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Jimmy kicked hard through the water and reached the man just in time.
With one swift motion, he drew the Cloud Cutter behind him and sliced through the coils wrapped around the man's body. Thick muscle parted cleanly under the blade.
Freed at last, the man went limp.
Jimmy hooked an arm under his chest, kicked with everything he had, and swam toward the glow of the floating waterproof flashlight.
Splash!
They burst out of the current together.
The pull of the underground river was still strong, but with Jimmy's ability to absorb and redirect force, the water could not overpower him.
He hauled the man onto solid ground and immediately went to work.
Chest compressions.
Rescue breathing.
Again.
And again.
"Cough! Cough!"
The man choked violently, water pouring from his lungs.
He rolled onto his side, gasping.
He was a strong swimmer. Panic and the dead snake had been the real danger.
Jimmy leaned back slightly. "You still with me?"
"Yeah," the man said hoarsely. "Yeah. I'm good, thank you."
Jimmy reached down and retrieved the waterproof flashlight from the water.
"Do you know a guy named Ben. Ben Dougla, He's a medic. There's also Gordon Mitchell."
"Gordon Mitchell." The man's eyes widened. "Yeah, I know him."
"I pulled both of them out of a snake," Jimmy said calmly. "Night isn't safe here. Pythons everywhere. What were you doing running around alone?"
The man swallowed. "Thank you, My name's Tran."
Jimmy nodded. "Jimmy. Let's move. This isn't a place to talk. I'll get you out first, then I'll figure out how to call a boat."
Tran hesitated. "Boat, we built a bamboo raft. It could carry everyone."
His expression darkened. "Jack Byron took it, He stole it and left us behind."
Jimmy stared at him.
Then Tran tried to stand.
And cried out.
Jimmy caught him instantly.
That was when he noticed it.
The leg was dislocated.
"Hold still," Jimmy said. "I'm putting it back."
A sharp twist.
Crack!
A dull crack.
Tran groaned through clenched teeth.
The joint slid back into place.
"Not walking far on that," Jimmy said. "You'll need support."
He slung Tran's arm over his shoulder, knife in his free hand, and began cutting through the brush, moving with the wind to mask their scent.
Tran held the flashlight steady.
"Careful," Jimmy warned. "If that leg gets hurt again, it could be permanent."
Tran hesitated. "Won't the light attract snakes?"
Jimmy snorted. "Attract them, You think this blade is decoration."
He glanced sideways. "How do you think I pulled Ben and Gordon out alive. You think I played music at them."
And with that, they moved on.
---
Soon, the jungle thinned into a slope.
Ahead, flames lit the sky.
Jimmy adjusted his grip and guided Tran forward, cutting branches aside as they descended.
---
Elsewhere.
Bill led Sam and Gail through the only remaining exit.
Behind them, Cole stumbled after them, barely escaping a pursuing snake.
Earlier, Bill had gone searching for Cole and Tran.
He had passed the pool where Jimmy and Tran surfaced.
At the time, the waterproof flashlight floated alone on blood-clouded water.
Johnson had believed Tran was dead.
He turned away, swallowing grief, and kept moving.
Less than a minute later, the water rippled.
Jimmy emerged, dragging Tran with him.
The two groups missed each other by seconds.
In the jungle, that was all it took.
"Wait for me," Cole shouted as he ran. "There's a massive python right behind me, Help."
"This way," Bill yelled back. "Move! Get out through here!"
---
Two men and one woman turned just in time.
Sam stepped forward without hesitation, lifting the machete in her hands.
The moment the python burst from the cave entrance, she struck.
The blade came down in a single, brutal arc.
The snake's head separated cleanly from its body.
The impact was so fast it barely registered.
Bill and Gail stared in stunned silence.
Whatever fear they felt vanished instantly.
That was not panic.
That was skill.
Cole, however, could not look away.
The severed head snapped its jaws reflexively.
The headless body convulsed, smashing into the cave walls.
The shock caused the loose stone to collapse near the entrance.
When the dust finally settled, Cole exhaled shakily and broke into spontaneous praise, talking faster by the second.
He did not finish.
A hiss sounded behind him.
Another massive python lunged from the darkness, jaws wide.
"Move!"
A black blur dropped from the sky.
The snake never reached him.
Something grabbed it mid-strike and ripped it upward, vanishing into the night canopy.
Silence followed.
Cole stood frozen. "What was that?"
"I saw something," Gail said slowly. "Dark, Fast, Maybe… a bird."
"A bird," Sam repeated.
Bill shook his head. "I've never seen anything like that."
They did not know it.
But that had been Horus.
The last Python tailing them was gone.
Any others were still inside the cave system.
Outside, they were safe.
For now.
Johnson tightened his grip on his weapon. "We move, now. If we don't hurry, we won't catch Jack."
---
Elsewhere, near the fire.
Tran, Ben, and Gordon were finally together again.
All three had survived only because of Jimmy.
Gratitude came first.
Then answers.
Tran explained quickly. "Gordon was bitten by a stone spider, Local venom. Paralyzed for two days. Then it wears off."
Ben frowned. "Or."
He reached into his kit. "Antibiotics."
Jimmy and Ben exchanged a look.
They both nodded.
One injection.
Minutes passed.
Jimmy warned them once, then lay down nearby and fell asleep almost instantly.
Tran stared at him. "He sleeps like this."
Ben shrugged. "Nerves of steel."
"Or no nerves at all," Tran muttered.
---
High above the trees, Horus circled the moving group, clearing the way.
If he had not been there, Bill's team would have been wiped out long ago.
Traveling through the jungle at night was exhausting.
Slow.
Paranoid.
They stopped constantly, reacting to shadows that were not there.
If a real snake had shown up, they would not have handled it well.
Horus clicked irritably.
Night flights were bad for feathers.
---
Morning came.
Smoke woke Jimmy.
The Ropa tribe's main structure had burned down completely.
Only ash remained, thin streams of smoke rising into the humid air.
Tran, Ben, and Gordon were still asleep.
Jimmy shook his head.
If guarding depended on them, they would have been eaten hours ago.
Fortunately, Jimmy's awareness never truly slept.
He ate a quick breakfast, then stirred the ashes with a stick.
For a moment, he considered cooking the python Gordon had been swallowed by.
Then dismissed the idea.
Too close to human settlements.
Too many unknowns.
At the river, Jimmy used a long pole to strike into a school of fish.
Three lean river fish surfaced.
Good enough.
He returned, set up a pot, and let the fish stew slowly.
Another day in the jungle had begun.
And Jack was still running.
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