Survival

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Authors: Chris Ryan
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starting to get worried. He had been searching all morning and still had not found the one thing he really wanted. A game trail. Once they had a game trail to follow, he was pretty sure it would lead them to fresh water.
    Alex picked up a mango and split it open with his knife. He cut the flesh away from the flat stone at the centre of the fruit, then handed half of it to Paulo.
    Paulo armed the sweat from his face. 'That is enough, I think?' he said, hopefully, nodding to the pile of supplies. 'We have found a lot.'
    'No,' said Alex. 'We need to go back in.'
    Paulo groaned. 'I knew you were going to say that.'
    'Not yet, though,' grinned Alex. 'We'll rest a while first.'
    Paulo immediately settled back against the trunk of the shady tree they were resting under and closed his eyes. Soon he was snoring gently. Alex was too worried to doze. Back home in Northumberland, listening to his father, he had been sure he could survive in a tropical rainforest. Now he was actually in that situation, he felt a lot less certain of everything. What if he had already stumbled right over a game trail without noticing it? Alex looked across at Paulo and felt slightly reassured. At least the South American had some practical experience of tropical conditions, but how could he sleep so easily? Alex scowled in irritation as he finished his half of the mango. He took out his knife and whittled two new wooden handles for the flexible saw, then he took a small piece of sandstone from his knife sheath and honed the blade of his knife until it was back to full sharpness.
    When he had finished, Paulo was still deeply asleep, but Alex could not delay the search for water any longer. His head was thudding with pain again and he knew it was only partly caused by his scalp wound. A headache was also a sign of dehydration. He forced himself to his feet and woke Paulo. This time, he had decided that they would plunge into the forest and keep going on as straight a line as they could manage until they found what they were looking for.
    By the time they stumbled onto a game trail, they were both sweating hard and panting for breath. Their arms were streaked with thin lines of blood from thorn scratches and the mixture of blood and sweat had attracted a cloud of whining mosquitoes.
    'This is a game trail?' asked Paulo.
    'Yes,' grinned Alex, still slightly dizzy with relief that he had found one. 'Quite a well-used one too.'
    'How can you tell?'
    'See all the tracks in the mud there?' asked Alex. 'They look like deer tracks to me. And see how there are no twigs or branches growing over the trail? That's because there's a regular flow of traffic moving along here. There'll be water at the end of this trail.'
    ' Infierno !' cursed Paulo, standing in the middle of the game trail and swatting mosquitoes. 'They are fierce – and so annoying!' He grinned. 'They remind me of my little sisters.'
    'Here,' said Alex, bending and scooping up a handful of soft mud from the side of the trail. 'Use some of this. It might help.'
    They smeared the mud all over their faces, necks and arms in a thick layer. It was wonderfully cooling and it did seem to give some protection against the mosquitoes.
    'Ah, yes,' said Paulo. 'The mud pack. Good for the skin. I will be even more handsome after this.'
    Alex gave Paulo a sideways glance, wondering whether he was serious. Paulo looked back at him, his face caked with stinking mud and his eyes dancing with amusement. He was sending himself up. Alex grinned and shook his head as he hammered a stick into the ground to mark the spot where they had come out of the forest. He was beginning to like Paulo. He might have a lazy streak a mile wide, but he worked hard when he had to and he always seemed to stay cheerful.
    'How long left before we meet up with the others again?' asked Alex.
    Paulo cleared the mud from the face of his Rolex watch. 'Just under half an hour.'
    Alex stared along the game trail which led into the deeper, primary forest

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