Stubborn Love: Lost In The Amazon (Sonadow)

Rapid Struggle

Day 8

Sonic took the tin cup and dipped it into the Amazon River, bringing it back up once it was full. He scrambled back up the bank, where Shadow was sitting by the small fire they had made, reading the map with intense concentration. The azure hedgehog placed the cup onto the fire, watching the water boil until it was at a bubbling point before pouring two servings of rice in the water.

“So, if I'm reading this correctly, we should be right here.” Shadow announced as he pointed to a spot somewhere halfway down the Amazon River. Sonic looked over the hedgehog's shoulder to see where he was pointing. “And Eldorado is supposed to be somewhere at the end of the river, right?”

“That's what the stories say.” Sonic nodded.

“Excellent, we're nearly halfway there, and closer to the creature than before. How are our supplies doing?”

“Well, let me see.” Sonic frowned as he looked through the supplies in his bag. “We have about a can and a half of insect repellent. The rope is still going strong. Lighter still has plenty of fluid left in it. We have a bit more rice left. The machete, still sharp, and we hadn't needed the first aid kit yet, so that's still full. If I had to estimate, if we ration properly, our supplies should be able to last us for about 2 weeks, maybe even longer.”

“Perfect,” Shadow nodded, folding the map and putting it away. “Then let's finish our breakfast quickly and get this show on the road. It's just you and me now, Sonic, but we can manage. Right?”

“Right Shads.” Sonic smiled, holding up his trademark thumbs up. “Nothing can bring us down.”

…

A few hours later, Sonic and Shadow were paddling through the river in their canoe, continuing their journey deeper into uncharted miles of the Amazon. Like before, every mile or so, they would stop and dock the boat, looking for clues to the Devil Dragon, or taking needed breaks.

The last break they had, Shadow was coming back from the jungle when Sonic called out to him.

“Shadow, look at this!” He called to the ebony hedgehog.

Shadow frowned with interest as he approached the younger hedgehog, looking to where he was pointing. He couldn't hide the surprised gasp he gave when he saw another five foot wide footprint of the giant lizard, this one a bit fresher.

“It's still partly fresh.” Sonic frowned as he pulled off a glove and felt the mud with his fingers. He looked up at Shadow. “What are you thinking?”

“That we're getting close.” Shadow nodded.

Now, the two were back on the river, paddling with as much strength as they could through the fighting waters, which was strange to them. The water had been mostly calm since they started their journey. Why was the river suddenly getting stronger and faster? As they turned a corner in the river, they had their answer.

Rapids.

Big, dangerous rapids filled with strong, white frothing water, splashing against sharp rocks sticking out of the water. The river was so shallow here, that the hedgehogs could see the bottom whenever the water jumped.

“You think those are the rapids the hyena was telling us about?” Sonic gulped, clearly nervous.

“More than likely.” Shadow nodded.

“How are we gonna get through?”

Shadow was thinking. The rapids were highly dangerous, too dangerous to attempt paddling through them. There were a lot of them too, and look extremely strong, it may take them a few days to get through them. But how to do it in the first place? There was only one way.