It was late in the night, 1.50am to be precise. A woman sat in the darkness of her apartment living room, her legs resting up on the settee, her back against two large cushions. A white laptop resting upon her thighs was the only real source of light, the subtle light from the screen gave a gentle glow on her face, she stared hard at the screen biting the thumbnail on her right hand. A quick gaze to her left hand and a debit card was clenched tight between her fingers, she quietly read out the long numbe...

Five-past twelve, Katie should have been on her lunch break now, but her ruthless boss was pestering her for a quote he had only given to her just half an hour prior. She looked around the office and she was the only one foolish enough to still be here. "Miss Harrison, have you got that quote or not?" A voice woke her from the daze she was in, realising she was staring into space instead of at her computer screen. "Yes, sorry, I'm almost done," sheepishly Katie focussed back on her screen and vigoro...

The day of their flight had arrived, they gathered at the airport awaiting to board their flight, starting from Birmingham to Zurich and then from Zurich onto Rio. The near fifteen hour journey ahead was still a mystery to all but Katie. "Where is she?" Vicky asked concerned that their remaining friend Edith was still not at the boarding gate in Birmingham. "We are going to have to go without her," Keeley sounded as equally concerned.

Katie looked down at the boarding passes in her hands, Edith had...

The women followed the small group of fellow passengers up along a small dirt path, and into the tiny village. Tall tree's surrounded the buildings and gave partial cover with their huge overhanging leaves. There was maybe thirty to forty wooden huts, homes of the residents from Ilha Azul Lago. Petrol powered generators gave an intermittant flicker in the lighting, this tiny village though was bustling with an energy form of its own. There were a few larger buildings to the left and on the right seemed t...

The women now waited outside the busy bar, along with their guide in the form of the young man Federico Dos Remos.

Some locals were eying up the pretty young women who had graced their tiny village, and with eager eyes it made them feel rather unwelcome.

"What ya looking at fellas? How about I knock you last tooth out you scum bag?" Edith dropped her backpack and leaned over the balcony, pointing an angry fist at the men. "Leave it, Edith," Vicky tried to pull her Scottish friend back, but th...

Lake Blue was now just over the next ridge, the group had hiked uphill during the last forty minutes and would eventually be at the peak of the waterfall. 

Once there the glorious scenery melted Katie's heart, and she could see just how the views had taken the breathes of her friends also. 

"Wow, you gotta be kidding me?" Vicky was stuck for words, she could barely take it all in. 

Keeley was quick to produce her digital camera and was taking many shots of the v...

Keeley set off back in the direction of Lake Blue, the clouds were turning black and she began to worry about getting caught in some tropical thunderstorm. She quickened her pace and swiftly made her way through the jungle growth; large leaves would occasionally slap back at Keeley with a splatter. "Fuck sake, stupid fucking plants," she swiped another huge leaf from her path.  

Keeley finally reached the clearing; she didn't remember coming across so many leaves when travelling in&n...

It had been a cold night, Katie woke and could see the condensation trickling down the sides of her tent, she could already feel the extensive heat pouring in from the outside, wrapping up warm during the night now backfired, as Katie was a rush with overwhelming warmth from the sleeping bag and blanket that she had draped over herself. 

Outside she could hear the strange and wonderful noises of the jungle, birds, and insects creating a musical alarm. The powerful beams of sun lighting up...

As Edith trudged through the huge tree's there was very little daylight seeping through the heavy jungle growth, she needed her torch to navigate her way. By now she had cooled off a little, the moist jungle air was invigorating. Deep down though, she was beyond troubled, her mind racing in every direction. The task in hand though was to make it through till morning, she figured it was anything between fifteen and twenty miles back to ...

Daylight crept through the vast jungle greenery, a morning mist nestled among the small bushes at knee height. Edith had been walking for nearly six hours straight, her legs ached and her eyes sunken into her head. It had been ropy at times, the small flashlight she carried helped, and caution had to be taken with every step in the dense parts of the jungle. She had averted danger and made it to first light. Stopping and resting her back against a tall tree, cracking a fresh bottle of water open Edith ha...

What about Edith?" Keeley was concerned. 

"Come on, look at her, do you think anyone is going to tangle with her when she is in that kinda mood?" Vicky smiled. Katie and Keeley looked at each other, figuring that Vicky was right, Edith's mood had been foul all day, who would dare pick a fight with her? 

 

 

The scorching sun was beating down through the overgrowth of trees, the intense heat giving the entire jungle a strange smell. 

There is definitely something following us," Vicky shrieked in a high pitched voice.

"Will you chill out, it's probably a rat or something," Katie returned trying to calm Vicky down.

"Rat? Ewww I hate rats," Vicky shuddered and continued to inspect her surroundings, keeping her arms tucked tight into her chest, "I friggin hate rats," still muttering under her breath.

"Watch out for these thorns," Katie stepped over the thorny entanglement at the last second, holding out her arm she hel...

The afternoon was coming to a close, the pair had no real idea just how far or long it would take to get back to the village, and walking through this vast jungle seemed to be endless.

Upon chasing after Vicky the backpack that Katie discarded was now lost, and even though they had tried to backtrack they couldn't figure out where it had been dropped, everything just seemed to look the same, large portions of the jungle were like halls of mirrors, so much greenery, shrubs, blossoms and giant trees,...

The rain lashed down, Keeley sobbed and moaned in a semi-conscious manner as she lay in the shallow muddy water. Katie grimaced and grunted trying to pull her body weight up and out of the huge hole, even now with both hands clinging to thick tree roots, Katie could not muster the strength to get out. She paused for a brief moment staring up beyond the leafy trees and into the rain-filled sky, the cries of Keeley sounded more agonising as the seconds passed by, Katie took a deep breath and let go of...

Vicky was suddenly swept from her feet, her legs yanked right from under her and now she was being dragged through bushes and leaves at speed. 

The branches batted her arms and face as she tried to look down at what had grabbed her, her feet felt locked together like a hangman’s noose had snagged her. It didn't make sense, not that she had time to think over what was happening. This couldn't be a trap sprung by an accidental misstep, for if it was the disastrous ...