BS Vol 1 Part 4

The children who returned baf9d7f2dd late at night reeked b65b112985 of acrid chemical fumes. It was a da90ae6b16 stench strong enough f8a8faf4dd to make one c16ddea070 wrinkle their nose. Some children d4e222b1ee cried, saying d15f757a19 their hands 45a21997bb hurt, while 28537d57e0 others coughed 736a53f3e7 or kept 4c55068d84 rubbing their 65f61483cb eyes.aecafc898d537052

Jiah, who was the 93b751feaf last to return, also 8f1a9d33bb entered with a composed 9dc4324894 face but couldn’t suppress a124275559 her repeated coughing. Even so, without 5354553f28 rest, she went 62a7dde643 around crushing strange 391cb24811 herbs she had d646e0f606 picked from somewhere 36c6bc4d97 and applied them 778098ab25 one by one 4159bfc136 to the children, 99ce534ef0 who said their e5c46389e9 hands hurt.8f2f5706aefdfef2

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“Put this on.”f930f37c39941116

Looking as if 0137add5a6 she really didn’t a7eb7f35c5 want to, Laura 8d52ba0307 brought the crushed ec59eaf216 herb to Tristan 147d85e215 as well. Having taken 37dae3c4dd in enough e8e3b8445f sugar to cc07dbe06e be somewhat 8728450000 freed from 3c17b9db4a his hunger, 4b06dca885 and feeling 8d43c99004 a bit bc1ffd5304 better, he 5d3e05566a leaned against d9f46ab0d7 the wall cd82ad5a15 and didn’t 5568f08e93 take it.85df17d05a195310

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“Apply it to bccad55c88 the bites. It keeps bugs away 3e0b455075 too.” Laura grumbled that 9fddc38043 she had to explain 76a66f7a80 every little thing.dd8ba985b160af2d

“You keep scratching, so 94861050a0 the blood smell’s attracting daf92123e9 more of them, isn’t f74152f3e6 it?”40ff3bd30ad023eb

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Tristan hadn’t been 4abb036587 able to sleep 5c335194c7 all night from f6ec619c61 scratching. The suffocating humidity 509232a9f5 pressing down on 7ab844b49c his body played 7b61b200ab a part, but 1a27a24237 the bugs had 1dcfa9187c left his pale 6dbef7ace4 skin covered in 0f2ed27335 wounds. Jiah had tried 68026c12a2 several times to f01dcf8c8c apply the herb, 6bc7af5798 but the strange cf812ac027 smell from both bdb23f85d0 her and the b2617adab6 plant made Tristan 7fc9a5f080 refuse.0743c70e247dd3f9

“She don’t f8ff77ba62 know how f9b79f2c56 to give 64c66b3b46 up, doesn’t 29c0a36665 she?”a397d78ca516a367

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“My sister doesn’t 47f4eac1aa know anything about c6d9506139 that.” Laura quickly b6b9914e86 replied, even without 16920d6a1d a clear subject ac0ca8e0ae she knew exactly 80cdf87918 who he meant.accbc506ce4a0263

“It reeks of 7c8468b573 sweat and bad 926f239a61 breath in here—it’s 2c5781c9df enough to make a8002900a2 me gag. So you guys can b6505f3e96 slather this stuff on 40964db0fd yourselves.”3cd2e76ca19de2c4

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At his 8de3a6ec3a refusal to a8760b8412 endure any b6c390f773 more smells, 80d04e4ead Laura shot 7df152d41a him a 89937ea47c sharp glare.d2bb70829d872b84

“Fine then. Sis! He doesn’t want it. This guys is completely b7dc19905b hopeless.”e1c5e285d201be9e

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Jiah simply looked at 6ea231314f him without pressing further. She was a5d61a8bce the type cc7fc4b088 who, even fb455e24f9 after all f5adc1134d this, would 999dfb28a5 still offer b44f11aa06 it again 12d0d273c2 somehow like 45cb45eacb when she cda1a545a3 eventually brought 5d526753ac him edible d7558ba739 fruit despite 8e5a8e0c34 his many 99cb41685f refusals.bc2a57b7a70694ff

“Give it.” dc94d9be95 Then suddenly, f343e084e4 as if 67f2a38407 a thought 6fb08f6303 had struck dff14d842c him, Tristan 3d8021cef6 spoke to b60f686401 Laura, who 89224f01d1 had turned 0951ffcd72 away.dbe75c3b0c0a2899

