The jungle had a way of holding onto sounds long after they should have disappeared, and even now, forty years later, Brian Carter could still hear the cries. They weren’t human, but they were close enough to haunt him—high-pitched, desperate, and full of fear. Back then, he had been a young wildlife ranger, part of a small unit tasked with shutting down illegal poaching operations near a protected forest reserve. It was supposed to be routine, just another raid, just another group of men taking more than they should.
“Stay sharp,” his partner had whispered as they moved through the trees. “These guys don’t scare easy.”
