Perilous (YA Suspense)

by Tamara Hart Heiner

  Her legs were going numb and the water surged beneath her ribcage. “Someone, help me!”

  One hand slipped from the root and the raging current pulled her legs downstream, tugging her clothes around her. Her head submerged underwater for a second, and then she managed to get her other hand up to the root again.

  She took a deep breath and choked on water. Panic fueled her, and she kicked her legs.

  Her feet found a hold and her head emerged. She gagged and coughed. Her stomach tightened, and she threw up bile.

  “Please,” she moaned, not daring to move a hand to wipe her face. Part of the bank crumbled under the root and fell into the water. The water pulled on her, urging her to relax and succumb to its force.

  Dear God, don’t let me fall. I don’t want to die this way. She held onto her tree root with all her might, but she was weakening. The cold water bubbled up around her neck, making her teeth chatter.

  Jaci leaned her head against the muddy bank, her hand going numb. She felt so tired. She closed her eyes.

  “Jaci? Is that you?”

  She jerked her head up, forcing the heavy eyelids to open. Jaci let out a sob of relief. “Neal? I’m here!”

  “It’s Ricky.” His fingers grabbed her hand, prying her free of the tree root.

  “Ricky?” Jaci said, resting her head against the muddy incline and feeling his cold hand clasp one of hers.

  “Are you okay?”

  She couldn’t answer. She wanted to, but her mouth didn’t seem to be responding.

  He grabbed her other hand. “Everything is going to be fine now, you can stop crying.”

  Was she crying? “Hurry, Ricky. The current…” Her voice faded away, too exhausted to continue.

  “Okay.” Ricky gripped her forearms and started to pull.

  The water increased in volume, rising up to her chin even though Ricky was pulling her up.

  A roar like a waterfall filled Jaci’s ears. She twisted her body, kicking at the bank, trying to get leverage. “Do you hear that?”

  He paused, and then swore. “The beaver’s dam must’ve broke.” He grunted and pulled harder.

  The beaver dam. If that water swept through, it would take her along with it and maybe Ricky, too. A rush of adrenaline warmed her body, and she jerked an arm out of Ricky’s grasp, clawing at the bank. “Hurry, Ricky.”

  “I am!”

  She tried to help, digging her elbows into the mud. He wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her away from the edge. The roar grew louder, and Jaci scrambled forward as if a mountain lion were at her heels.

  A flash of lightning illuminated the wave as it thundered past, overflowing the river bank. She heard the snap of branches, and the tree she had clung to tumbled into the water along with a large section of river bank.

  The water lapped at her feet and she tensed, climbing to higher ground, afraid she might be swept away, but Ricky held her tight.

  When he finally released her, she sank into the mud, sobbing. “Thank you,” she cried. “I was praying… I didn’t want to die.”

  “No,” Ricky said, pulling her to her feet, “you’re not going to die. Come on, we’ve got to warm you up.”

  It was wet everywhere, but the storm was starting to dissipate, leaving as quickly as it had come.

  Ricky led her away from the mud and laid her down in the tall, wet weeds, then lay down next to her, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her back and shoulders. “Gotta get your blood going. You’re shaking.”

  He took her hands and pressed them to his chest, and Jaci bent her palms against the black t-shirt. “Where’s your sweater?”

  “I left it behind. It would’ve slowed me down. Doesn’t do much good wet, anyway.”

  “No, I suppose not.” Jaci closed her eyes and tried to relax.

  Multiple aches and bruises clamored for her attention; her body throbbed. Floating debris in the water had pummeled her.

  She tossed and turned through the night. A cool breeze tickled her ear. She opened her eyes, and for a moment the world seemed to swirl in front of her. The sun was up, and a few birds were chirping, as if no thunderous storm had burst through the area a few hours earlier.

  She sat up, holding a hand to her head to suppress the vertigo. How much of what she remembered was a dream, and how much was real?

  Her hand felt hard and stiff, and when she looked at it, she realized it was caked in dry mud. A glance down at her clothes showed they were in the same condition.

  Ricky stood on the bank where he had dragged her up, his back to her as he surveyed the depth of the water.

  Jaci looked at the swollen rapids beneath them, staying away from the edge of the bank. The water was high, and she didn’t trust the ledge to stay where it was. The river frothed white as it fought its way around broken tree limbs.

