Sweat dripped down my forehead as I tried to conceive what lay in front of me. I had been hiking through the humid hell of this jungle for the last 48 hours. According to my directions, I should be finally nearing the Temple of Awakening. And after two days of dealing with the unrelenting heat, the constant buzz and bites of insects, and total lack of sleep due to fear of an attack by a ferocious predator, I had finally made it to a bridge that threatened to collapse with just so much as a heavy breath upon it.

I heaved my own heavy breath in a forlorn sigh.

I sat against the trunk of a tree that was so covered in humid condensation you would have thought it had just been raining. I considered my options.

I could climb into the valley below and survey the river. However, crossing the river could mean getting swept along by the current. Or inadvertently stepping on a sharp fanged water serpent. And that's assuming I could even manage to get safely down to the river bed. Not exactly an attractive option.

I could continue upstream a bit and see if there was a more sturdy passage available. But that would mean more bushwacking, and deviating from the already spotty directions I was provided.

There really was no way around it - I was going to have to try to cross this piece of shit bridge.