There were men’s shouts. She scrambled backward like a crab. She leaped to her feet and another man slammed into her. Breath exploded from her with the jarring blow. Her flashlight flew. There were grunts and gasping breath. She kicked, hard, and rolled away. Legs flashed though the flashlight’s dust-hazed beam. She bounded to her feet, kicked at someone, turned, and stumbled. A man dashed by and plowed into the man behind her just as he grabbed her wrist. She yanked her wrist free, but she stumbled to her hands and knees.
A shadow lurched up. Jay! He kicked at the man he’d knocked to the ground. “Run!” he shouted.
She ran like a greyhound.
A shape in a patch of moonlight came at her, but she outdistanced him driven by utter fear. She was in the trees. There were sounds of men crashing in the undergrowth behind her. Jay wasn’t with her.
The shotgun boomed behind her. She hit the ground, then was up and slamming herself through face-lashing brush. The Others were shouting. “¡Puta!” Not a very nice name to call a girl. A flashlight came on, but swung wildly.
She tangled in brush and then shoved her way through. Where’s Jay? She hoped he had the sense to head for the river. A shrieking thought split through her mind. Had he been caught, again? She’d left him, again. The shouts and yells seemed to fall farther behind, then more to the left, like they were angling away from the river. Super!
She broke into a little clearing and a man came at her. She dodged, turned, and as she’d been taught in self-defense class, stiff-armed him with the heel of her hand, right into Jay’s face.
“Oh no!” She knelt beside him where he had fallen. “I’m sorry, Jay.”
He rubbed his chin with a startled look, but grinned.
Pulling him up, they eased back into the brush. She motioned him to sit and placed a finger to her lips. “We wait.” If they kept moving the Others might hear them, she knew that from capture the flag. When she grabbed the flag she’d run like mad out of the area and then hid and listened. Once pursuers gave up, she’d creep back to her line. Karen wondered if the shotgun blast had awakened Tía. If so, she’d be freaking out.
Both of them were sucking in deep breaths like racehorses. Her fists were clutching with nails digging into her palms. She couldn’t stop shaking and had to fight to keep from jumping up and running again.
In all her turmoil, she realized Jay was no better off. He was rocking back and forth, hands gripping his legs, fighting for breath.
After a spell, she managed to gasp out, “You okay?”
“No.” A long pause. “How about you.”
“Not…so good. What happened?”
Jay didn’t answer. Sitting cross-legged, their knees touched. His hand brushed hers. She started to pull back, but he took her hand.
“You came back.” He sounded disbelieving.
“I, I couldn’t just row away. I had to see if there might be some way to get you back.”
“I thought I’d never see you…or anyone again.”
Her face warmed with embarrassment. “They do anything to you, beat you up or anything?”
“They pushed me round some, slapped me a few times, trying to scare me I guess.”
He was trying to sound tough she guessed.
“They sure did,” he said.
“What?”
“Scare me.” He paused. “They kept yelling questions at me. I didn’t know what they wanted.”
“I heard them. They wanted to know how you got there and if there was anyone else.”
“Some went to the river.”
“I made it back in time to row behind a fallen tree.”
He wasn’t shaking any more. He was still holding her hand. She wasn’t shaking either.
“Jay, I…thought about leaving. To protect Tía and Lomara. But I couldn’t.”
“Thanks.”
“Yeah. And you came back for me.”
“You didn’t leave me much choice. Couldn’t run out on you after all.”
“Just because I came back for you?”
“No, ‘cause you didn’t teach me how to clean a chicken yet.”
In spite of herself, she chuckled.
They heard occasional shouts, but they became less frequent. After twenty minutes of silence, she nudged Jay.
“Let’s get back. Tía’s probably going nutzo.”
She let his hand loose, like it was no big deal. She had no idea how far they’d come or where they were in relation to the boat.
“That’s another reason I came back. Didn’t know if I could find the boat.”
All they had to do was walk until they hit the river, then turn right and follow the bank back to the boat, she hoped. It was easy to become disoriented in a dark dense forest. Woods shock it’s called.
It took longer than she’d expected, but they found the boat, manned by a very alert and nervous Tía.
Tía was rattling excitedly and Lomara awoke. Karen cautioned them into silencio with a finger over her lips. They were beyond joy and hugged and kissed Jay. He chugged water, but Karen didn’t take the time. She cast off letting the current pull them out from under the limbs. Turning into the current, Karen rowed away, fast. She couldn’t help it. She raised a middle finger in farewell to the Others.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was still two hours until daylight.
Despite Karen’s urge to keep going, they needed sleep. She thought of sailing on through the night’s final hours, but it would be unwise. It was impossible to see hazards, and they were exhausted.
She kept to the shore opposite the village and found a suitable spot at a little stream mouth. With Lomara holding the remaining flashlight, Karen and Jay hung the hammocks. She tried not to think about what happened between her and Jay, whatever it was. Was it anything more than just needing another person to deal with fear?
As Karen helped Tía into her hammock, the woman said, “Estuviste maravillosa.”
