6 Following Fig’s trail

Chapter Six FOLLOWING FIGS TRAIL Ollie and Kiki were back in the rainforest, standing in front of the large lumpy rock that looked like a pygmy elephant. Ollie looked down at the tablet in his hand, where he'd saved the photos Fig had taken, and back across to the rock. "It's definitely the same one," he said. "See how the trunk curves around, and the patch

of moss like an eye? I'm sure Fig was here." Kiki sniffed the air. "Hey, Ollie? Do you smell Fig's favorite stinky snack?" Sure enough, at the foot of the rock was a half-chewed durian! "We're definitely on Fig's trail, no doubt about it," Ollie said. "Let's see where she went to next..." He swiped to the next photo. It was blurry and at a crazy angle, but he could tell it was a gigantic red flower with pale speckles.

"A rafflesia," Ollie said. Kiki frowned. "How will we find one flower in this huge rainforest?" Ollie grinned. "It just happens to be the biggest flower in the world," he said. "And it stinks like rotten meat!" They hurried along, searching and sniffing, until Kiki stopped. She wrinkled her nose. "Urgh! I think I've found it!" They followed the terrible stink until they reached the plant. They both gasped—the flower was a yard wide! "Wow," said Kiki. "But why does it smell so bad?" "It's to attract flies so they pollinate it," Ollie explained. He looked around. Sure enough, the tree branches next to them were stripped bare of leaves.

"Fig's been here," he said. "She ate these leaves, look. Lucky for us she's still hungry." "But she's not here now! Where can she be?" Kiki groaned.

There was nothing to do but keep looking. They soon found the stream from Fig's photo, but there was no sign of Fig anywhere nearby. The next photo showed something like a fuzzy orange log. "Is this an orangutan's leg?" Kiki wondered. "No," Ollie laughed. "It's a pelawan tree. They have bright orange bark. Among all these other trees, a pelawan ought to stand out like a lighthouse."

Ollie was right. They spotted the pelawan easily. But Fig wasn't there. And there was only one photo left. It showed a clearing beside some trees—not much to go on. Ollie and Kiki looked closely at the photo. "Those are mangrove trees," Ollie said. "They like swampy, salty water." "I think I can smell a swamp now!" Kiki said, grimacing. "Me too. Ah, the refreshing aroma of mud and rotting plants," Ollie grinned. "Let's go!" It was easy to find the mangroves just by following the smell. The ground under them got softer and softer, until the squishy mud went right over the tops of Ollie's boots. The tree roots poked out of the water like snorkels, which Ollie knew was so they could get oxygen from the stinking mud. He stood