Chapter 4 — Into the Heart of the Jungle

Third Person

The morning haze clung to the air, dense and humid, as Amelia and Jack stepped off the rickety bus onto the uneven dirt path leading to Pueblo de la Esperanza. The bus engine sputtered one final protest before disappearing down the winding road, leaving the pair standing in the quiet hum of the jungle. Towering trees stretched skyward, their emerald canopies filtering sunlight into fractured beams, casting the village ahead in a patchwork of golden light and cool shadows.