Empire Lost

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The abusive humidity hung to her strong frame, drenching her clothing in sweat. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought she had just emerged from a body of rank pond water. It had become increasingly harder to catch her breath due to the hard-to-breathe air, and the distance she had covered.

She stopped at the peak of a modest incline and peeled a loose strand of dark hair away from her forehead. Slipping out of her backpack, she knelt and focused on the surrounding area and not what her hands were doing. Before her, in a remote slice of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, was a narrow waterfall. At its base was a perfectly round plunge pool. No outlet was visible. The water didn’t drain in a conventional manner. There was no river. The never-ending flow of water had to have emptied by some other means. The primal demonstration of power forced a steady spray into the air, coating every square inch of the terrain in additional moisture. It was a serene sight, one that relaxed her rising anxiety. The only time she took her eyes off the picturesque wonder was to check her position on her palm-sized GPS unit.

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