The landscape was changing.

As they’d walked down the trail, Annja’s suspicions about there being a river nearby were confirmed. Although not much larger than a creek at first, it soon gave way to a larger tributary that led them down to a river swollen with water. The jungle had little choice but to yield to the wide, fast-flowing water and Annja felt as if they were finally making some progress.

She felt her energy increase as Joey took over on point. He kept his arm near his side, doing his best not to let it bang into any of the bushes or trees as they skirted the banks of the river.

His color had paled some.

Annja caught up with Vic, who was walking faster than he had before. “Is he going to be okay?” she asked.

Vic shrugged. “It’s probably broken somewhere. But it might not be detectable without an X ray. He needs medical attention. Come to think of it, we all need it. But he’ll make himself keep going.”

“Is he going to drop dead, though?”

“I doubt it. But shock can kill. He has to be careful.”

Annja sighed. “He shouldn’t be on point.”

“He and Michael know this jungle better than I do. They won’t take a back seat here.”

Annja glanced back at Michael. He was even more pale than Joey. But he kept moving forward, his footsteps shuffling through the undergrowth. Once he slipped and Annja started back to help him, but he quickly recovered, got back to his feet and kept walking.

“This is getting ridiculous. We need to stop and rest,” she said.

“You can suggest it if you want, but neither of them will listen to you,” Vic said.

“But they’re dying.”

Vic frowned. “Put yourself in their position. If someone had a suitcase nuke and was planning on getting it into the heart of New York City, wouldn’t you push on past your normal limits of endurance to try to stop it?”

Annja sighed again. “Yeah. I would.”

“This is their country. I can’t blame them for wanting to keep moving. But if we suggest they stop, they might think we don’t care.”

Annja looked back at Michael again. The bandages on his arm were stained a deep, dark brownish red from where the blood had dried and new bleeding had bled through the dressings.

“Michael, you okay?” she asked.

He glanced up and despite looking terrible, his eyes still seemed to be sharp. He nodded. “I’m okay. Looking forward to the beach.”

“Makes two of us,” Vic said.

“Three of us,” Joey said from up ahead of them.

Annja smiled. Despite their different backgrounds, she’d grown fond of these guys. It would be difficult leaving them when this was all over.

The trees seemed to be growing farther apart now and the carpet of thick vines and dead litter was lessening. Annja’s ears filled with a roar of rushing water.

Her heart rate increased at the thought of getting out of the jungle finally. She found herself digging even deeper into her own personal stores of energy and pressing to move faster.

Vic grinned as she steamed on past him. “Slow down, Speed Racer.”

“Can’t help it. I can feel that we’re close,” she said.

“We are.”

She looked back. “You sure?”

He nodded. “About a half mile, I’d expect.”

A half mile. Annja wanted to run for it. The river was widening and the flow of the water had slowed a little as farther down she could see it take a sharp bend to the left.

She skirted the bank and looked into the white water that swirled below.

“Looks so inviting,” she said.

“I wouldn’t,” Vic warned her.

Annja shook her head. “Why on earth not?”

“Sharks,” he said.

“Sharks?”

“Yep.”

“In the river?”

Vic walked past her. “The mouth of the river meets the ocean. It’s a feeding ground for them because the river washes a lot of jungle debris down to the sea. Dead bodies, animals that get trapped in the current and can’t escape, that kind of thing. And there are plenty of tiger sharks in the seas around the Philippines that would love to take a bite out of you.”

Annja stared at the river. “First crocodiles, now sharks. Unbelievable.”

“You wouldn’t even see them coming. The visibility is probably awful because the two bodies of water are mixing.”

“You’re a real killjoy, here, pal.”

Vic smiled. “Just trying to save your ass again.”

Annja continued walking as Michael came closer. His eyes gleamed and he walked as if he had some fire in his soul. “You sure you’re okay?” she said.

“Will be soon enough.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He just smiled and kept walking. Annja caught up with Vic. “You don’t think they have a nasty surprise in store for us, do you?”

Vic looked at her. “You’re always so suspicious of everyone, aren’t you?”

“I have to be. People are always trying to either kill me, or get me to do things for them. It gets a little trying sometimes.”

“Yeah, well, I think these guys are fine. Hell, they helped us kill some of the bad guys, remember? If they had any wavering in their loyalty, I think it’s all gone now.”

“Just checking.”

Vic pointed. “Look there.”

