Chapter 4: The Mission Begins
About a half hour later, Sonic, Shadow, and Officer Charles were looking at a map while sitting underneath a gazebo over by the forest. With them was another human man, an Amazon tourist named Karl. He was offering to guide the three of them through the jungle over to the Amazon River, where one of the Indian tribes were settled. There, they would ask for an Indian guide to take them down the river in a canoe to Eldorado. Sonic obviously wasn't too thrilled about having to go through the river, but he didn't voice it, not wanting to piss Shadow off more than he already has.
"So we're here." Karl pointed to an X on the map, indicating their current position. He took a black pen and started drawing a dotted line through the forest to the Amazon River. "If we take the path here, straight across the forest, we'll come up to the village. There, we can ask for a canoe to take us to Eldorado. The trip should only take three to four days."
"Good, because we only have a month to find this creature and study it." Shadow nodded in approval.
"We have a few things that'll help us survive through the jungle." Sonic informed as he went through his bag that G.U.N had given him back home. "A machete, some rope, insect repellent, bags of rice, a lighter, a tin cup meant for boiling water, there's even a first aid kit. Yeah, we're pretty good to go."
"Good." Karl nodded in approval. "But going through the river, there's a chance you might lose it. I have an idea for that."
"What do you suggest?" Sonic asked, raising an eyeridge in confusion.
Karl smiled and reached under the table, pulling out some empty tin cans with string tied around them.
"Tie these to your bag and should it come loose from your back in the river, the bag will float with the cans."
"Not a bad idea." The azure hedgehog smiled in approval as he took a few cans and tied them on his bag. When he realized that Shadow wasn't doing the same, he looked at him quizzically. "Aren't you gonna tie some cans around your bag? We're gonna need those walkie talkies to communicate with G.U.N. It'd be a shame to lose them."
"Hmfph," Shadow rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, the straps of his bag snugged tightly. "I don't need some dumb empty tin cans to tie to my bag. I'm not gonna lose it to some dumb river, unlike your slippery and clumsy hands."
Sonic growled at the insult, but that was about it. He wasn't about to waste his energy fighting with his companion when they were just about ready to enter the forest and take their journey to the next level.
"Like Karl said, it'll take us three to four days to reach the village." Officer Charles announced. "While we're travelling, we'll scavenge for food by eating fruit off of palm trees and bird eggs. And for meat, we can hunt animals."
"Sounds like a plan." Shadow nodded in agreement, looking over to Sonic as the blue blur hung his now rattling bag back over his shoulders. "Ready to go?"
"Ready Shads." Sonic smiled confidently as he held up a thumbs up.
"Then let's get going."
…
Day 1
About an hour later, the group of four were walking through the jungle of the Amazon, headed towards their destination by the Amazon River. All around them animals and insects called out, shouting their opinions of the intruders that obviously didn't belong.
As they walked, Karl, with a hunting rifle hung over his shoulder, took the lead up front as he read the map in his hands, making sure they were going the right way. Sonic and Shadow followed behind the human in silence, while Officer Charles took up from behind. As they were walking, Karl began explaining what was safe to eat in the Amazon.
"There's plenty of food in the Amazon, you just gotta know where to look." He started. "Of course, all of the animals here are edible and great for meat and protein, but there are other ways to get your protein, and some food is even good for hydration."
Karl looked up and smiled. He looked back at his comrades and gestured them over as he led them over to a palm tree where big purple fruits that almost looked like scaly plums were growing on the branches.
"This is aguaje fruit." He explained, picking one off the tree and tossing it to Sonic, who easily caught it. "Mashing these babies make a wonderful purple mush that's a great food source, and the juice is perfect for hydration. These berries are filled with protein and vitamin c. Here in the Amazon, they're also known as the Miracle Fruit."
Realizing that neither one of them has eaten since that morning, Sonic and Shadow wasted no time grabbing some of the fruit and using the butt of the machete to mash it into the tin cup from Sonic's bag. Once the berries were nothing but a mushy mess, the group took turns passing it around, each gulping their fill of the wonderful fruit.
