Chapter 25 #4
The yacht sliced through the water, a graceful dance of power and tranquility.
A gentle hum vibrated through the hull as the engine purred, propelling the boat forward through the crashing waves.
A refreshing spray kissed my face as the bow cut through the water.
As good as the ride felt, I was aggravated.
I couldn’t appreciate it for thinking about what was to come.
“In approximately ten minutes, the boat will come to a stop. You’ll then start the swinging challenge.”
“Swinging?” My head popped up.
The only swinging I knew of was from the Don Rio nigga that Nel and Vello had told me about.
I’d met him at the gender reveal, and the hanging dicks still had me side-eying his ass.
I didn’t know what type of shit Don thought this was, but that was where I drew the line.
I’d seen enough dicks and balls involuntarily to last a lifetime while knocked during shower time.
The only one I was interested in seeing now was my own.
I wasn’t swinging for no amount of fucking money.
“Scarlett, dey just gone have to kill me. I ain't doing no swinging.”
“It’s not as hard as it seems, cousin. You just have to hold your breath and let your body work for you.”
“Mane, what da fuck type of shit do da niggas in the mob got goin’ on? My brother be with dis shit?”
“Shio has completed all missions successfully. He is indeed with the shits. Four minutes.”
Looking ahead, heart racing, I began to look for an out.
All I saw ahead were trees, and there was no way this big-ass boat could go through the trees.
When Shio told me about joining the mob, he didn’t say shit about giving up your manhood.
I was down for killing a motherfucker, robbing niggas who deserved to get jacked, and as of a few minutes ago, jumping from a fucking plane.
But swinging? Yeah, no. My mama ’nem may as well get their black clothes ready.
The boat slowed to a stop, and I cussed under my breath. There were so many trees stretched across the strip of land that it was all I could see: trees and water. Various vines hung from the trees, but you couldn’t see beyond that or even through it.
“Scarlett… I ain’t with no gay shit. I’m ’bout to just jump back in da water. Tell my sister and nephew, I love ’em—”
“Wait, Tunan. What type of swinging do you think I’m talking about?”
“Shid, gay shit.”
“Tunan, absolutely not.”
I sighed with relief. I had most definitely judged the shit out of everyone in the mob in just ten minutes.
“If you look up, you’ll see hanging vines.”
There were brown rope-like vines hanging from the trees that sprouted out of the water.
Though it was the same body of water, this end looked muggy and dark.
Several bugs and insects croaked and chirped in harmony, and a stinging sensation on my skin had me slapping at it.
Lifting my hand, there was a fat-ass mosquito smushed against my arm.
If I caught malaria out in this bitch, I was fucking Don up, for real.
“Reach up and tug on the vine closets to you.”
I didn’t follow her instructions. I just stood there, adrenaline not ready since I’d been thrust into the last two disasters.
“Grab the vine, Tunan.”
“Fuck!” Pulling my pants up my waist, I leaned over the boat’s edge and grabbed the vine.
“Now climb the railing, hold on to the vine tightly, and let it swing you to the next vine.”
“Say, what?”
“You’ll swing through the trees but please try to remain as high as you can. The waters are infested.”
“Infested with what?”
“Climb the railing.”
Looking up at the vine, I saw that it disappeared in the leaves of the tree. I tugged on it as the boat rocked. I could feel heat creeping up my neck, so I looked back instead of climbing up. Sparks of orange glows were on the deck, and the more I watched, the faster it grew and rose.
“What the fuck? Aye, Scarlett!”
“Climb up, Tunan,” Scarlett instructed. Her voice was still mellow, even though she’d told me to do the same thing three times now.
“The boat! It’s on fire!”
“Yes, the boat is set to self-destruct. Climb the rail. Do not let the vine go.”
It was as if we’d given the “okay” by stating the obvious because the small flames grew into an uncontrollable force, melting the far end of the boat.
There were only a few inches that separated me from the fire.
I knew I didn’t have long to either trust Scarlett and let the vine swing my ass or jump in the water, which I’d just learned was infested.
Lifting my leg, I climbed on the rail. I could feel the fire on my back now, so I wrapped my leg around the vine and swung from the boat as it erupted into flames.
Don was just doing some shit because, why in the fuck would he set a nice-ass yacht on fire?
