Right at sunset, the buzzing started. It wasn’t as if the insects were silent—they were producing a constant steady drone—but Riley could push the sound away. This was something altogether different—a soft, persistent noise, a low frequency that jangled every nerve in the body. She’d awakened to the strange noise the very first night they entered the rain forest.Strangely, Riley couldn’t identify the low, irritating buzz, nor could she tell if it was outside or inside her head. She’d observed several others—including her mother—rubbing their temples as if their heads ached, and she feared that same low frequency of whispers one couldn’t quite catch was invading insidiously, adding to the danger of their travel. During the day the whispers were gone, but the effects lingered.Her senses, since entering the rain forest, seemed to have blazed to life and were working overtime. She noticed every little suspicious glance toward her mother. Jubal Sanders and Gary Jansen were armed to the teeth and she was very envious of their weapons.
