by Leo Romero
Trixie bought a pair of denim jeans from another stall and cut off the legs. A bit of duct tape on one end and rope attached to the other and hey presto, they had a couple of quivers. By then, Rafa had fashioned another crossbow. He wanted to get to work on a third and fourth, but the workshop guy started to get agitated. The gist was he didn’t want them around any longer. Either they were spooking him out, or they were interfering with his day-to-day stuff, they couldn’t work it out. Either way, they had to leave.
They would’ve preferred a weapon each, but hey, beggars couldn’t be choosers. At least a couple of them were armed.
They hit the streets once more. They decided the boys should have the toys, so Dom and Rafa took a crossbow each and slung them over their shoulders with the rope Rafa had attached to them. They rested on their backs, visible for everyone to see. Trixie went and bought a couple of lightweight jackets for the guys to wear to conceal the crossbows. Once they hit the Amazon and were out of the harbor, they could get rid of them.
Now they had weapons, Dom felt much more secure. It wasn’t perfect, and he questioned the durability of a homemade crossbow, but hey, it was better than going in unarmed.
He loaded up his quiver and wore it around his other shoulder; it hung by his waist nice and snug. Now, they were set. All they needed was a boat.
While Dom and Alicia went to get some food for their journey, Trixie and Rafa looked for a boat to hire.
The water by the harbor was littered worse than a child’s playroom. Trash bobbed on its surface; rotten food and plastic that would most likely still be there in a hundred years’ time. Trixie pushed past the lines of people waiting to get on boats, seeking out a small, fast one. She finally found what she was looking for right near the end of the harbor.
A small guy with a mustache, wearing shorts, a Brazilian soccer shirt, and flip flops then came strolling toward them from the deckchair he’d set up. He grinned and nodded. “Olá,” he said.
Trixie nodded her head in return. She pointed at the boat. “How much for hire?”
The guy began calculating in his mind, most probably adding foreigner tax to the summation. He showed her one finger.
“One thousand per day?” Trixie asked.
The guy grinned.
Even though Trixie had no experience with the value of Brazilian money, she knew it was too much. It didn’t matter. She pulled up her smartphone.
“We want to go here,” she said, showing him the screen.
He stared at it with a frown. He then nodded. “Okay.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Dom and Alicia met them at the harbor. Their boatman, the small mustachioed guy, Gustavo, but they should call him Gus, helped them get their stuff on board and then they set off.
Gus choked the engine into life and they moved out, chugging through the basin, where they’d join the Amazon. As the boat pulled away through the dirty water, Dom fell back in his seat. He looked around him, checking out the boat; it was rickety, chipped, the paint worn off in places. Jaws would snap it in two with one bite. “Man, is the best thing you could find?” he asked Trixie.
“It’ll get us there. In good time,” Trixie replied, her eyes fixed on the horizon.
“Let’s hope we won’t need a bigger one,” Dom quipped, twitching his nose against the miasma of gas and polluted water filling the air.
The engine roared, and the boat glided through the water. Gus weaved in and out of tourist boats with the expertise of an F1 racer. In no time, they left the touristy parts of the Amazon behind them. As they delved deeper into the river, the jungle took over. Now the wide banks were flanked by overhanging palm trees and thick vegetation, the kind of which Dom had never seen before. Bright yellow and cyan colored birds flew from tree-to-tree with energetic squawks, the flap of their wings vibrating the canopy.
Dom looked overboard. Dirty brown water stared back at him. His mind fizzed with images of piranha fish lurking beneath that opaque surface. He pulled himself back in, suddenly the notion of falling in a living nightmare. He fell back, his stomach grinding up and down with the motion of the water. Dom didn’t mind traveling, it was the getting there that was the problem. At least water was better than air. The current was pretty stable and his stomach was only dancing instead of somersaulting like Trixie chasing Blacklake thugs. The good thing was, they were moving at a good pace; old Gus had this thing down, avoiding and overtaking other boats.
