Axel and Kyleigh arrived next, Kyleigh screaming at him that the next time he rocked the canoe she was pushing him out. She'd been like that all day- "Axel, rock! Stop rocking the damn boat! Slow down! Tree! Rock! Rock! Rock!" It was a wonder he hadn't tried to drown her yet.
Marena joined Shay in the water, the water only beginning to lap at her waistline. She nodded her head at her then flopped backwards into the water, totally submerging herself. She came back up a few seconds later, shaking droplets of water away from her face. She could hear her teeth chattering from there.
"Cold much?" she asked jokingly, grinning as Marena made her way over to her in the water.
"I don't know, how about you find out?" Marena crowed as she lunged at her, using her force and element of surprise to stuff her underwater. The coldness enveloped her, causing a shiver to go all the way from her head to her toes. Despite the cold the water kept her alert and blood pumping- it felt good.
She resurfaced a few seconds later, drenched in cold water. Marena was nowhere to be seen, presumably underwater once again. Kyleigh was sunning herself on the shore, the three were guys climbing up into a tree in hopes to jump off into the river while Katrina tagged along, and Laylia still sat in the canoe, looking more miserable than a student in summer school.
Seconds after Marena broke the surface, shaking her head to scatter the droplets of water. She wiped water away from her eyes as she looked up. She did the same, wondering what was up there. Moments later Carson came falling out of the tree, landing with a splash in a deeper part of the river.
He swam over by his girlfriend, eventually reaching a place where his feet could touch the bottom again. Her eyes were glued upwards; watching as Katrina was struck with fear to jump, resulting in Owen pushing her off as she screamed profanities at him. She landed in the water with a smack, cursing her boyfriend as she went in.
"Wanna try it Marena?" She asked her best friend. When she got no response she looked to her side to find Carson there and not Marena. Confused, she looked around the water, expecting to discover she had gone under again, only she did not resurface.
"Up here blondie," she mocked, referring to her as her Marena-only nickname once again. She looked up to find Marena crouched in the tree, preparing to jump into the swiftly-moving waters.
"Wait for me dude!" She shouted as she scrambled towards the tree, the water severely delaying her movements. The part of the tree lowest to the water was slick and covered in moss, forcing her to slow down. She crawled up the tree apprehensively, careful not to move too fast. It wouldn't be a good thing to fall and hit her head. The further up the tree she climbed the amounts of wet moss diminished, creating a significantly easier climb.
Marena sat perched in between two branches, out as far as she could go without the tree swaying beneath her. Her drenched hair was sticking to her bare back, leaving rivulets of water trailing down her spine. She turned her head to face Shay, a confident grin wiped across her face.
"Scared?" she teased as her best friend inched closer, clinging onto the branches for dear life. The slant in the tree made her uneasy. Every time the wind rattled and the leaves and branches trembled beneath her she held on tighter, and Marena could obviously see it.
"Not at all. Besides, if there's any dangerous wind, you'll be the one blown right off the tree," she shot back, referencing Marena's lightweight build.
"Fine then. In this case, I will need a rock to pull me down. Jump together?" She made a face at her, displeased she was a compared with a rock. She wasn't overweight to start with, and she'd lost more than a few pounds since May 30th, the day her world was flipped upside down.
She inched herself closer to Marena's position on the tree. The skinny girl was standing up now, looking faintly down into the dark waters below. People on canoes drifted by, some bothering looking up at the two girls in the tree. Marena would wave a few times, more than likely trying to advert any possible suspicions.
"On five we jump, okay?" Marena said once her friend reached the same space between the two tree trunks. She looked down into the deep part beneath her, suddenly bathed in fear. Every single time this happened, whether it was a tree or cliff, every time she got the same feeling before jumping. Lake, river, it didn't matter; she always had second thoughts once she made the climb.
"What about ten? Fifteen maybe?" She responded, her voice coming out softer than she intended. It made her cringe. She was even sounding scared.
"You're scared," Marena crowed, grinning widely.
