Mary sprinted toward the docks along with the rest of her group. They couldn’t afford to waste a single second. Luckily, they found the boat quickly. Before she knew it, they were skipping along the surface of the river, cruising against the current at top speed.
The wind made the water rough and choppy, but Pepe piloted with confidence, holding the boat’s throttle down to its maximum capacity. The powerful motor caused them to jump up and down along the river, like a smooth stone being skipped atop the surface of a pond. It felt more like flying than sailing.
Mary held on as tightly as she could. The wind whipped through her hair as raindrops and spray from the river pelted her. Pepe showed no intention of slowing down. He deftly maneuvered around logs and other obstacles in the water.
The pursuit continued for more than an hour. They passed boat after boat, causing locals to shake their fists in anger as their own small watercraft rocked violently in the wake. Pepe yelled out his apologies, but they were moving too quickly for anyone to hear.
Mary was worried by the fact that they still hadn’t caught up to Anatoly and Colin. Where were they? She kept a close watch, knowing that once they overtook them, they’d need to pass by without being seen. She didn’t know how they’d pull that one off. Maybe they could all duck down and hide at the bottom of the boat until they’d completely passed by? Mary searched her mind frantically for a better plan.
“Do you think we already passed them?” Helen yelled, straining over the noise.
“I don’t think so,” Mary replied. “We would’ve seen them.”
They came to a large bend in the river. Mary stretched to look as far as she dared while still holding on for dear life. Unable to see anything, she decided it to play it safe.
“Slow down as you come around the bend, Pepe,” she requested.
Pepe obeyed, pulling back on the throttle, and cutting their speed in half. Mary didn’t see anything unusual, but the angle of the river didn’t permit her to see much of anything at all. Convinced that the coast was clear, she turned to Pepe. But before she could tell him to speed up again, something caught her eye, coming into view from behind a large bush.
Mary’s heart skipped a beat. Instead of sailing upriver, there sat the poacher’s boat, moored along the shoreline. Standing there, clear as day, was Anatoly. He peered at them through a pair of binoculars, pointing and waving.
“It’s him!” Ike yelled.
In a flash, Mary realized that it’d been a setup all along. Of course! Why would Anatoly try to track the globe down, when he could force somebody to lead him right to it? He’d only needed to draw them away from the village. Mary felt stupid for walking right into his trap.
Thinking quickly, she found a small ray of hope. Since Colin’s boat was stopped, perhaps they could sail right past Anatoly and gain enough distance before he’d be able to follow. The Ticuna would know how to hide from them after that.
“Keep going Pepe, as fast as you can!” Mary cried. “Whatever you do, don’t stop!”
Anatoly didn’t even move or try to follow as Pepe sped up. That was odd.
In that very moment Mary finally spotted Colin. He hadn’t been in his boat with Anatoly. He was lying on his stomach on the riverbank, holding his long hunting rifle. It was pointed directly at them.
Mary tensed in fear as she forced out a warning.
“Look out!”
Too late. The poacher fired the rifle. Mary instinctively flinched, but she wasn’t the target. Immediately following the report of the gun, Mary heard a second blast. Was the boat exploding? They lurched and Mary was thrown to the floor. She landed in a heap with the others. Too shaken to move, she stayed there, listening to the sound of the motor die away. Gradually, the boat drifted to a stop, rocking back and forth in the river’s choppy wake.
What happened?
“Pepe?” she called out, feeling hazy.
“I am okay,” he said. “But I am afraid our boat is not.”
Mary dragged herself to her hands and knees. She pulled her body from the wet floor, and turned, shaking and almost unable to stand.
One look at the motor, and she knew they were in trouble. Black smoke belched from a gaping hole in its side.
Leading the Way
“Weren’t you even going to stop and say hello to your old friend?” asked Anatoly.
Colin sailed alongside the now idle boat where Mary and the others sat stranded.
Mary turned to face Anatoly, whose gun was out and pointed at her.
