Read Online Rescue Me by Cherry Adair - Free Book Online

shimmering in the sunlight, swooped and dived over their reflections, and tiny emerald green butterflies swarmed en mass over the bank. A pair of inquisitive otters sat on a nearby felled tree trunk watching them.
    That was the pretty part of the river.
    On the bank a crocodile—at least seven feet long, lazed in the sun, and four submerged hippos, small ears twitching lay like enormous boulders several hundred yards upstream in thecenter of the river where the water was deep. Both species moved like greased lightening in the water.
    And there were birds. Everywhere . Big and small. They swooped, they dove, they fluttered and they perched. They squawked and chirped and tweeted and generally freaked Beth out.
     
     
    Here the sunlight wasn't being filtered through the trees, and buttery early morning light sparkled on the murky green surface, while the diaphanous dragonflies danced between the long reeds and grasses lining the muddy bank. If one didn't know that the jungle pressing against its serpentine shoreline was filled with birds and creepy crawlies, it would be an idyllic picture.
    She stared at the pod of almost submerged hippos. One lifted its head, its ridiculous small ears pivoting as it called a guttural ba-ho-ho-ho in a low bass. Hippos were said to be the deadliest animal in Africa, but it was hard to imagine, watching them clustered together like giant rocks in the slow moving water, that they could actually run faster than a human on land. It was unlikely they'd attack without provocation, butElizabeth moved closer to Sam and his nice big gun.
    "Shit."
    "What's wrong?" she asked, dry-mouthed, waving away a dragonfly as it dive bombed her hair.
    "Desiisn't here with the Zodiac."
    Elizabethlooked out across the murky surface.
    The whole expanse of the river looked emptier and more dangerous without rescue close had hand.
    "Maybe he went up or down river."
    "This is the extraction point. We're about fifteen minutes late—but he should be here waiting."
    "Are you sure he's coming? I told you we should have gone back and stolen a Jeep."
    "He must've gotten delayed. He'll be here."
    "How long do you think we'll have to wait?"
    Sam glanced around, clearly assessing the area. "Until he gets here."
    Well, duh. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
    "Sun's up. The animals will be down to drink any time now. We need to get out of their way."
    "Do we dodge them and say excuse me? Do we walk, or do we have to figure out how to levitate?"
    "We're going to climb that tree over there and stay out of their way. It's a good lookout point, and you probably could use a rest 'round about now."
    "And a shower, and a thick juicy steak."
    "Sorry. No shower, no room service. How are your tree-climbing skills?"
    "On a scale of one to ten, one being the least? Zero. I've never climbed a tree in my life. Not since I watchedKess being hauled away in an ambulance after falling on her head. It looked like too much trouble for that amount of pain."
    "I won't let you fall, I promise. Come on, this looks like a good tree hotel."
     
     
    The enormous tree was relatively easy to climb with Sam's help. The branches were as thick as her entire body, and vines made convenient toe- and handholds. She moved as fast as she could to prevent critters from taking a toe-hold on her . Sam found a fork about ten feet off the ground that hung almost directly over the water and eased the pack off his back onto one of the wide branches. Opening it he removed a circle of a similar fabric to their suits, but instead of black, this was a camouflage pattern that blended well with the surrounding vegetation.
    "A Frisbee?" she teased, leaning against the trunk as she watched Sam work.
    "When we play, sweetheart, it won't be with a toy." With a flick of his wrist the circle flipped and writhed into a small dome-shaped tent. "Viola! Your room is ready." Placing the small tent to rest on the V of the branches, he quickly pounded a few pegs into the branch to