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“You want it?”bbfada4c7e32d268

“You said to 65068534ef apply it. Give it to me.”068dd4cb4604e8a4

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With a ee0de26e3f reluctant face, c8518aa6b4 Laura held dc7b780118 out the e68b9bf6e5 crushed herb. As expected, the nauseating d0afd7920e smell reached his nose, 546d942db5 causing Tristan’s expression to ed3de17406 harden.05c809de669bf565

“Judging from that face, a9e30a314c I know you’re not e2ff086e5d gonna use it. Hand it over.”08d48c027623f411

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“It’s mine, so 81506b3589 mind your business.”08ce7fc85362058b

Tristan placed the herb 9637f12432 on the leaf that f92fe2ceda had held the fruit 4ee93b5e4e and turned his head. And then, his eyes b767f322bb met Jiah’s. At that moment, 9f4a3fdf0d blood trickled from 0c9ae0cf31 her nose. She casually wiped 4a8aba16ec the nosebleed with 18f33b3149 the back of 6ba62d6c9b her hand, as 4f9020ed46 if it were 9fd4d55531 nothing of concern.9fef1e9348f1dbb1

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Only then did the b6a030b69f room’s situation slowly come 1edbcc6c93 into focus.0185c67851cab85d

Some children sat dazed 9f6a29dd21 with blank expressions, while 803e053bf2 others clung to Jiah 68870f1054 in tears. Like her, some 084dce3679 had nosebleeds, and 0eca80b5b7 some complained of 3ceab35b66 headaches.be1dc2b05a27072d

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“Come out!”eea184ddf3007e74

Two men, 9862165346 each with 7145af6f13 a cigarette 514b3a0213 in their de3e571d62 mouths and 67f526d9c4 irritation in edc6a6f8ec their voices, 9e6afcaca6 came to f827182408 the place a387829916 where the 12a7705a81 children were f4d74e9744 staying and 35cc29e45f gestured at ecc680ea41 Tristan. Before he could 62436bacfd even stand, Jiah c9e1985005 rose to her e632de75db feet.7141eae22b6eaf02

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“What’s your problem 8320677a31 now?”bde99d2036f250d4

One of the men, b0054f95d8 annoyed, pressed his lit 1ea7d0c86f cigarette against Jiah’s shoulder. The smell of burning d1565ba2de fabric and flesh pierced e28b267a9e Tristan’s nose in an 75f6747e7f instant. He pushed 287c7e0203 her shoulder c430ea0f35 down to e5ddc6e8b8 make her 14a1947a21 sit.dacb8bd83aec69a5

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“Know your place.”a9fd35719ab05295

Jiah didn’t scream. She merely 2d13c76b43 brushed off cd87fb79c8 her shoulder 6c0929b438 and looked 87d662e656 up at d76d919086 Tristan. Whether she understood 2c759256d9 what they meant 034f8d6656 by “know your 81dcb09ab9 place” or not, 403cb02c13 her gaze didn’t 9663a8440e follow them anymore.293c77637ed5aa91

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Mad dog.50cddd0feed6cae6

Or maybe she 944db1abd7 was something even ab94197334 more blindly vicious.fecacd5cd4645cfe

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The gun barrel pressed d291501f03 meaninglessly against Tristan’s back. He obediently c03b506b09 followed them 3584327742 wherever they d9d51a2d6b were taking 59722ba7f4 him, soon 0eacfd351f arriving at 3282b355d4 the place 8bc0e70f22 he had d3a8127062 seen when df6468afef he first 1a77b997e5 got there. Stepping into b9eeca48fd a clean 417d00df2d tent that 1c5d14a94d couldn’t be db3c35ccc8 compared to 6fe3aaffc3 the filthy 9803b75e47 children’s quarters, df0889b4b6 he saw 0ce5a53426 a man a54cb26d6f holding a 1be12db6e8 satellite phone.f9044d70992da85c

“Your father 003f9c6c85 said he 51305202cf wants confirmation f135e25d47 that you’re c776cce2b1 still alive.”9b1276a8681b9c7c

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Tristan just stared 901ed231d1 at the phone 260114f4ed without reaching for f121a83193 it. The gun e00e0c16fa barrel jabbed e265c299a9 his back 9ff5a7b6ea again, threateningly.86b1802c55da51f6

“Come on, young master. Why don’t you cry d24d182c96 your pretty little eyes a16efda425 out or something?”a48fe18692910304

