A Brazilian Nightmare.

What's hiding in the shipment of bananas may be too terrifying for Piedro to overcome.

A Brazilian Nightmare

    Angela’s scream was the most intense, horrifying, and prolonged sound that Piedro had ever heard in his life. Moments before this, Angela had been sleeping, her head bouncing softly on his shoulder, dirty blonde hair tickling his forearm. His thoughts were wandering to the sultry motel room they would soon arrive at, the scented candles that would stimulate her passion, and the evocative smell of her naked body as it moved against his.

    He was excited when she agreed to join him for the market delivery, even at the protest of her mother. And why not, he thought, Angela was eighteen now, old enough to make her own decisions. He felt justified in loving her, and would openly disagree with anyone who insisted that his extra five years made him too old for her. 

    He had glanced in the rear-view mirror again and even though the van’s rear window was three quarters blocked from the full load of bananas, he could still see the deserted Brazilian road. It had been at least an hour since passing the last car. Piedro had started to relax, enjoying the sultry daydream when Angela’s terror stung the hot, humid air, triggering instant panic in his already primed mind. The van swerved as she pushed against the steering wheel in a frantic attempt to move her small body from the passenger seat and, at the same time lunging violently against her right thigh.

Piedro yelled angrily, confusion and panic causing his heart to pound, ready for self-preservation, “What? What the hell is wrong?” he demanded.

“Stop the van. Oh my God, my leg… my leg. Something bit me!” tears were already bleeding through the thick make-up as her face contorted, giving her a grotesque appearance.

“Aaaargh, Son of a… It bit me again! Stop the Van. Let me out! Aaaaargh…” She screamed again, a heightened alarm of dread layered the ensuing stream of expletive words.

    Slamming on the brake, Piedro lifted his arm, trying to block the mass of bananas from flying onto the front seats. The constant reek of sweetness was now mingling with his startled panic, and nausea had engulfed him. The van swerved away from the sandy-dirt road. He was struggling to keep control and stop the van, while avoiding a roll-over, when she suddenly opened the door and bailed out, her body hitting the ground with a hard thud, then bouncing out of sight.

    The scene slowed down for Piedro. The world was moving in slow motion. His head swung forward against the steering wheel as the van lodged against a large boulder, coming to an instant stop.  Piedro glanced at his hands, held them up in front of his face, watching as they moved, detached and alien. It felt like he was no longer a part of the scene, but merely observing from a distance. With a heartbeat now raging inside his head, Piedro reached for the door handle, pushed the door open, and forced himself to climb out as the wet sensation of urine rose to his senses.

    He found Angela close by, slumped with hair pulled on the low foliage and arm twisted unnaturally. He could see the sharp edge of a bone protruding near her elbow. He wanted to straighten her deep yellow blouse, but was scared to touch her; instead he spoke, like a frightened child, waving his arms aimlessly in the air, pacing in front of her.

“Angela? Talk to me babe. Are you ok? I don’t know what to do! What bit you?”

She sobbed; muffled rasps of air had replaced her previous screams. She didn’t move.

“I’m scared. Angela? Hey, come on, say something.”

    There was silence, then more rasping. Finally he knelt at her side, frantically scanning her broken body, pulling the blouse down over her exposed midriff.  He couldn’t see anything that might bite, nothing on the ground. He noticed redness and swelling on her right thigh and pulling the bottom of her jean shorts up slightly, he could see the puncture of a bite, realizing it was likely made by a spider. Although he hadn’t encountered any of the arachnoids since taking the delivery job a few months ago, he had listened to a few co-workers stories.

    The Brazilian Wandering Spider was known for hiding in the banana plants of a plantation, and could end up in the delivery vehicle.  It was told to be the most dangerous spider in the world, causing death from an injection of its venom.  Because of such risk, the staff had assured Piedro that their bananas were checked thoroughly prior to being loaded into the van. 

    Shaking, Piedro stood up, trying to clear his mind and decide what to do. The long road was still secluded. He remembered the cell phone and hurried to wards the van, but froze half way there with the realization that a deadly spider could be lurking inside, ready to pounce on him.  His eyes scoured the ground again as he continued, more slowly, to the vehicle. He reached inside, grabbed the phone from his console, and backed away as though a bomb might explode with any sudden movements. Feeling relieved that help was just a phone call away he walked back to where Angela still lay, motionless. Then with renewed terror, he discovered that the phone had no reception. He threw it angrily to the ground. 

    With the anger, came more clarity; He couldn’t lose Angela. The fear was working to dull his senses and he needed to stand against it. If the co-worker’s tales of spider bite deaths was correct, he had only an hour to get Angela to a hospital. 

    The van was so weighed down with the bananas that emptying it seemed like an impossible task. Piedro was too afraid to get back in and drive, knowing what he may face, and he couldn’t risk exposing Angela to another bite. Screaming his frustration to the still air, he slid open the side door and shouted a resolve.

“It’s either you or us, and it isn’t gonna be us!” 

    The bananas fell readily, piling up on the ground in front of the door. Piedro hesitated momentarily, screamed again, allowing the anger to build, and pushing against the anxiety and terror. He kicked and grabbed and threw as quickly as he could. His bravery seemed to increase the more he worked, until it felt as though the sweat had somehow painted a layer of defense against his skin. He stood back every few minutes, feeling the fear rising, only to scream through it and dive back in. Eventually the van was clear, he searched inside, looking under the seats, throwing out any objects he could find until the road was a mess of bananas, papers, coffee cups, and plastic bags. He found nothing.

    It took only a short time to back the van up to where Angela still lay. Her breathing was shallow, and she was unconscious, but still alive.  Piedro lifted her into the back of the van, taking one final look for any hidden threat.  They were only a few miles from a small town but the drive seemed to take forever, even at the speed he was going. Once there he barely slowed down until pulling up to the hospital entrance.

They had barely made it in time. Three hours later a doctor entered the waiting room where Piedro frantically paced.

“She’s going to be alright, but we’ll have to keep her in for a while”

Piedro nodded, relieved.

“She’s lucky to have you. If much more time had passed we would be giving you much different news” added the doctor. Piedro nodded again, too choked for words. He decided at that moment how precious life is and just how much he wanted to have Angela in his life, always.

1306 words. Written for the 30 Day Image Prompt Contest.