OBLIVIOUS

CHAPTER 15 - Runaway Rapids

Eve and I gasp for breath before the water sweeps in and sloshes over our heads. The remnants of the hollow tree drops below the surface, but buoyancy pushes it up where only the rounded top rises above the river. A split second later, the current swooshes in from the front and washes over us, shoving our bodies toward the rear of the log as it exits the end. In the middle of the deluge, the gaping hole the rhino-bear ripped open appears to be our only a way of escape.

I punch and claw at the opening, enlarging it for us to poke our heads through. We pull ourselves up and sit, now riding the log like a kayak, careening atop the river rapids with enough drag to keep our pace at a manageable speed. At first, it seems like our makeshift boat might kill us, but now I think otherwise.

My survival hopes soar as we round a long curve, darkness enveloping the path ahead.

From behind, I clasp an arm around Eve, coiling it around her stomach. She leans into me as we come out of the bend into a straightaway.

We're still far from getting out of this unscathed.

Possibilities swirl in my head. If we can make it to the riverbank, we could stretch out and try to pull ourselves from the water. But then I consider the log. The weight and momentum would render such an attempt impossible, making it too heavy to halt our progress in the river, let alone allow us to hold a spot next to the bank long enough to climb out and crawl ashore.

No, we will have to ditch the log to escape the river. Somehow.

All the speculation of drawing near the bank becomes pointless as we rush along, held firmly within the powerful rapids.

The farther we go, the louder the river roars, building to a feverish crescendo of crashing water. Somewhere ahead of us, the tempest climaxes. It thunders in my ears. I yell a warning to Eve, but even inches from her ear, she doesn't respond. She can't hear me. It's so loud.

The thought of what awaits us makes my pulse skyrocket and my eyes probe the dark like laser scanners. Eve grips my thigh and squeezes the leg of my cargo pants. She cranes her neck around and her mouth moves, but I can't hear what she's saying. No. She's not saying anything; she's yelling at me.

In the shadowed movement of her mouth, I lip-read a two-syllable word. A word that's already banging around in my mind.

Waterfall.

Water.

Fall.

I knew it! There's a waterfall further down the river. With this confirmation, my heart jackhammers against my rib cage. My jaw flies open as my eyes see what my ears had heard and my brain already suspected, what Eve already knew.

Under the full moon's brightness, the approaching edge of the drop-off billows into a frothy whiteness as the river increases speed, rumbling with intensity, spilling over and crashing to the bottom. Mist rises and catches a sheen of the lunar body as it hangs in the sky above it. We're headed right toward the giant waterfall, a plunge to certain death.

As the hollow log speeds toward the fall, I glimpse a dark shape protruding above the river. Eve jabs a finger toward the black irregular object knifing across the water. Whatever it is, it's only a few feet above our heads, putting it within reach.

As we draw closer, the puzzle rearranges and fits into place. I know what I'm seeing. The rusted out rails of a structural metal support. Before the global ocean covered everything, there was a bridge spanning a pre-flood river. The natural lay-of-the-land and the water's runoff had almost returned things to normal.

"Reach for it!" I say.

She nods, her wet hair matted against her neck.

She hears me this time.