Nodding his head, James turns around and quickly leads them back down the trail to a group of trees they passed just moments earlier. Moving carefully off the trail and making sure not to step into the water, they hide amidst the trees as they wait for whoever is approaching.

A group of four warriors appear out of the swamp as they come their way down the trail. Each is carrying a lethal looking spear as well as wearing a necklace of bones, one of which looks to contain a human ear as well as the bones. They hold very still as the natives come closer.

As they near the trees where James and Miko are hiding, one of them pauses and begins sniffing the air. The bug repellent! James suddenly realizes. He smells the bug repellent. The warrior cocks his head to the side as if attempting to determine from which direction the smell is coming.

James watches as the others suddenly take notice of the smell. After a brief exchange of words, the warriors begin working their way closer to the trees they’re hiding in. They’re almost upon them when a rhino-lizard bursts out of the dense foliage and grabs one of the warriors, dragging him screaming off the trail and back into the swamp. The other three warriors immediately turn, and screaming war cries, give pursuit as they try to rescue him.

“Come on!” James says as he comes out from behind the trees and hurries down the trail as fast as his injured leg will allow. As they rush down the path, screams and roars can be heard coming from where the warriors are fighting the rhino-lizard.

“This is crazy,” Miko announces after they’ve put some distance between them and the battle behind them, “we don’t even know if we’re going in the right direction.”

Pointing off through the marshy wetlands, James says, “Would you rather try to cut cross country?”

Thinking of the little fishes that inhabit the water, he shakes his head no.