My heart thumped up my throat until it wedged there.
I couldn’t breathe.
My legs, already locked around the coarse tree trunk supporting me, clamped tightly enough that the rough bark clawed into my thighs. My upper body went limp. If the climbing belt hadn’t been supporting me, I would have flopped backwards and plunged headfirst into the swamp muck. I should have dropped the binoculars. They felt fused to my face, though.
The night, the countless bugs, my partner, the mission, all went away.
It couldn’t be her.
But I hadn’t seen her body.
I’d seen pieces of bodies, yes. Badly scorched and seared pieces.
I’d called out for her. I’d joined the locals searching the ruined camp. By the time I returned the locals had switched from searching to salvaging, but once they realized I didn’t
