“Hang on tight, Lynnie!”
I shout as I start navigating the river. My reflexes are slowed by my wet clothes but I ounted for that before I started moving. I float and weave my way through the rocks until I’m within an arm’s reach of the branch yet still ten feet upstream from it. Unfortunately, I don’t see any more rocks jutting up out of the water. This means I’m going to float quickly towards her and only have one chance at grabbing het.
I duck down into Madilyn’s hair as I momentarily hold her trembling body against me, the sudden boom of thunder snatching my very breath away. Madisyn’s screams echo as does the cracking of the branch beneath her. I’ve got to move as I know that branch isn’t going tost much longer.
“Lynnie, baby, I need you to trust me.”
“Okay.”
Her tiny voice squeaks as her trembling hands tighten around the fabric of my shirt again. I look around again, verifying my n onest time before jumping into the current. I quickly turn myself around so I’m floating backwards with the current. The branch cracks again, arge portion of it sshing into the water behind me. Her screams getting louder is the only way I’m even aware that
she didn’t fall with it.
The current continues to carry me faster as my adrenaline and general need to survive allows me to
forget about my injuries. I curl my right arm around Madilyn, pushing her higher so she can breathe while digging my feet down into the soft mud, fighting against the will of the river to slow my
approach towards Madisyn. Just as my efforts start to pay off, the tiny iling legs of Madisyne
into view.
“Maddie, jump!” I yell above the roar of the river.
Somehow not only does she hear me but understands the meaning behind it and allows herself to
fall from the tiny remains of the branch she was on, I reach into the water and grab the first thing
that feels human, pulling her hard above the water.
Her head breaks the surface choking, sputtering and crying but alive. I gather her into my arms as I fight the quickly deepening water, I keep at it, struggling to find my footing in the swollen river losing my shoes somewhere along the way.
A sudden shift in the depthbined with the intensifying wind and rain of the iing storm pulls us harshly under the water. I tighten my grip around the girls, waiting for us to stop tumbling through the water. My foot touches the bottom just enough for me to push off it, forcing our heads to the surface. I keep us above the water just long enough to hear three gasps before we’re violently pulled under again.
Chapter <b>414 </b>
We’re getting tossed and tumbled around like rag dolls and It’s <b>only </b>as I stretch to reach the botton that I realize that <b>we’re </b>free falling without ever leaving the water,
It <b>takes </b>several seconds of struggling to push the three of us away from the downward pressure of the falling water but to my relief I find the bottom and give it a hard push, kicking my legs, vigorously fighting to get to the surface,
I am relieved when we finally break through, gulping in the air after several minutes without <b>it</b>. 1 slowlyy my head back, hissing as the water hits the gash I didn’t realize I had<b>, </b>testing the buoyancy of the water.
It’s only as Iy back that I realize how calm the water is. I slowly open my eyes to find that we are in a ce that feels a lot like home. We are now in the center of argeke located deep within a cave. I kick my legs lightly, treading water as I adjust my grip on Madisyn<b>. </b>
Once my sight adjusts to the very small amount of light present in the cave, I’m able to calcte that we are approximately thirty feet from the closest shore line.
“Lynnie. Maddie.”
“Yes sir.” Their voices tremble from fear and cold in unison.
“I need you to trust me. We need to get out of the water quickly. If lightning strikes the river it could hurt us badly. Maddie, I need your help. I need you to unzip my jacket to free your sister.”
Her tiny hand trembles as she reaches for the zipper, pulling it down slowly so as not to hurt her
sister.
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