Jungle Crossing by Sydney Salter

long white chalky tree-lined road that led to a massive green well of slimy-looking water. It was as round as a giant's bowl of pea soup and as wide across as our hotel's largest pool (not that
anyone
would want to swim in water the color of infected pus). Trees, bushes, and vines nervously peered over the edge across from us; we stood near a small stone platform that looked way too much like a diving board.
    "You are now at the sacred cenote." Our guide swung his hands wide. "Mayans today still occasionally make sacrifices to this well. A cenote is a collapsed cave above an underground river. The Yucatán Peninsula is covered with limestone. There are no surface rivers, but there is an extensive network of underground rivers and caves and many cenotes. So watch out if you're wandering around in the jungle." He laughed. "You might fall in. Sacrifice yourself by accident."
    "It smells like something's rotting around here," I said.
    Nando made a snuffing sound through his nose. That was disgusting too.
    Talia simply said, "You're probably just smelling yourself."
    Barb laughed—even after what I'd said to her!
    We walked closer and gaped at the thick, almost greasy-looking green water about twenty feet down. The rocky sides were the color of gravestones—whitish with smudgy black areas. Scrubby bushes grew from the cracks in the pocked stone.
    "The Mayans
did
sacrifice people here, but not just virgins, like some guides like to tell tourists. Not me, I'm honest." He put his hand on his chest and crossed his heart. "The Mayans sacrificed everybody." He stopped and pointed at each one of us. "Yes, all of you would make good sacrifices. Any volunteers?"
    The guys laughed. Josh grabbed C.C.'s arm and pretended to sacrifice her. "No way are you
even
going to try to get me into that foul hole," she said.
    "Just think of all the rotting bodies," Josh teased.
    Everyone started adding their own descriptions: decapitated skulls, flesh dripping with slime, hands reaching out to grab you. The guide took it all in stride, but Nando's face darkened to an angry red.
    "It
is
pretty gross," I said, but Nando shot a poisoned look at me.
    He muttered, "It is
sacred.
"
    The guide ignored all the sacrificial pushing and shoving, and continued. "Many many years ago, a man decided to dredge the cenote. They found bones from people of all ages, plus gold and many other treasures."
    "Did they find all the gold?" Barb asked.
    Not again!
    "No, the cenote is very deep—about one hundred feet—and the bottom is covered with hundreds of years of trees and debris, plus the current of the river makes it dangerous. We'll probably never find everything."
    Barb walked out to the very edge, but I yanked the back of her shirt.
    "Don't even think about it," I said. "There is no way I'm rescuing you in that green swamp of ancient rotting bodies, even if there is gold a hundred feet down."
    "Yeah. Besides, you'd
never
be able to get back out," Talia said. "And you couldn't get Dante to come to your rescue this time either."
    "I just know there's treasure down there," Barb said. "I just know it."
    "So go to graduate school, or make a million dollars and come back with all your fancy equipment." I pulled her next to me. "
Not now.
"
    Talia smirked at me. "Quit stressing. It's not like she's serious."
    But then Barb asked, "Does anyone ever swim here?"
    I rolled my eyes at Talia, but she was too busy watching Josh flirt with C.C.
    "No, this cenote is sacred," the guide said. "The Mayans didn't even get their water here. They used another one closer to the plaza. Look, the walls are steep; just the fall alone killed most of the sacrificial victims."
    Barb looked unconvinced. "It's so hot, a swim would feel great."
    "Nice try," I said.
    "Come on, Barbie," Talia said. "I'll take you swimming when we get to the hotel."
    "Promise?" Barb asked.
    Barbie? She
hates
that nickname!
    "I can take my own sister swimming," I said, but Talia looked at me like she