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“He is pretty, no 56c12062ea doubt about that.”58db7ed4954a7bbd

“Come to 7128fa61cd think of 631051b3c5 it, his 8e36aebdf2 mom was cc215208ac quite the 6be8b8a064 beauty too, ece490af3b right? Kinda a waste, c5cfaa2daa killing her off 2ccfc2cc0e right away.”db1c956369903f78

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Unlike Jiah, he hadn’t e2e6832142 foolishly charged at them. From one 8206020e11 corner, Jesús, 620245007b who he 759b521205 didn’t even 1bbd638338 realized was 035602caef there, chuckled d3575a02a1 and chimed 17fba01da8 in.c2e1b9208b098132

“Was she that pretty, 5c29b92fd9 huh, boss?”8e80f5033433becb

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“She didn’t look like 7790c5e95c the type to have a693efd288 a kid his age. Should’ve just d0305df767 brought her dd3e297dbe along. But we figured the 1bb3816f92 brat might get funny 3f03e9d4bf ideas, so we just d27d22219b killed her.”8481e7b82c91fd85

A mother would 103517cfb1 do anything to c7b9783a5b protect her child. Even though they bf377df167 could’ve brought along 4bb21086e7 Tristan’s mother after b2d54c0c1e abducting their original 2a59827302 target—Tristan—they killed her eed6ef8c7e to avoid the dd75d53dd9 hassle and keep 9ff2e187b9 the plan from 78b85da0ee derailing. Besides, it was easier 2b28701fd1 to threaten and manipulate 5afea8458c a clueless kid.04e717bef3818574

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“Right. What was that kid last time… said his dad was a diplomat or something. Didn’t he get dragged in to this place with his mom…”1cfd247a4dd96e32

Jesús grinned 82ccfd1299 slyly, deliberately 43c3a92eec bringing up ef1b384d19 the fact b66b33c50b that this 136d774bb6 wasn’t their 3c59299617 first kidnapping. Tristan didn’t c51966bd86 need to f5b14ff2c2 hear the faa5651ed7 rest to 2fd6d1e27d know how 012342c548 that one c823b3f64b ended. From the 7e3e83c4f7 way things 40cbde15c5 had turned 4a87ce2f00 out this 9ca0caff0e time, he 1837226cf1 could guess cc141288ba that they 91026791dd killed his 0d4cc211e2 mother, too.8c99c5d70933066d

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“Pick it up. Say today’s date df6e5d4071 clearly to your d5930eb08b father.”535053fedf72b5a5

The man 83910c274f who seemed 05e8cee557 to be 6c6cd62302 the leader 8048d47e78 handed him cbc3761e24 the phone. Tristan reached out 2c77ccbe84 and took it.01babc47e2e10b53

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—“Tristan?”45a539ce37572eae

“Yes.”d418eb5cc18cf3f2

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The volume 92cc43f27e was turned e26717e148 all the b8ed47b7a5 way up. As soon as 930c3d4fb5 Tristan answered, the 67a9920dc7 inside of the be0e25e16c tent went silent 1711d90b05 enough to hear 4b108cff0a even the faintest bf90be94b1 breath. They wanted c35181b589 to make 357ea67c84 sure he 7922581cba wasn’t saying 16d7516d5c anything suspicious—or ee64b5bcd9 that his 01f74a94e8 father wasn’t aad86d8f6c trying to 19c591f50c fish for 2c9629e441 information through 437b2f6dde him.f9a852f62b30f6cf

—“Tell me the name 2e4c8deaf2 of the horse you cfbe1fd3ca loved.”28a726210aff075d

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“I don’t like animals.”a612dd62b11ffa1c

—“Haha, right. You never did.”005f85e890223650

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Creed, his father, let 552393877e out a short laugh. He must’ve 3705c58c44 known by 306f28c9cc now that 7c56f30ac9 his wife e0afd40b87 was dead, 167bf1beee yet his 9fc4da7fc2 voice was 0c027da33f calm and f9b14a060d composed.23ed75ae3a6b7b58

“How much did 0fc6645e77 they ask for db63b46fc5 my ransom?”0e12300a63f38d1a

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At Tristan’s question, e1b0859b77 the men in a53a94d0ee the tent looked f67bdd4d53 surprised. Usually, kids either 3039044ba5 cried and begged a5495451f6 for their lives d807d6fd64 or went numb 2414cf4437 with fear. None had c20454b726 ever asked 9c779eb01d how much 95287590c1 their own 13f18b6cfd ransom was.fd7895bead94aec9