"Am not." She retorted, sticking her nose in the air.
"Then jump."
"No!"
"Remember, I'm jumping with you!"
Taking in a deep breath Shay slid her feet closer to the edge of the trunk, just so the tips of her toes were suspended over the water. She could faintly hear Marena counting beside her, only her attentions were diverted elsewhere- drifting down the river, seemingly scanning for something or someone was water patrol. They usually just existed to enforce that children have lifejackets and all trash was secured, yet this time she had confidence that's not what they were patrolling for.
"Marena. Jump." She ordered sternly, voice low. Marena cocked her head to the side and stared at her. "Now."
"Why?" she responded, her tone a medley of curiosity and worry. "The branch isn't breaking."
"No. Its water patrol and I'm about eighty percent sure they're looking for us." she replied through gritted teeth. Nervousness slowly began to prickle her skin. They didn't have any weapons with them- they weren't prepared to fight. If they had to flee they'd stand little chance of outrunning them, as water patrol had a state-issued motor boat and they had canoes. The odds were against them.
"Shay, I doubt they could recognize us all the way up in the tree. Plus our hair is wet. They know us as blondes- right now our hair looks brown. I think we'll be safe." Marena told her. Her logic made a lot of sense, yet it failed to reassure her whatsoever.
"No, seriously. I think they're looking for us. We need to jump."
"But won't jumping and creating a splash create a better chance of us being noticed?" There she goes, always highlighting the holes in my logic.
"I don't care!" She hissed, grabbing onto Marena's wrist. In one adrenaline-fueled moment she jumped, all doubts erased from her mind in one moment. She could make out Marena faintly cursing her as they fell, bracing to be submerged in frigid water.
She and Marena went under quickly, swallowed up by the river and its coldness. They sank deeper than expected, her ears popping from the pressure. Chances were they were fourteen or fifteen feet beneath the surface. After drifting for a moment the duo kicked upwards, the striking coldness keeping them alert. They broke the surface a few seconds later.
"Bitch, I landed on my freaking stomach!" Marena cursed as she lunged at Shay, dunking her underwater. She lightly punched her in the stomach, making her swim away. She quickly kicked upwards, breaking the surface. Grinning, she paddled towards Marena, plotting to get revenge. Instead of going along with it she pushed her away numbly, gaze transfixed on something else. She followed Marena's hazel gaze before feeling her heart sink- the water patrol boat was coming towards them.
"Swim back." She ordered through gritted teeth.
"Won't that look suspicious?" She's right, it will. Oh well. If this goes wrong and I die, Marena needs to live. She's the only one I'd trust leading.
"Just swim back. Now."
Obeying her orders Marena began to freestyle towards the bank, leaving her treading water. The boat drifted closer towards her, sending fear coursing through her body. She had no idea what she intended to do once they got close to her. Like Jaycee's burial speech she was just going to wing it. That went successfully- hopefully this would as well.
They shut off the engine once the boat was a few feet from her, letting it drift the rest of the way. She swallowed her apprehension, trying to stay as relaxed as possible.
"Excuse me; are you and your friends of lega
l drinking age?" After the officer finished she was so relieved she could have done a backwards dive for joy. They were speaking to them on terms totally unrelated to their identity.
"No sir, why are you asking? We don't have any alcohol." She lied. Katrina had a few cans stowed under her seat she'd stolen from a campsite neighbor. It wasn't like any of them hadn't tried it before.
"Well you and your friend surely looked drunk when you fell from the tree," he replied coyly. She shifted her gaze back to Marena on the shoreline. And yet again, she was right.
"Oh, no, that wasn't what it looked like. I slipped and grabbed her trying to catch myself, but she fell with me instead."
"Get in the boat and we're coming ashore to make sure." Fat chance.
"I can swim." She replied back coolly. I'm not three, she wanted to add, but bit her tongue. That would most certainly not work in her favor.
"Suit yourself," the heavier of the two replied, tone cool.
