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Simon was gone; the enigmatic captain had run off as if chased by a lion, and after plying Leslie with more champagne, Cesario had disappeared back into the building. At least Simon had slipped her his satellite phone number before he left. She would make sure to call him tonight.
“You. You come here.” The shaky, stilted voice came from an old woman standing by the building. She waved at Leslie to approach her. The call annoyed her, but she figured she’d at least see what the woman wanted.
Even in this heat, the woman was wearing a scarf of red, lightweight material. It was a deep contrast to her brown dress with an imprint of leaves. The scarf wrapped around her throat, over her head, and cascaded down the sides of her face. One eye was masked over with cataracts; the other was clear brown. The lines on her face were like deep and wide rivers on a map. The scarf, Leslie thought, was probably the only fancy thing the woman owned.
As Leslie approached, her nose wrinkled at an odor of a heavy musk coming from the woman. “Yes?” she asked.
Fancy Scarf’s teeth were bright when she spoke, and although it was shaky, her voice sounded younger, softer, and more authoritative than Leslie would have expected from such a frail body. “Take this. It will help with luck.”
Fancy Scarf reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a small, round statue.
“Oh no, I’m sorry, I don’t have any money to pay for it,” Leslie responded, hoping to fend off any more offers for items she didn’t want.
The woman shook her head, grasped Leslie’s free hand, and then placed the statue on her palm.
“No payment,” Fancy Scarf said. She jumped, making Leslie jump a little as well. “I almost forgot.” She produced a small brown package. “You’ll need this, as well.” She placed the package on top of the statue.
“Well, thank you,” Leslie said, not quite sure what need there might be for small trinkets in the jungle.
The scarf was slipping from the woman’s head, and Leslie spied a headdress. Her eyes were riveted to the monstrosity. The headdress was lined with dead cockroaches, their bodies seemingly glued to the piece. Leslie found her heart pounding at being so close to it. They are just dried up old bugs, right? She tried to pull her hand away, but the woman’s grip was firm.
Leslie held her breath. She didn’t want to find out what dead cockroaches smelled like.
Fancy Scarf was looking at the ground and closed her cataract infected eye as she mumbled, “There is no guarantee, but without these, you would die.” She was getting louder, the last almost at a yell. “No guarantee!” She finally relinquished Leslie’s hand, and she gratefully backed away and took a deep breath of fresh air.
As Leslie watched the figure of the old woman diminish into the jungle, she wondered, was this woman a shaman? She had seen others of that trade wearing exotic things- like the man from a tribe in South Africa who liked to wear cowboy hats. He believed they would protect him from danger. But at least they weren’t decorated with bugs, just teeth from a lion he had killed when it had attacked his village.
Leslie took a step back and looked back at the building. She could hear voices and new arrivals, then she looked back to see that the Fancy Scarf Woman had been swallowed by the jungle.
‘No guarantee,’ she had said. Leslie glanced at the items and wondered what the old woman had meant.
Leslie considered throwing away the statue and bag, but she couldn’t just leave them lying in the open. It was against her beliefs since she was a firm believer of “leave no trace” ethics.
Pushing aside the feeling of creepiness, Leslie tucked the items away in her bag, put a smile on her face, and headed for the new arrival. She was glad to see that it was Jessup at the entrance.
“Who was the old-timer?” asked Jessup, glancing at where the old woman had been standing.
“No idea.” Leslie shook her head. “She gave me some things for luck.”
“That was mighty nice of her. Gotta love the Peruvians. Very friendly.”
Leslie flashed back to the hard hold and crazy look in the old woman’s eyes. “If you say so.”
“How about coming inside with me and I’ll introduce you to our group. We all arrived together.” He eyed her for a moment. “Except for you. Always have to be different?”
She shrugged and winked. She liked being different. “Keeps people like you on your toes,” she said and followed Jessup into the building. A small group was gathered in a corner, imbibing champagne and laughing.
“Where’s all the press?” Leslie asked.
“We’ve got one early bird outside the front door. The rest will be here shortly. I put them on a couple of late shuttles so we’d have a few minutes. Before we head over there, let me tell you a little about each of our guests. The tall Navajo woman, that’s AJ Bluehorse. She’s made money by being one of the top computer programmers. The ginger, that’s Frederick. He’s another writer. Don’t call him Fred. He’s an anal little pipsqueak, but John wanted him here.”
