Adult Romantic Adventure
Date Published: February 2022
AN ADVENTURE LIKE NO OTHER.
One part, exotic, jungle setting, one part romance, two parts gripping, heart-pounding suspense
Jake Bennett knew a couple of things for sure: he needed a job, he didn’t want to die in the jungle… but he’d never met anyone like nurse Brockman.
The two clash when Jake discovers that Katherine Brockman’s mission has nothing to do with checking the condition of malaria in native villages.
The possibility of saving tens of thousands of lives unites them as they venture into the steaming jungle to discover if the “Legend of the Riverman” is true.
Soon, the dangers of the jungle wrapped in the unforgiving heat, threatens to end, not only their mission, but their lives.
But nothing can prepare them for what they discover, hidden deep in an unexplored jungle basin.
A new, action-packed, adult adventure
A
DAY OF TRAVELLING
Tam
watched Jake and Katherine paddle towards him and Munroe. Fisher and
Greenwood’s dugout was close behind them. Tam liked the spot he had found. It
was a small clearing on the edge of the river, created by slabs of rock,
similar to those at the head of the last set of rapids. It would be easy to
unload the dugouts and there was a view for fifty feet before the jungle
started. A few large rocks would provide protection if needed. He watched Jake
as he approached. He was scanning the bush on the opposite side of the river.
“You see too?” Tam whispered as they
glided up beside them. Jake nodded. “You think this good place to eat?” Tam
said, loud enough for all to hear.
“Yes,” said Jake. “Let’s hurry and
get some lunch. I’m hungry as a sun bear.” They climbed out of the dugouts,
Jake casually slinging his rifle over his shoulder.
“Okay, it looks like it’s time to
get dirty. To take the dugouts further is a waste of energy. We’ll spend the
rest of the day here and organize for switching to foot travel. Everyone start
unloading while Tam and I discuss the details of our switch to land.”
Tam watched Tanum. She went about
her business, but he saw that she was constantly viewing the surroundings,
especially across the river.
“Tanum see something,” he said to
Jake.
“Yeah. I didn’t see anything but
something was moving over there. Good spot you chose macha. Good sight lines.”
“You think guard tonight?” asked
Tam.
“Maybe.”
“Tell others?”
“I don’t know yet. Let’s stay here
for the rest of the day. Say we have to re-organize for tomorrow. It’ll give us
a chance to see if someone is over there. Maybe we even try to take a look
ourselves.”
“You too clumsy in jungle, macha,” said Tam.
Jake smiled. “I was thinking more
like you and Tanum.”
* * *
They had erected the tents in the
middle of the clearing close to a couple of large rocks. Tanum and Tam ventured
out, moving slowly upstream in a dugout. They tied up and cautiously explored.
On the other side of the river in the underbrush, they found a path, similar to
the one on their side of the river. Tanum thought they were animal paths. They
didn’t find any trace of natives.
* * *
“You’ve been hugging that rifle all
evening, Jake,” said Fisher. He sat with his legs stretched out, his back
against a rock, finishing the last of his coffee.
Tam looked at Jake, wondering what
he would say. Of the three men, Fisher impressed Tam the most. Thin and wiry
like himself, he seldom tired and never complained. He thought that if anyone
else had seen the motion, it would be him.
“Saw something, don’t know what. Movement
in the underbrush the other side of the river. Might’ve been something,
might’ve been nothing. Best to be careful. Haven’t seen anything since we’ve
been here. Tam and Tanum didn’t see anything either when they went out.”
“We haven’t seen any natives so far.
Is that usual?”
“Don’t really know. Never been this
far before. But my experience has been that if they don’t want to be seen, you
won’t see them. Just like the animals,” Jake answered, throwing the last of his
coffee into the fire.
“Should we post a watch? During the
night.”
“Been thinking on it. Best to be
careful.”
“I would be willing to take a turn
if needed,” Fisher said.
“Thanks for offering. I’ll have Tam
sit up a while, in our tent so as not to be obvious. I’ll take over for him. If
I feel it’s necessary to continue, I’ll come and wake you.”
“Very good. In that case I’ll get
some sleep. Good night.”
* * *
Jake
sat under the mosquito netting, peering out of the opening of their tent. It
was a cloudless night, the moon lighting up the gray shale around their camp.
He leaned his rifle against the tripod that held up one end of the hammock. Tam
had awakened him with no sightings and, in the last two hours he hadn’t
detected anything. He walked to the hammock and arranged the net around it.
Drawing the Webley, he lay back. Within minutes he was asleep.
* * *
Fisher
emerged from the tent and glanced over to where Jake sat by the fire with
Katherine, Tam, and Melor. He yawned and rubbed his face. “Morning.”
“Coffee?” asked Katherine. “Made it
myself.”
“Aren’t you turning into a proper
domestic. Got to visit the loo first.” He looked around. “Where’s Robert?”
“He’s not in the tent?” Jake asked.
“No. I assumed he was up and about.
Just Thomas in the tent. Maybe Robert’s off taking a pee.”
Jake stood, scanning the edge of the
rock where it met the jungle. “We’ve been here for a good half hour. It doesn’t
take that long to piss. Tam, grab the rifles. We’ll take a look. The rest of
you stay here.”
“Where’s Tanum?” asked Fisher.
“I just sent her out to hunt. We
could use…” Jake stopped as Tanum emerged from the jungle. Her face was grim,
eyes focused on Jake.
“Shit,” said Jake.
She stopped in front of him. “Come.”
Tam handed Jake his rifle. “Tam, you
stay here with Katherine. William, get Thomas up and come back here with your
rifles. I’ll be right back.”
Tanum led him into the jungle,
moving cautiously, her eyes searching the foliage as they walked through the
underbrush. It thinned out after thirty feet and Jake spotted something ahead.
Munroe lay on his back. His head was
missing.
About the Author
An avid reader as a youngster, Daniel began a teaching career at twenty, peppering his life with trail rides on his horse Kelly, scuba diving in the murky Great Lakes of Ontario and taking fencing lessons.
He married Lynda, five months after they met in a bar on a Thursday night. With her, he raised a family, wrote and produced school plays, built their log home, restored a classic Mustang, a '69 Mach 1 for enthusiasts, and took their three boys on many canoe trips in northern Canada.
Twenty years later, unable to find a science fantasy adventure he liked, with encouragement from Lynda, he wrote The Reedsmith of Zendar. Expedition Borneo is his sixth novel.
His books are varied, but whether suspense, a thriller, or an adventure story, all contain characters in trouble that you will care about and root for. He's never perfect and neither is she, but the attraction is inevitable as they learn about each other on an adventure seldom of their choosing.
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