Chapter 8

Cut to the shack in the jungle. Helga is now situated in the centre of the shack, tied up to a chair. The two henchmen are lounging about, doing nothing in particular.

Tall man: What do you suppose the boss was so excited about?

Short man: Who knows?...(stomach grumbles)…man, I am so hungry….

Tall man pulls out a banana and begins to unpeel it. The short henchman sits up.

Short man: Where did you get that? Let me have a bite!

Tall man: No way, man! Get your own!

Short man: But I'm starving! Can't I just have one bite?

Tall man: Not on your life! The last time I let you have "one bite" you left me with the skin!

The short henchman reaches for the fruit, but the tall man holds it out of his reach. Helga watches the whole thing unfold and rolls her eyes.

Helga: Criminy, how did I wind up held captive by Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber…?

As the men fight, Helga glances at the front door, which has been left slightly ajar. To her surprise, she spots Arnold looking in. Arnold motions to her to be quiet and she obeys.

Arnold then walks over to a small corral where a group of horses are tied down with rope. He unties each horse and then waves his arms madly in front of them, which spooks the horses enough to run off in different directions.

The noise alerts the henchman, who stop fighting over the banana and run outside.

Tall Man: ¿Que demonios?

Short Man: Mierda! Come back here, you beasts!

As the men leave to recover the runaway horses, Arnold sneaks inside the shack to rescue Helga.

Helga: Arnold!

Arnold: Helga, are you alright? Did they hurt you?

When Arnold unties her, Helga immediately wraps her arms around him in a hug.

Helga: You saved me…!

Arnold: !

Arnold freezes up in surprise as the hug lasts for several seconds. Finally, Helga realizes what she's doing and releases the stunned boy.

Helga: I mean…uh…

Arnold: Uh…Yeah…

Helga: Yeah.

Both kids are silent and looking away from each other

Arnold: Come on, we don't have a lot of time before they come back!

Arnold takes Helga by the hand and the two of them get as far away from the shack as possible.


Meanwhile, back at the camp, as the students and adults are being rounded up, their hands tied behind their back, the henchmen are ransacking the tents and their captives. One of the men is holding Rhonda upside-down by the leg.

Rhonda: I knew I should have stayed on the beach.

The man shakes her up and down a couple times, and a few items (cell phone, makeup, etc.) fall to the ground.

Rhonda: Do you mind?

The man grumbles something incoherently, drops her on the ground and saunters away. Mrs. Lloyd immediately comes to her aid.

Rhonda: OW!

Mrs. Lloyd: Oh, sweetie – are you hurt?

Rhonda: (in tears) Only my pride…(gasps)…and my brand-new cell-phone!

Mrs: Lloyd: It's okay, sweetie…when we get out of this, I'll buy you another pony.

Suddenly a Land Rover races into the camp area, driven by La Sombra. He immediately hops out of the vehicle and looks around.

La Sombra: Where's Stonewall?

Not too far away. Stonewall is lounging about in a hammock. La Sombra storms over to his colleague, who appears to be sleeping, as his hat is covering his face.

La Sombra: STONEWALL!

Stonewall: Eh there, ol' Somby – what's the good word?

La Sombra shoves the locket in Stonewall's face

La Sombra: Have you and your men seen this boy during your raid?

Stonewall tilts his hat so he can get a good look at the locket, then shrugs his shoulders

Stonewall: Can't say I have.

Angrily, La Sombra pulls Stonewall out of the hammock and holds him at eye level to his face.

La Sombra: I. Am. Losing. My. Patience.

Stonewall: Whoa! Calm down, Somby! What difference does it make? These Yanks are worth a fortune!

La Sombra: Don't you get it, you barbie-loving buffoon? I need that boy! He is the key!

Stonewall: The key to what?

La Sombra: Imbécile! To the Green Eyes!

La Sombra throws Stonewall back into the hammock in disgust and storms to the center of the campsite

La Sombra: Listen up, you slime! I want this campsite cleared out, and I want these tourists out of here and taken to the Fortress de la Muerte! Well, what are you staring at? Let's vamonos!

The rogues do as they're told and prepare for the long trek to de la Muerte. A disoriented Stonewall falls out of the hammock and onto the ground.

