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“That doesn’t look like it’s for beginners!” Doris argued, panic lifting the octaves of her voice.
“Uh. I think he definitely said, ‘Hold on tight.’” Marge grimaced.
“That is definitely not for beginners. Marge!” I spun in my seat. “Tell Julio we can’t do that! Tell him we need to get off this river!”
Marge started speaking Spanish, but Julio just nodded and smiled, saying something while he pointed ahead.
“Halto! We musto stopo!” Marge held her hand up like a stop sign. “Stopo! Halto!”
Julio just dug his paddle in like a rudder and kept the raft rushing toward the fast-approaching rapids.
Marge spun back, and I saw something strange on her face when I looked at her ... something I’d never seen there before.
Fear.
“Um, it doesn’t seem like we can stop.” She pointed to the sharp rocks on both sides. “The only way out is through.”
“Holy shit. Ho. Ly. Shit.” I blinked at her, then turned back toward the wild rapids about to swallow us whole.
“Don’t panic, soldiers!” Marge suddenly snapped into action. “Just keep paddling! Julio will steer! We paddle! Keep your feet hooked tight! Use your paddles to push off any rocks! And whatever you do ...don’t fall in!”
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Alice grumbled right before we hit the first of the fray. “If I die, I’m haunting you again.”
“We’ve got this, soldiers! Now PADDLE!”
We screamed as our raft plummeted off the first drop. The powerful spray of water nearly knocked me off my perch, but I kept paddling and pushing against it. Our raft started sideways, heading straight for a sharp cluster of rocks.
“Left side! Paddle harder! Paddle! Paddle!” Marge commanded.
Doris and I were on the left, so we dug our paddles in, pushing against the violent water trying to drive us straight into the rocks. Julio shouted something loudly, and I glanced over my shoulder to look at him behind me, but to hell if I could figure out a word he said.
“What did he say?” I shouted to Marge, sitting just opposite of me.
“I’m not even going to pretend I know what the hell he’s saying! Just paddle or we’re toast!”
My stomach dropped, and it wasn’t just from our violent launch over the next ledge.
“Whoa!” I screamed as we landed with a thud. It dislodged me, and I fell backward, colliding with Julio as I nearly tumbled off the back of the raft.
“Sorry!” I called to him as I pulled myself back upright, but when I turned to face him, I saw nothing but empty space. Wide-eyed, I spun around and saw Julio’s orange helmet bobbing above the water.
“Julio!” I cried. “Man overboard!”
“What?” The three girls echoed, then Doris let out an ear-piercing scream.
“Oh, cripes! Julio!” Marge bellowed.
“What do we do?” Panic sent my heart racing, and the blood whooshed through my veins faster than our raft raced down the river.
“We gotta clear these rocks ahead, and then we’ll try to grab him!” Marge shouted over the loud water. “He’s floating behind us, and the rapids will send him directly to us. We just have to be ready to grab him.”
Terrified I’d killed Julio, I tried to focus on the task at hand to keep the other passengers—my best friends—alive.
We pushed and paddled, screaming and grunting as we guided our raft through the rapids trying to swallow us whole, but without Julio, our rudder, it only took a few long moments before our raft spun sideways.
Our screams mingled into one as we careened at a cluster of rocks I knew we’d never be able to avoid.
“Brace for impact!” Marge shouted, and we all ducked down, grabbing each other’s hands moments before the raft collided.
