Chapter Text
Chapter 1: One Last Cruise
Lily sprinted after La Quila as fast her legs could take her.
“FRANK, NO!!” His name tore out from her lungs desperately hoping he would hear her. Her heart pounded with each heel strike as she raced after the boat. Wait, please…
MacGregor wanted to follow, but his limbs felt heavy, and he was rooted in place. Only his eyes were able to follow the path of the now doomed boat heading towards the stone pillars holding the cave entrance open. No…Frank…
He felt Proxima's weight against his leg and she let out a slow rumble as if she too were watching her best friend head towards disaster.
*****
Frank grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut as the snake around his throat tightened its grip. He didn’t resist, knowing it doesn’t matter now. A few more seconds and it would all be over.
His name. He heard her voice even over the throbbing chug of the boat’s engine.
His eyes snapped open.
Lily…
The snake's grip suddenly loosened. Frank gasped and drew in a deep breath. He looked up to see Aguirre's face as he realized what Frank’s intention was. He was going to block the river. Dooming them to be trapped within the cave - committing them to back to stone.
Panic set in. “Noooo!!” Aguirre screamed. He scrambled towards the wheel of the boat, desperate to stop it. His men following in panic - but it was too late. La Quila collided with the pillars in a deafening explosion, sending all aboard in every direction.
Frank felt his body fly forward in what seemed like slow motion. He landed heavily, not knowing which way was up.
*****
The explosion rocked the cavern - its blast wave stopping Lily in her tracks. She watched in horror as the boat she and her brother had traveled on down the Amazon exploded in front of her. The boat that Frank had built with his own two hands was now unrecognizable, and its Skipper was no where to be found.
She waited - maybe…just maybe…
*****
Frank’s ears were ringing. He pushed his way out from under a large wooden panel from the hull of La Quila. His ship. His Buena Niña was no more. But he didn’t have time to reminisce, as he felt the inescapable spirit of the river begin to call for him.
The water receded faster than he thought, and the river was nowhere to be found.
His fate sealed, Frank raised his arms in surrender just as the first coils of the jungle’s vines seized him around the neck. His body was yanked viciously towards the wall of the cave. He grunted in pain as he was slammed to the floor and dragged across the unforgiving stone.
The shouts of Aguirre and his men echoed in the air as they were also being pulled by the same arms of the jungle. They were being collected. Ensnared by the same curse that has trapped them all for four hundred years.
Instinctually, Frank resisted the grasp of the vines. His strong arms no were now match for the power of the jungle, and he was hurled back towards the wall again, the vines tightening their hold on his arms, legs and torso.
Aguirre, fighting with all of his might, terrified of what is about to happen screamed to Frank, “Francisco what have you done!? This is worse than death - this is torture!!” The emotion was raw in his voice, as he struggled desperately, knowing there was no escape.
Frank’s eyes found Aguirre as his fear-stricken face contorted for the last time as he and the snakes making up the rest of his body became stiff and solid - turning into to stone.
*****
Lily had snapped out of the shock of seeing the boat explode, and was again racing towards the wreckage with MacGregor and Proxima in tow. She felt a sliver of hope as she saw Frank emerge from the rubble - only for it to be stolen away as she saw the vines of the jungle begin to take their hold on him. If only her legs could get her to him faster - hang on Frank…
*****
The tendrils of the jungle began to take hold across his face. Frank’s heart was pounding in his ears. He was scared. What was to become of him? What happens now?
He continued to fight, but the darkness was setting in. His legs suddenly stopped responding. They were not moving, as if they were no longer a part of his body. The sensation moved up his body, and across his abdomen, causing his own breath to catch. It felt like someone had gut-punched him and caused all the air to disappear from his lungs.
His arms became heavy, down to his fingertips which were now solid. He tried one last time to take a deep breath, as if he were preparing for one last deep dive into the cool water of the Amazon.
His vision blurred.
As the darkness closed in on him, Lily’s silhouette suddenly came into view. He saw her, one last time.
Lily. He thought her name escaped his lips, but no sound emerged.
He couldn’t hold the darkness at bay any longer. Frank surrendered to the stone that encased him. His last thought was of Lily and MacGregor. They were safe. That’s all that mattered.