds, he thought there might be a clearing ahead. Pushing through the vegetation, he emerged into a clearing. No, not a clearing. This barren strip of land was manmade.

“Whoa,” Faith exclaimed, moving in alongside him.

Perhaps a hundred feet away the forest seemed to resume, but what lie in front of them was a barren patch of land carved out of the jungle. Cessation of life transformed into trampled dirt and gravel, stretching far in each direction.

“What is this?” she whispered. “Deforestation?”

“No. Unless we’ve really traveled far, I don’t know of any deforestation in this section of the reserve.”

“A road?”

“Mmmm,” he answered ambiguously. “We’ll stick to the edge and follow this.”

“That sounds cryptic. You don’t trust

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