Chapter 7

SONG: AMERICAN PIE - DON MCLEAN


"Look what they did to you. Poor thing. I'm so sorry. Machine guns?! Who brings a submarine to the Amazon." Frank dangled from the side of the hull of the boat patching the bullet holes with wet tar. "But you still out run them. Every time!" Frank kisses the boat which cause a concerned and slightly confused but amused look from Lily, studying the map of the river once over again to determine their next route. 


"You need to tell her." MacGregor whispered to their niece as they came from below deck to sit with Lily. "No Uncle Mac, she's not like you, all she'll do is worry too much, then scold me for coming in the first place then blame me."


"You need to tell her petal." MacGregor lowered his voice as they came closer to Frank and Lily. 


"What was that?" Lily looked up from the map at her brother and daughter.


"Nothing just saying what Uncle Mac is wearing is ridiculous for something to wear in a jungle." Rose quickly covered the conversation between her and her Uncle up, not entirely convincing her mother as she furrowed her eyebrows as her eyes followed her daughter as she walked over to sit down on the the bench attached to the hull, casually staring overboard seeing if she could see anything in the water.


"I thought I'd keep it casual." MacGregor distracted his sister away from her stare at Rose. "Well, you've really outdone yourself this time. Do we know the identity of our homicidal maniac in the submarine?" 


"No." Lily sighed. "I don't know his name. But the youngest son of Kaiser Wilhelm wrote several articles about the Tears of the Moon. And if I had to guess, I would say that that's him." Lily looked up at MacGregor, now fully taking in what he was wearing, and at the sight rolling her eyes. "Aren't you hot in all that?"


"Not in the slightest." MacGregor shrugged but not long after the two ladies found him laying on the deck of the boat with his clothes all crinkled. "My eyeballs are sweating!" MacGregor gasped with a raspy voice from being slightly dehydrated.  


"Are you all right love?" Lily slightly chuckled as she sat down next to Rose tiredly leaning on her arm, accidentally choosing to choose to sit on the side of the wounded arm as Rose stood up quickly when pressure was applied wincing as secretly as she could. Lily didn't notice the wince this time, she still thought her daughter was mad and upset with her from the previous events when collecting their luggage. 


She was soon distracted from watching her daughter go towards and start a conversation with Frank who was now at the wheel. "Oh, my... Oh, my goodness! MacGregor, look!" Lily scrambled to her feet discarding her sketchbook on the side as she stepped over her brother who soon got up and sat near Frank and Rose with his back to them. "Inia geoffrensis! Oh, how beautiful!" Lily chuckled as water splashed on her as the creatures she had spotted splashed their tails against the surface of the water. "Rose, petal come and look at them." 


"I'm fine thank you." Rose answered politely but the disappointed frown on her mother's face didn't go unnoticed by her before she looked away with guilt as Lily went back to admiring the beautiful creature. 


"So when you gonna tell Pants about that injury?" Frank took a swig from the whiskey bottle he nicked from one of MacGregor's many cases. Rose looked down to see her shirt sleeved as been ruched up to slightly reveal the scar forming with the blood dried up. "Shit!" Rose mumbled quickly straightening her sleeve down hoping her mother hadn't seen it. 


"You need to clean that. I mean i know it's no proper bullet wound but if you don't clean it, it will get infected, and trusted me mini-pants that's way more painful." Frank shrugged before taking another sip of the alcohol turning his attention back to steering the wheel and Lily admiring the creatures still. "You know, here we call them 'encantado'." 


"'Bewitched'?" Lily furrowed her eyebrows in confusion totally oblivious of Rose inspecting her wound carefully wincing as she accidentally touched it. 


"Yeah. Shape-shifters spirits. Don't look them directly in the eye unless you what nightmares for life. You believe in legends, you should believe in curses, too." To which Lily rolled her eyes at. "Hey MacGregor, mini Pants." he nudged Rose slightly to get her attention away from her wound, hitting it accidentally which caught Lily's attention when this time she noticed her daughter wince, questioning even more of what was going on. "Had a girlfriend once, she was cross-eyed. Didn't work out. We could never see eye to eye." Frank laughed as MacGregor let out a little snort which made Frank laugh even more. 


"Oh my God!" Lily and Rose both rolled their eyes. 


"Is that you're idea of a joke?" Rose furrowed her eyebrows.


"That is not funny!" Lily finished the sentence. 


"I'm also quite sure she was seeing somebody on the side." Frank continued earning a sigh in exasperation from Lily as Rose continued to furrow her eyebrows questioning in her head what was so funny about it. 


