Costa Rican Mystery

Annabel and I trekked down the slippery, grassy slope of the Costa Rican forest. The rainforest was filled with loud chattering; howls, calls, and coos. We were taking a vacation to relax from our mountain of homework from college. This forest is 300 square miles of the most amazing and inhabited areas in the world. We took a tour caravan into the heart of the animal central and heard the tour guide say, “Now, everyone, please look to your right. Up on that tree, you can see an exotic toucan. You will recognize it probably from its colorful, multi-colored bill.” Every single tour member turned their heads towards the bird. The toucan was perched on a thin twisted branch in a high tree.
The tour members sat in silence and watched the animals roam and thrive as the caravan stopped next to a murky, cloudy lake. What we saw was an amazing phenomenon; a Jesus Christ Lizard glided on the smooth surface of the lake and skidded to a halt on the shore of the water. It hurried up a tree and vanished from sight. Annabel tapped me on the shoulder and pointed her index finger at a nearby tree. She climbed out of the caravan and I followed. I saw a little green bump on the brown bark of the fir tree. It was tiny and not very distinctive, but Annabel is known to have very sharp eyes. We walked closer and recognized a gecko. Geckos were very rare and small. The gecko seemed to have sensed us observing it, because it tilted its head and sprinted up the rough bark into the top canopy.
To this day, I still don’t know how we ended up in that lake, but we did. Seconds after we saw that gecko glide up the tree, we were all in that lake. It didn’t feel like much of a lake, but a muddy, marshy swamp. The tour members had started to panic, because they were starting to get tired and weary. The tour guide, with unbelievable calmness, said, “Everyone, please calm down. It isn’t the end of the world. This lake isn’t like quicksand and won’t devour you. Don’t worry. Just listen to my instructions, and you’ll get out real soon.” The tour members weren’t reassured, but wanted to be, so they had no choice but to believe every word the guide said.
The guide said, “Everyone, please walk calmly and slowly towards the shore, and don’t make any sudden or swift movements…or…IT will see you.” The tension in the lake grew. The tour members’ faces all turned as white as chalk, and looked a bit greener than usual. The tour members all moved, with caution, towards the shore. The tour guide, all of a sudden, went under the surface and vanished. The tour members saw what happened and ignored all that he had said, and ran, as fast as they could, towards the shore. Something pulled a few other tour members under the surface, but Annabel, four tour members, and I survived. We were on the shore, soaking wet, feeling cold. The cold Costa Rican wind blew and blew and sent chills down our spines.
It was close to night now. I took my warm jacket off of my shoulders and wrapped it around Annabel and me. Our lips had turned a sickly purple because of the cold. We had little food in the caravan, but it was enough to support all six of us for a day. The horizon couldn’t be seen, but the sky was a blend of radiant color: cherry blossom pink, purple passion, lemon yellow, goldenrod, and sea foam.
In the morning, I was awoken by the howling of monkeys. As I rubbed my eyes, I could see them hopping from one tree to another. When they got to another tree, they hurried down the tree and sat and relaxed on a thick branch. Annabel had already awoken. She was staring into the muddy swamp, probably remembering what had happened to the other tour members. As I moved my eyes where she was looking, I wondered what “IT” was, but I didn’t intend to find out.
Evening came, and we were all exhausted and hungry. We had traveled north from the heart of the Costa Rican forest ever since everyone woke up that morning. We had wandered to a nearby stream, and decided to take in a bit of water before we continued or camped for the night. The stream looked exactly the opposite of that lake; it was clear and purified. The stream looked unusually deep, but that didn’t matter. After drinking as much as we could, we set out again; northwards.
Night was almost here. All of us were injured from some sort of slip or fall. I had tripped over a root and landed flat on my face, so now I had scratches and bruises all over myself. Annabel seemed to be unhurt, besides her slight limping. The other tour members trailed behind and sulked slowly forwards. We settled down and made camp with the few resources we had: some wood, some dried canopy leaves, some vines, and some stones. The night was very bitter. The wind blew through our canopy leave walls and made us shiver.
The next morning, we walked and walked and walked; there seemed to be no end to this forest; it was ever so long. The other tour members seemed to have given up all hope of surviving, so they didn’t use much energy. Annabel and I still had hope, so we traveled forward, pushing ourselves to the limit. We soon emerged through the forest foliage into a small clearing that had a lake in the middle. The six of us were filthy, so we decided to bathe a bit. But before I was done, I saw a huge lump come out of the water. It was “IT.”