My legs ached and each step felt like my shoe must have been filled with lead as we kept walking. Every so often, I could hear Rikki grumbling behind me about the exercise as Cleo complained about spiders and their webbing getting stuck in her hair. We journeyed for at least half an hour across creeks and through vines in our path until eventually, we reached a small clearing that beheld a waterfall. We could even see higher ground in the distance. However, there was a slight catch - there was no path across the waterfall. Instead, a gaping chasm loomed between - the absolute only way of crossing it would be to jump.
Sighing, I shared a wary look with Cleo, sensing her own fear about this as well as my own, and she grabbed my hand, gently squeezing it once reassuringly before releasing.
"Mind your step," Emma called over her shoulder to us as we trekked along the slippery, wet rocks.
Suddenly, she leaped off the ledge and somehow managed to land on the other side, unharmed. Wisps of blonde hair blew across her face as she turned back to us. Rikki was next. Then it was Cleo's turn. But she only bit her lip anxiously.
"I can't do it! It's too slippery!" she shook her head and I hear see the nervousness in her voice, "There's gotta be another way,"
"Look, Cleo, it's not that bad. They both did it and so can you," I encouraged her, stepping forward, "I know you can-"
All of a sudden, my foot slipped on one of the wet rocks - the sole of my shoe having gained no traction there. With that one little twist, I went down like a stone, straight through a hole in the ground below our feet. I could hear the girls' shouts from above, fading as they became farther and farther away from me as I fell down, down, down. The last thing I felt was water swallowing me up as the air left my lungs.
Note: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter but the next one will be longer! :)