"Some of the ferns in the jungle are edible too." Karl continued, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he handed the cup to Sonic. "Just the tips though. They hold a source of fiber within them, great for the digestive system."
"What about the predators of the forest?" Sonic asked as he finished the last bit of mashed fruit and put the cup back into his bag. "What exactly do we need to look out for?"
"Well, jaguars for starters." The guide explained as they continued forth. "The rainforest is home to many of those big cats. If you find yourself at the mercy of one of them, you don't stand a chance, even with your speed."
"Not much room to run around here anyway." Shadow grumbled as he pushed back a branch, only for it to smack him back in the face again.
Sonic snorted a laugh at the sight, but a glare from the ebony hedgehog quickly silenced him. Instead, he turned his attention back to the human.
"Anything else?"
"Well, there's jaguars, like I said, but there's also snakes. Big anacondas that will squeeze the life out of you. Of course, it's not always the animals that you should be afraid of, some insects are pretty deadly too, like the leaf-cutter ants. Their pincers are tough enough to bite through leather. When you're setting up camp, gotta make sure they aren't around, otherwise you're in for a rude awakening. But the biggest worry in the Amazon when it comes to insects are mosquitoes."
"And why is that?" Sonic asked.
"Mosquitoes carry Malaria." Shadow answered for the human.
"What's Malaria?"
"A very deadly disease that infects the red blood cells of the body." Shadow explained. "To go without treatment long enough can be fatal. Malaria infects the kidney and liver, causing them to fail. It also attacks the central nervous system, causing problems there too. There are many symptoms to the disease as well, like fevers, headaches, vomiting, yellowing skin, sometimes even coughing up blood."
"Well, good thing we have that insect repellent." Charles joked behind them.
"Yeah… good thing." Sonic muttered.
The blue hedgehog couldn't help but shudder at the thought of getting Malaria. Shadow was very blunt when he explained the disease, which was pretty expected, but he didn't think that it would be so horrible, so… possible… for him. He knew Shadow would have a pretty hard time getting infected, he was the ultimate lifeform with a crazy immune system for Chaos sakes, but for Sonic…
At that moment, the azure hedgie realized for the first time just how vulnerable he was to the jungle. He was really glad they had the insect repellent, and he was even more grateful that he wasn't alone. He hoped that it stayed that way.
As for Shadow, he was starting to feel the same worries. He knew that he would most likely be immune, but he also knew that Sonic would be vulnerable. He had to make sure they didn't lose any of their supplies otherwise… Sonic could be dead before the month was even over.
As they continued to walk, Shadow was keeping an eye out for any signs of the new creature, but the forest was so dense, he couldn't barely see 5 feet in front of him. Suddenly, he felt himself step into a hole, almost losing his balance. He grumbled as he looked down to get his foot out of the hole, when he suddenly stopped, his eyes widening and his ears perking up in surprise.
"Uh, Karl?" He called to the guide.
"Yes Shadow?"
"By any chance are their any giant lizards around here?"
"Well, the only giant lizard I've ever seen is the Komodo Dragon, but they only live on the islands of Indonesia. I mean, I have seen a few in South America before, but only by the beaches."
"Then what is this?"
Curious to know what the ebony hedgehog was talking about, Karl, Sonic, and Charles went over to him and looked down to what he was pointing out, and all three gasped.
A giant footprint that obviously belonged to a theropod sat underneath Shadow's foot. It had to be at least five feet wide, he couldn't believe that he had actually almost missed it.
"It's old." Charles frowned as he rubbed at the dried mud from where the footprint sat. "It was most likely here about 3 days ago."
"It has to be our Devil Dragon." Sonic frowned as he too studied the footprint. "We're on the right track at least."
Shadow nodded and silently gulped. If this was how big the foot was… just how big was the actual creature itself?