Chapters (36)
“Wait.” Lottie grabs for Darnell’s arm, but he’s too fast and he runs for the river. Lottie chases him through the trees, and Darnell is halfway down to the riverbank by the time I catch up with them.
“Don’t you dare go into that water,” Lottie yells. “The crocodiles will get you.”
Darnell kicks off his shoes and plunges into the shallow end with his shoes held over his head. He walks deeper. Water laps at his knees and then his stomach, and I hope he can swim, because one wrong move and he’ll go under. Lottie and I stand on the riverbank, puffing for breath and helpless to change Darnell’s course.
“Come back, Darnell.” Lottie tries anyway. “You’ll lose your way in the dark.”
Darnell keeps walking, the river water up to his collarbones now. A long shape glides from the bank and disappears beneath the river’s surface. A strangled sound comes from the back of my throat. Crocodiles take dozens of people every year, and the changeover between day and night is their favorite hunting time. Bright eyes shine in the dying light, and I open my mouth to scream but no sound comes out.
“Crocodile!” Lottie runs to the water’s edge. “Hurry, Darnell. Hurry.”
Darnell wades to the opposite bank, and his bare feet drag against the sandy bottom. Mother says, The strength of the crocodile is in the water, and Darnell has got to move fast onto dry land or the crocodile will catch him.
“Run!” My voice comes back full-force. “Run!”
Darnell hears us and vaults out of the water. He scrambles halfway up the opposite bank and reaches safety a second before the crocodile launches onto the sand and snaps its jaws at thin air. The shiny monster begins to sink back into the river, but the fear courses through me still. I press my hands to my stomach to ease the knot there. I keep my eyes on the crocodile, but it slips under the surface and disappears.
“Thank you, Jesus.” Lottie breathes a prayer even though she keeps her eyes open during the meal blessing and refuses to join the Saturday Scripture club. She grabs my arm and hurries us a safe distance from the river and the submerged crocodile.
On the opposite bank, Darnell climbs to the top of the rise with the balance of a mountain goat.
“Bye-bye, Lo-Lo. Bye-bye, Adi,” he yells, and runs into a field of tall grass.
“Should we go after him?” I ask. Not that I’d cross the river with a crocodile in it, but it’s not right for Darnell to be out there all alone. Darkness is dangerous for boys too.
“It won’t do any good.” Lottie shades her eyes to search for Darnell in the fields across the river. She sighs. “He’s gone and gone.”