Dom glanced up at the sky. The sun was baking the whole area; it reflected off the dirty water in dazzling fragments that burned Dom’s retinas every time he looked at them.
“How long is this boat ride?” he asked, putting on his Yankees cap.
“I’ve got no idea,” Trixie replied.
Dom looked over at Alicia and Rafa. They were sitting at the back of the boat, watching things unfold. Dom went and sat next to Alicia. “Enjoying the ride?”
“I’ve always wanted to see the Amazon,” Alicia told him.
“Betcha never guessed it would be hunting an ancient vampire.”
Alicia laughed. “No, I thought it would be with my father. He would have found this fascinating.”
“Shame he couldn’t be here to see it.” He gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Thanks for helping me get revenge for him,” Alicia said. “You were very brave going after Víbora.”
Dom shrugged sheepishly. “Eh, it was nothing. I’m used to chasing down vamps now.”
Trixie rolled her eyes.
“You’re so heroic, Dom,” Alicia told him.
Dom flexed his triceps. “Yeah, I suppose I am. I dodge bullets, hunt vamps, swing from trees, punch bad guys. When you think about it, I’m a regular survivor type. Like a James Bond or a MacGyver.”
“Ma-who?”
“Oh, some guy. Don’t worry about it.”
Alicia rubbed his arm. “I like the water. It feels better than being in the air.”
Dom looked around. They’d reached a more isolated part of the river with just a few boats here and there, the water stretching out to lush green banks. Their boat bobbed up and down on the current, the engine chugging like an old chimney.
“Don’t you think, Dom?” she asked, looking up at him.
Dom painted on a smile. “Yeah, it’s great.”
An hour passed and the boat continued along through the endless stream of water. The sun rose higher into the sky and grew more intense. There was no escape from it other than underneath his cap. And with nothing to look at apart from dirty water and jungle, boredom was setting in. To help relieve it, Dom took out his trusty Zippo. He flicked her open and sparked her up. The flame burned against the mid-morning sun. He popped the lid back on, killing the flame.
“What’s that?” Alicia asked.
“Lucky Zippo. Mary Lou from Kentucky gave it to me as a parting gift.”
“An old girlfriend?”
“Kinda.”
“She pretty?”
Dom glanced over at Trixie. He met her emerald eyes for a split second. They held, then she looked away to the water. “Yeah,” Dom said. “Very.” He started grinning as he recalled the image of Mary Lou. “She was a cheerleader. So, yeah, she was hot.” He cupped his hands in front of his chest. “She had the most amazing—” He caught Trixie’s acidic stare. His grin drooped. “Brain,” he finished with a sigh. “She had the most amazing brains.”
Trixie looked away.
Dom shook his head. Man, he hated having to watch his mouth.
He turned his attention back to Alicia.
“How about you?” Dom asked. “There a man in your life?”
“There was,” Alicia replied and looked downward. “Pablo. His family owned a farm just outside Tijuana. But, Los Verdugos forced him to join them. They were looking to recruit new members. Young, strong guys. They took them away in trucks, made them fight for the cartel.”
“Jeez... I’m sorry to hear that.”
“They’re always the first to die, hombre,”
Rafa said, his face contorted in disgust. “Then, the cartels just go and kidnap more.”
“Do you know what happened to him?” asked Dom.
“He died,” Alicia told him.
Dom met Trixie’s stare; she looked down.
“Died in a shootout with a rival gang. At least that’s what I heard.”
“I’m sorry, Alicia,” Dom said.
“He was the reason me and my father and the others created the autodefensa against Los Verdugos. That’s why I fight.” She glanced at Rafa. “Why we all fight.”
Rafa gave her a firm nod. He placed an arm around Alicia and rubbed her shoulder.
“These vamps have caused all kindsa trouble, huh?” Dom said, nodding his head in a rueful fashion.
“It’s why they must be stopped,” Alicia said.
“Before it gets even worse,” Trixie added. They all turned their heads toward her. She looked away, out to the river. Her eyes then lit up. “Hey! Look!”
