I've got a pretty firm grip on Gerald's arm, and I'm pulling...trying...trying...but it's not enough. Not enough, come on!

"Try harder!" Helga yells. I bite my lip in annoyance. What does she think I'm doing?

My chest thumps, and I strain a little more...a little...just a little...

Before I know what's happening, my knees slide forward. I scream. The world around me flips, and I'm going down, down toward the foggy, cold bottom...

I grasp wildly as I fall. My hands burn as they suddenly catch on the rope. I swing slightly as my feet find the wooden boards of the bridge, and I pull myself into a standing position.

Catching my breath, I turn to look at Gerald and Helga. Now we're all stuck down here.

Now what do we…

Crash! I feel my body suddenly jerk as the boards beneath us break.

We scream. No!

Time slows down. I open my eyes and watch the boards fall, fall, fifteen feet, twenty feet, thirty, fifty, then they're gone beneath the fog. I imagine them falling even further, hundreds and hundreds of feet, smashing onto jagged rocks next to La Sombra's bloodied, fractured head. Or maybe falling soundlessly into a calm bed of water, where La Sombra would be floating, lifeless, mouth open in a silent scream…

My stomach lurches. I look up at my friends…

Helga's face.

I feel like a knife's been plunged through my chest.

She knows.

No. No.

My mind goes blank. This isn't happening.

Except, it is.

Helga's face. Sadness. The deepest, softest, most vulnerable kind. I see it on her face, and I feel it too. And…

Regret.

Helga closes her eyes for a half second, leans up against Gerald's neck.

Regret. Regret. I taste it in my mouth suddenly, acidic and bitter. This whole trip has been about me. My dreams. My hopes of finding Mom and Dad. For the last year, ever since I found Dad's journal, that's all I could think about.

Helga gently opens her eyes. Blue. She has high cheekbones. A large nose. The unibrow, of course.

Have I ever really looked at her? Have I ever really looked at anyone I loved? Grandpa, Grandma? The boarders? Ernie, Mr. Hyunh, Mr. Kokoshka, what color are their eyes? Have I ever really noticed?

I've been so preoccupied lately. The map. The Green Eyes. Their plane. I've stayed up so many nights over the past year, charting, analyzing.

Why? For what? Their plane probably crashed ten years ago. I don't remember them, don't even know them. I have people right here who love me, who need me, who have always needed me, and I let them all down. All my friends. Mr. Simmons. The Green Eyes. My family. Gerald.

And…

My throat burns and my eyes fill.

And...the one looking back at me right now. How much does she need me? How much has she always needed me? How many times have I let her down?

Helga, I...I can't..I can't believe this is happening.

I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.

Swish! A rope drops down and almost hits me in the face.

"Come on up, mijos!"

I squint up, seeing a human-shaped shadow blocking the sun.

Rescue!

00000000000000000

Author's note: Whew! It is NOT easy to write the exact same scene from two different points of view.

I'm still in shock, guys. The reality of TJM being made has honestly given me hope that impossible things can happen. Onward to Season 6! 3 3

-Lilchamor (Lily)