This is not the end yet! I must find Nick first and then find Andre and Dr. Dominguez.

Out of the question, the box goes to those paws. If it were, it would be the end of all mammals on the face of the earth. Judy sighed deeply. How would they find them? There was no idea.

Closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, Judy tried to get up. Such a gesture made her tears cover her eyes. Despite the small wounds, her back was the worst, besides her abdomen. She would have to find Nick and then the things that came with them in the helicopter. She needed her bow and her gun. But she needed the first aid kit more.

The cigarette was lit. The glass with liquor was taken to his lips.

"We need to get back to the Amazon!" Dr. Dominguez said, in a dry tone.

"There's nothing there." Andre savored the cigarette.

"Not here either. We're missing something." Dominguez started walking around, thoughtful.

It is okay that the idea of coming to Peru was not in vain. In one of the excavations, a very old map was found. In it, constellations. Constellations, those, that nobody from there knew how to decipher.

"We need the archaeologist," said Dominguez,

"Don't tell me nobody else can decipher this damn map?" Andre spoke in a calm tone.

"No, my friend. We've turned to all the big names in this area and nobody, not even astrologers, can decipher that crap. We need it."

"If she's still alive." Andre took a puff on the cigarette relaxed. Not that he thought Judy was dead, but he didn't know where she was.

"She won't die so easily. We need to find her whereabouts. This map takes us to the lost city in the middle of the Amazon. There, we know for sure where the box will be." Then he turned to one of his companions and asked them to start looking for the archaeologist and her partner. "Be brief. Don't kill them. We need them alive."

Climbing the clearing was not easy. At every step, it was agony. Once out of there, she breathed with relief and continued her way. The giant leaves were deflected. The muddy earth path made her steps difficult. Her vision was beginning to blur. She needed to rest, but if she leaned somewhere there, it was her certain death.

I need to find Nick!

Sitting on one of the many rocks there, the backpack that had been on his back until then was put on the ground in front of him. He leaned over this one and opened its clasp. Inside, he went through the junk. The water bottles he had previously, was filled. Papers, a lighter, a small black bag with documents and some keys. That backpack was not theirs but from the poor Miguel. So, nothing very useful. He sighed. He needed a located rocket. Maybe then Judy would see him and follow his trail. Nick stood up in an effort, leaving the backpack behind, heading towards the broken tail of the helicopter. He had already searched what had come with them, but not in such detail. The thirst became unbearable, so it was the first thing he looked for. The smell of the water was very present in the air and it wasn't difficult for Nick to follow it and find the lake. But he didn't foresee the appearance of the creature. Kneeling on the ground, he searched. Namely, everything was more the load that was needed in the helicopter. Some big bags with tools. Another backpack with nothing else.

If only I had fallen with the main part of the helicopter?

There were the most important things was. Shaking his head, he looked again. When his search smiled at him. A big metal bag was well known to him. Nick stretched his arms and pulled them towards him. He unlocked the cracks and smiled. The bow, the arrows, and the gun like Judy's dagger.

Excellent!

He took the bow and put it between his chest and back. The bag with the arrows was placed on his right shoulder. The gun in the belt and dagger next to the bag by the boots. He closed the bag and walked away. Now he needed a flare. It was a dangerous activity since it would denounce where he was. But he needed to know about Judy, and he was already protected anyway.

The path was infinite. If she was the one who took time to walk, it was already something else. For there was no end of tall leaves. Judy fell to her knees on the ground and tried to recover her strength. She was exhausted. She felt that at any moment she would fall to the side and would no longer open her eyes.

A miracle would be welcome.

She spoke in thought, sighing once more. She had already been hurt, but not as bad as this time. It was then that the universe heard her request. One sound and something burst in the sky. Judy stood up and turned the leaves at her side. It was a signaling rocket. It was close by. Someone was lost there. She didn't think twice. She asked her body for its last strength again and ran what she could. She didn't ponder if they could be any of Trinity's mammals. In her mind came the image of Nick. The last hope filled her heart and her last forces, making her walk the fastest way and reach the peak of this one without leaves and with an open vision for the landscape. She turned her attention to where the sign had come from. Beside her, a mountain with a waterfall. Besides, there was a clearing where the smoke was visible from the rocket launch. Then, she turned her attention to the front. She had to jump to the other side, go down the trail with the trunks, jump again and give it to the other side. Not difficult, if not in the state she was in.

You can do it, Judith Hoops. You can do it. And, taking a deep breath, she jumped.

She didn't fall. She went around, she ran, she jumped again, and she reached the other side. Then, her body gave way and she fell helplessly into the solid sand. She stayed for a few seconds to catch her breath and got up. When she did, she roared with pain. Blood dripped into the sand. The wound in her abdomen had gotten worse.

Just a little more. Just a little more.

Squatting, the right arm was pressing on the wound. Dragging her feet, she kept going forward. If she hadn't been mistaken, she would have been near where the rocket had been launched. She walked and walked, ignoring her body's lamentations of pain. She climbed the path. Then she stopped. The wall in front of her was high. She had to climb it. So, she did. She fell on her back. She was close. She took a deep breath and turned to her left side, leaning her paw on the ground to help her body get up. However, fate finally smiled at her. As soon as she turned around, the tears automatically came to her eyes. In front of her, the mammal she had so much hoped to see. She smiled and finally succumbed to her wounds. She knows that she was safe. She knew she would survive.

To be continued…