“Did he say why?”
“No. Just like you, he just said to make sure he was here.”
Great, she thought, I’m lumped in with the pipsqueak.
“Then there is Samantha, of course. There’s no mistaking her.”
Samantha daintily held her champagne glass. Her blue sundress was topped with a matching blue hat with fluffy white trim.
“Wow. A bit over the top with the outfit, wouldn’t you say?”
Jessup laughed. “She does that. Now, you’ve probably already met the cook, Cesario.”
“Yes, he greeted me when I arrived.”
Jessup continued. “He’s been a friend of mine and John’s for about ten years. We all met at a bar, cheering for the Peruvian rugby team.”
Leslie looked at Jessup to see if he was joking.
“Seriously.” He nodded. “We love our rugby.”
“Sounds like an interesting bunch. The women are slightly outnumbered,” Leslie noted.
“It will be more than slightly once we have our full contingent. We have one more passenger joining us here, Victor.” He looked back at the entrance. “He should be here soon. Then besides our captain, there are our guides who’ve spent years exploring the Amazon; Sun and his brother, Miguel. Plus, as I understand it, we’re picking up one more male passenger at the next stop.”
“That’s another resort, correct?” Leslie asked.
“Exactly, the last resort.” He laughed and lightly elbowed Leslie, then said sheepishly, “Well, at least the last resort we’ll come across on our trip. It’s one of those eco-resorts, like the one we’re staying at. It’s just farther from civilization. We’ll be there for dinner tonight. After that, it’s the unexplored Amazon.”
John came dashing in. “Hello, everyone. Glad to see you’re all here.” His gaze swept the room. He spoke quietly with the guards, and they headed to the front of the building. John continued, “We’re going to let in the press and give them a tour of the ship. Please answer their questions if they have any. Then we’ll shove off soon.” He picked up a glass of water and gulped it down, pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “We need to get this trip on the road, so to speak.” He was smiling, but it looked forced.
The press piled in the front door, excitedly chattering with each other. Leslie counted five reporters with their photographer or videographer counterparts. She also recognized a writer from Entrepreneur magazine making a beeline to John.
The woman reporter from earlier approached Leslie. “Leslie, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Flo Rogers from the International Press Institute. I’ve followed your career ever since you were on that excursion in Alaska.”
“Wow. Really? That was my first taste of adventure. That feels like a long time ago.”
“Not that long ago. Eight years? You were the youngest woman to ever go on that route, and Ben Avenada, who was notorious for never taking women on his excursions, took you with him. I’d love to talk about that sometime, but more importantly, let me be direct. Those who do follow you know you’ve been tucked away for almost a year. Are you ready for this physically?”
Leslie nodded, the memory and excitement of her first foray into adventure and convincing Ben that she would be worthy flittered through her mind before she answered. “I knew this would be strenuous hikes into the jungle, so I started with a good, old-fashioned stair climber at home. Then, I spent some time at my local gym. I’m ready.”
The rest of the questions went pretty quickly and soon John asked the press to follow him onto the Toy of the Gods.
“Hello everyone!” A new arrival with dark skin, a wide nose, and a big smile waved at the group. “I’m Miguel. It’s good to see such a big group.”
Jessup rushed up and shook hands. “Miguel, I’m glad to see you! Where’s Sun?”
He shrugged. “If he’s not here by the time we take off, he knows someone with a Jeep to take him to the next eco-resort. It will be his fault if he doesn’t make it in time.” His brow furrowed, he whispered to Jessup, but Leslie was able to make it out: “He’s been acting a bit irrational since we came back from the site.”
“Well,” Jessup said cheerily, “at least we have you, and that’s great.”
Miguel smiled, nodded, and grabbed a glass of champagne from Cesario who was making the rounds again.
Leslie approached him. “Miguel, I’m Leslie.” His handshake was quick. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
“Good to meet you, Leslie.”
“Thanks. I have to tell you that I’ve read a lot about you and your brother’s treks through the Amazon basin. Besides stumbling on the ruins, any other surprises that you’ve come across?”
He barked a laugh. “When my brother and I first started exploring, everything was a surprise. He and I lived in California until we were in our twenties. Then we decided to come here and explore the land our parents loved. To tell you the truth, I’m amazed we survived at all the first couple of years. But now, after all we’ve seen in the last ten years, well, I’d have to say it’s the stories we’ve heard from the indigenous tribes. We’ve heard everything from what really happened to the explorer Spafford, to stories of demons that roam the jungle.”
