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I knew he was right, but I also knew we needed to get to Lower Bower before the storm hit.
“Xander, it’s only going to get worse according to Gary, so unless you have a different plan, we need to do this.”
“Okay. But you have to listen to me, Bennett,” he said. Worry lines creased his forehead, and I wanted to reach out and smooth them. But I kept my hands to myself and gave him what I knew he needed— my full attention.
“I’ll go first,” Xander began. “The most dangerous part of a river crossing is drowning, obviously, and your backpack can make it ten times worse. So, make sure your waist belt is unclipped. If anything goes wrong, Bennett, let the pack go. Do you hear me? Nothing in that bag is worth dying for.”
His gaze was intense and I could tell he was worried about me. “Ok. I promise,” I said, unclipping the belt and feeling the weight of the pack rest down on my shoulders. “What else?”
“Remember what I taught the kids about rock climbing. Your hands and your feet are like four table legs— use them wisely to keep your table upright. The most stable way to travel is by having three of the four legs anchored while you move the fourth. Go slowly and take your time.”
The sun came out between a break in the clouds and shone down on the river in front of us, making the water sparkle and everything around us look less scary. I looked up at Xander with a smile.
“I think that’s a sign. Let’s do this. First one across gets to give the other one a blow—”
“Benny—” he growled.
“I’m kidding. But I think we should get this show on the road, don’t you?”
I could tell he still wasn’t happy about it, but it wasn’t like we had much of a choice. Xander unhooked his waist belt and began to step onto the first boulder. He bent his knees and stayed low, keeping his center of gravity down and taking time to scope out the next boulder. Once he made the step onto the next one, I stepped carefully onto the spot he’d vacated.
We continued that way, carefully picking the most stable path across the wet rocks we could and trying to avoid extra slick spots where the rocks had built up a level of slippery moss. It was slow-going. Xander had been right when he’d said that our backpacks would cause the most problems. Without the waist belt fastened, the pack shifted more than I expected, throwing off my balance when I moved suddenly or wasn’t careful. I knew that what he’d tried to warn me about was true— river crossings were way dicier than they looked.
As the sun hid behind another cloud, the bright light disappeared, leaving everything looking flat and the same. Picking out slippery spots on the rocks wasn’t as easy in the dim light, and I reminded myself to take it slowly.
Xander was almost to the other side when he stopped and turned around. He called something out across the sound of the rushing water, but I couldn’t hear him over the roar. I shook my head and pointed to my ear. He flashed me the okay symbol with a questioning glance on his face.
Just as I began to throw him back some sign language shade, I saw a massive cluster of huge branches and downed tree trunks break off from where they’d been lodged between a large boulder and the riverbank upstream from us. The debris rushed toward Xander, and I turned my head to warn him.
My mouth opened to scream, but all I heard was the raging river. Before Xander could turn all the way around to see the debris coming at him, I knew it would be too late— the logs and branches would be on him, knocking him into the river and pushing him under. I couldn’t even fathom it. I had to get him across to the other side before it could happen.
So, I dropped my pack and lunged.
Chapter 27
Xander
It was true what people said about traumatic events happening in slow motion. One minute Bennett was moving his fingers through some sign language, and the next his face had gone deathly pale and he was screaming for me to jump across the final rock to the riverbank.
I turned to see what he was trying to warn me about and saw an enormous log heading right for me. Just as I crouched down to get momentum in a jump, something landed against me, launching me forward onto the wet ground of the bank. I landed hard on one shoulder and would have rolled if my pack hadn’t run into something and stopped me short. I was left lying on my side just in time to see a flash of familiar blue go into the water. Bennett’s shirt.
