Wow, this was amazing. The helmet had intricately etched floral designs on the central part and small raised flowers around the brim. It was beautiful. Her first find and she was elated. She tucked the precious object into her backpack, and after noting the location of where she found the relic, she headed back to camp.
She stowed her backpack inside her tent and started a fire, placing six rocks into the flames. They would need to heat for about three hours, then she dug a hole in the dirt about a foot deep and a couple feet across. Searching for some tall bamboo, six feet would be perfect, she cut it with her machete. Making two intersecting crosscuts at one end, she created four prongs.
Using vines, she wedged them into the crevices and then sharpened the prongs with her knife.
She waded into the river slowly and waited. She was looking for a medium sized pirarucu that would yield her a couple of delicious dinners. She could cook it while she was mapping this part of the river for signs of the sunken ships and hopefully more relics.
She speared a pirarucu, which was just a big catfish, and pulled it wriggling from the water. Knocking it a couple times in the head, it stopped wriggling. Using a tree branch, she moved the rocks into the hole. Then she went on the hunt for large banana leaves. Wrapping the fish inside and tying it off with vines, she placed the fish on top of the rocks and covered it all with the soil.
Her own lovely dirt oven.
She grinned and walked back to her tent and pulled out the helmet to make some detailed notes. About an hour later, she removed the roasted catfish, and with some bananas and safe berries, she had a delicious, filling meal.
When she was finished, she wrapped the other half of the fish in leaves and set it, the bananas, and berries into her backpack, which she laid beside the tent.
She turned to take care of the hole and the remains of her dinner, washing off in the river. When she got back to her camp, she went to go inside and grab the backpack.
It was gone.
The helmet!
Cocking her head and looking around, she saw nothing or heard nothing. She spun in a panicked three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn—still nothing.
She walked over to the place where she’d set her backpack. Faint, but clear enough were sets of paw prints.
She squinted her eyes. A dog? What was a dog doing in the jungle?
Glossary
BO - Basic Orientation (BUD/S)
BUD/S - Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL training
Comm - The equipment that SEALs use to communicate with each other in the field.
CO - Commanding Officer
CTT - Combat Training Tank
DEVGRU - The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), formerly SEAL Team Six
DoD - Department of Defense
DOR - Drop on Request
DZ - Drop zone, the targeted area for parachutists.
HALO - High altitude, low opening jump from an aircraft.
HVT - High value target
IBS - Inflatable Boat, Small
IED - Improvised Explosive Device
Klicks - Shortened word for kilometers.
LRRP - Long-range reconnaissance patrol.
LT - Nickname for lieutenant.
LZ - Landing Zone where aircraft can land.
Merc - Mercenary - guns for hire.
MWD - Military Working Dog
MRE - Meals, Ready-to-Eat, portable in pouches and packed with calories, these packaged meals are used in the field.
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NCIS - Naval Criminal Investigative Service
NWU - Navy Working Uniform
OIC - Officer in Charge
REACT - Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Team
RIB - Rigid Inflatable Boat
RPG - Rocket Propelled Grenade
R&R - Rest and Relaxation
Tango -Hostile combatants.
SERE -Stands for survival, evasion, resistance, escape. The principles of avoiding the enemy in the field.
Six - Military speak for watching a man’s back.
SO - Special Operator
SPIES - Special Patrol Insertion & Extraction System
UDT - Underwater Demolitions Team
About the Author
Zoe Dawson lives in North Carolina, one of the friendliest states in the US. She discovered romance in her teens and has been spinning stories in her head ever since. Her heroes are sexy males with a disregard for danger and whether reluctant, gung-ho, or caught up in the action, show their hearts of gold.
Her imagination runs wild with romances from sensual to scorching including romantic comedy, new adult, romantic suspense, small town, and urban fantasy. Look below to explore the many avenues to her writing. She believes it’s all about the happily ever afters and always will.
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Thanks for reading and joining me on this wonderful journey!