Nashatyr

      Dr. Zoya Voronina, a herpetologist and candidate of biological sciences — nearly a doctor, one might say — sat in the dim light of a large, dirty army tent, bound hand and foot, tear-stained, with a split lip. The last few days of her life had been more like hell. She desperately wanted to wake up and find it was all just a nightmare, but several signs told the woman that, alas, she was definitely not asleep. Fifteen days ago, she had arrived in the Colombian selva as part of a mixed research group. Four days ago, their expedition had come to a sudden and tragic end...       Zoya worked and taught at Moscow State University, conducting research in the phylogeny of the Scincomorpha infraorder. She was a medium-height woman with the appearance of an eternal teenager. Although she was already in her early thirties, her military-style dress, ever-present baggy backpack, and short haircut made her look so young that some stores refused to sell her alcohol at the checkout.       Students absolutely adored Zoya Nikolaevna — for her easygoing manner, quick wit, and remarkable sense of humor. By treating them almost as equals, she found common ground with both notorious troublemakers and the most timid wallflowers, awakening a genuine love for scaly creatures in many young hearts. Much to her audience's disappointment, Zoya was often away on expeditions and rarely taught classes, ceding that honor to less desirable teaching staff.       This expedition to the heart of Colombia had taken three whole years to plan — there were too many nuances in its preparation, including economic and political factors. Zoya's efforts to join the group are a separate, rather long and dramatic story. So the researcher's joy knew no bounds when, after six months of correspondence and several rather costly trips, she finally managed to secure a place in the expedition. At the same time, it's hard to describe in polite terms what her family was going through. Let's just say they probably shed a couple of buckets of blood... Of course, it's understandable that they were afraid to let Zoya go into dangerous forests, and she was nervous herself... But they could have at least not made the situation worse and offered some meager support... After all, Colombia is Colombia.       ...Drug cartels, bandits, frequent military conflicts, coups... All kinds of horrors had to be read and heard about the destination. Zoya, of course, tried to reassure her friends and relatives, arguing that it was quite safe there now, but no assurances worked, and she herself, to be honest, didn't really believe her own words. Nevertheless, Zoya consciously took the risk. She couldn't miss such a chance: to work with foreign colleagues, obtain unique material, possibly even open doors to the world's best institutes... She needed this expedition, needed it like air!       The goal of this venture was, surprisingly, just one small, inconspicuous lizard the size of a finger. The elusive fiery Cercosaura hypnoides had not been encountered by scientists since its description in 2012. Living in lichen thickets, this gymnophthalmid hid so skillfully that there was no proper opportunity to study its biology or assess its population size. This almost detective-like story captivated and enthralled several young scientists, including Zoya. For a long time, they had been gathering all the scarce available data on the species of interest, planning their research. The particular intrigue was that they had absolutely no guarantee of encountering even a single specimen. But just in case, it was decided to conduct several less important side projects. Some colleagues, taking advantage of the opportunity, asked to collect material — the group accumulated six such "requests" in total, so the trip would not have been fruitless in any case.       Zoya had already had the chance to visit the Amazon selva once. The impressions were quite controversial. A dense forest, saturated with moisture, warm and oozing like a piece of fresh meat. The heat exhausts you in a few hours, the feeling is like being in a giant greenhouse. Add to this the gnats, infections, and inflamed scratches from branches, as well as the constant sweat running down your body, never-drying clothes, and damp tents... And all this at the "height of the season." With the onset of rains, mud, endless streams of murky water, temperature drops, and even greater humidity join the overall picture. You might say, disgusting?..       And yet...       The slanting rays of the pale morning sun piercing through the dense evergreen canopy. The magical light pouring through the lacy gaps in the foliage and the sparkling dewdrops in it like a scattering of jewels. The indescribable sharp, mushroomy smell of wet wood and soil. The whistles and cries of birds drowning in the hazy haze; the soft, springy moss spreading underfoot; the wonderfully beautiful inflorescences among the lush vegetation. An abundance of life, a triumph of forms and colors, a realm of pristine nature. The selva can be repulsive, but it knows how to enchant. And once it has captivated you, it will never let you go again... Truly, a complex place. And complex stories unfold in it...       The long-awaited time of departure finally arrived. Despite the scientists' attempts to complete all preparations before the rainy season, this plan couldn't be fully realized. Many circumstances contributed to postponing the expedition's start date. They managed to leave only at the end of August. One could only hope that the rains would be slightly delayed and pour closer to the second half of September.       On August 26th, the group of scientists flew by private flight to the city of San Martín in the Meta Department, from where the researchers were to venture deep into the selva. Their motley company consisted of five people: Zoya; another girl named Rose Hill, a herpetologist from an English university; Hans Lehmann, a colorful German, a renowned specialist in teiids from Hamburg; and colleagues Carl Spencer and Thomas Taylor from the USA, who specialized in reptile genetics. In San Martín, they were joined by a hired guide — a talkative and cheerful tracker named Angel (whose last name Zoya never managed to remember). He knew the forests well, spoke decent English, asked for a reasonable fee, and radiated optimism — in short, he was a dream come true in every respect.       