Annja followed his gaze and the jungle foliage ended abruptly. Suddenly a line of sand on either side of the river mouth could be seen through the remaining palm trees that had sprung up in the last few hundred yards.

“The beach!” Annja exclaimed.

Annja wanted to run for it, but kept herself from doing so. There was no sense leaving everyone else behind. They’d come through all of this together, and together they’d make it to the beach.

Joey shuffled onto the sand and sank to his knees. “Finally.”

Vic knelt next to him. “You okay?”

“Arm hurts like hell.”

Vic checked it over. Annja could see the skin had turned a nasty shade of dark blue. Bits of it were yellowed from the bruising, but it also looked swollen.

Vic frowned. “It’s badly infected. You’ve got a fracture somewhere, no doubt, but I can’t figure out where it would be. And I sure don’t want to go poking you and putting you into even more pain than you’re already in.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“Can you keep going? You need a doctor. Bad.”

“My brother needs one, too,” Joey said.

Vic nodded. “Yep. He does. No doubt he’s lost a lot of blood.”

Joey got back to his feet with Vic’s help. Annja watched the waves crash on the shore.

Joey smiled. “It’s always so great seeing the ocean. It rejuvenates my soul. The times Michael and I have worked in the mountains, it’s felt like we were dead. But the sea, there’s something about it that brings me back home. Always.”

Annja smiled. “It’s beautiful.”

“You should see the beaches of Palawan. They’re like pure sugar. Some of the resorts there are like Eden on earth. It’s heavenly.”

“Maybe we can go there some time. When you and Michael are better, I mean,” she said.

He smiled. “Good plan.”

“But right now,” Michael said, coming out of the jungle at last, “we need to get back to Manila.”

Vic looked at him. “You have a plan for that?”

Michael nodded. “Sure do. We head down the beach about a mile.”

“Another mile?” Annja groaned.

“Yes,” Michael said.

“And what’s there?” Vic asked.

“Helicopter.”

Annja whipped her head around. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Joey grinned. “There’s a doctor there, too. A clinic where we can get patched up.”

“Patched up is a bit optimistic for you two,” Vic said. “I think a hospital stay is in order.”

Joey looked at him. “Would you stop if this was your country?”

Vic frowned. “No.”

“Exactly.”

“Annja and I can handle it, though. You should rest,” he said.

“There’s no way I could rest knowing you two were taking it on alone. I have to be there when it goes down,” Joey said.

“So do I,” Michael said. “Let’s keep moving.”

Annja helped Michael stumble on the sand, which was loose and hard to slog through. Her own feet seemed to sink several inches with every step she took. The sun was also brutal and she felt suddenly exposed.

A mile seemed like forever across the sizzling sand, but as they came around a bend in the beach, she could see scattered rooftops come into view. A few boats bobbed in the waves just offshore.

And she could see kids jumping in the waves.

“Guess the sharks don’t bother them,” she said.

“We’re moving away from the river’s mouth,” Vic said. “It’s safer swimming there. But only just a little.”

“I bet you’re one of those people who only likes to swim in pools, right?” she asked.

Vic smirked. “How’d you guess?”

Joey did pretty well moving on his own, but Vic stayed close enough to lend him a hand in case he needed it. Twice, he almost fell, but he steadied himself and regained his footing.

I can’t believe they’ve been able to do what they’ve done with their injuries, Annja thought.

The sun sent rivers of sweat down her face. She had to keep blinking to keep the salt from stinging her eyes. She wanted water desperately.

Michael coughed as he walked. Annja slid an arm around him and he accepted it. “Thanks.”

“Forget it,” she said.

“You and Vic are okay, yes?” he asked.

“Seem to be. Just exhausted mostly.”

Michael nodded. “That’s good. That’s good.”

“They’ll help us at this place?”

He smirked. “Oh, yes. They know us here.”

“They do?”

“Yes. This is where we grew up.”

Vic turned. “This is your village?”

“Yes.”

Annja smiled. “Homecomings are always nice.”

“They will be once we find the doctor and get to the helicopter.”

They stumbled along the beach. And as they grew closer, the children saw them. Annja saw them running down the beach, their deeply tanned skin in sharp contrast to the white sand around them.

Joey carried himself higher now. Michael pulled away from Annja.

“You sure?”

He nodded. “I have to walk in on my own two feet.”

As they walked down the last hundred yards, Annja saw something else that buoyed her spirits. The rotor blades of a helicopter sitting on its own pad could be seen farther off down the beach.

Her time in the jungle was finally over.