Yes, she had been wonderful. Maybe you’ll stay off my back, she thought smugly. “Gracias, Tía,” she mumbled instead. “Jadon era maravillosa también.” Jay had been marvelous. He’d come back for her. She’d never have bet on that.
She tried not to dwell on what could have happened when the man clipped her and she fell and then another had grabbed her. If she’d hesitated even one second it could have been worse than anything she would allow herself to imagine. Do not even think about it. Regardless, it felt like talons were trying to claw out of her belly.
No matter how rattled she was, how wasted she felt, she clearly saw what was in store for them. Karen had undergone a transformation at some fundamental level. She would never be safe again, she would always be hungry, she must always be on guard, she must always think ahead. She vowed to do whatever she had to do to bring out her crew.
She dug the bandage scissors out of the medical pack. Yanking the Scrunchie off her ponytail and clutching a handful of filthy shoulder-length hair, she hacked into it.
“No!” shouted Jay. “You can’t…”
Anger and a surging defiance burned through her. “Don’t tell me what to do! I’ll do whatever I frigging want.”
She chopped it off in ragged hanks tossing them in the river. Tía looked at her like she’d gone barking mad. Jay watched every hank fall with pain in his eyes. “That’s so ratchet, girl.”
»»•««
They had three hours sleep before Karen had them up and on the river after filling the water bottles in the stream. Thankfully it was an uneventful day. The river offered an unimaginable number of twists and turns. Karen noticed a taller than usual twisted tree barely inland on the left bank. They drifted around a bend and traveling down the other side of the loop she saw the tree again, just inland from the bank. The loop was about a quarter of a mile across, but its narrow neck with the tree may have only been thirty yards. They could have walked across it faster than drifting around the loop. Of course they’d not have been able to drag the boat and gear through the dense foliage.
The hours seemed like days. What did happen last night, between her and Jay? Was it just because they’d come back for each other? That couldn’t mean anything. They took turns rowing. They barely spoke even when changing seats.
Karen was resting, her elbows of the oars lifting the blades from the water. She watched the out of focus jungle drift past at a slug’s crawl.
“What are you into…at school?” Jay’s voice jarred her out of her trance.
“Into?”
“Sports and stuff.”
“Oh. Swim team looser, cheer leader looser, math loser, stuff like that.” Why’d she tell him that?
“You, a loser? I don’t see that.”
“Yeah, well, it’s in the headlines.” That was awfully nice of him to say. “Thanks for that, anyway.”
“Where’d you learn all this survival stuff?”
“Venturing Scouts, and TV.”
“So you’re like a Girl Scout.”
“Girl…no, Venturing Scouts are co-ed. Different from the Girl Scouts.
“But why the survival gig? I mean it’s not like every day you have to survive in the woods.”
She looked at him, you’re kidding, she thought. “And yet here we are,” waving her arm around.
He looked kind of surprised. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“I liked the TV shows, wanted to learn all those tricks. I like to be able to take care of myself.”
“I wish I’d learned some of this stuff. I feel kind of helpless.”
“I bet.”
He watched the shore for a while. “How do you join the Venturing Scouts?”
“Show up for a meeting.” She pulled a few strokes. “I bet you’d qualify straight off for the Camping and Rowing Merit Badges. I’ll sign you off.”
“Really?”
“Believe me, really.” She pulled on the oars. “Why can’t you swim? If you don’t mind me asking.”
An embarrassed mask dropped over his face. “My mom, she almost drowned in a pool when she was little. Now she won’t let any of us near a pool.”
“Us?”
“I’ve got an older brother going to Sam Houston State and one in sixth grade.” He looked at her. “You have any sisters, brothers?”
“I have a sister in med school.”
He went back to shore-staring. She’d catch him glancing at her. Probably because of her stupid hacked off ratchet hair.
The sun settled behind them to its nightly death below the trees ending the mind-numbing day of endless drifting. They searched for a campsite. They’d not eaten all day and were starved.
The light breeze was fresh from the east so Karen looked for a site on an eastward facing shore above one of the river bends. The wind would be blowing across the river and into the jungle where they camped. It might keep mosquitoes down. She was pleasantly surprised they’d not been a problem. This would probably change as the hatchlings emerged a few days after the floods subsided. There would be plenty of standing water in the jungle to nurture them.
She reminded herself they were heading for the Mosquito Coast, Nicaragua’s remote eastern Caribbean seaboard. It sounded unpleasant, but while commonly referred to by the name of the annoying insect, it was actually named the Miskito Coast after the region’s Miskito Indians.
Tía told them to be on the lookout for iguanas verde, those big green scary-looking lizards. They were difficult to catch, maybe the spear would help or she could make a slip noose on a pole to snag it, but “bamboo chickens” were good to eat. Tía added how prized they were in Los Manantial, their thick tail meat being the best part.
Ahead, Karen spotted a grassy knoll with overhanging trees only a few feet higher than the water. On the upstream end was a low spot where the Huck Finn could be pulled ashore. She took over from Jay and pulled hard to glide into the little landing site.
