Chapter 12

                                    

                                          
At sundown, Helga was led to one of the prison shacks peppered within Fortress de la Muerte, and thrown in by one of the pirates. Immediately, she went for the door and pulls on the doorknob, but of course it was locked from the outside.
                          
"You lousy, good-for-nothing crooks!" yells Helga, banging on the door. "Just wait until I get out of this cell, I'll...!"
                          
"Helga?" said a voice.
                          
Helga turned around and realized she shared the space with some of her classmates and the female chaperones. Before Helga could react, Phoebe raced to her best friend's side and gripped her tightly.
                          

                          

                          
"Helga!" cried Phoebe. "You're alive!"
                          
"Doi, of course I'm alive!" said Helga, trying to pry Phoebe off of her. "Geez, calm down, Pheebs! Cold shower!"
                          
"Sorry...I was so worried! I thought you were...were...!"
                          
Helga put a comforting hand on Phoebe's shoulder. "It's okay. I missed you, too."
                          
"Oh, you poor dear," said Mrs. Heyerdahl "Are you alright, sug?"
                          
"Goodness – you're a mess!" exclaimed Mrs. Lloyd.
                          
"Hmph..." remarked Helga. "Well, I wasn't exactly lodging at the Hilton these last couple of days..."
                          
"Were you really in the jungle all by yourself?" asked Nadine.
                          

                          
"That must've been awful!" exclaimed Sheena.
                          

                          
"It was no picnic, I'll tell you that," said Helga. "But I wasn't alone; Arnold was with me."
                          
"Arnold?" Rhonda scoffed. "Sounds like a nightmare come true for you."
                          
Helga got right into Rhonda's face. "You watch your mouth, princess! For your information, Arnold was the one that saved me from that gold-toothed gorilla out there. If it wasn't for him, I'd be stinking up this cramped cell a long time ago!"
                          
"And yet here you are."
                          
Helga opened her mouth for a witty retort, but decided against it, merely sighing. She then detected the faint sound of crying. Helga and the others diverted their attention to one of the corners of the shack, where Lila was sitting alone on a crate, facing the wall.
                          
"What's with Miss Sunshine?" replied Helga.
                          
"She's been this way ever since we were captured," Phoebe whispered bac
                          
Helga cautiously approached Lila, who only noticed her when Helga placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Lila turned her head slowly to look at Helga, tears streaming down her face.
                          
"I'm scared..." confessed Lila.
                          
"Hey...hey. It's okay..." said Helga, trying to be nice to the redhead for a change. Lila then grabbed onto Helga and broke down crying.
                          
 "I want to go home..." Lila said between heaving sobs.
                          
Not sure what else to do, Helga tried to comfort Lila by patting her on the back. Mrs. Heyerdahl and Mrs. Lloyd approached Lila and attempted to calm her down, while Helga rejoined the rest of the girls.
                          
"So...what now?" asked Rhonda.
                          
Helga sighed. "I don't know. I just hope Arnold has a plan."
                          
---
                          

                          

Around the same time as Helga, Arnold was thrown into another cell located within the fort, this one holding some of the male students and chaperones. Gerald greeted his best friend and they did their secret handshake.