"Right mini-pants sundown is coming so so why don't you head below deck for your bed time?" Frank smirked.


"Ha Ha Ha!" Rose walked down below deck to change into move comfier clothes to sleep in. "You're so funny 'Frank owes me money' you should become a comedian.


"I'm going to capture some of this beauty on the camera Mac you wanna help me." Lily looked up at her brother.


"I- i- uh i- i think i'm going to go do-down with Rose ha- have a um a little niece and uncle chat." MacGregor stuttered as he pointed in the direction Rose had went.


"Oh ok well-"


"Yep see you at dinner." MacGregor rushed off below deck after Rose.


"Weirdo." Lily mumbled with a smile.


"Right that's it if you're not going to tell you're mother, if you're going to be stubborn like your mother, I'm going to do something, let me clean this bloody wound." MacGregor demanded as he strutted towards his niece who was still inspecting her wound.


"No!"


"Yes!"


"No!"


"Why not?!"


"No offense Uncle Mac, I love you more than anything but YOU ARE THE CLUMMIEST AND THE MOST CLUELESS MAN I HAVE EVER MET!"


"Please sweetheart if your mother ever finds out about and finds out and she finds out that i knew she will kill me!" MacGregor whined as he begged Rose who kept shaking her head.


"Not just you!"


"What do you mean?"


"Uhhhhh???"


"Rose!"


"Yeahhhh Frank might know."


"Great! She's going to kill me, bring me back to life then kill me again." Rose rolled her eyes at her Uncle's exaggeration. 


"I'm fine Uncle Mac seriously." she reassured him rubbing his arm.


"You don't understand.... i will die!" Rose slightly chuckled. "It's not funny I'm a dead man!" MacGregor replied not being able to hide his smile at hearing his niece laugh for the first time in for ages, soon laughing quietly along with her.


"I'll make sure she doesn't kill you, only 'Frank owes me money'." you winked at him as he pulled you into a careful hug.


"Just please tell her, she deserves to know."


"Ok I promise I will."


"Ok now let's go eat I'm starving." MacGregor took Rose's hand as they both went back up deck. "I could do with something to eat. But someone threw all of my reserve food into the harbour. You know, Frank, if you think you're going to cut our trip short by starving us, let me tell you that that is extremely likely to work."


Frank ignored the man as he took out his pistol from a mini pocket by the wheel shooting it up into the air as everyone heard an animal screech in the distance as a rat of some kind fell from the trees. "Do you expect me to eat that?!" Rose gasped in disgust. Frank then threw the creature into the river before water bubbled as Frank stuck a fishing net in the water fishing out a group of piranhas and flipping them onto the deck of the boat.


"Piranha. Better eat them before they eat you."


"No way!" MacGregor gasps.


Frank had cooked the piranha on a little made fire with the help of Rose which bought a smile to Lily's face as it looked like her daughter was genuinely having fun and enjoying herself here. "Have to say, Frank. These piranha are so good. Can't quite place that flavour, though."


"It's blood." Frank answered bluntly as he watched Lily's face go pale as she forced herself to eat another piece however MacGregor was completely put off it. "But I couldn't do it without the help of mini-pants here." Frank patted your arm completely forgetting about your injury.


"Ow!" Rose winced.


"Right what is going on with you?! You've been like this for the whole trip!"


"Right! I'm off to bed." MacGregor tried to excuse himself.


"Um yeah, yeah, sleep anywhere you want downstairs, just not in my cabin. It's off limits." Frank did the same.


"Why on Earth would I want to do that?"


"No! Sit down no one is leaving till i find out what the bloody hell is going on here!" Lily snapped.


"Child present!" Frank mocked MacGregor from earlier on.


"I'm 17!" Rose sighed.


"I don't really care about your age, whatever age you are still my daughter and I'm your mother whether you like it or not! Now tell me someone, I would like it to be my daughter but I will take it from anyone at this point, TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!"


Silence.


"Rose got injured when the angry German tried to kill us!" MacGregor pointed at his stunned niece.


"WHAT?!" Lily stood up dropping her dinner.


"Uncle Mac!"


"Petal I had to tell her."


"Ughhhhh!" Rose threw her head back in frustration as Lily rushed over rolling her Rose's sleeve to inspect the injury. "Rose! Why didn't you tell me?"


"I-"


"No actually I don't want to hear it, don't want to hear anything from anyone."


"So can I go to bed." MacGregor spoke from the corner feeling uncomfortable as his niece was still glaring at him. 


"Yeah, yeah MacGregor, do whatever you want, like i said i don't want to hear anything from anyone." Lily shooed her brother away as she took the first aid kit from Frank.



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