Rick jumped at the sudden rapid popping noises, and rising cacophony overhead, even though he’d been expecting it.
Get a goddamn grip, Braeden, he thought. He hoped Javier hadn’t seen his reaction.
As they’d planned, it drew the guards' attention away.
The men started speaking rapidly and pointing in the direction of the sudden explosions.
To Rick and Javier’s relief, only one guard remained behind, while the other joined his comrades to investigate the ruckus.
“That’s our chance,” Rick said, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. “You go to the left and make some noise or something, just get him to look towards your direction for a moment and I’ll stun him. Just don’t get shot.”
“Ok, same goes for you,” Javier said and dashed forward.
That’s the plan, Rick thought. He followed behind and veered to the other side, stun gun at the ready.
Javier picked up a heavy rock, put it in his slingshot and aimed it. He hit the man hard, square in the back. Javier immediately ducked down and scrambled away.
The man grunted in pain, stumbling forward, and hitting the ground with his knees.
Rick took his cue and raced towards him. Adrenaline fired through him as he snuck up from behind and pressed the stun gun to the back of the guard’s neck. He pulled the trigger and delivered a 50,000-volt shock throughout the man’s body for several seconds.
The man immediately went stiff, then shook violently as the powerful charge fired through his nervous system. He dropped flat to the ground, still shaking, completely incapacitated.
The three prisoners watched wide-eyed.
Rick and Javier lifted their balaclavas up to ease the prisoners’ tensions.
The two younger men’s eyes lit up as they recognized their friend Javier, relief registering on their faces.
Diego also recognized him as the young man he’d seen a few days ago. He was grateful he’d come back to help rescue him. Diego had hoped he would at least try to send help, but he had no idea who he was or what he’d been doing out there in the jungle that night.
“We’re going to get you out of here,” Javier said to them as he and Rick quickly cut their ties, freeing their hands and feet.
The prisoners each nodded and removed their gags.
Speaking rapidly in Spanish, Javier explained to his two friends what their plan was.
Diego listened to get a sense of where they were heading next.
Javier’s friends nodded. They knew exactly where he meant. He also asked if they knew what had happened to Mari, the fourth person from their group, but they told him they hadn’t seen her and that they’d hoped she'd made it back out of the jungle. They said their captors had given no indication they were even aware of her.
“Can everyone run?” Rick asked.
“He is injured,” one of the younger men said, pointing to the older man.
“I’m ok,” the man said, waving his hand, “it’s just a twisted ankle.”
Rick nodded. “I got you.” He put the man’s arm around his shoulder for support.
The older man gratefully complied.
“Diego, is it?” he asked.
The older man looked at him, surprised. “Si.”
“I’m a friend of Sofia and Luis. They’re looking forward to seeing you.”
Diego’s eyes welled up.
“We have to move fast,” Javier said. “Just stay quiet and follow me. Understand?”
They all nodded.
Rick and Javier handed each of them a balaclava.
“Put these on,” Rick said, as he and Javier pulled theirs back down over their faces.
They all readily complied.
Skulking back into the jungle, the group made their way in the direction of the rendezvous point, with Javier in the lead. Once well clear of the prison camp, they ran as fast as they could, fear and desperation driving them forward.
Rick helped Diego, who limped along as quickly as he could, wincing slightly. Rick could tell the older man was doing his best to mask the pain from his injured ankle. He admired him. He could see where Sofia and Luis got their sense of courage from.
Much to their collective relief, they finally reached the rocky outcropping.
Sofia and Luis were there waiting for them.
“Papa!” Sofia whispered, recognizing the form of her father. She lifted her balaclava.
Luis lifted his, too, as did Diego.
Tears streamed down Sofia and Luis’ faces as they hugged their father, who was sweating and breathing hard from the exertion. The three of them whispered words of love and gratitude between them in Spanish.
“Let’s keep going,” Rick said. “We’ll have time for family reunions later.”
Javier and his two friends looked around and listened for any signs they’d been followed. They saw and heard none. For now.
“Ok, keep your face coverings off from here on in,” Javier said. “We need to be able to clearly see where we’re going. I will go first. Watch how I get through. It’s a kind of natural tunnel and it’s a tight squeeze. But I warn you, it’s over one hundred and fifty feet long and very slippery. It slopes downwards at a rather steep angle, so we need to go feet first on our backs. It’s the only way we can fit through.”
“What?” Luis asked, alarmed.
Sofia couldn’t hide her concern either. She glanced at her father, then put an arm around him.
“That sounds pretty dangerous,” Rick said. He bent down to look at it, pulling aside some of the tangled vines. It was dark and covered in thick vegetation, smelling earthen and damp, but it sure didn’t look like any kind of passageway.
“We have no choice,” Javier reminded them.
“Right you are,” Rick replied.
Javier looked frustrated over their predicament. “Our people have prepared it well enough over the decades, but the tunnel walls are a bit rough. We will be safe. However, it’ll drop us into a kind of whirlpool. It’s fairly wide and deep enough, so don’t worry about hitting the bottom.”
Oh crap, Rick thought.
“How deep is that whirlpool?” Luis asked, his voice constricted.
“We’ve never found out,” Javier answered. “Deep.” He gave them a serious look. “I hope you can all swim.”
Terror sprung into Sofia, Luis’, and Diego’s eyes, but they all
