Nothing Else Matters (Jungle Cruise)

Chapter Five

The hole in her gut didn't subside when she thought about why she'd really left without Frank. He would have come with her if she insisted, yes, but he wouldn't have let her heal the other conquistadors. As if they didn't deserve peace, after all these years.

As if they would tell her the truth of what happened that night they got cursed.

Lily sighed and let the guilt sit in her stomach, but set her jaw. She had to do this, for peace of mind if anything.

The boat left the dock, chugging along noisily. To Lily's surprise, the boat didn't stop come sunset. The skipper slowed the pace a bit, but kept moving downriver as the sun set and a half-moon rose. They were still moving when she climbed under a mosquito net on the deck and drifted off to sleep.

*

Frank pushed his way through the crowds on the dock, frantically searching the crowd even though he knew Lily would be on the river by now. One look across the water showed no boats on their way out, and it was too late in the afternoon for any others to leave.

Frank pulled aside the next person he passed. "I'm looking for a woman, about this high, blonde hair."

"A lot of people come through here, sir," the man said, pulling away from Frank's huge stature, eyes widening as he noticed Proxima behind him.

Frank sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "She was wearing pants."

"Oh! Her! She came through here yesterday, I'm afraid." The man pointed to a dock across the way, still taking steps backwards. "Hired Miguel to take her on the river, I think."

Frank let the man leave, looking at the dock he'd pointed to. It was loaded with trunks. Probably whatever MacGregor hadn't been able to drag with him, Frank assumed, since there wasn't a boat docked there. Frank rolled up his sleeves and started walking towards the docks. He could see one of Nilo's boats returning from a day cruise in the distance. Good timing, too, since he just happened to need a boat of his own.

*

Frank watched until the last tourist was off the boat, leaving just the skipper, who turned to start turning off the engine. He pulled himself out of the water and over the side of the boat, spilling water onto the deck. Before the skipper could make a noise, Frank punched the man in the gut, grabbed him by his collar and belt, threw him overboard, and kicked the engine back into gear. Proxima strolled up next to him and shook the water out of her fur as Frank pulled a lever here and there. He heard shouts from the docks, pulled one last lever and turned the wheel, and they were off.

*

Lily woke to shouting.

She sat up and threw off the mosquito net, looking around frantically. MacGregor was calling her name, and the skipper was in the bridge, shouting something in Portuguese. The boat lurched suddenly, throwing her off her feet, and water spilled over the side of the boat and drenched her.

She stood and looked out at the water. They had just entered the rapids. She ran to the bridge where the skipper fumbled with controls.

"Rápidos!" Lily shouted. "I meant go the other way!"

"Isto é corredeira! Não rápido! Rápido é-" the skipper took one hand and moved it quickly past the other. He did it again, and Lily clapped a hand over her mouth.

She thought she'd told the man there were rapids here, and he had understood it as her wanting to get there rapidly. No wonder he'd driven through the night. She looked out at the water again and swallowed, suddenly realizing that there was a solid chance they wouldn't make it out of this. La Quila had barely made it away from the falls, and this boat was no match for her. Even now, just navigating around boulders, before even fighting the current, the oily smoke billowing out of the boat was black and acrid.

MacGregor joined them in the bridge, holding on to the door frame for dear life. Lily grabbed him and helped stabilize him, narrowly keeping him from getting swept off deck and into the roiling waters.

Lily turned back to the skipper and pointed left- portside- whatever- towards the offshoot of water next to the falls, where they had been able to escape the rapids before. The skipper yanked the boat's wheel in that direction, and Lily grabbed the wheel to try and help, putting what felt like all of her weight onto the wheel.

The boat turned, and squeals came from the engine room as the boat struggled to move of its own accord. Smoke started to come from below deck as well, but it was hot and ashy. Had the engine room just started on fire?

The boat continued to turn, but it made no progress towards the safe offshoot. Instead it was being dragged, sideways now, towards the falls. The current pulled the back of the boat even closer, and the boat fought to escape, but there was just no way it would make it out.

Lily grabbed her brother, squeezed her eyes shut, and took a deep breath as they went over the falls.