Stonewall: The Fort? But that's clear across the jungle!

La Sombra: (points to Stonewall): YOU! I want you to track down this gourd-shaped little mocoso and bring him to ME!

Stonewall: Are you bloomin' mad? I'm a treasure hunter, not a bounty hunter!

La Sombra: You'll be hunting for your head in the grass if you don't do as you're told! (hops into Land Rover) You have three days!

And with that, La Sombra speeds away.


Arnold and Helga are running through the jungle hand-in-hand. At last they stop to catch their breath.

Arnold: (panting) I think…this should…be far enough.

Helga: (panting) I hope so….

Arnold: (panting) Um…you can…let go of…my hand now…

Helga looks down to where their hands are still linked, and angrily snatches hers away.

Helga: I wasn't the one to grab it in the first place, bucko!

Arnold: Please, Helga, let's not fight…

Helga: Well, you're the one who started it! One minute you want nothing to do with me, and the next you gotta be Rambo and fly in to save the day! What's your deal? And another thing….!

Helga is interrupted by the sounds of wildlife surrounding her. She looks around apprehensively.

Helga: Where are we?

Arnold: I'm not sure…listen, Helga…I'm sorry for how I treated you earlier. If I would have listened to you, I would have realized you were in danger.

Helga: What do you mean?

Arnold: The adults, our friends, our teacher….they've all been taking hostage by a gang of pirates…isn't that what you came to tell me when I saw you the second time?

Helga looks blankly at Arnold, not saying anything for several seconds. Finally she smiles and chuckles rather nervously

Helga: (feigns enthusiasm) Yeah, of course. Why else would I be there? Duh.

Arnold: Well, what's important now is that we stick together. So until we can find the others…truce?

Arnold extends his hand. Helga slowly grasps her hand back into his.

Helga: Truce.

They shake

Helga: Arnold…you're holding my hand again.

Arnold: Oh, right – I am, aren't I? (lets go) Well, maybe by the end of all this, you'll tolerate me enough not to mind.

Helga gives a forced smile and Arnold walks away. When he's out of earshot, Helga angrily punches a nearby tree.

Helga: (groans) Why can't I tell him the truth? Why can't I tell him how I feel…?

Helga lets out a growl of frustration and plonks her head on the tree.

Arnold: Helga, are you coming?

Helga: Yeah, yeah, I'm coming! Hold your horses, will ya?

Helga catches up to Arnold, who is now examining a large sheet of paper.

Helga: What's that?

Arnold: It's a map of San Lorenzo.

Helga: (sarcastically twirls finger) Oh, whoop-de-do. Hallelujah, we are saved by Arnold and his 5th grade Geography knowledge. Luckily, I came prepared as well.

Helga pulls a compass from out of her shirt and tosses it to Arnold, whose eyes widened in surprise.

Arnold: YOU carried a compass?

Helga: Who me? Heck no – I just swiped this from the shack. I also took this (pulls out map) I figure it'll probably be more useful than your outdated scrap of paper.

Arnold: Oh yeah? Does your map include THIS?

Arnold points to a location on his map that appears to house a small settlement. Helga quickly scans her map and frowns.

Helga: No…but, maybe that's because it doesn't exist anymore. How would you know for sure?

Arnold: How else? We go there and find out for ourselves.

Helga: WHAT? Arnold, how old is that map? Like 10 years old? That place could be one big sinkhole by now! You really wanna risk walking all the way to a village that might not even be there?

Arnold: It's only hope for now. And we wouldn't have to worry about any of those pirates following us, because they don't know it exists. And if there ARE still people living there, then maybe they can help us in rescuing the others.

Helga crosses her arms and stands defiantly, looking away from Arnold.

Helga: Hmph!

Arnold: You just have to trust me on this.

Helga glances over her shoulder at Arnold, who gives her a cajoling smile. Helga sighs in defeat and shakes her head.

Helga: (under her breath) I don't believe this…(out loud) Fine. But we better get a move on if we're going to make it to this place by dark. (dryly) Lead the way, O Fearless Navigator.

Arnold moves ahead and Helga follows him as they make their way, twisting and turning through the treacherous jungle.

End of Part 8!