There was no logical reason for doing that shit.
As I hung onto the vine, inches above the water, the fiery boat began reversing.
Splooshing sounds below me had me looking down, and I could see dinosaur-like scales and a tail of something bigger than that fucking shark.
Deciding it would be in my best interest to climb, I went up the vine as far as I could go.
It wasn’t too much higher, but it was high enough so that I was safe from the swamp.
Knowing it was a matter of time before some bullshit happened, I looked ahead at all the vines dangling from the trees.
I didn’t know which one to grab next because I didn’t know if they could support my one hundred and seventy pounds.
Spotting one that looked sturdy enough, the vine fit into my palms as I launched myself, the swamp a short drop below.
This shit is crazy.
Adrenaline still pumping from the shark’s jaws and the helicopter’s ejection, I gripped the rope-like vine tighter.
One would have thought I was the king of the jungle himself with the way I was swinging on this plant.
The swamp air felt thick and heavy, a suffocating blanket of humidity that clung to my skin.
The canopy of trees blocked the sunlight, but I could see sun rays reflecting on the Everglades, making it look like a steamy cauldron.
I pushed my body forward, grasping the next vine, and this time, my hand landed directly on a sharp-ass thorn that stabbed the fuck out of my skin.
“Fuuuuuuck!” Removing my hand, I slid down the vine, and an alligator jumped out of the water, snapping at me.
“Ahhhh shiiiiit!” I screamed, blood dripping from my hand as I clenched my grip tighter onto the vine.
The alligator tried to snatch me down, missing me by a few inches, and I yelled to that motherfucker that he wouldn’t be eating my ass today.
I couldn’t see his underside, but the top half of his body proved he was massive.
The motherfucker looked like he could eat an elephant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Climbing back up the vine, I tried to go higher than before as the alligator splashed into the water. Two more noses peeked from out of the murky sludge, all three lined up, waiting and ready for me to fall.
“Dese da same damn gators from da pyramid?”
Forcing my body forward, the air whipped past me, a rush of humid heat with the musty scent of decay rising from the alligator-infested waters.
Each swing was a fucking gamble—a desperate prayer that the next vine held me, and that the makeshift jungle gym didn’t betray me.
Don was a playful-ass nigga, but this shit was not a game.
I’d been kidnapped, thrown from a fucking copter, swam from a shark, and now I was swinging to prevent becoming a meal to these big-ass alligators.
It was like Scarlett had said: I was in for a fight for my survival.
It was more than proving myself. It damn sure was more than a Ferrari.
This shit was life or death, and maybe that’s what sick-ass Don was trying to show me.
However, his ass could’ve put me in a shootout or some other shit. We Memphis niggas ain’t know shit about playing jungle and ocean games.
On my new vine, now in the thick of the trees, I couldn’t see anything behind or in front of me but green and brown marshland.
This shit felt like something straight out of the movie Anaconda.
Just as the thought entered my mind, I shook it away.
The last thing I needed was to conjure some shit, and it came true.
A snap echoed through the swamp, a chilling reminder of the danger lurking below.
The vine that I was gripping shuddered violently.
Looking down, I could see that one of the alligators had sunk its teeth into the fibers.
“Ohhh, fuck no!”
Panic flared within me as I felt the vine begin to tear.
The plant snapped from the weight of me and the alligator pulling on it.
It was too much, and a second later, my body fell flat.
I tried to grip another vine, but it slipped through my fingers, scratching my hand again.
All three gators had their mouths open as the swampy ground rushed up to greet me.
“Maamaaaaa!”
Suddenly, a sting shot up my back, breaking my fall.
My feet were dangling, and my shirt was gathered underneath my armpits.
My clothing had been caught on a thorn, and the break in my fall allowed me to find a vine that I could grasp.
I wrapped my leg around a trim limb to steady my body.
When I stopped hollering, I tugged the vine, making sure it wouldn’t tear.
Since it seemed steady enough, I pushed my body forward, and I could feel and hear the rip of my shirt from the big-ass thorn.
Warm air stung whatever scars I’d accumulated on my hands, arms, and legs, but I’d rather be scratched up than gator food.
“About three more swings, Tunan, and you’ll reach the end.”