Soulless
JANANI VENKAT RAMANAN UMKC MEDICAL STUDENT
The monster yanks unaware passengers into the water and slurps up their flesh like spaghetti. That’s what the myths say, anyway.
Sitting in the dining hall of The Ablatione, the most luxurious cruise on the Amazon, I could almost find it hard to believe.
The clink of cutlery fills the air as the smell of smoked salmon wafts to my nose. I inhale and finger the glass of ruby champagne on the mahogany table next to me.
The warm glow of candles hanging on wall sconces illuminates the hall. Elegant tables and chairs with velvet cushions pepper the russet floor. People enjoying their dinner fill every one. The smell of greenery floats through open windows. Velvet curtains sway in the light breeze.
I raise the cool glass to my lips. Wait for it, I think.
The honeyed liquid loses its taste the moment it touches my tongue. Champagne turns to ash in my mouth and I swallow the bitter sip.
The myths also say the Río de la Muerta is cursed to sink any boat that crosses it. Looking at the periodic downed hulls and broken masts passing the window, I can’t help but think that it’s true.
A passenger’s voice floats to my ears. “Is there really a monster lurking beneath this water?” She’s a tourist, wearing a purple t-shirt and shorts.
“Maybe,” a male voice responds. “I’ve heard it pulls ships under and consumes the souls of those on it.”
The candles seem to flicker.
“And the first boat that sank?” the tourist asks. “When was that?”
“The Evanescere, in 1728. Some say that, once a person touches the water, there’s no saving their soul.” The male passenger leans back in his chair. “They don’t even reach the afterlife.”
“Those are just stories,” a new voice says.
The chatter in the room turns to hushed whispers.
My gaze lands on the tour guide leaning in the door to the hall. Her dark hair is in a ponytail and dust coats her brown pants. She wipes her hands on her black top before strutting into the room. “All those stories are native folklore. Boats haven’t sunk on this river for many years.”
“Not after that one soul escaped,” the passenger says under his breath.
The tour guide’s smile doesn’t waver in the slightest as she stops next to the man’s table. “Yes, the one soul that escaped the monster’s clutches a hundred years ago and is now bound to this river, forever looking for its body to re-inhabit.” Sarcasm drips from her every word.
The male passenger frowns. “That soul is the only thing keeping the monster at bay. Ships haven’t sunk since it escaped. It is neither dead nor alive, but something with characteristics of a human and a ghost. For all we know, it could be among us right now.”
The tourist’s eyes widen and she covers her gasp with her hand. “I-i-is that really true?”
The tour guide’s smile fades. “If it is, the poor thing has to possess its former body again, lest it remain an invisible specter for the rest of eternity.” She grins again. “Well, they say everyone comes to this river looking for something.”
The silence that follows stretches to the dark corners of the room.
The tour guide steps back from the table and crosses her arms across her chest. “Shop’s closed. You all better go to sleep. We exit the Río tomorrow morning.”
Chatter rises from the crowd as chairs slide backward. I set my full glass down on a nearby table and stand, pushing my long auburn hair back. I wind around the chaise I was lounging on and follow the last of the crowd toward the door.
“Some say that the captain’s entire family, including his nine-year-old daughter, were on the Evanescere when it sank,” someone else says. “I feel sorry for the girl. That is no age to die.”
I walk around them and through the door. I turn, intending to go left, only to smash into the tour guide.
An apology bursts through my lips. “Excuse me.” I quickly duck around her.
She shakes her head and shivers. “Chilly night.”
I weave through the crowd. Most of the tourists are heading below decks to the cabins. Once I break free of the throng, I exhale a sigh of relief.
I take a moment to glance around at the front of the boat. Chairs line the wooden planks near the railing glimmering in the moonlight. The water laps at the sides of the boat. The canopy looms around the edges of the river, the trees as still as statues. Behind me, the last of the crowd drifts into the cabins.
The jungle is silent. Waiting.
Everyone comes to this river looking for something. The tour guide’s words echo in my mind as I sink down into one of the deck chairs. I rest my head on the back of the chair and close my eyes.
Well, that certainly is true of me, I think.
I don’t intend on falling asleep. Not yet anyway.
Sleep insists on taking me. I drift in and out, barely registering the movement of the boat.
A thud slices the air. Lights flicker on inside the upper cabin as startled voices float to my ears.
The tour guide’s voice cuts through the night air. “Looks like we hit a rock. Don’t panic, everyone.”
Somewhere, a child starts wailing. Its parents try to shush it.
I get to my feet and peer over the railing. “Oh, god,” I whisper.
The black waters churn beneath the boat and waves crash against the sides. The chittering of animals rises to a cacophony near the sides of the river. Tiny feet scrabble to get as far away from the water as possible. Trees jerk from side to side. The moonlight is gone, shrouded by darkened clouds the color of an abyss.
Before I can move, the entire boat slams sideways. Something crashes into the side.
Someone screams. Splinters fly everywhere. I grab the railing and hold on until my knuckles turn white.
“It’s the monster!” a tourist shouts.
I shove my hair out of my face and look over my shoulder.
A darkened form rises over the boat. The Ablatione jerks and water begins to flow over the planks.
For a moment, I freeze.
I can’t believe this is happening.
