AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The thought made Brett know that he had to try to find her. He propped up on his elbows, staring at the white, frothy water. If Brett could even make it across the fast-moving river, he wasn’t sure if he could climb the sheer cliff that towered on the opposite side. It did not appear easy for Brett to climb. None of it would be an easy task.
That was when Brett spotted movement.
Suddenly appearing at the top of the ledge as if borne from the forest shimmering behind her was Ellie. She waved her arms frantically. Her pink lips moved as if she were yelling, but Brett couldn’t make out the sounds. He popped up off the stones and swayed his arms above his head to show Ellie he saw her.
Now he just had to figure out how to get across the raging, unforgiving river and climb up the sheer rock at the other side. He swallowed hard, taking in the obstacle before him. He would need a miracle, or a good plan, at least.
Brett scanned the opposite shoreline, watching the angry river turn smooth as glass. The rock was broken up in chucks and jagged ledges, and an uprooted tree cascaded down into the water, giving Brett the perfect place to tie the raft and climb up.
He waved his arms back at Ellie, catching her attention, and pointed downriver to signal where he intended to cross to pick her up. She nodded in large movements before running off, disappearing back into the sea of greenery behind her.
Brett scanned the blue sky for any large predatory birds. Nothing dotted the scenery above aside from a few wispy clouds in the distance. Brett hoped that his sore muscles were rested enough when he pushed the raft back into the water. The craft bobbed as he hopped in, instantly reaching for his paddle. He dipped the wood into the river with vigor, throwing water behind him with each push. The small rubber boat surged forward toward the opposite shore, but it was difficult for Brett to stop it from being sucked into the set of rapids around the next bend. He strained against the current, pushing hard with the paddle. His muscles screamed in protest.
The rocky shoreline came closer with each stroke. The tree’s bare branches reached into the water, and tiny ripples surrounded the twigs that breached its surface. Brett reached out, grabbing a dead arm of the tree. He pulled the raft into the edge of rock and carefully tied a rope to anchor the raft to it.
“I’m coming down!” Ellie cried from above, her voice shaky.
Brett peered up at her as she eyed the path of jagged rock and the broken tree that led to the river below. “Throw me your backpack,” Brett called up, hoping the trek down would be easier on Ellie without the extra weight.
She hesitated as his words sank in, toeing the edge of the cliff twenty feet above him. Her blue eyes met Brett’s, and finally, she shrugged out of the straps of her sack before dropping it toward him. It bounced off a rock ledge halfway down, sending a small cascade of pebbles and dirt into the raft. Brett closed his eyes, coughing and sputtering as the debris hit his face. Then her pack hit him in the chest, and he nearly fell backward from the force.
Somehow, he stayed upright. The bobbing craft threatened to knock him down as it shifted under him from his own movements and the flowing water beneath him.
“Sorry!” Ellie called down, wincing at the sight.
“It’s okay,” Brett called up, wiping at his eyes while trying to keep his balance in the raft. His vision blurred as tears welled up to clean out the dust. His legs wobbled under his weight as the raft jostled in the current from the force of the backpack falling into it.
“Sit down before you fall overboard,” Ellie commanded from above, her voice stern. Brett did as she directed, watching her maneuver down the rock and tree, using the branches as a ladder. The water was a cold kiss through the rubbery bottom of the craft as Brett observed her, helpless to assist.
The raft nodded as Ellie carefully stepped down from the tree above. Brett noticed the black sap that clung to her hands as she tried to brush them off on her pants. “What happened?” he inquired as she sat down next to him, her shadows jolting off of her arms in agitated waves as she shook. Brett handed her a canteen as she panted, catching her breath and wiping at the sweat beading on her brow.
Ellie’s throat bobbed as she greedily chugged the water Brett had offered her. The cool liquid slid down her throat, quenching her thirst.
Since when does a bird catch a cat? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?The tired thought popped out of her weary mind. Ellie was pissed that the drama of being kidnapped had ruined the breaktime she was looking forward to. And it left her with more questions than answers.
“I really don’t know,” she admitted to Brett after getting her fill of water. “A giant hawk or something plucked me out of the raft. I was able to shift my hands into claws and scratch the shit out of it until it let me go.” She peered up the cliff, noting the green canopy of the forest trees above. Ellie realized how lucky she was to have slid down the pine tree like she did. She could have very easily been injured from the fall. “I caught one of the pine trees on the way down and hid until I couldn’t hear the bird anymore.”
Brett’s hazel eyes were wide as she recounted what happened. “I am so glad you are okay.” The words were soft, barely audible over the trickling of the water around them.
She sighed deeply, glad that the cliff above them should be hiding them slightly from any creatures in the sky that might approach. “I just want to eat.” She rubbed her stomach as it growled. Ellie hadn’t realized how hungry she was. She’d been too busy fighting a giant bird and trying not to die. Good thing kitties were known to land on their feet. And by some miracle, she didn’t get stuck in that tree. That would have been a kick in the ass. She smiled at the thought as she opened her backpack to look for the food rations inside.
“What’s so funny?” Brett asked, pulling a silver pouch from his backpack.
“Firemen have to get cats out of trees.” She ripped open the pouch labeled tuna fish. The feline inside of her purred, happy with her selection.
Brett stared at her, a blank look on his face. His mouth hung open for a second, causing Ellie to chuckle. “I don’t get it,” he finally said, tearing open his own silver pouch of food.
“A tree broke my fall, and I didn’t get stuck in it.” Laughter bubbled out of her. She swallowed her food quickly so she wouldn’t choke or spit it all over her companion. Brett’s brow furrowed. He looked lost, so she explained. “I’m a cat shifter. Cats in trees…”
A smile tugged at the corners of Brett’s thin lips. “I don’t know why that went over my head.”
Ellie put a hand on his arm to reassure him. “We both had a rough half-hour. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” She beamed a smile at it. The one that put people at ease.
It worked. Brett leaned back into the inflated tube on the side of the raft behind him, pushing his meal up out of the pouch. He swallowed, eying the sky with a nervous look on his face. “How do we keep you hidden from that thing when we go back out on the open water?”
The thought gnawed at Ellie as well. The cliffs sheltered them a bit, but she was basically a sitting duck out in the raft. If that hawk found her once, it could again.Who was behind it?She remembered the scientist and shifter who were after her friend Paige last year. As far as she knew, they were all apprehended. But someone out there wanted her, probably for her unique abilities. “We could always stash the raft and try to hike the forest along the river,” she mused aloud.
Brett chewed his food, squinting as he thought about her plan. “We could do it, but it will be much longer, and we’ll risk not making it to the pickup location in time.”
Ellie split open her pouch and licked up the tuna that remained, her stomach churning and hungry for more. She didn’t care how odd she looked. The miles ahead would be treacherous, and she was ravenous.
“I’d rather fail this class than be kidnapped and experimented on again.” She hoped Brett wasn’t taken aback by her bluntness. He nodded as if this were the most normal conversation in the world.
“That’s a good point.” Brett sucked the remaining food out of his pouch and rubbed his chin, seemingly deep in thought. After some consideration, he added, “And I am sure Grayson will understand we had extraneous circumstances surrounding our lateness to the rendezvous point.”
Ellie felt a pang of guilt. She went into this trip thinking Brett would be the one to ruin her chances of a good grade. Now it seemed she was the one to derail the assignment. “I am sorry if I am the reason you don’t pass this project.”
Brett smiled, showing a row of perfect teeth and somehow convincing Ellie that everything would be okay. “I don’t care about that now. All I care about is that I get you back safely, by any means necessary.”
Ellie returned the grin, feeling that with Brett by her side, she could take on an army of giant birds.
