For anyone that has been affected by the terrible and violent occurrences in Japan, my heart and prayers go out to you and your family. May you be safe tonight...

Chapter 6: Lost Souls

Fi climbed the small brick wall with the overgrown vines to get to the path she had found the night before. The small walk was walled with a thick growth of the jungle beyond and nearly dark from the overhead canopy of leaves in the late afternoon sun. Water dripped from leaf to leaf as the humidity increased and the overhead sky prepared for a rain that wasn't far away.

She continued to walk forward knowing that she would have to find cover soon, but at least in the rain she would be able to hide all the way up to the compound walls. Fighting vegetation she moved slower than she would have liked.

The path opened up slightly as she rounded out the top of the hill and moved down an incline. Mud clung to her shoes as she felt the first drops of rain. The grayness of the darkened sky moved in quickly and she meandered through the forest looking for large wide leaves of any plant. Finding some elephant ears, she intertwined them and crouched below just in time for the sky to explode with large clear drops of warm rain as well as claps of thunder that shook the sky above and flashes of lightning that lit up the area below.

Waiting below in her makeshift overhang, she felt the movement behind her, long before she could see it. Figures moving along the path, she had been on until moments earlier. She watched as they came closer and she slowly eased her roof down to cover her face. Four in all, three of them carrying heavy bundles on their backs, another, in front carrying a weapon that looked something like a Browning Automatic Rifle. Though from this distance and this weather, she could not be sure.

She watched the four move slowly as the rain came down harder, making visibility almost impossible. She was sure she had never seen rain of this magnitude before. She watched as they slowed more, slipping in the slick wet under brush and finally putting their packs down and sitting partially under some foliage as they too waited for it to pass.

The ground below her feet became muddy as a stream of water ran down from the hill to her left and past her shoes. Its strength seemed to increase with every passing moment until the stream was more like a small river, tugging at her legs. She couldn't move, she couldn't run. They were too close they would see her movement. The weapon they carried would shred the surrounding trees as well as her if she tried to run. She was stuck.

Carefully she grabbed the over head hanging leaves for leverage as the flow of the water over her feet intensified as more and more of it moved down the hill. She watched the men close to her for signs that they had seen her. The longer she stood, the more difficult it was to hold on. She could feel the burn in her arms, hands and fingers. Frantically she looked around for a way out. The foliage around her was too thick to simply get through without a lot of noise and mess. Even in this down pour they would be watching for movement. She was sure they were carrying more than just bananans in those packs. It was enough to kill for.

Sweat had soaked her back and mingled with the rain as she clung for her life. The small stream of water had turned to a torrential wall of water plummeting down the hill as the already soaked earth could not hold any more of it. Her feet were slipping in the mud filled water and she knew she would have to move.

Gliding her hand back carefully along the branch she clung to, she inched back moving her feet slightly. Again another few inches, and another as she struggled with the ever growing pressure of the water now running as high as her knees. She was directly in the path of the water, pulling and pushing back. The branch above creaking with every hold until a crack.

The branch gave way slightly as she fought to grab another. Throwing her hand out, she missed as water poured through her legs holding her back. The weakened limb let go more as all the leaves around her began to wave like a flag. She didn't need to look to know that she was visible and floundering.

The tap tap tap of bullets hitting the leaves came instantly even in the rain. Now she was a clinging target as bullets increased in intensity from the automatic weapon. Holding on she could not get to her own weapon still on the pack on her back. A sting and a burn on her arm made up her mind for her as she let go of the canopy and splashed down into the rapid moving water. Trees, bushes and vines whipped past her as she struggled to keep her head above the water line.

She was losing the battle as the water shifted direction on the floor of the jungle, giving way to the path of least resistance. She was a rag doll being pulled and swayed in a plethora of directions. Nearing exhaustion she grabbed at anything scraping and cutting at her hands, until finally her fingers grabbed and it held. Pulling up with her remaining strength she searched for foot holds and found one. It was enough as she raised herself out of the water, climbing the muddy bank and landed with her back on the ground. Her face up to the sky that continued to rain and reign hell.

She lay breathing hard listening to the sounds of the surrounding jungle. They would be looking for her, she was sure of it. She lay there and thought twice about sending Michael off without her.

It wasn't like him to complain. Though he really didn't, but he also hadn't fought the idea of returning to the hotel they way she imagined he would. The headache must have been worse than she thought.