The jungle seems a tangle of vines and stalks and leaves. The only way you move through the impenetrable wall of green is with a machete. Hacking with the knife, you can slowly make some progress, but the work is exhausting. Finally, you seem to be reaching the jungle’s edge. Only a few heavy vines block your way. You bring back the knife to swing at one, but your native guide stays your hand.
“No sir! Do not touch that one! Go around! It is dangerous!”You scoff at him. “Go around? What for? We’re almost out. It’s just a vine!”You swing your machete and it strikes the three-inch-thick vine,
slicing it neatly in two. Suddenly the jungle around you comes alive. The vines in the nearby trees start moving. You step back, but it’s too late. One wraps around your ankle.
You raise your knife to cut through it, but before you can swing, another vine twists around your arm, stopping it. A third vine, as thick as a fire hose, curls around your waist and you are knocked off your feet….
