Outbreak by Chris Ryan

fighting her way through the verdant bush. But eventually she spoke.
'Track them down,' she translated. 'And kill them.'

CHAPTER TEN
A couple of years ago, Ben's mum had taken him to Kew Gardens in London. A typical Bel Kelland day out, with lots of lectures about the environment and what we were doing to it. What he remembered most, though, was the Palm House, a huge glass pavilion in which the heat and humidity levels were high enough for all the exotic trees and plants that were kept there. It had been oppressive after only ten minutes; but it was as nothing to the surroundings in which he found himself now. His face was moist, not only from the perspiration of running, but also from the thick humidity in the air - ten times worse now he was under the canopy of the rainforest than it had been in the village. His unsuitable Western clothes were already ripped by the angry thorns of the unfamiliar plants all around him, their tough, juicy leaves barbed on the edge like the teeth of a saw. Remarkably he had not yet cut his skin, but he suspected it was only a matter of time.
Halima led the way, deftly finding paths through the thick foliage that Ben would never have seen. Behind them they heard the shouting of the men, seemingly coming from different directions but in fact, Ben soon realized, confirming the fact that he was wildly disorientated. He had no idea if he was running north, south, east or west. All he knew was that he had to keep going. They ran blindly for at least half an hour, both of them breathless and Ben feeling a sharp stitch in the side of his abdomen; he forced himself to push through the pain barrier, however, knowing that the alternative was a lot less palatable.
Eventually they stopped, spent a minute catching their breath and then, barely daring to move, listened around them. It was not silent. The screams of unseen birds filled the air; closer to the ground were the shuffles and movement of unknown creatures. But the sounds they were listening for - the shouts of their pursuers and the noise of humans inexpertly cutting their way through the forest - were absent. Ben looked at Halima in relief; her eyes were flashing darkly and she returned his gaze with a coldness Ben hadn't expected. 'You OK?' he whispered.
'No,' Halima replied sternly. 'This is all your fault.'
Ben blinked at her. 'What do you mean?'
'Those men, they would have never done this to me if you had not interfered.'
'What are you talking about, Halima? They were going to kill both of us.'
'You pointed a gun at them!' Halima started to raise her voice, only lowering it when she saw Ben wince. 'Do you not understand what that means in these parts? There are bandits everywhere - if you threaten to kill someone, they will try to kill you first.' Her Congolese accent could not hide her fury. 'Those men were taking me to the village elders. I was to be punished for showing you the ritual last night. Not killed.'
'No, Halima.' Ben spoke firmly, urgently. 'You're wrong. Listen to me carefully. Your village is not cursed.' She tried to interrupt, but Ben spoke over her. 'Let me speak. You heard me tell Suliman that my father has become ill - I have as much interest in this as anyone. He's a scientist - a good one - and he thinks that there is some sort of virus down the mine, highly contagious. The people who run the mine know this, but they stand to make a lot of money from the Coltan down there. Suliman knows we're on to them. I wouldn't mind betting that he has orders to kill anyone who discovers the truth. That's why he was abducting you - he thought I had told you what was going on.'
Halima looked confused.
'Think about it, Halima,' he urged. 'Why would the village elders send three men with AK-47s to catch a fourteen-year-old girl? It doesn't make sense.'
'No,' Halima said. ' You don't make sense. If Suliman thought that there was a virus down there, why would he risk staying?'
'Because some people are immune. Like you, for example.'