The others all looked to where she was pointing. Further up river, pink dolphins were jumping along the water playfully. Dom stared at them open-mouthed. They were beautiful, their bright pink skin glowing against the dirty water. Their squeaks were almost like laughter.
“They’re amazing!” Alicia exclaimed.
“Wow!” Rafa added.
They danced along the water, all following the leader, frolicking in the water. They all watched them disappear into the distance.
Dom caught Gus’ stare. He grinned and pointed toward the dolphins.
Dom gave him a thumb up. Gus returned the gesture.
“Well, that was something you don’t see every day,” Dom said.
Trixie grabbed her smartphone and studied it. “Okay,” she began. “By my calculations... with the rate we’re going, we’ll probably be there in ten to twelve.”
“Days?” Dom said in utter disbelief.
“Hours, Dom.”
“Oh. Thank God for that. Still, twelve hours. In this boat? Sheesh.” He glanced over at Gus, who was still steering, having hardly flinched the whole time. He was a soldier, a hardcore robot of the Amazon.
Dom shook his head in disbelief. “Well, wake me up when we get there,” he said before lounging back more, pulling his cap over his eyes and then closing them.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Dom was back on the roof of the I-Sore Tower.
The rain was lashing down from an obsidian sky. The air was thick, heavy with dread and foreboding. Chaos was erupting all around him; vampires were fighting in hand-to-hand combat with soldiers. Blood flowed in rivulets alongside streams of rain.
Dom was at the edge of the building, his face turned up to the sky. The rain ran over his tongue, stinging it like battery acid. There was a weight pulling him down; it strained his shoulder. His eyes rolled down. They met a lumpy mass gripping his forearm, pulling him down. Dom pulled back, a tug of war ensuing. The thing in his grip wanted to pull him down, wanted to take him with him down to the depths.
Dom pulled with all his might, desperate to cling onto life. He began leaning back, winning the battle. Hope bloomed in his chest.
He glanced down again and the thing turned its head up toward him. Dom’s heart stopped.
“You killed me!” the face of his father snarled.
The shock stole Dom’s breath. His strength melted; the body in his grip now weighed a ton. He was pulled forward. The rainy air turned light and he plummeted down into the darkness with a scream.
Dom’s body twitched out of sleep. His wide eyes took in everything. Blue sky met with murky water, flanked by masses of foliage.
Where the hell am I?
Then, he remembered. They were chasing Troy down the Amazon. The sun had sunk down to a late afternoon position, causing a dulling in the humidity.
His body settled, his heart began beating in a steady rhythm. He yawned and stretched his limbs, the bad dream dissolving from his consciousness. He checked on the others. Rafa’s eyes were closed. Alicia was resting on his chest, fast asleep. Trixie was sitting with her back to him, watching the river as they cut through it. Gus was still at the helm; a seasoned pro, probably been up and down this river a thousand times and could stay awake for the whole journey there and back, soaking up the sun like a rock.
Dom staggered over to Trixie. “Are we there yet?” he asked with a yawn.
“Getting there,” Trixie said, showing him her smartphone. They’d gained about half the distance on Troy.
“Did you get any sleep?” Dom asked her.
“A little.” She shook her head. “Something’s not right.”
“With sleeping? I know it’s not easy on a boat, but...”
“No, with Troy. He hasn’t moved from that spot for a while.”
Dom shrugged. “Maybe they’re doing some kind of ceremony that takes a while.”
Trixie sighed. “Maybe. I just got a feeling.”
“It’s anxiety, Trix. We’re out of our element, in strange lands, heading toward a mysterious unknown.”
“A bit melodramatic, Dom.”
“Well, it’s the truth. Relax. We’ve been in enough tight spots not to panic too early.”
Her shoulders eased. “Yeah, I suppose.”
Dom took in the surroundings. The river was tightening, the banks closing in, blocking out the sun more. The wildlife was now more audible. Birds flapped from one tree to another. Large insects were making some kind of weird mating calls. All around him was life: in the trees, in the bushes, in the water. It was a hive of activity. And yeah, the mosquitoes were now having him for lunch. He slapped his forearms. “How come they don’t bite you?” he asked Trixie, grabbing his can of mosquito repellent from his pocket.
