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[Neil & Danny - Second island]
The small pack on his back has water, food and sunscreen, enough of the first two to sustain him for a full week if necessary. It won't be, Mathias knows this, but even with all the work he's done on going into the jungle, he can't completely shake the fear that something terrible will happen. Something will keep him there, even if Neil and Danny get to leave and it's entirely irrational, but the extra food and water make him feel better. They calm the heavy pound of his heart.
Lucy knows where they're going and how long they'll be gone for, something else he's learned the hard way. In Mexico, no one had known where they were, but he's made sure that's covered here, and he's not worried about that. If they don't return by this evening, someone will come for them.
There's no reason to think they won't return. It's a simple trip to the second island. The restlessness that has been growing in Mathias for weeks has been almost overwhelming since Veronica's disappearance. Without her, he feels less grounded, scattered, like there's nothing to keep him from disappearing himself, though he knows that isn't true. He has Sam to look after, and it's because of her that he hasn't gone sooner.
Now, though, he's standing on the west beach with Danny and Neil, early morning sunlight turning the waves pink. There are two canoes in the sand, ready for them to push off and he doesn't feel good. There's not even the smallest part of him that feels close to good, but he doesn't feel terrible either. And that's something.
"Who wants to row on their own?" he asks with a small smile, gesturing at the two canoes.
Lucy knows where they're going and how long they'll be gone for, something else he's learned the hard way. In Mexico, no one had known where they were, but he's made sure that's covered here, and he's not worried about that. If they don't return by this evening, someone will come for them.
There's no reason to think they won't return. It's a simple trip to the second island. The restlessness that has been growing in Mathias for weeks has been almost overwhelming since Veronica's disappearance. Without her, he feels less grounded, scattered, like there's nothing to keep him from disappearing himself, though he knows that isn't true. He has Sam to look after, and it's because of her that he hasn't gone sooner.
Now, though, he's standing on the west beach with Danny and Neil, early morning sunlight turning the waves pink. There are two canoes in the sand, ready for them to push off and he doesn't feel good. There's not even the smallest part of him that feels close to good, but he doesn't feel terrible either. And that's something.
"Who wants to row on their own?" he asks with a small smile, gesturing at the two canoes.
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Until now.
"It smells down here," he says. "When Pablo fell down the mineshaft, he broke his back. It smelled, we could all smell that he'd shit himself."
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They'll leave him here in the dark with the vines and he'll never go home again.
"They called me a Nazi," he says, speaking in German again. "Eric and the vines. I know I was the bad guy, but I didn't mean to bring anyone here. I never meant for anyone to die.."
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His cut is still sluggishly bleeding, but it's nothing compared to Mathias. "There'll be help soon enough, okay? I need you to focus on that. Focus on me being here and help on the way."
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From across the small clearing they've fallen into, he can still hear the vines whispering and as the minutes drag by, he becomes more and more convinced they're going to wait until Neil returns with help. Then they'll strike, making sure he and Danny never see the surface again.
It's a long time before he hears movement above, but eventually he does hear it and he reaches out in the dark, groping for Danny's hand. It's childish, to need someone to hold onto, but he doesn't care. He wouldn't care in the light of day and he doesn't care down here in the dark.
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By the time I do, sweating and aching all over, sick with worry and hollow-eyed in the boat on the way back, Tom and Danny's unsurprisingly hot boyfriend in tow.
When we dock on the shores of the second island, I have a moment of stupid paranoia, that I won't be able to find the place where Mathias and Danny fell, but it's easy enough to retrace our steps.
"Right down here," I say, hurrying up the gentle slope leading up to the rotted wood hatch they both fell through.
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He already knows where Danny's been, had even been the one to see him off before his camping trip, but Neil's back too soon, too early for him to assume that something hasn't gone wrong, and he barely hears the news before he's packing some things into a bag, changing into clothes meant for trekking in the jungle before heading out. Someone else joins them too - Tom, a familiar face from ITF - and the three of them set off in no time at all.
He's got a rope in his pack, and he takes it out as they reach the slope, crouching down by the opening of the hatch and leaning out to look over once he's got his footing.
"How's it going, Danno?" he calls out, trying not to let his nerves seep into his voice.
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"You guys need water?" he asked, peering down the jagged hole in the ground. He's already tying the canteen to a rope, lowering it down, lest he toss it in blind and give someone a concussion on top of everything else.