As she recalls, at the very beginning of the journey, Zoya asked the guide how dangerous the places they were heading to were. He replied that they were quite safe. At most, they might encounter local tribes, but he could easily find common ground with them. Well, jaguars are found here, of course, and poisonous snakes, but both can be skillfully avoided; they don't specifically hunt humans. These last words brought smiles to the scientists' faces. Angel hesitated a bit and added mysteriously that there was also a chance they might be devoured by the Forest Demon. But superstition isn't a reason to cancel an expedition, is it? Everyone took his words as a joke, although the Colombian himself suddenly turned serious.       It took several stages to reach the supposed habitat of the gymnophthalmids. As long as it was possible, they traveled in off-road vehicles provided by the enterprising Angel. The last, most difficult one and a half kilometers of the journey had to be covered on foot, which took almost a whole day. They set up a permanent camp at the same place where another group of scientists had worked several years ago. The cleared area had already begun to be overgrown with new vegetation, but traces of relatively recent human presence were still noticeable.       After settling in and resting a bit, the group began their long-awaited research. The first days, as often happens, were unlucky. Nothing interesting was caught in the traps, and the weather began to deteriorate. A week later, Thomas caught a lizard that was mistakenly thought to be the sought-after specimen, but to everyone's disappointment, it turned out to be a juvenile individual of a completely different species.       During these unsuccessful attempts, Zoya managed to collect some small statistics on the terrible leaf-dart frog — that very tiny golden frog whose skin secretions are used by indigenous peoples to make curare poison. Along the way, the researcher gathered several dozen samples of local small herpetofauna for one of her Moscow colleagues. She didn't particularly like this work, preferring to observe living objects rather than preserve them in formalin, but sometimes science demanded sacrifices...       Days passed unnoticed. Each of them began with the search for the mysterious reptile and ended with discussions of impressions in warm company around a blazing campfire. But they tried not to stay up too late, as they needed to wake up early. And honestly, there was no energy left for anything after dinner — from the very beginning, they had to set a very active pace for the work to accomplish at least something. The inexorably approaching rainy season forced the group to hurry with the survey of the area. Expedition members set out into the thicket at dawn and stayed until dark. There seemed to be no other way to bring about results, and the scientists could only wait patiently for their luck to turn, relying on their own professionalism or a miracle — it wasn't clear which more. Unfortunately, they soon had to realize that instead of miracles, monsters sometimes appear...       On that fateful morning, nothing foreshadowed trouble. The camp was waking up peacefully. Tom and Carl, who were on duty, were cooking at the "kitchen," joking and casually planning the day. Upon waking, Hans and Angel joined their comrades, while the women savored the last few minutes in their sleeping bags.       Suddenly, the idyll was disrupted by voices coming from the forest. They were getting closer, shouting something unfriendly in Spanish. Then came a sound like a gunshot. Angel still managed to assure them with a smile that there was no need to worry, he would immediately sort everything out with these uninvited guests, but it turned out differently...       Everything happened very quickly. The small camp was surrounded, then captured. There were about a dozen attackers: armed to the teeth, looking like real bandits. Who they really were and what they wanted from the scientists remained unknown.       The subsequent events were hard to comprehend. Panic ensued, and demonstrative shots were fired into the air. In the ensuing commotion, Angel, Thomas, and Carl disappeared somewhere. Perhaps they managed to escape, but it was hard to believe. Hans, Zoya, and Rose were caught. They had hesitated, trying like complete idiots to grab their bags. Remembering belongings and documents at such a moment was the stupidest, most fatal mistake... But they simply weren't thinking straight. As they were being tied up, Zoya thought with strange detachment that she and her companions would now simply be shot, but instead, they were forced to stand and led away from the camp.       Pushing the prisoners in the back with gun barrels, the bandits drove them through the forest, hardly giving them any rest. The captors rationed food and water for themselves, giving the exhausted and frightened victims only the bare minimum to keep them from collapsing halfway from exhaustion. The scientists had difficulty understanding the dialect spoken by their tormentors, so their understanding of the bandits' intentions remained very vague. The prisoners were forbidden to communicate with each other, were led separately, and every movement was vigilantly observed.       This torture continued for almost three days. On the second evening, the women, falling from exhaustion, couldn't take it anymore and begged for a break, but their pleas were ignored. Then Rose, suddenly emboldened, sat right down in the grass, declaring she wouldn't take another step. One of the gang immediately rushed to her and struck her, to which Hans instantly reacted. He lunged at his colleague, pushing aside his own guard, for which he paid with his life. Without hesitation, the man was shot point-blank in front of Rose and Zoya. The shocked women were lifted and dragged further...       Towards the end of the next morning, under the carefree chirping of birds and the peaceful rustle of the awakening forest, the bandits brought the prisoners to their lair. The trap had snapped shut...