“Just please don’t hurt anyone,” she pleaded, knowing there was no escape.
“I’m not an evil person,” Anatoly said, acting shocked at the suggestion. “As long as everybody does as I say, things will be fine. Don’t worry.”
“Be careful about those natives,” Colin warned. “They can be a bit unpredictable. I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep all three of them as hostages.”
“No,” Anatoly said. “You’re right. That would only cause problems.”
He moved his gun to point directly at Wueku.
“No!” Ike yelled. “You said you wouldn’t hurt anybody!”
“Relax, child,” Anatoly said. “I’ll give these two bigger ones a chance. If they jump out and swim to shore, I’ll let them go free. Better yet, as soon as you hand over the globe, I’ll let you all free. You see? Nice guy.”
Taremuku and Wueku exchanged glances, unsure of what was being said. Pepe quickly interpreted.
Taremuku nodded in reluctant understanding. Wueku, on the other hand, didn’t want to give up without a fight. He looked angry enough to leap from the boat and strangle Anatoly and Colin. Taremuku held on to his brother, worried about the same thing, and urged him to calm down. Once he was sure his brother wouldn’t do anything rash, Taremuku turned to Mary.
“Mary,” he said with a knowing smile, “You … magic.”
He pointed to her forehead, while chuckling at his attempt to speak English. Mary realized that she wouldn’t probably see Taremuku or Wueku again, no matter what happened. She wiped away tears and threw her arms around them.
“Alright, that’s enough. You’ve said your goodbyes,” Anatoly said. “Now get out, before I lose my patience.”
At that, both Taremuku and Wueku dived headlong into the river, gliding easily through the water toward the riverbank.
“You see,” Anatoly said. “I told you I wouldn’t hurt anybody.”
Mary glared at him through her tears.
“Now that we’ve fixed that problem, would you young people be so kind as to join us?” Anatoly said. “Your boat seems to have stopped functioning. Perhaps we could give you a ride?”
He laughed as all four of them stepped from one boat to the other. All the while, Anatoly kept his gun trained on them. Colin worked to attach their immobile boat to his with a rope.
“Oh, we can’t have that,” Anatoly said, noticing the machete in Ike’s hand.
He plucked it from Ike’s fingers before he could react.
“These are dangerous, you know. Better they stay in the hands of the adults.”
Anatoly turned and handed it to Colin.
“Here you are,” he said. “A reward for your excellent marksmanship.”
“Not a bad piece,” the poacher noted, inspecting the blade up and down. “It’s a little old, but it’ll still cut alright.”
Colin tucked the machete into a crevice near the boat’s front dashboard.
“Now then,” Anatoly said to his prisoners, “give me the globe, and I’ll take you to shore too.”
Nobody said a word.
“So, you want to play that way?” Anatoly asked through clenched teeth. “I see. That’s too bad really. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to lose a friend in a tragic accident, would you?”
He moved his gun and pointed it directly at Helen.
“No!” Mary yelped. “Leave her alone. It’s still where we left it when we came,
in the rainforest.”
Anatoly looked at her, narrowing his wrinkled eyes as he discerned whether she was telling the truth.
“So I heard as I listened in on your conversation with Ephraim,” he finally replied. “But I didn’t really believe you’d be foolish enough just to leave it there.”
“It’s true,” Helen attested. “We didn’t know it was there. Why do you think we’re still here anyway? If we had it, we could have been home days ago.”
Anatoly looked convinced, albeit irritated that yet another obstacle stood in between him and what he wanted.
“What’s so special about this globe anyway?” Colin asked. “Made out of diamonds or something?”
Anatoly ignored him. Obviously, he hadn’t shared the details of his plan with the poacher.
“And how do you expect to find the globe now?” Anatoly asked them pointedly.
“We marked our trail by carving into the trees. If we find the trail, we can follow it back to where we first arrived,” Mary explained.
