Rumble in the Jungle: An Atlantica Universe Adventure (Santana Sokolov Book 3) by Michael Anderle

Author:Michael Anderle [Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2021-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Valentina hated to admit it, but she was a little breathless.

That’s what you get for trekking out on your own. You knew this would happen eventually. You just didn’t know it would happen so quickly.

She sat in the boughs of the tree, high above the ground. The tree she found was one of the tallest in the surrounding area. Large fruits the size of footballs clustered around her, and the chattering of hornbills filled the air.

She looked out across the jungle, the entire landscape alien to her. A proud woman, she hated to admit the uncomfortable feeling settling in her stomach, but there it was. This isn’t the city anymore.

Nor was this anywhere near her comfort zone. For the first time since she’d left the others, she began to doubt her decision—a feeling that didn’t come often.

At the time, rage had consumed her. She already hated relying on others to complete a task, used to running solo for so long in the city and getting the job done with ease. That was how she built her reputation, as someone who Got. The. Job. Done.

There she was, waiting for weeks for Santana—jungle girl—to discover the location of Archie Fontana. She still had nightmares of the day he’d slipped her grasp and shot off into the tunnels beneath the jungle. Flashes of visions haunted her as gunshots fired and the flickering eyelids of her brother almost rousing from his coma for the first time in years plagued her mind.

She wanted to—no, needed to find him. She understood that the logistics of finding someone in a mostly unexplored jungle were complex, and no one was better suited than Santana and her guys on the ground levels, but things were taking too long. Things needed to get moving.

The stop-start of their trek burned inside her, boiling in her gut. How many times did Dick and Terra and Gyles and Santana need to stop? How many times would they get waylaid? Didn’t they understand that every second counted? Someone’s life was at stake.

He’s fine…she reassured herself. They need him alive. They need Kit to survive to show that the AI works. He’s patient zero…

No. Not patient zero…

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Her breath was recovering, though judging by the sameness of the landscape ahead she would once more be breathless as she attempted to track through the jungle.

That night, while they took up camp around the fire, had been her last straw. She stood on the fringes of the campfire, watching them mill around and eat and sleep. Wolves had been hunting them all day, and still, that didn’t keep them moving forward. Valentina grew impatient, and the only part of her that she was thankful for was, although Terra could see her through the trees—of that she was sure—Terra remained quiet. She allowed her to carry on without them.

Great. Look where that got you.

She sought her next landmark, then slipped down the tree. She’d already left several brave creatures in her wake, taking them out with steady dexterity and exploiting the fragility of the creature’s necks.

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