Casualty - Water Rings
It had been a clear blue morning only hours ago, but now the sky was as black as the shadows which engulfed the unwilling Paramedic. Greg had been working his way downstream for a long time, his legs felt heavy and his muscled seared in pain. He had not dared leave sight of the river, for fear of getting lost, but this stubbornness had earned him a rough and dangerous path. The banks were clothed in muddy water, and it was with great unease that he worked his way quickly but carefully downstream. It hadn't been long before starting that his anxiety about Cyd had overcome him, and it had cost him dearly. If it wasn't for the overhanging branches which he managed to clasp onto in his frantic blindness, he would have been lying in the watery grave which he still followed with a military determination.
Once or twice he thought he heard desperate cry, or a scream for help, staunched layers upon layers of thick, dank vegetation! But soon the sky broke and the floodwaters descended, loud as drums, and eventually he gave in to the realisation that Cyd, no matter how near or far she was, would not hear his cries over the Amazonian rock band! It was so annoying, being helpless, and not being in control!
The bleeding from the gash in his chest had eventually stopped, but this was of little comfort to Greg. The ring was gone; leaving his heart feeling cold, nervous, and even scared! He had let Cyd down, he had lost her and he didn't know if he could get her back. The rain which now pounded on him made his journey, if possible, even more dangerous! His body felt limp and lifeless, he was hungry and exhausted, so reluctantly, he eventually scurried for shelter under a thick, green, low lying canopy of ivy. Knowing that persistence on this muddy roadway would only result in another unnecessary death!
If Cyd was still alive, IF she had survived the accident! Greg knew that she would be alone, forced to fight the fearsome obstacles that the rainforest threw at her, alone!
But Cyd was not alone…
Down in the outback of civilisation, kneeling in the shallows of a dirty, polluted river! Cyd had her arms wrapped around the cold, unmoving figure of a thickset, unshaven Brazilian tour guide. Tears poured down her face, adding to the crash of rain drops which pounded down on her like bullets. From the first sight of his hollow eyes, fear had overcome her once again, and Cyd had broken down in fit of tears and screams over the body of a man she barely knew.
Cyd couldn't remember how she had got the body to the water's edge. Was it out of fear or was it out of desperation, but the situation had brought life to a different side of Cyd. Her newfound emotion seemed to be giving her strength but it was still many minutes before she released the body and got to her feet. She staggered to nearby stump and hugged the back of the tree for shelter. Examining herself she saw many cuts and bruises, but somehow she had managed to survive the river's encounter without any severe injuries. She slumped down and embraced the muddy carpet, her clothes were caked in slime and muddy water, her hair now resembled the colour of sewers.
Suddenly, there was a roar of thunder, and the sky lit up, colours blazing! The forest, so grey and empty before, had become alive, shouting in all its glory! And then, as another blaze of light lit up the sky, the lifeless body before Cyd suddenly jerked to life, with a loud, audible cough! Djavan was alive!