Standing on the bank of the river, Virginia looked for any signs of anacondas or crocodiles.
The waters were muddy, and hard rain was smacking into it in arrays of randomly formed circles and patterns, hundreds of thousands of ripples. Out here, at the edge of the canopy. The wind was stronger and colder. Going through this river may, in fact, kill them—the water was freezing.
Jake was squatted, feeling the strength of the current with his hand.
"The rain's made it stronger."
"We'll be carried downriver as we cross," said Virginia.
"I'm a tough guy," Jake said. "I just don't like forests and violent animals. They're great in zoos, but I've never wanted to be in one."
"I think you're a tough guy. You don't need to prove it to me."
"No, I'm not trying to prove it."
"Jake, just stop," she said with a smirk.
Humor betraying the pounding in her head.
He laughed. "You ready?"
"Never going to be ready."
He stood up beside her. Without her heels, she was a few inches shorter. He looked down at her. They held each other's eyes like only two people can when faced with such a task. They were in the same boat—or lack of boat.
"Thanks," she said.
"For what?"
"For the parachute."
They smiled.
She leaned forward, keeping her arms by her sides, and kissed him on the lips. He didn't see it coming, but he kissed her back.
"What was that—" he began to ask, but she jumped into the river. Dove, actually. Immediately she began swimming as the strong current began pulling her downstream.
Jake jumped in after her.
The water was freezing, and though he was already freezing, there was a major difference. The current was taking them fast, and he began wondering if crocodiles swam in such strong currents. Or did they only hang out in slower parts of rivers?
He had his gun, but he didn't know how effective it would be in the tumult of a murky river. Plus, if a crocodile attacked, he probably wouldn't see it coming.
Virginia was about ten feet down from him and a few feet further across the river. He paddled after her, and she was paddling hard. He was taller, longer-armed, definitely stronger—was catching up.
When they were halfway across, he started feeling somewhat better, until he heard a loud splash behind him. He looked back, beginning a backstroke. The spotted jaguar had jumped in the river and was swimming towards him, fast. The thing was pawing away at the water—longer-armed, huge paws, definitely stronger.
Jake yelled, "Jaguar!" over the noise of the heavy rain splashing into the water, the noise of the forest, the swaying of the trees, and the splashing of their arms.
Virginia seemed to hear the cry, and began swimming even faster, which he didn't know was possible for either of them to do. He was swimming faster now as well.
He had the gun in the back of his pants if he had to use it, which it was looking like.
He looked behind them.
Jaguar was gaining.
It was when they were three-quarters across the river that they heard the unmistakable snort, followed by a burst of water into the air, of a crocodile rearing its head.
*****
The crocodile was at the bank just in front of them.
Virginia saw it clear as day, even under the confusion of the rain. Then it opened its mouth, wide and proud, showing off razor-sharp teeth.
Virginia changed directions, swimming straight down the river, the current a rapidly-formed alliance, thinking the whole while that where there is one crocodile, there are more.
In other news, the jaguar probably wasn't scared, she joked to herself.
Still, she was wholly terrified.
The croc closed its mouth and disappeared under the water, which is when her heart rate doubled. She'd kept it down when she was piloting the plane, but she had no control or backup plan when it came to a crocodile.
She was facing the bank once again, at an angle now, trying to get distance from the last known whereabouts of the croc.
That's when her vision started blurring, accompanied by an even worse throbbing in her head. She ran a hand over her eyes, wiping away all the raindrops and splashes of river water in her eyes. She continued swimming. But the blurring continued. The pain in her head worsened, became sharp.
And though she knew it was happening, though she tried to set her mind against it, she couldn't stop it—she lost consciousness right then, in the river, a few feet away from a crocodile.