(The following story is the first work of fiction that I have created. It refers to a real life celebrity and as such should not be regarded as fact.)
Safely tucked away in comfort of the plane, the vast expanse of the Amazon jungle had been a magnificent sight, especially for Danny who'd never even ventured out of California before. It was exactly the experience he'd been looking for when he'd taken the opportunity to join a professional documentary crew with the famous British adventurer, Bear Grylls. For a junior cameraman who'd worked on nothing but a few commercials and local news spots, working on a globally successful survivalist show was too good to pass up and so he'd left his girlfriend and family behind for the three month expedition to the tropical South.
When he'd first awoken to the sound of burning foliage and the intense heat of ignited fuel, it was immediately obvious to the inexperienced American that, up close and personal, the Amazon was more akin to hell. The charred remains of the aircraft had tangled intself in the canopy above, the force of such an impact throwing the lifeless bodies of his colleagues into the thick undergrowth. The horrors of such a gruesome sight had been so overwhelming that Danny wasn't even aware of someone else moving through the suffocating smoke.
If there was anyone Danny would have wished to survive, it would have been Bear Grylls hands down. He'd been a fan of the survivalist since his show made it to the US and had seen him successfully navigate his way through many dangerous situations. Dealing with the shock of losing people he'd befriended silenced his appreciation however, and the first few hours of their escape from the crash-site had been painfully quiet.
Now, as daylight slowly dwindled and their trek had temporarily halted, Danny found Bear's plan of action more than efficient,
"First, we need to create some shelter. Humidity is rising and it looks like we've got heavy rain on the way." Having no clue about such things, Danny only offered a quiet nod before the other man quickly set about hacking makeshift construction materials from the surrounding trees. It was impressive to see him work with such skill and the cameraman found himself surprised with how little time it actually took the intrepid explorer to design and build a single shelter across some low hanging branches. In contrast, Danny had always hated roughing it as a kid during their various camping trips and barely had a clue how to survive in his own apartment, never mind a wild and completely hostile environment like the deep south.
With shelter and water accommodated for, Bear turned his attention to the need for food and after double checking their temporary camp, had set off further into the jungle to scavenge anything he could. Alone with nothing but the sounds of shrill animal calls and the light patter of rain on the canopy above, Danny found himself left with nothing but the camera and his own thoughts.
*** Video Log #1 - 1/4/11 ***
'I still can't believe that the others are dead. The flight was supposed to be simple - capture some aerial footage before heading back to the airfield...but for some reason, we hit a problem and the plane went down. I've tried to sleep since we started our journey towards the river, but I can't get the image of the others out of my head. I was nervous about this trip from the start and now I'm feeling guilty because I'm glad I have someone who knows how to get us out of here. If we ever get out of here. I try not to think about the possibility that no one knows we're stranded in the middle of nowhere, that they consider everyone dead. We managed to salvage some equipment from the wreck, including this camera and a few extra battery packs. I'm going to keep a diary as long as I can, for my own sanity if nothing else.'
*****
With visibility down to a few feet and the sound of heavy rain now drowning out any signs of life from the jungle itself, even the opportunity to process his own private thoughts was no comfort. Bear had been gone almost an hour and Danny soon felt hunger begin to weaken his resolve, the search for decent rations in their single backpack proving to be a fruitless effort. Even in those most dire circumstances the idea of eating whatever Bear found in the jungle was less than appealing and Danny soon found his gaze wandering. Above the shelter, on the branch of another tree hung a clump of dark berries, similar to blueberries but far larger in size. How dangerous could a fruit be? Danny was more than willing to put up with a little vomiting if it meant he could forego the beetle stew.
Taking a handful, Danny gave the berries a sniff before piling them into his mouth. Sweet juices began sating the rumbling of his stomach and the uncomfortable hunger began to fade. It took less than a minute or two for Danny to realise that there was something definitely wrong. The jungle began to spin and muscle movement became increasingly difficult. The berries he'd eaten seemed so normal, like any fruit you'd buy at the store, how was he supposed to know they were poisonous? In less than five minutes, the toxins had quickly taken hold of his motor functions, inducing a state of paralysis that was slowly but surely suffocating him.