“What? You know what happened to Spafford?”
“Well, I can tell you what I was told, and leave it up to you to decide if you believe it, but it’s a long story. I’ll have to save it for an evening in the lounge for everyone.”
The sound of voices from the ship preceded the gaggle of reporters and cameramen. John was walking them speedily off the ship.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming. Please feel free to take images of the maiden voyage liftoff,” John said. He pointed at the gangplank. “Time to board everyone.”
The cameramen and video cameras swung their lenses at the passengers.
Jessup shook his head. “Neither Victor nor Sun are here yet.”
“Victor is joining us at the next stop. Meanwhile, you should all get on board. Hopefully, Sun should be here before we leave,” John said, still with a smile pasted on his face.
Jessup started, “John, that’s not right. I spoke with V—”
“Jessup, I heard from him myself. Let’s just get on board, and I’ll give you the details later.”
Jessup nodded. “All right. Well, everyone, you heard our captain. Follow me on board, and we’ll take a quick tour.”
The group followed Jessup up the gangplank into the belly of the ship. Leslie tried not to roll her eyes watching Samantha wobble up the open grate plank in her high heels, but it was kind of hard not to. She couldn’t believe anyone would wear those crazy shoes in real life and certainly not on a voyage on the Amazon. She had learned on her many travels to travel comfortably and be ready for anything.
Meanwhile, cameras were flashing as they boarded. Someone called, “Sam! Over here!” Samantha paused and turned, showing her “good side”, but she wobbled a bit.
The ginger, Frederick, brushed past everyone and offered his arm to the tottering celebrity. He was a bit shorter than her but only because her heels were so tall. She had to reach down to grab his arm.
“Oh yes. Thank you so much.” Samantha’s voice was soft. “Leslie!”
Leslie responded and turned to look, and the flashes from cameras went crazy. Samantha came up from behind her and put her arm around Leslie’s waist. She whispered in her ear “The press loves us.”
As they started into the ship again, Leslie hesitated. She let the rest of the group pass while she looked up at the hulk of the cruiser. Did she want to be stuck in this contraption with Samantha and the pipsqueak? The vision of her dwindling bank account numbers told her this could be worth it. Plus, what would the press say about her if she suddenly dashed out the door?
The captain was right behind her now. His voice came out much softer than his pleas for everyone to get on board, “Are you okay? Listen, about earlier. I’m sorry about all that. Simon and I don’t get along.”
She turned to face him. “How come?”
“Kind of a long story, but I’d love to tell you over drinks later.”
She could tell he was turning on the charm; she felt partly annoyed and partly curious. His smile was almost genuine.
Jessup called from inside the ship, “Come on in Leslie. I can’t wait for you to see what it looks like.”
She was curious about this beast of a ship, and the ruins in their future beckoned to her sense of adventure. She climbed up the gang-plank and into the darker recesses of the ship.
As soon as they were inside, the captain waved the press off, lifted and folded the gangplank into a recess inside the ship and closed the door. It closed with the clunk of an airlock. Solid and final.
Leslie’s eyes adjusted to the dark interior. The wood-paneled and carpeted floor hallways stretched out on either side.
John walked past everyone and disappeared through a door marked “Authorized Personnel Only”.
“Wow. It looks so nice inside,” Samantha said. “I was worried it would be as ugly as it is outside.”
Jessup nodded. “Our cabins are on this deck. I’ll show everyone to your cabins after we’ve taken off. First, let me show you around the place. Here, in the center of the ship is the entrance.” He pointed at where the captain had disappeared. “That runs up two decks to the galley and the bridge of the boat. That area is off limits to all passengers, captain’s orders.”
“Are we going to see how this ship works?” Frederick’s voice was deeper than Leslie had expected. “I understand the propulsion and the hovering mechanism are what makes this ship so innovative.” Frederick’s hand was resting on the handle to the “Authorized Personnel Only” door.
“John plans to share that information, just not right now,” Jessup replied. “Everyone is free to use the stairs. They lead one deck up to the lounge and the observation deck.”
The group followed him up the stairs. The lounge sported a curved wood bar along the back wall that had been worked to a shine. Expansive windows currently offered a view of only the inside of the boathouse, and plush chairs circled a few, round wood tables.
