Chapter 1
Stepping out into the sunlight was like stepping into one of my nightmares. The jungle with its vines intertwining around the trunks and branches of trees, the flowers and fungi dotted amongst the green, the smell of earth and damp wood, the humidity crowding in on me. The memories it evoked were choking me.
I took a few deep breaths and tried to push my fears aside.
We’d touched down in a clearing in the jungle made by fallen trees and as I stood at the door of the shuttle battling my demons, I was struck by the sheer beauty of the trees and flowers that were growing beyond the immediate area and by the height of the tallest trees. They had to be at least sixty metres tall.
Despite the magnificence of my surroundings, my breathing became shallow. I had to fight to keep contr