“Maybe you taste better than me.”
Dom doused himself. “Well, that’s always been a problem. Things just find me too damn sexy.”
Trixie turned to stare at him sideways. “Yeah, whatever, Dom. Always so full of yourself.”
Dom flashed her an over-confident smile. “It’s all in the game,” he said and winked. He went back and sat down, watching the world go by.
Another hour passed and the river just continued on and on. The sun was lowering all the time; soon night would fall. Dom hated to think what the jungle would be like under the cover of night. All he could imagine was snakes the size of tree trunks, bloated frogs as big as puppies, and hungry lions and tigers, all bathing under the moonlight. He shivered, then slapped the back of his neck where a mosquito bit him. He flicked his eyes over at Gus; he was as stoic as ever, just guiding the boat through the river.
Man, that guy is made of bronze, I swear.
Another long couple of hours passed, full of the same stuff: river, sun and jungle. Dom lay back on the boat, his feet up, trying to occupy his bored mind with stuff other than the Amazon. While he did, the bizarre thought occurred to him that over the last few days, he’d been on an adventure, the kind of which people paid big bucks for. A trip to Tijuana, a visit to an ancient pyramid, and now down on the Amazon. Pyramids, ancient temples, history. Sun and señoritas.
And the truth was, it all kind of passed him by. Their focus had always been solely on the Chaos Order and not where they were. And now that they were nearing the end of their adventure, had he really soaked it in? He didn’t know. People waited their whole lives to do stuff like that, and here he was, living it, right smack in the middle of it. He never thought he’d get a chance to do and see these kinds of things, having been locked down in Chicago and the States for so long. Now, he was suddenly worried that it was all... passing him by.
He gave his head a brisk shake. What a weird thought. That’s what having nothing to do for so long, stuck on a boat in the middle of the Amazon does to you. Gets you reflecting on stuff that has no business being reflected on in this moment in time. The reality was that this was his job; what he did for a living. Anything else wasn’t important. Sure, a perk of it was the travel, but he couldn’t enjoy it the way those backpackers
back at Manaus could. His adventure was a different kind. One full of risk and danger. His adrenaline rush was a fight or flight response as opposed to a thrill seek.
You know, when all this crap is over, he thought to himself, staring at the sun as it lowered further, I think I’ll treat myself to a vacation. Maybe I’ll go to France, or Germany, or Japan. Somewhere different.
Hmm, not a bad idea.
A mosquito bit his forearm and he slapped it before giving it a blast of repellent.
Trixie then shot up; she looked agitated. Dom sat up and watched her dash to the front of the boat to where Gus was still sitting in that same spot as cool as a cucumber. She showed him her smartphone, then pointed at a split in the river. Gus nodded and started veering the boat off toward the split.
Trixie then gave Gus a grin and came back and sat down.
“Where we going?” Dom asked her.
“We gotta come off the Amazon and join the Madeira.”
“The Madeira. Like the cake?”
“Yeah, like the cake, Dom. Except this is a river. The river where they took Troy.”
Dom stretched his legs. “You mean we’re nearly there?”
“We’re getting there, yeah.”
“Thank Christ for that. I can’t stand much more of this.” He took a sip of his water and watched the boat turn onto this new river. The new river was the same as the old one. Dirty, brown, and massive. Flanked by exotic foliage and huge trees like Nature’s skyscrapers.
Another hour scraped by at a snail’s pace.
Dom clocked it up to nine. The sky was starting to enter twilight. Another couple of hours and they’d be in full darkness. Dom gulped. He really didn’t like that notion one bit.
On and on they went, the river unrelenting in its size and length. Another hour trickled by and Trixie had her head in her smartphone again. By that point, they were tired, spaced out from a lack of input, and disorientated. Dom was in no mood to be entering temples and hunting vamps; he just wanted to go to bed. He was tetchy, sweaty, and his clothes were starting to smell.
