McDermott, Andy - The Hunt for Atlantis by McDermott Andy

Author:McDermott, Andy [McDermott, Andy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Azizex666, Action & Adventure, Fiction
ISBN: 9780553592856
Google: pMlIGrXRH_gC
Amazon: B0073G4IFM
Barnesnoble: B0073G4IFM
Goodreads: 6277286
Publisher: Random
Published: 2007-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

The Hunt for Atlantis

SEVENTEEN

The rope was still in his left hand. In the split second before he hit the uppermost leaves, Chase let go of his gun and snatched for the black nylon line with his right.

Branches pummeled him as he plunged through them, each one thicker and more inflexible than the last. One slammed against his shoulder, and Chase flung the rope at it.

Suddenly he was clear and falling again, nothing between him and the ground—

The line snapped taut.

He clamped his hands around the rope, screaming as friction seared his skin. He was slowing, slowing …

The severed end of the rope shot through his grip, and was gone. He was free-falling, the canopy of foliage rushing away—

Impact.

Blackness.

A distant voice, echoing down a pipe, saying something familiar…

Saying his name.

“Eddie?” A woman’s voice, getting closer. “Eddie!”

Chase’s eyes snapped open. He could make out scattered spots of the dusk sky through the jungle canopy, one larger hole directly above him.

It took several seconds for a thought to congeal into words. “I just fell through there!” he gasped, trying to sit up.

And immediately regretting it. Every muscle in his body ached as though he’d been beaten. He flopped back down again with an anguished moan.

“Eddie!”

“Nina?” He squinted as a face appeared above him, looking down anxiously. “My God, you look beautiful …”

“Well, at least he can still see,” said another voice. Kari came into view behind Nina, peering at him before turning her head upwards to the trees. Leaves drifted down around them like green snow. “That must be over twenty meters high…”

“My God!” said Nina, leaning closer. “I can hardly believe he survived!”

“Takes more than that to kill me off, Doc,” he said, forcing a painful grin. Even his face muscles hurt.

She stared at him for a moment, a mix of emotions flooding across her face, before suddenly flailing at his chest with her hands. “You moron! You absolute, utter, complete idiot! What the hell were you thinking? Why did you do that? What’s wrong with you?”

“Ow, ow! It’s a long list …” Chase cautiously lifted his head. Pain rolled in from all over his body, but none of it seemed to be the sharp stab—or the numbed shock—of a broken bone.

Well, except for his nose.

To Nina and Kari’s amazement, he began to laugh, a wheezing cackle of pure relief at being alive. “Oh Christ. That really, really hurt. And I didn’t even get the bastard!” His face contorted as he slowly sat up, Nina kneeling to help him. “What happened? How long was I out?”

“Not long,” said Kari. “The helicopter’s gone, it flew off northeast.”

“You might have a concussion,” Nina warned him. “Keep still.”

Chase saw something that instantly dismissed the pain from his mind. “I think that’s the least of our worries,” he said, very slowly.

Nina followed his gaze. And froze.

They were surrounded by Indians.

Supporting Chase between them, Nina and Kari were taken back to the village.

Though they weren’t openly aggressive—yet—Nina could tell the Indians were angry. Hardly surprising, considering that

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