3. Along the stretch of the
river Amazon in Inner Brazil.
The Amazon River is the second longest river (Only to the Nile), in the
world and the longest and largest river of South America; over 6,437 kilometres
long, and carries more water than any other river, even more than the
Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze rivers together. Its wide at about 2.5 to 10
kilometres wide during most of its course, to about 150 kilometres at its
mouth. The temperature averages 29 °C nearly throughout the year. With a
rainfall of 130 centimetres in the low-lying areas to the 305 centimetres near
the Andes Mountains in Peru. The air is very humid throughout most of the river
basin. Many
different fish live in the Amazon River, including the fierce, flesh-eating
piranha and the pirarucu, one of the largest fresh-water fish of South America.
The basin area is the home of such animals as alligators, anacondas, monkeys,
parrots, sloths, and many species of insects.
But the most
amazing one was the river dolphins; Pink, blue or albino, the Amazon river
dolphin is the most distinctive of the five river dolphins. It has a ridge
along its back rather than a dorsal fin and its fat, heavy body is surprisingly
flexible. Paddle-like flippers which move in a circular motion provide
exceptional maneuverability, making up for a lack of speed. The Amazon and Orinoco river
basins provide all the food in its highly diverse diet, including at least 40
different species of fish.
It relies on echolocation
to find prey in the muddy waters. Males can reach two and a half metres in
length, making them the largest of the river dolphins.
The dolphin swam
for the small fish which its feds on, but little realizing that the caiman was
waiting in wait for the gentle creature. The caiman moved from its hidden place
at the muddy mud river bed and moved with stealth towards the dolphin. It did
not see the steel laced rope noose which swung into its jaw and tighten on
contact when pulled. The caiman sensed its entrapment and fought hard to
removed the noose, but it was pulled away by the strong arms of the young man
assisted by the power winch on the five tonne truck. The caiman fought hard but
it soon find itself dragged to the dry banks. The creature stared at its captor
which came towards it with more ropes to secure its limbs. The caiman was
wrapped up and dragged onto the five tonne truck before it was driven off by
the young man.
The trip was to
last three hours over the uneven path and soon it stopped at another river
bank. There was another figure standing there; dressed in a shaman guise with dark
shades and holding a long stick. The younger man pulled the caiman out of the
truck and released it of its bindings. The caiman crawled out of its bindings
and looked to the river. It would had bolted for it, but when it saw the
shaman, it stopped. The caiman did move as the shaman performed some ritual on
the creature. Soon it was over and the caiman left for the river.
"The creature
is freed of its demonic host. It would now roam the river like when it was
born." The shaman thanked the younger man. "You done a great deed,
White Jaguar."
"Its what I
do. I would be at the jetty if you need me." The younger man took off in
his truck and soon appeared at the jetty. He was surprised to see the two
figures at his boat. He stopped the truck and went over to greet his guests.
They asked if he would go upriver for a fee he would find difficult to refuse.
His boat was relatively flat bottomed wooden boat
of 5 metres long. It has a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation for him. He uses
the boat for transportation on rivers for fishing. The trip took an hour with
both guests; men dressed like tourist with fishing rods looking for a good
spot.
"Captain, do
you think there are piranhas here?" The younger of the men shout out his
words over the din made by the outboard engine.
"Ja. They are
here. They would strip you of your flesh in seconds." The Captain of the
boat thought of impressing his guests. The guests of his stood up and turned to
looked at the captain.
"We gone far
enough for us. Now we just want to feed the fishes." The two men lowered
the rods they are carrying and smiled. Their faces went from that of a normal
men to that of devilish looks; gleaming eyes and hideous fangs which appeared.
"We been looking for you for more than a decade, Kruger Schmidt."
"Boys, I hate
to tell you this, but they like demons more." Captain Kruger grabbed the
long pole he keeps at the side of the boat to push against sandbars. He swung
the pole and hit at the two demons off his boat. The piranhas reacted to the
new introduction into the waters, and went on their feeding frenzy. Within
seconds, the fishes were turning afloat with bloated bodies. Two partially
eaten bodies of the demon climbed back onto the boat, and picked up their
fishing rods.
"We reckon
the fishes don't like rancid flesh. Now we are back, perhaps we can continue
our previous talks." The half eaten face with the right eye ball hanging
over the half eaten cheeks. One of them start to approach Kruger, but he was
stopped near Kruger.
"They never
said ..." The demon burst into ashes and dissolved into the river when it
fell on it. The other demon then saw Kruger holding onto the sword handed down
for generations.
"The Sword
from the Lake." The other demon recognise the weapon in Kruger' right
hand. The sword is of medieval design with a long one metres length and a
double handed hilt. "Excalibur".
The demon jumped
into the river and swam away with fast strides. Kruger gave chase using the
boat, but the demon was faster. But nothing beat the caiman which came to
stopped the demon. The caiman took its bite on the left heel and dragged the
demon into the river bed. There another caiman lies await to approach the
struggling demon. The second caiman jaws caught the demon's head and crushed
the skull. Then it hauls the broken head away to the river bed for its own
feeding. Up above on the river surface, Kruger stood there with the sword
pointing downwards in front of him.
"White
Jaguar, your dream spells your destiny. You are needed elsewhere. Go there,
Brave one. They have the needs of you." The shaman appeared on the nearby
riverbank. "Your time with me is over."
Kruger remembered
those dreams like nightmares, and if the spirits willed it on him, he shall
obey.
4. Somewhere in the deep forest
of North West Canada
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