“You might want to watch our launch from here or from the observation deck.” Jessup pointed at a doorway that led outside, then walked behind the bar, grabbed a glass and a bottle of dark, amber liquid and poured himself a drink. “We’ll be taking off soon.”
“Taking off? Isn’t it ‘shove off’ or something?” asked Samantha who sat down at one of the tables and set a chunky gold purse down.
“Normally, but this isn’t exactly a normal ship, but you’ll see that soon. I promise you’ll be impressed or my name isn’t Jessup,” he answered, then threw back his drink.
Cesario, who had been following the group, announced, “Lunch will be light, and it will be served in here after we are underway. You’ll be having a large dinner at the Inca Resort.”
Leslie followed AJ up the short stairs to the observation deck; the door behind them cut off the conversation from the lounge. She moved to the edge of the deck next to AJ who was quietly surveying the inside of the boathouse’s giant double doors. From here, Leslie could look up and see the top of the Toy.
A cylindrical tube ran the length of the ship, attached by several steel cables. It reminded her of a huge, floating cigar. There was a loud thunk and then a sharp, motorized sound. The doors of the boathouse slid open, revealing the dark, muddy waters of the Amazon and the jungle beyond. She felt her skin instantly bead with sweat. The doors seemed overly tall, at least ten feet taller than the boat, as far as Leslie could gauge. Maybe it was to ensure that the appendage at the top wasn’t interfered with?
“Interesting. I’ve never seen a ship liked this before.” AJ’s words were meticulous and soft. Her black hair was clipped short, which made her prominent nose strong, and a dark tattoo peeked out from under her short sleeves. She was wearing long jeans and boxy, black boots. “I’m AJ Bluehorse.”
“Leslie Kicklighter.” She reached out to shake hands. AJ just nodded and smiled back. Leslie wasn’t sure if that was a Navajo thing or an individual thing. Some cultures didn’t shake hands, and she didn’t take offense.
“Leslie Kicklighter?” AJ said as she looked out to the river. “I like the name. It sounds to me like you mean business.”
“Thanks. Yes, I guess it does.”
Jessup, Samantha, and Frederick joined them on deck. “Looks like John is ready to get this trip going,” called Jessup.
Everyone followed Jessup’s eyes up to the bridge, nestled above the deck. John, standing near the front window of the bridge, was giving Jessup the thumbs up.
“Do we have to go sit down?” Samantha asked.
“Nah,” Jessup replied. “Just don’t hang over the sides, and you’ll be fine.”
Everyone turned to the view of the river, but Leslie continued to watch the captain. He was studiously working the mechanics of the ship.
Leslie glanced down at the deck and looked back up at a burst of red light, and a man materialized behind the captain.
Leslie moved around a little, trying to figure out if the glare from the windows might have been hiding him and made it look like he had pulled off a magic trick. She was sure no one had been standing there a second ago. The man was dark skinned, with a wide, flat nose, just like Miguel. She almost felt as if she should warn someone, but the captain turned then and shook hands the man.
“Oh, good. Sun’s arrived.” Jessup too was looking up at the bridge. Had he noticed the man’s sudden appearance? He didn’t look nonplussed. It had to be a trick of the light, she thought. People didn’t just appear out of thin air.
A pinging sound came from the cigar-shaped cylinder overhead, and a quiver ran through the deck of the ship. Surprised gasps came from everyone on the observation deck. The boat was rising into the air. She glanced over the edge to look down as the ground slipped away. The press was madly snapping photos again.
AJ moved away from the rail while the rest of the group moved closer to the edge to watch as the ship rose a foot. The bottom of the ship was just barely touching the river’s surface.
Leslie could see pods on the sides of the ship bottom, now revealed, that were also making pinging noises as they opened.
“So that’s how this ship will travel along the Amazon?” asked Samantha.
“Exactly,” Jessup replied. “John’s been working on this idea for a long time. It can settle in the water and work just like a boat, but most of the time the river is too shallow for that. Other times, we can rise completely off the surface to get over obstacles.”
The smooth, gentle hum of motors fired to life, and the ship moved forward- slowly at first, and then it picked up speed. As the edges of the ship cleared the tall doors, Leslie glanced up at the captain, impressed with his ingenuity. Then the ship was outside and moving along the river.
She felt that the moment needed more ceremony. Leslie looked ahead and raised an imaginary glass of wine and toasted to the future. Towards destiny, she thought.