She turned in the water and swam quickly back to shore, trying to get back in time to warn Katrina to hide the beers. She rushed onto the shore and made a beeline for Katrina. They locked eyes.
"Tell them the beer is your older sister's and she'll be coming down the river soon." She ordered the reddish-brown haired girl sternly. It would be bad enough for them to get arrested for underage drinking. Once they tried to arrest them they'd realize who, and what they were- it would really go to hell then.
"Why?" Katrina asked, looking at her with a quizzical glance. "None of us have opened any."
"We'll still get in trouble for possessing it."
"How do you know?"
"My dad's a cop Katrina, I know." My dad was a cop.
The water patrol boat beached on the next open spot of sandy bank, the two officers silencing the engine before hopping out of the boat. They looked through each canoe in turn. Once they stopped at Katrina's she felt all muscles in her body tense, bracing to spring into action at any given moment.
The two officers bent down and looked over the canoe. Katrina bent down as well, probably trying to hide the evidence. Katrina and the officer both froze and she felt her breath hitch in her throat. The chaos was about to erupt.
"You have pretty eyes," he said lowly as he elbowed his partner, attempting to be discreet. The other one looked up from his search to peer into her eyes. Well, so much for a peaceful day.
She silently motioned for the other canoes, mouthing to get them ready to row off quickly. There would be no way they'd be able to outrun a motorboat but they could at least try. Carson, Marena, and Axel began to slowly push the canoes back into the water.
The second officer reached for the gun in his belt. In a blur Owen hurled himself into both officers, knocking them backwards into the sand. Once they were distracted, Katrina burst into action and shoved the canoe into the water, hopping in and shouting for Owen to follow suit.
Shay jumped back into her canoe, causing it to rock back and forth as Carson struggled to get in. Marena was already out in the current again, rowing as fast as she could. Surprisingly, Laylia was assisting her. Before she knew it she was digging her oar into the water, feeling her muscles bulge with the effort she was putting into it. If they could get a head start they might stand a chance, slim as it was.
Immediately after getting back in the current the canoe picked up speed rapidly. She wasn't sure how fast they were going but it wasn't fast enough. The noise of the motorboat engine wasn't too far behind them, causing her to only row faster. Her arms were burning yet she ignored it, desperate to get away. They had no weapons. Her fight or flight instinct seemed to be prewired to say fight, as it was the route she almost always chose- but not this time. Numbers meant nothing if they were outgunned.
The motorboat pulled up beside her canoe. She only paddled harder, an intense fear for her life suddenly rushing over her. I might die, right here, on a goddamn river. Nothing glorious, heroic or brave about that.
An earsplittingly loud noise echoed through landscape. She didn't even have to process the sound for it to register as a gunshot. She instantly went into self-preservation mod, ducking her head down.
Marena rowed her canoe in between Shay's and water patrol's for reasons unknown. She yanked her oar out of the water, splattering both the officers with the frigid water before sweeping the metal oar at both of them, aiming to knock them unconscious.
Marena's oar struck the fatter one in the head. He fell sideways as spit flew out of his mouth, body hitting the boat with an audible thump. She could tell by the way his head lolled that he was unconscious. She'd taken one out. One to go.
Marena swept her oar at the remaining officer, missing her mark every time. She screamed in shock and desperation as he grabbed the end of the oar, using his superior strength to yank it out of her hands. She gasped as she watched her best friend be stripped of the one defense she had left. What the hell? Marena's way too strong for that to happen!
She watched helplessly as Marena stood in the canoe, ignoring Laylia's shouts of the canoe tipping to the left. She then lunged forwards towards the remaining officer, hands outstretched. With a grunt of effort the officer swung the oar, colliding with Marena's head as she was in midair. The moment the oar collided with her head time seemed to slow down for Shay. A dull, hollow thwacking noise followed the impact as Marena's head snapped backwards, her battle cry immediately silenced.
