Apocalypsis 01 - Kahayatle

your way back!”
    “Okay!”
    “I probably should have already taken that rope.   I didn’t think we’d need it but that was stupid.”
    “Don’t worry about it.   We can come back and get da last few thingks later.   Nobody expects you to be perfect all da time.”
    “I do,” I said, thinking about how hard my dad had worked to be precise and careful with his decisions and actions.   I kept thinking that if I just did what I could now to live up to his standards, it would somehow keep him from floating away out of my memory or something.   I was afraid to think that at some point, I was going to start forgetting what his face looked like.  
    I pulled the picture of him and me out of my pocket and stared at it while I waited for Peter to come back.
    Bodo came over and stood next to me.   “Is dat your dad?”
    “Yeah.   We were somewhere here in the Everglades.”
    “Dat’s cool.   Dat means his spirit is already here.”
    I smiled.   “Yeah, I guess so.   I never thought of it that way.”
    Peter came back with the rope still coiled and the blanket, much more subdued than he was before.   “There are some slivers of glass in this thing.   I don’t know what you want to do about that.”
    “Just fold it over to cover them.   We’ll worry about getting them out later.   I think we can still use it.”
    Peter balled up the blanket and shoved it in the canoe with our backpacks.   “Are we ready?” he asked, standing in the sand and looking down at the ground.
    “What’s wrong with you?” I asked.   His sudden change of mood was strange.
    “I saw the two kids in there.”
    “Oh.   Yeah.   I’ll tell you about them later.”
    “I read the note.”
    I walked over and gave his shoulders a quick squeeze.   “Sorry.   It sucks, I know.”
    “I know it’s better that she’s not suffering anymore.   Maybe they’re the smart ones.”
    “No, they’re not.   Come on, let’s get out of here.   It’s too depressing.   Let’s go find our new hang out.”
    Peter picked up Buster and walked over to the canoe in front and sat inside at the back of it, putting Buster down by his feet.   “I’m ready whenever you guys are.”
    Bodo and I exchanged glances, saying nothing.
    ***
    Bodo went into the water and pulled the first canoe out with Peter on board, pointing it towards the center of the waterway.
    “Go aheadt.   Get in,” he said, gesturing to me and the canoe behind Peter that was now in a few feet of water.
    “No, I’m going to help you get the rest of these in, first.”
    “Yeah, okay.   Maybe dat’s better,” he said, looking worriedly at the group of boats that still needed to go out.
    Together we wrestled the heavy ones into the water and got them floating behind Peter.  
    Peter’s boat kept trying to go diagonal on him, and he was having a heck of a time trying to keep it straight.
    “Try the other paddle,” I suggested.
    “What difference does it make?” he said, clearly frustrated.
    “One has a bigger paddle part.   Maybe it won’t make any difference, I don’t know.”
    He threw the one he was using behind him in the boat and dragged the other one forward, looking at the end with a critical eye.   “I don’t see any difference.”   He put it in the water and   moved it around.   “Oh, wait.   There is a difference.   Cancel my last complaint.”
    I smiled, noticing his boat was already more under control.  
    “I think when you haff two people in da boat, da one riding in da back gets the bigger paddle,” said Bodo, watching Peter stroke it through the water.   Even just a small movement made the boat adjust quickly.
    “Yeah, I think you’re right,” agreed Peter, sounding a lot more confident now.   Buster let out a sharp, happy bark, standing at back of the boat, looking at us with his tongue hanging out.
    There was just one last boat, the one with the tiny engine on it, left to push out.  
    “Go get in your canoe, Bryn.   I got dis one.”
    I waded out into the water, trying not to stress out over the fact that it was getting pretty deep and that any alligator that wanted a snack could be under there and I’d never see it until it was too late.
    I gave up on walking all the way to the boat, since the water was too deep, and used the rope to pull it closer to me instead.   Once it was in front of my chest, I put my hands on the edge to jump in; but as soon as I pushed down on it, the whole thing tipped sideways.   I