AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ellie nodded, removing her backpack and picking up the lifejacket that was waiting for her in the raft. Brett mirrored her, putting his pack back on when the lifejacket was secured.
Brett moved toward the raft and turned to her. Ellie’s eyes squinted with determination as she took in the flowing river before them. She put her small hands on the rubbery edge of the raft and turned to Brett. “Let’s do this before I change my mind,” she spat out.
The words were out of Ellie’s mouth before she could debate with herself. Ready or not, she was ready. But that was what she guessed was the best course of action. Just like ripping off a bandage. If she put in too much thought, she would be stuck, frozen forever on the bank. But if she just reacted, she would be fine. She wouldn’t let herself think too much about the possibility of wet paws.
Brett’s hands were soon nearing hers on the edge of the raft. Her hands sank in slightly against the air of it as she pushed it into the water. The raft bobbed as if nodding that it was ready to go.
“Get in, and I will push it out farther if I have to.” Brett’s words were calm and even, an anchor for Ellie to forget that all that separated her from being soaked was a thin layer of rubber.
She hopped in before sitting down, perching carefully on the swollen pontoon that bordered the watercraft. Ellie was sure to hook one of her feet under an inflated tube that ran across the boat. She reached for the paddle as Brett gave one final shove and hopped in. The raft lurched forward in an awkward bob. She gripped the smooth wood beneath her fingers as she sank the flat edge into the river. Ripples formed around its edge.
The boat surged forward as it was swept up by the strong current. Ellie felt the bottom of the raft shape itself to the river’s surface. If there was a slight bump from the rock below, she could feel the shift in the raft below her. The water cooled the rubber around her, and she could feet its icy fingers through the bottom of the craft on her knee as she pressed it into the raft to keep her balance. Brett mirrored her movements on the opposite side.
Her paddle kissed the surface of the water, swirling it behind her as she paddled.
“We want to try to stay to the right. There are smaller rapids on that side up ahead.” Brett pointed to the bend in the river that hid the change in water conditions.
He really has memorized the map,she thought.Impressive.
Then, Ellie could hear it. The faraway churning water. Like static on the radio.
The river yawned before them, and as they wound through the bend, it was a roar of white water flowing over rocks and stuck trees. Just as Brett had said, the teeth of white water appeared subdued on the right side. The left side threatened to suck them in. It foamed like a rabid animal. Brett switched the side he was paddling on to help Ellie keep them out of the raging current to their left. She watched his shoulder and back muscles tense as he dug his paddle into the rough water, urging the raft to stay out of the nasty section of the river that threatened to swallow them.
And it worked.
The nose of their boat edged toward the right side of a large boulder, spinning them around to the slower side of the river. Some water droplets hit Ellie as the craft sloshed along, floating along the white edge of large rocks, smoothed from the wear of the flowing water. She found she didn’t mind the wetness on her face. In fact, it was refreshing after all the paddling.
Soon the whitecaps dissipated, and the river was once more a smooth mirror. “What’s next?” she asked Brett, wondering if all the rapids would be as manageable as the last. Ellie was ready to take on this river!
With careful movements, Brett switched back to his side of the raft. He dabbed at the sweat beading on his forehead with his long sleeve. “I think we have about a half-mile or so before we have to keep to the center.” Ellie’s heart swelled as he looked up at her with his hazel eyes. She pushed the feeling down. She was here to ace her class, not ogle Brett’s rippled muscles in his tight shirt. But she couldn’t help it. Every movement was mesmerizing to watch. Each time Brett dug the paddle into the surface of the water…
“Hey, don’t stop paddling!” he cried out. “We keep going crooked!”
Ellie was pulled out of her daydream. “I didn’t!” She hissed back the lie, quickly dipping the wooden edge of her paddle into the surface of the water before she was caught. So maybe her moment of distraction had put them on a crash course for the edge of rocks, which would have led to her in the exact circumstance she wanted to avoid—beinginthe river.
Get it together, Ellie,she scolded herself while Brett dragged his paddle on his side of the boat to help even them out. Soon the nose of the raft pushed back over to the middle of the river.
When Brett peered over his shoulder to make sure Ellie was paddling, she stuck her tongue out in a playful gesture. The broad blade of her paddle nipped at the water on her next stroke, and Brett chuckled, seemingly satisfied to see her hard at work.
The rock cliffs grew taller on either side of them as the river wound its way through the mountainside. The next set of rapids was a real test for them. It took all Brett and Ellie had in them to weave through the large boulders and frothy waters. Now they sat slumped in their seats, panting.
“I need a break.” Brett hated to admit it, but he was running on empty. A dull ache grew in his upper back and shoulders. The sting of a growing blister could be felt brewing in the stretch of skin between his thumb and forefinger.
“Me too,” Ellie huffed, eying the tall ledges around them. “Is there a place we can pull over? I can’t see anything other than water.” The river jutted out from the surrounding cliffs, a massive tongue in the mouth of rock, threatening to swallow them.
“Pull the map out for a second—please,” Brett added, remembering his manners. The river of sweat between his shoulder blades itched, and his brain ached. “I think there’s a good break point up ahead past the next set of rapids, but my mind’s a little foggy right now.”
Ellie unzipped the top of her backpack and pulled out the laminated map. She unfolded it in her lap and traced her finger down the blue path that represented their river. A thin sliver of shadows flowed off of her moving finger. She mouthed numbers silently, moving her lips as she counted the number of rapids they’d passed on their journey.
“Yeah,” she said after a moment. “We have to stay left then veer right at this next set of rapids. Then there’s a low ledge to the right that we can break, but”—she looked up at Brett, her eyes weary—“this part coming up looks rough.”
Brett peered over at her lap to where her finger rested on the map. A long set of rapids awaited them. “We can do this,” he finally said, swallowing hard but keeping his voice firm, confident. “It will be tough getting there, but it will be a well-earned break.”
Ellie nodded, stuffing the map back into her sack before zipping it up and slinging it back over her shoulders.
Soon enough, they turned into the next bend in the river to be greeted by the roar of the rapids. The water up ahead was angry. “Focus, Ellie. We can do this!”
They dug into the water hard, pushing through the turbulent water, fighting against the river’s desire to toss them toward the shore, straight into the jagged rocks.
