Apocalypsis 04 - Haven

of the bank, sliding down to the bottom and nearly biting the dust I got going so fast.
    I stumbled down the short beach and into the water, taking long strides so I could catch up to Bodo. I held my gun up above my head and my chin back, doing everything I could to keep my weapon and my shells dry.

    ***
    I couldn’t even imagine how we were going to do this. The water was getting deep quickly, and the current was strong enough that it was pushing me along, threatening a decent soaking if I lost my footing. I was pretty sure the gun wouldn’t work if it got wet.
    Bodo took the few shells he had out of his mouth. “Come to da side,” he said, moving to walk near the banks of the river where it was much shallower but lined at the bottom with dead wood and tangled roots of nearby trees.
    I pulled my t-shirt out of my mouth, holding it up with one hand while the other held the heavy gun. “That’s where the gators are,” I whispered, my tone obviously revealing my stress.
    “Da gators are everywhere. Just ignore da fear. If dey attack, we haff da guns.”
    “But … you can’t shoot a gator underwater!”
    He didn’t say anything in response. He just shoved the shells back into his mouth.
    This had to be the stupidest non-plan in the history of our new world. I was close to abandoning it completely and climbing out of the river when I saw the end of a canoe sticking out of some tree roots up ahead.
    I was all set to shout with joy when Bodo threw his finger up to his face in a shushing gesture. He glared at me, making gestures with his hand to look around.
    I stopped moving and went as silent as possible, searching for signs of enemies hiding in the trees around us. All I could hear was the water rushing past and the occasional screech of birds. They wouldn’t be doing that if there were canners here. I was sure of it.
    I walked over to Bodo and whispered in his ear. “Give me your gun. Go get that damn canoe. Or I’ll do it.”
    He handed me his gun without argument, leaving me to swim across the water. Grabbing the edge of it, he swam in a modified backstroke to bring it over to where I battled the current, not as close to the edge as I wanted to be.
    The speed of the water carried Bodo downstream, so I struggled along to meet him where he finally landed on the banks. My arms were trembling with the effort of holding both guns above the water.
    When I reached the canoe, I threw them both over the edge to fall inside. I had expected them to make a hell of a clattering, but didn’t care; it was either that or lose them to the river. But something in the boat muffled the sound of the guns’ landing. My heart froze as I considered what that might be.
    I threw the shells in next and then grabbed the edge of the canoe, tipping it down towards me.
    Inside was a body dressed in animal hide and moccasins. There was a lot of blood and the person who it had come from wasn’t moving.
    ***
    “Jason!” I yelled, a sharp gasp escaping my lips as I realized I was calling every murdering canner my way with my shouts.
    “Jason,” I said more quietly, jumping up to smack him on the head, trying to get a response from him. The boat rocked my way, tipping really far to the side.
    “Don’t!” growled Bodo. “You’re going to tip it ofer, and we needt to get inside.”
    “But Jason’s in there.” I was so confused. Why was he out here in a canoe all by himself? And why was he covered in blood?
    “He’s dead,” said Bodo, reaching in and grabbing Jason’s shirt.
    “What are you doing?” I asked, freaking out because it looked like he was trying to pull Jason out.
    “We haff to get in da canoe and he hass to come out.” He grunted with the effort of hauling Jason’s lifeless body towards him.
    “He might not be dead!” I said, nearly crying now. “You have to be sure! And you can’t just leave him here in the water for the gators!”
    “We can’t keep him in da boat. Get back. Get outta da way.” He wasn’t paying me any attention, too focused on wrestling around with Jason’s body.
    I punched Bodo in the arm, using my knuckles to get his attention. “Hey! Asshole! We’re not dumping him!”
    Bodo stopped his struggles with Jason and glared at me. “You want to die? Fine, den. Go aheadt and die.” He started swimming away.
    My heart was breaking into a hundred different pieces. I watched Bodo’s body cutting through the water cleanly, like he didn’t have a care in the world - like a boy we