THUNDER 6

A heavy thud helps open the door of the transport. The mental cycle of games begins, the mind races, the heart palpitates, and the mouth dries. Eagerness turns to anxiety, which eventually transforms into fear, at times, bordering on terror. Suddenly, without warning, unfamiliar odors permeate the air as we wait our turn to descend from the plane. The weight of our duffel bags filled with jungle gear are as heavy as our imaginations. The heat blasts our faces, smothers us with an acrid atmosphere of disease, suffering, smoke, fire, and burning charred bodies. The initial invitation to the wilderness becomes one of those sensations that, not only fills but clogs the nostrils, choking the taste buds with the nauseating sense of oncoming vomit. The stomach fights to stay calm, while our minds realize and know that death surrounds us, with our continued existence being insured only by an act of the omnipotent; that we can engage on the return flight some months from now becomes no guarantee.