Marena's body went plummeting towards the water like deadweight. As she fell the officer stuck out the oar to take a second jab at her, slamming it against her stomach. The force sent her body backwards and her back slammed into the canoe, head lolling and smacking the metal. Although the entire thing happened in maybe three seconds, it felt like an eternity to Shay, who could do nothing but watch helplessly as her best friend sank beneath the surface.
Chapter 31
Shay's mind shut off as soon as Marena disappeared below the water. There were only two words coursing through her brain- save her. She stood up in the canoe, taking in a deep breath.
"Shay, don't!" Carson pleaded, but his pleas were falling upon deaf ears. She pinched her lips together and closed her eyes, diving headfirst into the cold water.
The chilly water rushed encased her instantly, causing ever fiber in her body to tingle. At first the coldness took her aback yet she pushed deeper, using the cold to keep her senses sharp and alert, blood pumping.
The water swirled around her with the current as she swam downwards, slicing through cold, dark water. Her eyes were hardly open, squinted to keep as much water as possible out. The deeper she went the fainter the penetrating rays of sunlight got, resulting in Marena's face growing darker and darker beneath her. The eyelids of her best friend were closed, head wound slowly leaking blood into the water. She looked dead. Please don't be dead. Please. I can't do this without you.
Bubbles pushed their way out of her mouth. She wasn't sure how long she'd been down there now, but she began to feel her instincts scream at her to swim up. No, I'm not giving up. She's so close. No matter how fast she swam Marena's body kept sinking too, always just out of reach. Releasing more bubbles she kept swimming downwards, struggling to ignore the black dots swimming on the edges of her peripheral vision.
What happened next was a mystery to her. Marena's arm gradually extended up to her as if reaching out to assist in her rescue. She couldn't be sure if it was just the current making her arm move or if she was actually conscious beneath her, yet too weak to swim up. It didn't matter; she'd die if Shay failed to pull her from the depths.
Once Marena's arm was fully extended she stopped swimming downwards, instead extending her arm as well. By now her lungs felt like they were about to burst, every cell inside of her screaming for air. Her instincts told her to swim up for air but her heart kept her there, desperately trying to grab hold of Marena.
There was just a small little space, not even two inches, between the tips of her fingers and Marena's of water, yet it was enough to seal her fate. Her lungs fel
t as if they could explode at any moment and the black dots were beginning to swarm the edges of her vision. No, I can't go up! I have to save her! No matter how much she pleaded with her brain she couldn't overpower her instincts- she had to go up for air.
Bubbles exploded from her mouth and her lungs instantly felt deflated. She turned upwards and kicked hard back towards the surface. All she had to do was go up, suck in a large amount of air and swim back down. It wasn't that hard. She could do it.
The milky rays of sunlight were getting stronger- she couldn't be too far from the surface now. Seeing this encouraged her to kick harder. She could see the outlines of faces through the water now, she was that close, but the closer to the surface she got the stronger the feeling became that she was too late.
She broke through the surface, opening her mouth wide to suck in air with a gasp. She took a few deep, rapid breaths, squinting from the sudden brightness of the sunlight. She didn't have time to wait for her lungs to completely refill- Marena had a much more dire need for oxygen than she.
She took in a final deep breath and dove back down, bracing to swim faster than she ever had. Her best friend didn't have much time left; she needed to get down there! Her train of thought was suddenly distracted to an agonizing pain that exploded across the top of her head. Confused she kicked downwards again, only her actions made the pain increase. She screamed underwater as she realized her window of time to save Marena was rapidly closing.
Shay kicked upwards, the pain in her head lessening the closer to the surface she got. With a final powerful kick she resurfaced, hands instantly flying to her scalp. There, interlaced within her wet locks of hair was hand- someone had been pulling on her hair to keep her from going under again.
With an angry screech she spun around, freeing her hair from whoever's grasp it was. Without thinking she fastened her hands around their arm, raking her nails across their skin. Whoever had held her back shouted in pain and cursed at her. She couldn't care less. They could cuss at her all they wanted. She had a life to save. She dove back under again but the pain was there again, only this time instead of just holding her they were pulling her up.
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