Chapter 23 #4
“It’s a boat, ’bout ten steps left. It’s already halfway in the water, so all you gotta do is get in it and paddle.”
“Yeah, and it’s a door across the water, looks like…” Nel added to what Tunan described.
“Aite.”
“Crazy how fuckin’ big that damn pyramid is on the inside,” Metavello prattled, and the guys muttered responses while I focused on getting the boat.
The stick reached the boat before I could, after I’d flapped it around for a minute. Tossing it inside, I carefully climbed in, and it was more of a fucking canoe than a boatonly one person could fit inside. Using the paddle, I pushed the boat into the water and sat up straight to balance myself.
“Hi, Shio. This is a pre-recorded message,” Scarlett’s voice came over the speaker.
“Who is that?” Nel asked.
“Aye, shut up. It’s Scarlett’s voice.”
Paddling, the water flow aided in carrying the boat.
“It has been said that pyramids were built as ancient tombs, but no one has ever found a mummy of any kind there. It is nearly impossible to understand how the pyramids were built by humans, due to the lack of their instruments and technology. This is not an original pyramid, but it was built to mimic one. The water you are rowing on is fresh. Always keep your body straight and your hands inside the boat at all times, cousin. I love you.”
“Damn, Scarlett must be sick of this job. The facts are gettin' shorter and shorter with each mission.”
Matteo scolded Metavello. “Nah, she’s just sick of you niggas.”
The boat jerked, so I stopped paddling and used the paddle to feel around in the water to make sure I didn’t hit anything.
“Whatchu doin’, bro?”
“I felt somethin’ hit the boat.”
“It’s nothing in the water, Shio. Go head now,” Vello alleged.
“You see how dark it is in there? You don’t know what’s in that muthafucka,” Matteo said.
Since I couldn’t see, I pulled the paddle in the boat and used the stick to poke in the water to check once more.
“Hold up! Zoom in, Tune! I think I see a tail!”
“A tail?” I probed.
The boat pushed forward with a jerk, and I nearly dropped the stick, trying to hold my balance.
“Nigga! That’s three tails!”
“Shio! Stop fuckin’ moving! It’s some shit in the water!” Tunan sounded in a panic.
Pausing, I held my breath while swiveling my head, trying to hear as much as I could.
“Awl, hell nawl! It’s dinosaurs in that bitch! I see scales for sure.”
“Alligators are massive semi-aquatic reptiles!” Scarlett disclosed, coming over the loudspeaker again.
“They are cold-blooded and found in freshwater habitats. They are carnivores, feeding on fish, small mammals, birds, and even sometimes deer.”
“Nigga, if they can eat deer, they can eat a nigga. Awl nawl!” Nel panicked like he was the one in fucking boat.
“These alligators are unlike anything you’ve ever witnessed. They are all twelve feet in length, and their owner, Goal Navarro, keeps them on a special diet of… human flesh.”
The boat jerked forward again, and Nel and Vello screamed over the loudspeaker.
“You need to get the fuck out of dur now, yo’! They are semi-aquatic, meaning they live in the water and on land.” Tunan was now huffing into the speaker while Nel and Vello could be heard in the background, freaking out.
Using the paddle, I began rowing as fast as my arms would allow. The boat continued to jerk as the three reptiles pushed it with their noses from different directions as if they were playing volleyball. Still, I kept rowing.
“The bank is up ahead, but just as you can get outta the water, dey can too. It’s shallow, too, Shio. You need a plan!”
Pulling the paddle back in the boat, I grabbed the stick I’d been using and put it against my mouth.
Using my teeth, I bit into it, hurting the fuck out of my gums. Using my fingers to find the gnawed spot, I broke the stick there and grabbed the piece with the most rugged edge.
Scrubbing the rugged edge up and down my arm, I winced at the burning sensation from my skin being rubbed raw.
When I began to smell blood, I tore the bottom half of my shirt off, balling it up and pressing it against my self-inflicted wounds.
I then tied the bloody shirt around the stick, slapped the water until I felt one nudge the side, and then tossed it behind me as far as it could go.
I felt the water ripple and the slapping of tails.
Wasting no time, I hopped from the boat.
My feet hit the water, which came up to my knees.
“Go, nigga, go! One of them coming back!” Ezio hollered.
Nearly falling into the water from the gritty sand underneath my feet, I continued to push through until I was out of the freshwater, holding the canoe paddle in my hand.
“Jump over the gate! It’s a gate in front of you!”
Using the paddle, I felt for the gate, and when I could see how tall it was, I jumped like my name was Jordan. I felt a nip on my back, ripping at my bare skin above my ass.
Fuck this!
Using the paddle, I swung it behind me, beating the reptile in the head.
“Yeaaaah! Beat his ass, Fav!”
The alligator roared, and then my body jerked onward. He’d pushed my ass forward.
