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Back Whirlwind Save as PDF
Chapters (95)
  1. Title Page
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. 85
  87. 86
  88. 87
  89. 88
  90. 89
  91. 90
  92. 91
  93. 92
  94. Also by DAVID KLASS
  95. Copyright Page

“Don’t worry, I see that big black rock.”

“That’s not a rock,” she informs me. “It’s a giant freshwater electric eel.”

“You’re kidding. I don’t see any eyes.”

“They’re almost blind. They sense movement by sending out low-level electric fields. When they locate prey, they increase the voltage. They have enough juice to kill caimans.”

A few hours later, I find a shallow pond that seems perfect for learning to spearfish. As I stalk a fish with visions of cooking it on a spit, Eko shouts that I should get out of the water.

I reluctantly let my lunch swim away and clamber up the bank. “Now what? Was it poisonous?”

“No,” Eko tells me, “it would have made a delicious lunch. And then you would have, too. See those flashes of red?”

I follow the direction of her finger and peer down at a far corner of the pond. “What are they?”

“A school of red-bellied piranhas. The most dangerous members of the piranha family. And it’s not known for being a warm and cuddly family.”

I spot dozens of them, small and barely moving. It looks like nap time at the piranha kindergarten. “I read that piranhas rarely attack humans,” I tell her.

“True for most of the year,” Eko agrees. “They’ve got easier things to eat. But when the forest floods and then starts to dry out, they get trapped in ponds like this. As the food thins, they get hungrier and hungrier. If you’d caught that fish and spilled its blood, they’d have been onto you in a heartbeat. Their teeth are like razors—a school that size can strip a bone clean in seconds.”

Eko’s lessons pay off. Pretty soon I am spearfishing in the right pools, and diving off the canoe at safe moments. I still feel the urgency of our mission, and I worry constantly about P.J., but I also start to notice a subtle change in the way I think about the rain forest.

It stops being an alien and terrifying place, filled with living land mines. Instead, I begin to savor its unique beauty. And with that change, almost despite myself, I start enjoying my time with Eko.

65

65

Is she flirting with me, or is our closeness just a byproduct of sharing a dangerous mission through breathtaking terrain? Is it part of Eko’s agenda to design moments when we feel intimate, or is the attraction mutual, and am I as much to blame as she is? It’s hard to tell, but I can’t deny that it’s happening.

It happens when I see her emerging from her morning swim, without a shred of clothing or self-consciousness. She smiles at me and I wave back, and try not to stare at her.