It hurt to be revealing these things, especially to Anatoly. The thought of him getting the globe and harnessing its power made her feel sick. But what else could she do? She knew he wouldn’t accept any other answer. Mary didn’t even want to think about what he’d do to them if they couldn’t find the globe.
“Very well,” Anatoly finally said. “You will find the trail and take me directly to the globe. Do I make myself clear?”
They all reluctantly nodded.
“How’re we gonna trust that they’ll take us to the right place?” Colin asked.
“Don’t worry,” Anatoly said. “There are four of them. At the end of the day, we only need one to show us they. They can mess up at least three times before it’s too late. I’d say the odds are in our favor.”
An evil grin crossed Anatoly’s lips, curving his white mustache upward. He wiggled his gun in the air, leaving no illusion as to what he meant.
“So where to then?” Colin asked, looking at all of them.
Mary nodded her permission to Pepe, who in turn explained.
“I was not there, but my brothers told me the place where they were found.”
He went on to describe how far they’d need to travel, and the general area they’d be looking for.
“Yeah, I know the place,” the poacher acknowledged. “I was tracking a jaguar not far from there a few days back. Almost had ‘em too, but then the bugger disappeared on me. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find his trail again.”
Mary and the others were forced to sit at the back of the boat, while Colin steered. Anatoly sat backwards, watching them at all times, his gun out and ready. Nobody spoke, and they cruised up the river in silence.
One Last Chance
“Is this the place?” Colin asked, slowing the boat after some time.
“Yes, they were found nearby,” Pepe replied.
Mary looked around. She wasn’t sure if it was where they’d been or not. To her, everything in the Amazon still looked the same.
“Hey, I see one of my marks!” Ike cried out, pointing toward the trees nearest the shore.
Sure enough, a visible “T” was carved in the trunk of a tree.
“So the globe is nearby?” Anatoly asked, focused on the one thing he wanted.
“No,” Mary admitted. “We’ll need to keep following the marks upriver until we don’t see any more. After that, we have at least a three hour hike into the rainforest.”
Anatoly grunted in displeasure. Colin steered close to the shore, attempting to get a good look at the trees.
“It’s no use. I don’t see any more marks,” he said, straining for a better view. “It’s gonna be hard to follow from the water.”
Anatoly grunted again.
“Very well, we’ll continue on foot,” he announced. “Pull the boat to the shore.”
“Alright then,” Colin said. “Let me find a decent place to tie off both of these boats if we’re going to leave ‘em.”
Colin continued upriver, searching for an ideal place to dock.
“What’s wrong with where we just passed?” Anatoly snapped, growing impatient with the poacher. “You could tie off to that fallen tree.”
“Well, it’ll do alright I’m sure, but I’m sort of a wanted person in these parts, you see. If a ranger were to pass by and recognize my boat, we’d have more trouble. I just thought maybe we’d find a better—”
“Dock the boat now,” Anatoly demanded, with no hint of patience. “If you want to be paid, you’ll do what I say. We don’t have time to search for a perfect parking space!”
“Alright, mate, no need to get upset,” Colin said. “I’ll pull her around and tie them off where you wanted.”
Taking a wide turn in the middle of the river, the poacher steered in an arc. At the peak of the turn, Mary heard a clunking sound. The boat suddenly stalled. Both boats now floated idly as they drifted downriver.
“What the devil?” the poacher said, turning back to look at his motor.
“What’s the problem now?” Anatoly demanded.
“Bloomin’ tow rope caught in the motor,” Colin explained. “She’s stalled. I’ll have to clear it before I can get ‘er to turn over.”
“Then hurry up,” Anatoly fired. “I’m tired of setbacks.”
“I’ll do it,” Colin replied in haste, “but it may take a moment.”
The poacher handed his rifle to Anatoly for safekeeping as he made his way to the back of the boat.
“Excuse me there, kids,” he said. “I’ll need you to move over for a moment.”
