Inside the cave, Yvette skillfully started a fire, warming the damp, dark space. The others, nursing various injuries, sat to the side, applying medicine. Chris, examining his shoulder, glanced at Yvette, who sat by the fire, her head bowed. He hesitated, wanting to speak.
Just an hour earlier, his wound had bled uncontrollably. After eating the vanilla toffee Yvette had given him, it stopped within five minutes. It was remarkable.
Emmett and Bruce, less seriously injured, applied medicine and rested against the cave wall. After their fierce battle with the giant python and hours trekking through the rainforest, everyone was exhausted, too weary even for conversation. Frankie, the least injured, had been knocked unconscious by the python at the outset; he awoke to find Yvette had already subdued the beast.
The cave was eerily silent, save for the crackling fire. After resting, Emmett and Bruce ate compressed biscuits. Frankie watched Yvette curiously, a million questions swirling in his mind.
Bruce, taking a bite of his biscuit, looked up at Yvette and asked the question weighing on everyone's mind: "Yve, you've been to this rainforest before, haven't you?" His tone was confident, certain of her prior experience, given her detailed knowledge of the rainforest and the python.
Emmett, Chris, and Frankie also turned to Yvette, eager to understand her familiarity with this dangerous place. They hadn't noticed Bruce's casual use of her first name, a silent acceptance that had replaced the more formal "Ms. Zeller."
Yvette looked up, her gaze shifting from the fire to them, her eyes narrowing slowly. In the flickering light, her face seemed blurred and mysterious, her striking eyes wild and rebellious. She smiled mischievously.
"You're right," she said fiercely. "I was here ten years ago. I found it… amusing. I stayed for three months."
Emmett's biscuit dropped with a snap. Disbelief etched Bruce's face; Chris stared blankly. Frankie, however, reacted with excitement. He wondered about Yvette's background, amazed by her claim of visiting for fun. What is Yve’s background? he thought. She said she came here for fun. It’s mind-blowing. From now on, if anyone says beautiful women are just eye candy, I won’t agree.
Emmett, Bruce, and Chris shared a single thought: How old was Yvette ten years ago? A teenager, alone in the world's most dangerous rainforest for three months? Was it even possible?
Chris, swallowing hard, looked at her with admiration. "Yve," he asked, "how old were you then?"
Yvette lifted her chin slightly, her gaze deep, cold, and mischievous. She curled her lips. "Twelve," she said calmly.
Silence descended again. They were speechless. Who was this incredible person? Surviving alone in the "Rainforest of Death," a place where two survivors out of a hundred was considered fortunate, at the age of twelve? It was jaw-dropping.
Before Emmett could speak, Frankie's curiosity exploded. "Ms. Zeller," he blurted, "when you were here, were you… super amazing? Invincible? Did you fight the giant python then?"
His imagination ran wild, picturing Yvette wielding a dagger, slaying beasts.
Yvette glanced at the excited Frankie, smirking wickedly. She poked the fire with a stick. "I met it a few times," she said mischievously.
Her casual tone minimized the battle's intensity. She didn't recall the number of beasts she had killed, only the piles of corpses and the persistent stench of blood. The endless killing, she admitted, had thrilled her.
The next day, refreshed after a night's rest, they set off. Their encounter with the python, though terrifying, had oddly reassured them—with Yvette, who had survived alone for three months at twelve, there was little to fear.
They encountered huge carnivorous plants, giant hornets, flesh-eating ants, and enormous crocodiles. Yvette's tactical guidance and practical training honed their skills, enabling them to overcome these challenges, battered but unharmed. Even Frankie, the weakest, grew noticeably stronger. Emmett and Chris, seasoned martial artists, consulted Yvette whenever possible, their internal energy strengthening under her guidance.
Over the next few days, their initial awkwardness faded, replaced by familiarity and respect. Even Bruce, usually aloof, joked with Yvette. She had become their leader; if she said "left," they went left.
Five days in the rainforest transformed them from uneasy novices to capable adventurers, even competing to confront dangerous beasts. Yvette's feedback, always sharp and concise, improved their skills.
On the fifth night, they mournfully eyed their compressed biscuits, envying Yvette's steaming self-heating steak. Five days of biscuits and water had pushed them to their limits. They finally understood Yvette's foresight, though too late. Frankie, staring at his biscuit, muttered, "This isn't a compressed biscuit. It's duck confit, stewed pork, a big drumstick…"
Yvette, unable to ignore their pitiful expressions, raised her head.