Endangered

After two weeks on the Congo River with Wello, Sophie feels lost without him. She walks into the jungle, passing abandoned huts and buildings. Sophie hears something behind her and sees two gun barrels sticking out of a window, so she drops to her stomach and hides behind a wall. Two girls with guns approach Sophie and ask for water. Sophie hands them her water bottle, and they return it after emptying it. The girls move away, and Sophie asks for directions to the other side of Mbandaka. The older girl tells her about a hunting trail that circles the city and ends at a river she will need to cross. Just beyond the river lies Ikwa, the village closest to Florence’s release site.

Sophie finds the hunting trail and starts down it. When night falls, Sophie makes a bed for herself and Otto under a tree. As she takes inventory of her remaining supplies, it begins to rain, or so she believes. However, Sophie discovers that it is not raining; instead, thousands of caterpillars are falling from the tree. Otto eats the caterpillars happily and presents one to Sophie. She eats it and discovers that it tastes like sausage.