Page 41 of Colombian Chemistry

“On three,” I said. “One, two, three!”

I stood up and fired a couple shots to cover us before I launched out of the boat, pulling my duffle bag with me. Bullets whizzed past me but missed. I dropped into the churning water, and it pulled me under for a few seconds, but I emerged quickly. Scanning the water for Irene, I called out.

“Irene!”

No answer.

“Irene!”

“Marcus!” she screamed, and I followed the sound of her voice.

Instead of seeing her treading water with me, I saw her head peeking over the edge of the canoe... a canoe getting whisked away at speeds I’d never be able to reach.

“Irene! What the fuck? You were supposed to jump!”

“I tried! The boat hit a rock, and I fell back in! Should I still jump?”

I glanced around the boat, now seeing all the rocks surrounding her. Her window to exit had passed, and now it was more dangerous for her to get in the water than to stay in the canoe.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

“Don’t get out! Stay in the boat!” I shouted. “I’ll catch up to you.”

“Marcus! Help!”

I started paddling after her, but my bag slowed me down. The decision to ditch it along with all of my survival stuff seemed drastic, but I had no choice if I was going to catch up to her either by land or by water.

“Fuck!” I shouted as I let go of the handle and paddled as hard as I could to shore. “Just stay in the boat, Irene! Get down on the floor and brace yourself!”

Her head disappeared. I made it to shore and took off like a shot, ripping my way through the jungle and following along the shore. Gunshots peppered the trees around me, sending pieces of wood exploding in the air, but I moved farther into the foliage and pushed on. My long, powerful strides started closing the distance between me and Irene in the runaway canoe, but even my desperation couldn’t get me to her fast enough.

“Marcus!” she screamed.

Her voice drove me on, and I ignored the branches tearing at my skin as I pushed through them.

“Hold on, Irene! I’m coming! Just stay down!”

I heard the waterfall before I saw it. From the surge of the water, it was at least fifty feet. Maybe more. Not likely a fatal drop if you knew what you were doing, but the risk of her getting caught in the fray and drowning was an even bigger risk than the fall itself.

“Stay in the boat, Irene! Just brace yourself!” I screamed, unsure if she could still hear me over the crashing water.

I pushed myself even harder as I rushed after her and watched in horror as the little canoe disappeared over the edge. Her scream shook the world around me, and then suddenly... silence.

“Irene!” I shouted as I scurried down the steep decline. I leaped from rock to rock, scaling down toward the bottom.

I was halfway down when I saw the remnants of the canoe. My heart raced inside my chest just thinking something had happened to her. It beat even harder than the way it did when she’d look at me.

Panic. Sheer panic. That was what I felt as I made my way the rest of the way down. I didn’t even remember what panic felt like since it had been so many years since I’d felt it. I always had an answer... a solution... a way to the other side. But now I was completely out of control of Irene’s fate, and the thought of her floating dead in the water below nearly took my breath away.

She’s okay. She has to be okay.

I landed on the ground near the river and started calling her name. Desperation and panic pumped through me as I ran along the bank.

“Irene! Where are you? Irene!”

“I’m over here!” she shouted.

The sound of her voice made my racing heart stall out, and I spun to see her climbing up onto the bank on the opposite side of the river.