*Updated 18-05-2018*

Chapter 61 - Then and Now

Then:

Rosa stumbled her way through the trees and to a small clearing.

She had no idea where she was; she knew that it would begin to get dark soon, so time was not on her side. She found comfort in the fact that she had weapons on her as if any animals came to attack, she'd be ready. Cursing out loud, Rosa desperately looked around for something to give her guidance. The compound was too far away, she'd never make it back alive; even she knew that the jungle was too menacing.

She tried to think of the places that she knew in the jungle. Vaas should surely be out looking for her now? He must have gone into the warehouse and seen that she wasn't there. He would probably be going ape shit, screaming and shouting; Rosa sniffed a little with slight laugh, which was masked in sadness.

What if she never saw Vaas again? They always told each other they loved each other before a big fight or if they knew that one of them could get hurt. But this time it had been different; they thought they were safe.

Scanning her surroundings, Rosa felt helpless, like the jungle was the ocean and she was drowning. She could always try and find her way to a beach and walk until she found the compound? No, she could be there for hours. Rosa tried to wrack her brains to remember what Hoyt had taught her about navigation.

"Now my English Rose, just remember that if you are ever lost without a map or compass, then look to the rocks. You know what to look for. Use this as your guide to getting home."

Rosa almost applauded herself in remembering Hoyt's advice and set about finding some rocks. Stopping, she thought about where she could go. She could vaguely remember where the cenote was where Vaas had proposed and decided to go there. Vaas was bound to search everywhere; that meant he would eventually find her. Rosa prayed that he would.

Her stomach growled slightly and she rubbed it and then stopped. The thoughts of a possible pregnancy came flooding back into her head and she quickly found a tree which held bananas. Swiftly climbing up, Rosa took a bunch and scaled back down the tree, hitting the grass with a soft thud. Tearing into one, she wolfed it down, small smacks of appreciation leaving her mouth with each ripe bite. Tossing the peel aside, Rosa tucked another two bananas into her holster and then went back to finding some rocks.

Her heels were beginning to hurt her feet and she swore aloud in anger. One of the heels was feeling loose, causing her to wobble slightly when she walked; Rosa prayed that they would hold out. Searching the area, Rosa found a rocky pile; after a quick analysis, she was certain with her directions.

"South must be that way." she said and she smiled, "Let's go then."

Now:

"ROSA!" Vaas screamed.

Jane stifled a shriek by putting a hand over her mouth. The pirates jumped as several ran to the cenote in wonder of what was going on but couldn't make out what had happened. Vaas began pulling his shoes off, grabbing his vest top but Raul stopped him before the man became topless.
"Vaas, Vaas! You can't jump in. What if you land on her? It's safer to climb down! Listen to me!"

"I'M JUMPING IN! I HAVE TO GET TO HER!" Vaas shoute.
Raul pushed him back with all the force he could muster, away from the cenote edge.
"VAAS! Look at me!"
He placed his hands on the pirate lord's shoulders and could see his eyes glazed over in fright and panic.

"You have to climb down. Trust me."

Raul handed Vaas his little pocket torch and Vaas tightened his fist around it. He nodded before running to the edge with the rope that dangled down the side. He took it in his hands and began moving his way backwards down the cenote and into the darkness.
"We'll find a way to make it brighter!" Raul called but Vaas wasn't listening.
He was so concentrated on saving Rosa.

She could be dead.

She was probably dead.

Then:

Night had fallen and Rosa was tired.

She had eaten both bananas yet her stomach was still rumbling. Her body was slick with sweat, her hair sticking to her back. Se knew that she had to be near the cenote soon. Rosa began to think of Vaas and wondered if he was there waiting for her. This made her walk with a little more speed, the thought of Vaas driving her.

She came into some dense trees and pushed her way through as they scratched at her arms, legs and face. They smelt funny and caused her to cough, the leaves biting her skin. Stumbling out into a clearing, Rosa almost collapsed in relief. There was the cenote.

But the jungle was silent; there were no sounds of Vaas' voice or any other pirates. Sighing, Rosa dragged herself forward and to the small shack. She remembered that Vaas had put the key under a rock nearby and began searching for it. The ground was rocky as Rosa had to be careful walking. Her feet throbbed and she started to feel a little drowsy.