“Jump!” someone else yells. The voice snaps me out of my reverie.
My eyes land on a low-hanging branch. It grows higher as the boat sinks.
I let go of the railing as the boat shudders again, the eerie moan of wood breaking filling the air. I back up a few steps.
Without hesitating, I sprint toward the edge of the boat and jump.
The branch slams into my stomach. All the wind is knocked out of my lungs as I hold on for dear life.
Then the branch starts to lower.
“No. No. No.” I scramble to get as far away from the water as possible. The wet bark slips between my fingers.
I grab onto another branch and yank myself upward. My black boots slip as I climb. After a painstaking moment, I reach the trunk of the tree. Then a snap fills the air and the world tilts sideways. I crash through several layers of twigs before slamming into the sticky wet leaves on the ground.
In the distance, a column of fire shoots out of the sinking Ablatione. More screams fill the air. Passengers scramble toward the shore, only to get yanked under.
Stars dance in front of my eyes.
Run. Every instinct in my body tells me to flee, to get as far away as possible. Go.
I force myself to my feet. Without turning around, I sprint into the forest.
My chest heaves as I crash through the undergrowth. Desperate to avoid death by my boots, animals skitter away in my wake. I shove branches away and run.
My foot twists on a root jutting out of the dirt. I fall face-first into the moss and lichen.
For a moment, I lay there. Dark spots swim on the edges of my vision.
I so desperately want to rest. To close my eyes and realize that this is all a bad dream, that the Ablatione didn’t just sink, that the passengers aren’t all dead—
I force air through my lungs. My eyes close of their own accord.
Before I can resist sleep, I slip into unconsciousness.
A child’s shrill cries pierce the forest.
My eyes fly open.
“Help me!” a girl shouts.
My blood rushes in my ears as I jump to my feet. The rays of the rising sun hit my eyes and pain spikes through my skull.
“Who are you?” Shading my eyes, I spin in a circle. “Where are you?”
Pink ruffles flash in the corner of my eye. I turn to see a girl, no older than nine or ten, crouched in the underbrush. Dirt streaks her pink and white dress. She ducks into a bush when I notice her.
I slowly raise my hands forward to show I’m not a threat. “I’m not going to hurt you. Tell me your name.”
My heart pounds in my chest, telling me something is wrong, wrong, wrong. I ignore it and raise my trembling hands higher.
She finally speaks with a tear-choked voice. “M-m-my parents were on the boat when it went down. Please, you have to help me look for them.”
I hesitate. Try to find a way to say it.
When I speak, my words are quiet. “I’m sorry, but your parents aren’t alive. I don’t know how you got off the boat, but everyone else must have drowned.”
Tears well up in her eyes and she whimpers. She bursts into tears, water streaming down her plump cheeks.
I step forward. “Don’t cry. We can—”
“Stay away from me!” she shrieks. The girl shoves herself away from the bush. “Go away!”
“No, please—”
In a moment, she’s on her feet. Before I can stop her, she sprints.
“Wait—” I lunge, but it’s too late. She disappears into the water, heading in the direction of the river.
I curse and run. “Wait! Don’t go to the water!”
She doesn’t listen. I push my aching legs faster and try to grab her again.
“Stop!” It’s harder to breathe now. My eyes are streaming as I crash through the forest.
The girl stumbles as her foot sinks into the sand of the riverbank. She falls, landing on her hands and knees.
I burst out of the forest and leap to her side. As I try to pull her back, she slaps my hands away.
The girl scrambles toward the lapping waters of the riverbank. “I need to get to my family!”
“No, the monster will get us,” I say. I try to grab her again and lunge forward.
The girl freezes.
A sinking feeling grows in my gut.
For a moment, I look at the girl. At her curled locks. At her ruffled tulle dress. At the ornate golden locket on her chest.
“What boat were your parents on?” I ask. I don’t want to hear the answer.
More tears stream down the girl’s face as she looks at me. “They were on the Evanescere. My father was the captain.”
The world blurs.
The monster already got them,” the girl says. “It got me, too. I’m part of it now. It wanted me to find you.”
Then her tiny form ripples. As the foaming water washes over her scratched knees, she fades away.
Cool water washes around my boots and soaks my pants. Time slows down as I try to get out of the water. Then something wraps around my ankles, pulling me forward. I fall and my head hits the sand.
The invisible force yanks me in. I grasp at the sand.
Something. Anything to save me.
Grains slip through my fingers. Water closes over my head and the world fades to black.
I open my eyes to darkness.
For a moment, I wonder if they are opened or closed, if I’m dead or alive, if it was all a dream or not. But when I feel the pressure of the river threatening to shatter my bones, I know it was very real. Darkness presses on my skin, almost as if it is waiting to consume me.
When I see the cave, I gasp.
A body lies on the floor, slouched up against the cave wall. Her auburn hair floats around her head like a halo. Her sightless blue eyes stare off into the abyss, and her black boots rest on the sand.
I know that face very well. It’s the one I’ve seen in the mirror for a long time. The face I came here for. I step forward, sending sand swirling up from the riverbed.
Two pinpricks of yellow light appear in the darkness. Then they narrow.
A low, guttural voice speaks. “Welcome back, Lorelei. It’s been a long time since you were here.”