(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 ***