A hacking cough escaped her lips as she spit out onto the floor. Under the cover of darkness, she didn't see that the spit was a deep red colour. Blood. Wiping her mouth, she found the rock and then key, unlocking the shack. There was nothing inside.

"F-fuck." she muttered.

Now:

"Jane, have you done it?" Raul called.

He was watching Vaas move down the cenote as he was almost at the bottom. The small light that Vaas carried was fading out the further he moved down and Raul began praying under his breath.

"Done it!" Jane exclaimed.
She had managed to charge up a light that was in a compartment of one of the jeeps. Running over to Raul, she turned it on, the light glaring out. The pirates had surrounded their jeeps around as close as they could; they had their headlights on but it wasn't lighting the cenote below.

Helping Jane wrap a vine around the light, Raul continued praying.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Praying. It's all we got." he replied as they finished tying the knot.

"Vaas, we're lowering the light down!" Raul shouted.
He dropped the light into the cenote, giving a better view of the bottom. Rosa's body was still floating as everyone froze with panic.
"Shit." a pirate said.
"Rosa, look guys. Rosa is in there." another said.

Vaas was nearly at the water as he felt his palms growing sweaty, causing him to lose grip a little on the rocks. He almost fell and he cursed loudly, it echoing around the cenote. He was trying to move quickly but it wasn't working; he had to be careful if he wanted to save her.

"Oh, please princesa, please be okay." he whispered as he scaled his way over to the edge.

Then:

Rosa kicked the side of the shack and coughed some more.

"What the fuck?" she said as she tasted metallic on her tongue.
"Blood?" she whispered.

All of a sudden, her body began to itch. She screamed out in pain as the itch was like she was burning alive. She clawed her body but nothing was working. The pain subsided a little as Rosa tried to get her breath back.

"I-I must have ran through poisonous plants." she stuttered before the pain came again.
It came more intense this time as she screeched in pure anguish, causing some birds to fly from their trees. Her vision began to grow funny as she started hallucinating. Her eyes were red, puffy and had started to swell.

Vaas walked towards her and she sighed in relief.
"Vaas, baby." she breathed as he moved closer to her.
Rosa put her arms out and Vaas did to her.

"Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is?" he whispered, his voice distorted.
"Vaas, please, help me." Rose whimpered.
She moved her fingers to him but he simply disappeared and faded into nothing, like a puff of smoke.. Rosa began to cry before she heard another voice.

"My English Rose, don't cry." said Hoyt.
Rosa turned. Hoyt was wobbling slightly towards here; Rosa glanced down to see that his feet were smoke. He was just in her imagination.

"You'll be okay. You can end this suffering. Take your gun. Put it to your head -"

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Rosa screamed as she put her hands over her ears.

The pain spread again and Rosa just wanted to die; she couldn't take this anymore. She looked down at her gun; the thought thought wasn't that bad of an idea. Vaas would understand.

Sliding it from her holster, Rosa was shaking as she held it in her hands.

She then brought it up to her head and cocked it ...

Now:

"You're nearly there, Vaas!" Raul called.

Vaas had moved over to get down the cenote properly and to land where he and Rosa had once sat. With his feet merely inches from reaching the bottom, Vaas jumped, landing with a thud on his feet. He rushed to the waters edge and nearly slipped in, something catching on his foot. Using the light that had been provided for him by Raul and Jane, he looked down, only to find Rosa's gun scraping the rock underneath his foot.

He gasped as he picked it up before shoving it in his holster. Why was her gun away from her holster? What the hell had happened?

Vaas tried hard not to be sick with worry as glanced over at Rosa before his sense of urgency came back.

"I'm going in!" he called.
Raul, Jane and all of the pirates held their breath.

Vaas jumped into the water with a splash, swimming over to his seemingly lifeless wife.

Then:

"What the fuck am I doing? Rose gasped.

She threw her gun into the cenote, hearing it clatter against the rocks. What was going on? She had tried to kill herself!

Before she could even contemplate what had just happened, the hallucinations started again. This time thousands of bats started to swarm at her; Rosa starting flailing her arms out to try and stop them from hitting her, even though there was nothing there. She screamed in fear and began stepping backwards. The pain crippled her as she lost her footing on a rock, her loose heel snapping off, sending her falling backwards into the cenote.