Mary and the others scooted out of the way, giving Colin access to the motor. He fumbled with it for a few minutes, mumbling and cursing the motor as he pulled on the tangled rope. Anatoly moved between them and Colin, continually looking back and forth between his hostages and the poacher.
Mary felt a kick at her leg. She looked to Helen, who subtly gestured toward Anatoly with her eyes as he momentarily looked away. What was she doing? Mary knew her best friend better than anyone, and that tense look on her face meant she was planning something. Mary suddenly felt very nervous.
When Anatoly next looked away, Mary turned to Helen, silently pleading with her not to try anything stupid. But Helen just nodded, ever so slightly, and fixed her eyes on Anatoly. She was a hunter, waiting for just the right moment to strike.
“There, that oughta do it!” Colin said, patting his hand against the motor. “All clear. Let’s see if she starts up.”
Anatoly leaned over to inspect Colin’s work.
“You’re sure there won’t be any more hang ups?” he asked.
Before Colin could answer, Helen bolted up from where she sat and plowed into Anatoly. She shoved their kidnapper with all of her might.
Anatoly hadn’t been expecting that. His feet came out from under him, and he toppled toward the back of the boat. Staying balanced on the rocking, unstable floor would have been hard for anybody, and Helen eagerly exploited that fact.
Anatoly should have gone straight into the water, but Colin blocked his path. Mary realized that Helen’s goal was to push both men overboard. Helen’s risk paid off. The force knocked Colin from his feet too, and now both men were falling.
Anatoly scrambled and caught hold of a seat, saving himself from careening over the edge. He roared with anger as he strained to keep from going into the river. Colin, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. He screamed in alarm as he fell through empty air. He flailed his arms in a last ditch effort to find anything he could grab and stop his fall. Unfortunately for Mary, he found her. In his frenzied thrashing, he somehow latched onto her shirt.
Mary stood up immediately to pull away, and quickly realized that was a mistake. The boat still rocked violently back and forth, and she couldn’t stand and still keep her balance. Suddenly she was falling with Colin toward the water.
Helen tried to keep her on the boat. She caught hold of Mary’
s backpack, but Colin’s weight from the other end was too much. Instead of saving her, the backpack slipped from her arms, and Mary and Colin both plunged over the side. With a splash, they entered the water below.
Left Behind
Mary was completely buried in the churning waters of the Amazon. She struggled to swim to the surface. All she could see was a mass of brown, cloudy water. After a few moments of frantic swimming, she broke the surface and took a deep breath. Panic washed over her like the waves of the river.
“Mary!” she heard Helen yelling. “No!”
“You stupid girl!” Anatoly screamed.
Mary could hear them, but couldn’t see the boat. She tried to turn and follow the sound, but her immediate concern was staying above water. Each time she changed her position, the river pulled her under once again.
“Help, I can hardly swim!” Colin cried from somewhere nearby.
Helen and Ike both continued to yell for Mary, and Mary could hear Anatoly yelling back at them to be quiet. A couple of yards away, Mary saw a pair of arms briefly splash above the surface before disappearing again. Colin was in the same situation as she was, struggling to stay above water in the strong currents.
Mary continued her battle with the unforgiving river, all while desperately seeking the boat. The sounds of yelling voices seemed to be growing fainter. The rush of the water surrounding her made it nearly impossible to hear anything else at all.
“We have to save her!” she faintly heard Ike yell.
“What for?” Anatoly yelled back. “Do you think this is a game? Maybe this will show you how serious I am!”
“Hey, mate!” Colin urgently called from nearby. “Start the boat and bring ‘er over!”
Colin said something else, but Mary didn’t hear, as a wave of water gurgled over her. Yet again, she fought to swim out of it. Even though she was only underwater for a few seconds, her lungs throbbed for want of air. As she came to the surface, she gulped down oxygen.
Finally, she heard the boat’s engine starting. Where was it?
The Magnificent Glass Globe Page 14