Pulling her shoes on, she stepped ashore armed with the machete. She’d scout the area before letting anyone else ashore. She had to assure first herself they were landing in a safe place.
The knoll was covered with low grass and little white flowers plus several trees good for hanging hammocks. Thick brush surrounded the knoll’s landward side. After helping Tía and Lomara out, Jay passed the smoldering hubcap to her. She had to feed it some twigs before she kicked and scraped a fire pit beside the trees.
The low ground around the knoll was still wet and she realized they might have a hard time finding dry wood. She prepared the tripods and spit. This time she secured the tripod tops with duct tape. Lomara packed on mud. It would be better to keep the tripods rather than fashioning new ones each time. She’d always cut a fresh spit though.
Working her way up the shoreline she found a fallen dead tree. As she chopped off its dried limbs, Jay carried them to the camp. It required of him five trips plus Karen carrying a last load. She thanked him each time. Maybe she was laying it on too think, but she appreciated his new cooperation.
They spitted the remaining snake to ensure it was well cooked. That would make it tougher, but it was better safe than sorry. The snake was ready when she dropped her wood on the pile.
It was dark by the time they ate. Everyone was glum and concerned for Tía, who appeared weaker and more listless.
Karen gave her two more antibiotic tablets. At least she had enough of the big “horse pills” and she didn’t have to ration them.
Throwing the snake remains into the river, Karen saw swirls and ripples of feeding fish, a good sign if they were to fish. She’d not yet thought about how to go about that.
They filtered and boiled water. Karen wanted to have everything ready to go and be on their way at first light. Tía’s slight rocking back and forth and occasional almost unheard moan told her they needed to get her to a hospital.
»»•««
The fire popped and crackled releasing an eddy of orange sparks into the ultramarine sky. From under their trees the sky was visible across the black river. The stars glowed so densely they glistened as a radiant mist. They watched bats flit after bugs over the star-reflecting river and saw a shooting star.
No one disturbed the silence. Karen wished someone would say something, even if she couldn’t understand it all.
Lomara, with her head on Karen’s lap, was sobbing quietly. Karen took the child in her arms and held her as tight as she could. She whispered that it would be all right.
“¿Estaremos bien?”—Are we going to be okay?
“Vamos a estar bien.”—We are going to be okay.
Lomara told her how much she missed her mama, papa, sister, and brother. Would she ever see them again?
Tía weltered in her own agonies.
Jay sat with his eyes locked on the flickering fire. His face was showing bruises.
What’s he thinking? Karen wondered. Should she talk to him?
Karen realized getting her crew through this would take more than mere trail-skills; it required a certain morale quality. She’d have to be there for the others to help them persevere. They may have to do the same for her.
She thought about her mom and dad, if they’d been lost or were looking for her. What was her sister doing? Was she in Nicaragua looking for them?
The pain and sorrow were palatable in the little clearing on the river.
Karen had to pull them out of this. She asked Tía to tell a story, any story.
She told them of ancient legends, evil spirits, men of greed, and women in love.
»»•««
The morning sun pinked the sky in the direction they were traveling down the river. There was barely enough light to see by. They finished off the granola bars and the last two oranges.
Tía swallowed two more antibiotic tablets and reported she felt a little better. Her fever had dropped a bit. With the rising sun Karen checked her arm to find the swelling had subsided, some. Maybe all the antibiotics were doing some good. Karen had placed the hammocks over Tía last night to keep her warm.
They drifted. Karen and Jay took turns
rowing and occasionally bailed in the heated air.
For “lunch” they divvied up the last candy bar. Karen took stock of their food supply, which she’d listed in her log and scratched off and dated each item as it was eaten. She considered when they would eat the remaining. They were down to two Fig Newtons each. Coupled with whatever eggs would be gifted, that was tomorrow’s breakfast. There was enough trail mix for tomorrow’s lunch. They had two chickens, tonight’s and tomorrow’s dinner; and it would mean the end of their eggs. All that would be left were a package of peanuts, a can of Vienna sausages, and a can of mandarin oranges. The half a bag of stale potato chips wasn’t even a snack and she needed to keep a few for fire starting. This was their fourth day on the river.
She considered skipping another day’s meal, saving a chicken for a day later, but that would mean nothing for a whole day and they’d been living on little enough as it was. They’d be too weak to deal with emergencies and it wouldn’t help Tía’s resistance to the infection. They had to find something else, snakes, fish, frogs maybe. She knew how to make animal and bird traps, but it meant they would have to stay in one place for a time. They couldn’t afford that. There was the possibility they might catch something if they set traps overnight. But that meant they’d have to stop way early. It takes a lot of time to hand-build and set traps.
»»•««
In the early afternoon they heard a subtle rushing noise. She could feel the river’s energy through the oars. In only a moment Karen realized it was rapids. There’s not supposed to be any rapids! Backwatering the oars, she slowed their drift as they rounded a bend. There was some whitewater, but it was less imposing than the rapids she’d run on the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country.
Tears of the River Page 14