It was like Alice falling down into the rabbit hole as Rosa felt complete weightlessness as she fell down into nothing. She wondered what would happen to Vaas. She wondered if she would ever meet him again in the afterlife. Rose felt herself fading as she tried desperately hard to cling onto her life, unaware of the incoming jeeps into the area.

"Te amo, Vaas." she whispered, as her body hit the water with a splash and everything went black.

Now:

Vaas turned Rosa over and held her in his arms. Her body was covered in scratches and her face looked swollen. Vaas began to shake her in an attempt to rouse her.

"Rosa, hey hermana, come on, wake up, I'm here now." Vaas said.
"I'm dropping this rope down, grab it and we'll pull you up!" Raul called.
The rope hit the cenote wall and then the water. Vaas checked Rosa's pulse. There was nothing.

"No, no. You are not dead, okay. We're gonna make this better, you'll see. We'll go home and then the Doc will fix you up and you'll be as right as rain." Vaas said, his voice pleading.
He carried a limp Rosa in his arms over to the rope and grabbed it, then tugging it.

"Pull!" he heard Raul say before he and Rosa were being lifted in the air.

Vaas looked down at her. She was pale and cold, her lips blue. Her eyes were closed as was her mouth, her whole body was soaking wet. There were certain areas of redness on her body and Vaas spotted a little bit of dried blood on the corner of her mouth that hadn't been washed away by the water. This was bad.

They made it to the top swiftly and Vaas groaned as they were pulled over the edge, onto the land.
"Shit, Rosa." Jane said as she rushed over to the pair, "Raul, get the first aid kit."

"There's no time, we'll have to do it in the back of the jeep. She's dead." Vaas gasped, his mohawk now flattened.
"Check her pulse." Raul said.
Vaas shook his head.
"I did and there's nothing." he replied, grimly.
Thoughts of jumping off the cliff coming back into his head. His life was pointless now. Jane put her hand on the girl's neck and waited.

"Jane, I told you there's no -"
"THERE'S A PULSE!" Jane exclaimed.
Vaas scrambled to what he thought was his dead wife. He quickly pressed his hand to her neck before he felt it. A beat underneath his fingers.

"Get her in the jeep!" Raul shouted.
Vaas got to his feet and scooped her into his arms. The trio ran to the jeep as did the pirates and they started their engines. Vaas got into the back with Rosa, holding her in his arms, Jane to the side of him.

"We've gotta give her some air, Vaas. Breathe into her mouth and I'll massage her heart a little to get it pumping more. Hang on."
Jane scrabbled into the first aid kit and pulled out a syringe, to which she injected into Rosa's arm.
"Adrenaline." she stated.

Vaas nodded and then put his lips against Rosa's and began to breath, filling her with the air from his lungs. Jane began to press down on Rosa's chest and counted. Vaas stopped, holding Rosa's face in his hand.

"Come on, baby, you can do it. You're strong, I know you are. You've survived so much; this is just like a walk in the park. Even though the parks you've been walking through don't seem to be very friendly." he whispered as he touched her scratched arms.
He then started breathing into her mouth again and Jane checked her pulse.

"It's stronger now. Doctor Earnhardt will know what to do when we get back." she explained.
Vaas nodded.
"Here's a blanket I found, wrap it around you both. Put this towel around Rosa first."
Vaas obeyed as he and Rosa were bound together by the fabric.

"You both need some warmth so just gently rub her arms."
"How do you know all of this?" Vaas asked, trying to ignore Raul swearing in the driver's seat over some rocks.
"My mother was a Doctor. She taught me a few things." Jane explained.
Vaas nodded again; now was not the time for Jane's life story.

"What do you think happened to Snow?" he whispered.
Jane shrugged.

"I guess we'll find out when we get back. She'll be okay, Vaas, she'll be okay." Jane said as she touched the man's arm.
They had zoomed through the jungle at top speed and it was surprising that they didn't crash. They were nearly home.

"I hope so. I need her. Now more than ever."

Wow, this was a long one! I hope you guys enjoyed this differently laid out chapter. I had a few days in between updating to keep the suspense. Thank you to those who have reviewed, it still means a lot to me :) I wonder what will happen now? Leave a review or follow or favourite!
Happy reading, my little cherubs!