“This pyramid will self-destruct in fifteen minutes,” Scarlett’s voice divulged.
“Okay, Shio, run. The alligators are back in the water, so you good. Just run straight ahead. Go straight through the door. We can hear the pyramid shifting from outside.”
Don was the sickest nigga I knew. We had to be covered by the blood of Jesus, given how we had been able to constantly escape from these missions.
“Okay, I had a look in. You gonna run through the door, make a left, and then a quick right. It’s gonna lead you to a room. So, straight, left, right…”
Following Tunan’s directions, I was slipping and sliding since the wooden sandals were now saturated. Still, I kept moving. I was soaked and wet, blind, head hurting, back aching from my fall, and dehydrated. I was ready for this shit to be over.
“Okay, where I’m at?”
I was met with silence as I stood idle, waiting for more directions. I felt like I was in a smaller room, but I couldn’t be too sure.
“Tune? Tell me sum’n!”
“Nigga, you in the room with a mummy.”
“A what?”
“Pharaoh, Cleopatra, Ramses. Nigga, a mummy!” Nel imparted. That nigga loved to talk shit about my intelligence, but he was no fucking dummy either. He just chose to act like a clown.
“Your antidote should be inside the casket. It's gold and has a pharaoh painted on it, so I know it's heavy. You’re at the foot, and you need to walk to the front.”
Holding the paddle out, I used it to guide me to the front of the casket.
“Okay, you dur. Try and push it off. Liftin’ it may be too hard.”
“Please, Lord… Let this shit be the end. I’m so fuckin’ hot out here,” Nel begged.
Putting the paddle down, I pushed the top, and it was as heavy as steel. The shit wouldn’t bulge. Planting my feet, I placed both hands on the casket top and pushed. It slightly moved with a grit.
“Yess! That’s it!”
Sucking in more air, I continued to push until my ears popped. Just when I thought I was about to pass the fuck out, the top fell, shaking the whole damn room.
“Okay, there is a gold box sitting on the mummy's chest. Reach in and grab it.”
Reaching inside the casket, I cringed, feeling that there was actually a mummy in this bitch. I felt his shoulders and then moved down to his chest area. Once my fingers grazed the cool box, I felt something grab my wrist.
“Ahhhhhhhhh! He’s alive!”
“Oooohhhhh shhhhhiiiit!”
Them niggas were yelling, and for the first time today, I’d yelled out too.
Drawing my fist back, I punched the mummy on the head three times before grabbing the box, screaming for my life.
“Mission accomplished. You may leave the pyramid.”
Following the warmth I felt, I ran through a door, and when my feet sank into sand, I knew I was outside.
“There he go!” I heard Ezio.
Clutching the box in my hands, I was trying to catch my breath, but it was difficult as it had seemed to get hotter out.
“Shio, you still blind?”
Whap!
My head snapped as my face stung.
“Aye, nigga! What the fuck?” It sounded like Tunan had pushed Nel. “Fuck you slap him for?”
“My bad. I was tryna see if he could see the lick comin’. He didn’t, so that means he still blind.”
“Nigga I’m blind, not numb! I can still feel!” I spat the words out, completely fed up.
“Aite, aite… Calm down. Open the box. I hear helicopters comin’.”
Still pissed that I’d gotten bitch slapped, I carefully opened the box.
“What the fuck? Is that dirt?”
Someone reached their hand inside.
“Yeap. It’s dirt and sand mixed, look like,” Ezio confirmed.
Tunan snapped his fingers. “Okay, okay. In the Bible, Jesus used mud and spread it across the blind man’s eyes and told him to go wash in the pool nearby to cure him.”
Vello sucked his teeth. “But this is dirt…”
“And what happens when you get dirt wet, dumbass?” Matteo asked Vello.
The helicopter was now here, hovering over us, as the blades blew the hot ass air on us.
“Jesus wet the dirt and turned it into mud. Except”
“He used his spit. He used his fuckin’ spit,” I said, cutting off my brother. “You niggas got me fucked up. I’ll just wait till I get to the crib. Ain’t none of you muthafuckas putting y’all spit on my face. Just help me get in the helicopter.”
Letting my ears lead me, I walked toward the copter with Ezio and Tunan on either side of me.
“That’s gonna be your black ass, blind for life! How you know this shit don’t have like a set time befo’ you supposed to put the mud on, Shio? You may as well let me have all your old clothes. Ain’t like you can see what you’re puttin’ on.”
“Nel…” I said before leaning my head back, ready to get away from these niggas.
God first.
Make sure the family good.
Eye them Cuppacio boys, the little and the big ones.
Build a relationship with my brother.
Get my brother rich.
Health and wellness.
Stay on top of my mob shit.
Keep Hobo alive.
Get through the meeting with Ines Ledesma.
House a random.
Find the true reason Solana is here.
Figure out if Solana is supposed to be my wife, again.
Find a wife that isn’t Solana.