River Ride

“I can’t believe that I’m stuck here, in the middle of nowhere, with my annoying sister. This is all your fault! I hate you!”

This was the 20th time Kamryn had heard this, and that was just today. She had been hearing comments like these for years from Dana, her younger sister. They had never been very close, and in situations like this, they were on even worse terms.

They were lost. They had no compass, no ides where they were, and had been wandering for hours. They had left early that morning and now it was twilight. There was almost no light coming through the dense canopies of the trees. A dull glow was all that was left to see the narrow road by. Silence surrounded them. With every step she took, Kamryn could almost feel the eerie emptiness closing in on them, blocking any chance of escape from the endless, confusing maze they were in.
“If you don’t get us out of here soon I swear I’ll-”

“You’ll what? Push me? Runaway? Leave me behind? In case you’ve forgotten, we’re lost in the woods with no idea where our camp is!”

“And it’s all because of you! You’re the one who wanted to explore the woods and take pictures for your album and got us lost.”

Kamryn wheeled around to face Dana. “It was your job to bring the compass. If you hadn’t left it behind, we could have been back hours ago.”

Dana took a step forward so that they were nearly face-to-face, staring each other in the eyes. “So it’s all my fault right? I’m always the one getting blamed because you’re so perfect. Well, that’s just fine! I’ll find my own way back.”

Dana turned and stormed off into the forest, burning with fury. As much as Kamryn wanted to go the other way and leave her, but she had promised their mother she would watch out for Dana. Reluctantly, she followed her. She was close enough to see her, but far enough not to be noticed.

They eventually came to a river. Kamryn remembered that their campsite was near a river. Either Dana had remembered as well or it was just good luck, because she turned to follow it. They walked in silence, Dana in the lead and Kamryn behind her, along the river, jumping over rocks and fallen tree branches.

Suddenly, a rock came loose under Dana’s foot. Kamryn watched, as if frozen to the ground, as she fell into the river. Quickly resurfacing, Dana began trying to swim back to shore, but the current was too strong. It was dragging her back down the river, toward a colossal waterfall. ‘I thought that only happened in stories’ thought Kamryn. Without thinking, she turned and began racing down the edge of the river to Dana. Crying out for help and trying to grab anything in reach, Dana began disappearing under the surface as the current grew faster.

She had no choice. She had to do it. Kamryn raced to a large boulder, climbed on top, and jumped into the icy cold river just behind Dana. Dana saw this and turned, swimming toward Kamryn. Just before she could reach her, Dana was pulled by a fierce current and slammed against a protruding boulder. Her eyes closed, she slowly sank beneath the surface without a struggle. Diving down, Kamryn caught her and tried, desperately, to bring them back to the surface. She couldn’t. The current was too strong and she was growing weaker and weaker. Water was pressing on her, getting heavier and heavier. The chill was all she could feel as it began to seep into her bones. It began to fill her nose and sting her eyes. Her lungs were burning with the need for air.

Just as she thought there was no hope, she broke through to the surface, gasping for breath. Her sight was just beginning to clear when she was thrown against a boulder. Nearly blacking out, she tried to keep her hold on Dana and make sure she could breath. Her vision returned and Dana was safe. She began to look for a way to shore. There was within reach that she could use.

She could see only one way. There was a line of rocks that, if they weren’t so wet, she could grab and pull herself to shore. Going this way would mean she would have to let the current slam her against the rocks until she reached the riverbank. It was very dangerous. She could drop Dana, lose consciousness, or break any number of bones from the force of the water.

Slowly, she inched her way to the edge of the boulder she was leaning against. Making sure she had a firm grip on Dana, she pushed off. Bam! She hit the boulder with her left shoulder. Stinging with pain, she pushed herself to go to the next one. Slam, she hit rock after rock in what seemed to be the longest six feet of her life.

Finally, she reached the river’s edge. Leaning Dana on a nearby rock, she pulled herself out and turned to help Dana. She pulled her to the ground under a tree, and lay down next to her, exhausted. Without meaning to, she fell asleep for a little while only to be woken up by someone shaking her. Opening her eyes, she saw Dana looking concerned.

Seeing that Kamryn was alive, Dana relaxed and said “Oh good, you’re okay.”

“If by ‘okay’ you mean sore, stiff, tired, and soaking wet, then yes, I’m okay.” She tried to sit up, only to fall back down from the sudden pain in her left ankle. Looking down, she saw that it was swollen, a disgusting yellow green color. “Great, just what I need, a broken ankle.”

“We’d better get back and set it before it mends wrong. And the doctors have to re-break it. Come on, lean on me.” She knelt down and put Kamryn’s left arm over her shoulder, pulling her into a sitting position. “Sorry I made you break your ankle, but thanks for saving me.”

Kamryn smiled. “No problem, you know Mom would have killed me if I let you die. Besides, the busted ankle is payback for when I broke your wrist two years ago. Now we’re even.”

Following the river, they walked until it was dark, rested, and continued to the next morning. By afternoon, they had come to a fork in the river. Knowing they had passed one when they had set out the day before, they followed it with a renewed hope. Turning away from the river, they saw the break in the trees where they had made camp and nearly ran to it. Hearing the noise, their mother came out, saw them, and pulled them into a hug, tears running down her face. They had made it home.