Going on a school trip abroad can be described with many juxtaposing thoughts, but should never be linked to fatalities or injury. Juniper Pearl Foxx always had a sheltered, mundane life, when a terrible tragedy occurred and left her stuck in the Am...
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After a while, we settled back into the monotony of our routine of being stranded in the Amazon rainforest. There wasn't much to do but wait; wait for help, wait for an attack, wait for death. All I could think about was the memories I shared with those gone forever, my gnawing hunger and what could be lurking in the bushes, waiting to pounce. It was only our second day in the jungle, yet I was already just about prepared to give up.
Liam was rapidly losing his strength, and I suspected that he might have a collapsed lung. He needed urgent medical attention otherwise we might lose him too, and I wasn't strong enough to go through that. I don't think any of us were. But it wasn't just Liam who needed medical attention. All of us did. I was becoming progressively worried about the chance of infection we could get from our cuts, and the diseases transmitted by the blood-sucking pests of the night. Mosquitos were a big killer as they were carriers of malaria, so I could only hope that our shots before we came were enough to protect us. And of course, there was the matter of food – I knew you could go for a couple of weeks without food as long as you had water, but that didn't make it any less painful. My stomach was constantly crying out for food, and it felt like it was trying to turn itself inside out.
Soon it was raining again, offering momentary relief from the hot and sticky atmosphere, but as the drops got heavier, we vacated into the plane. The water dripped in through cracks in the roof in messy splodges. Elian had the idea to use some of the discarded pieces of rock and rubble as a game to amuse ourselves, but after chucking pieces of rock around for an hour we fell back into silence. Mason and Chip had made sure all of the water bottles and containers were outside filling with rain, and Paisley had been collecting leaves to clean and try to eat. When you are as hungry as we were, you would do anything for food.
When the rain settled down, we were thankful for a topped up water supply again and were all able to quench our thirsts. Our clothes and hair dried quickly because of the humidity, and I chucked mine up on my head because of the insufferable frizzy nature it was destined to turn to. Suddenly Abi-Mae sprung up from her spot on the ground, squealing as she ran back to the group. On high alert, we turned to face whatever monstrosity we had to face next, when all we were accounted with was three strange birds cautiously making their way into our little camp.
The birds moved their heads from side to side as if they were clockwork, like there was a switch in their brains that flicked to choose the direction to look but not the speed of the motion. Every turn was rapid, almost too fast to see. They eyed us suspiciously with their bright eyes like black onyx beads, treading forward delicately with their pointed feet like ballerinas. Their plumage was a bright fiery orange, diluting as it lead up into their cool blue heads.
"Wow, they're beautiful!" Paisley exclaimed in awe.
They were certainly the most exotic bird I had ever seen. The fading sun made their feathers ruffle in a way that looked like they were actually on fire, making them look magnificent. Suddenly James' stomach rumbled loudly, and we were once again reminded at how hungry we were.