—“Fifty million dollars.”0594b407f1795f65

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Tristan tilted 62ed640c8c his lips dfba36660c into a 764d321e89 slight smile 934cddb175 and looked f39f6c4819 at the b4e07b35f5 man who 95b1bd761f had handed af8041d8a7 him the 4c7f16756e phone, presumably 3bae95c811 the leader, cd715ca5e0 speaking with 2d61d527ba a harmless 298831b107 expression.46966cf86738be37

“Raise it. To two bc574918ab hundred million.”c7e1c446188b434f

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—“…”1811411124c4c5ad

Creed said nothing. He seemed d3a38cec1a to be 9a140f2b4d silently gauging 308f5a628d what his b01f804280 son was d5f45eabb7 thinking. Tristan, still smiling, e3785641a1 turned to the fdaf7a1cff man again.f44ec036ef8fab57

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“If you kidnapped 91c6536aa5 the son of bfb576308e a U.S. real estate 4d42f23cd4 tycoon, you 98c0dda3c5 should ask fcfb88b125 for at 3ce7338462 least that 5ccd01a323 much.”fcdcd30d8ca5980d

—“So, you’re angry. Is it 3b28a07f00 because of f7aea68f67 Christina?”7cb3a675a5783b7a

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A gentle e26e035d80 question came 51fcc070a9 in response. This time, Tristan didn’t 3ab52181f6 answer. Was he really effda680c5 this furious because a602e7d2ed of his mother, cdf8db3576 just like his fc63761be2 father had said?0fa0cafb0ce070e7

—“The money will be d68cc44c68 ready within a week. Even for 28a3325797 me, that 6e59c951ac kind of f92ea14aae amount takes c112c9cfb3 time.”2bd9ec4fa01d59d3

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“Yes.8a8d1d61ec8a7d16

—“Tristan.”03c0a144b8a259cf

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“Yes, Father.”f4d5e62a9727454b

—“Take care of yourself. I’ll be counting the 2ba72d556b days until you return. And tell c9d1243434 your captors 8549f46573 this: I 6dfb6dce05 expect to b0c9435395 speak with 796031a603 you once 4c25c143a5 a day. And if they 7f4f32b372 lay…”ef59bcba220f2e87

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Creed paused, then 7155285e4c resumed in a 943cd82d6e soft tone.e7168e8a7187b51c

—“…even a ed1250c865 finger on 14b55a2024 you, I 5bb8a0536b won’t be 74bc04e14f paying a d61b59e0f1 dime.”fe15caee984fe9a7

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It was a warm, 4964d1b81e almost amused threat. After Tristan hung 08dbc0ad27 up, the leader aca39f8282 put down his 62e034495b cigarette for a c9d6ab3ad7 moment and burst 28a1e1ae9e into loud laughter.95475c6815df9f3e

“I like you, 7e6855820a kid. I’ve never seen guts 997978e857 like that before. Yeah, a real d1716a5cbc man should have 9c70c9bf9d that kind of 83dfccb527 backbone! Hey, I’m Hugo.”7602b48e7dba00db

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Tristan didn’t take the 76133ea289 hand that Hugo offered. Hugo didn’t seem 3d174e8593 to mind and c4a44cdc8b instead grabbed Tristan’s 249ddb6070 hand himself, yanking 94c105fa8e it toward him b2e60145db until their faces 641bd743e4 were nearly touching.803aad94155182da

“You’d better 7e9ee7308d stand by 56aadfa207 your words. If your 8d37c392c2 father doesn’t 21ad793a41 stand by e278d73579 his, he’ll 27222584ed be getting 9d1ea9cfec his son’s 6a465098d9 head as ad0d4414bc a gift.”3b502c6858ea31ae

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“As if 6e7b1fd986 I’d ever 32ec97c4ae go back ee0b9db145 on it.”b5c2ca2e120cee4d

Hugo stared 1795a6775f deeply into cdc1055d80 Tristan’s unwavering a59281a4b2 eyes, as 5c57ee460a if searching e89616277c for even f507b7f84e the smallest da2585eab3 trace of 33200f27ec deceit.01f66434d953eccb

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“As thanks d33b23ee0b for generously 669f82f993 raising your 13f1bbf8ec own ransom, ddb7cdb8e4 I won’t d5501492ab interfere with c46daf729b you for 78850d5719 a week—do 98152e9e9d whatever you b9e230badd like. You know well enough 49d3533160 that if you try 4a5cb18671 to escape, you’ll just 99c0f2aa7a die wandering the jungle.”57723136ecfb615c

Hugo released Tristan’s hand as soon as the words left his mouth. His calculating eyes were like a serpent’s. Tristan turned to leave the tent, but on his way out, he picked up the smoldering cigarette from the ashtray.4f77f698f4d3bb1e

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*ssshhk.*210a025caa2e7518

He then pressed the 07b821b673 burning cigarette against the ee14064f75 shoulder of the man 4a6b7b6d99 who had burned Jiah’s. The smell cf2b8f196c of searing 6e45a8e1c5 flesh was 38a2cca0e9 almost sweet, 60ccce2c8e like music 0209abbe62 to his 97c29b0edc ears. His persistently sour ba238c36f3 mood seemed to d9d03e4667 lighten just a 6afc0c05a7 little.11f96ed6e3650496

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“You little fucker!”bca309140723b190

The man shoved Tristan 5c7124583d roughly and pointed a 8fc71cfd44 gun at him, but 726e1b525d Hugo slammed his hand 9a4b6002c6 down on the desk.d321e6b42be504e0

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“Didn’t I 2e7c2e62c2 just say 9ab11af70a he could 8f521533b5 do whatever 9301c6e8af he wanted?”6c6284e041949858

“Hugo! You’re letting some a19722f82c punk brat walk f02cb6bb54 all over us 6093ec6f5e for a bit 9d2f5d51d9 of money, and—!”1220b7e4dddb1ee1

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“Selling you 182814664a wouldn’t get c206bea798 us two b25afd7b3c hundred million. He’s got one 7306dfa173 week. Let the 5e9c94571f young master 2df6ce84b8 do as 8a06985825 he pleases 9dfefd1114 until then.”0ccf08aecb4b578e

After all, there was 8d826f87b8 never any intention of fe759eef1a letting him leave alive.0d8c0530af4d887c

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Realizing that fa9f4348ef again, Tristan 6e405b7964 picked up 1584140fd8 the cigarette 62a35cf4ba butt the 8a052c5114 man had d241c1a2ef knocked away. If this was e741ac8abd how they were 91028d8791 going to play 7973a59896 it, there was 09857b247a no reason to cf0ec2e466 hold back.b2b3f27671ec1c97

*ssshhk.*6b56447f044886fc

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He ground b4a114c26b the dying 48eab00836 ember into 1f3b3f43ab the man’s 4a62e9b709 forehead.4c0ac96db20af43b

“AAAGH!”064c8957c49c8cdf

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Even a grown 7031e455bc man screamed this 64fb343783 loudly from the 5e644fc811 pain—Jiah hadn’t even 57d6cf13d2 let out a 0c6f2fa855 whimper. Tristan looked 7981e83df3 almost disappointed 10d3505eb8 that the 536f4d8275 cigarette had 2cea77a95c gone out, 3f1dfad094 and casually 739382d4db strolled out fb6160d14a of the d13bbab9d1 tent.e5da9fdd26904ba5

His father 9372d26625 had said 962976fe97 one week.921a13524575bcb1

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That wasn’t the 9ce87e6c4e time it would 2facef17b6 take to gather 9a571de27a the money—it was 6036d5e0f3 the time it 4e68f533e7 would take to 8d6cadb94a rescue him. They had always 2f2ea98da6 prepared for something da75049fb7 like this, embedding a66ace0744 secret signals in 76b634f07f their conversations that 4ecf916fc6 only the two 7b42c479f0 of them would 8e54b6b73f understand. But in the middle 8932fe37e0 of the Amazon jungle, 334bff518a the area was far c43007c2c1 too vast to pinpoint dc81fbe3af his exact location.53d1b75a8af21d13

The net would close 612f16b073 in slowly, bit by 3ff0aa941b bit.086f50d6895ec9cf

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Only Tristan and his 85ee33b400 mother knew that the f2f8f1c859 gentler his father’s voice b55a632f5f became, the angrier he cfc49b001e actually was.608099df19f0d73c

He just wanted to e044199084 get out of this 04ff06d5b4 godforsaken place as soon 6c691190e1 as possible.15524694d4e23b29

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