  A shiver ran through her, and she let her legs bend under her. The soft mud squished beneath her body weight. “What happened last night?”

  Ricky shrugged, hands in his jean pockets. “Big storm—common around here, actually. Sara told us you had crossed the river.”

  He looked at her. “It was pretty dumb to come over here alone.”

  The chastisement hung in the air, and Jaci bristled. “I didn’t know a storm was going to come in and triple the size of the stream, okay? How’d you find me, anyway?”

  “We heard you. Neal can’t swim. Someone had to come.” Ricky hesitated. He glanced up at the morning sun. “We should hurry back.”

  Something in his voice caught Jaci’s attention. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing. I thought they would be across the river this morning, looking for us. But they must be waiting downstream.”

  He kept his tone even, but Jaci picked up on a nervous air. “Was there danger last night?”

  He shook his head. “Neal and I took the girls out of the ravine when it started raining. He stayed on the hill while I came back to get you. He’ll keep them safe.”

  It would be a good answer, except for the way Ricky avoided looking at her.

  “I meant danger from other people.”

  He met her eyes. “I’m not sure. Sara thought she saw someone. A man.”

  “When?”

  “During the storm. Don’t worry,” he added quickly, “Neal will protect them.”

  Jaci stared down at the mud, thinking. Sara had been seeing and hearing things for weeks. And with all the noise of the water and wind, it might have been nothing. Then again, they had seen the fire pit.

  “How are we going to get across?”

  “The water’s gone down from last night, but the current’s still strong. We have to wade across, but not here. We should walk downstream until we find a place.”

  She frowned and studied the water. “I don’t really want to get back in there.”

  She hesitated, remembering her fitful sleep the night before, and then asked, “Did you hear anything last night?”

  “I heard you crying for help.”

  “No, I mean… after that.”

  “Nope.” He shook his head. “I slept like a rock.”

  “I must’ve been dreaming,” she said, staring into the swirling, murky water below. She shivered.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, stepping to her and wrapping his arms around her.

  His touch sent a spark through her veins. She jerked away. “I want to wash the mud off my face.”

  He indicated the brown water. “It won’t help much.”

  “It’s better than nothing.” Still, she hesitated, afraid to approach the water.

  “Let’s walk downstream,” Ricky said. “We might find a spot that’s easier to cross.”

  The sun came out, beating down on them warmly. Jaci took off her pink sweater and tied it around her waist. It was wet, anyway, and making her colder. She didn’t say much, lost in her own thoughts as she stumbled along behind Ricky.

  “Was everyone else okay?” she asked.

  “What?” He waited for
her to catch up to him.

  “Last night. Did the storm hurt anyone?”

  “Everyone’s okay.” He stopped walking. “Uh-oh.”

  The river roared beneath their feet as it was bottlenecked through the sides of a cliff. They stood two feet above the water, six feet between them and the other side.

  “It’s getting worse,” Ricky said. “Maybe we can cross where the dam used to be, or where Neal and I crossed with Sara.”

  “But that means…” Jaci swallowed, trying not to cry. “We’ll have to go back the way we came.” They had walked forward all day. Back for how long?

  Ricky pointed downstream, “It splits up ahead into two rivers.”

  “We could jump it.”

  He grabbed her forearm, fingers closing as if afraid she might try. “Don’t you dare. You fall in there, I won’t be able to get you out.”

  She blinked back tears, feeling childish. “I’m starving. I can’t walk all the way back there with no food. I won’t make it.” Her legs trembled underneath her. She needed to eat.

  Ricky broke off a branch and tossed it into the water below. They both watched it disappear in the current, pop up again, and disappear for good.

  “We don’t have a choice. I’ll figure out a way to get some food. Sit and rest, okay?” Ricky turned his back on her and jogged away.

  Getting to her feet, she moved to a spot where she could reach the water. She had rinsed the mud from her face and arms earlier that morning, but now she had time to clean more thoroughly. She glanced down at her muddy shirt and hesitated. Casting a quick look over her shoulder, she yanked the shirt off and swished it in the water.

  Within an hour Ricky was back, looking like a proud caveman as he plopped two fish down in front of her, still squirming with life.

  “How’d you do it?” Jaci said.

  Their empty, opaque eyes stared outward while the slimy mouths opened and closed, desperate to breathe. She had to be starving for the sight of them to make her mouth water.

  Ricky reached into his pocket and pulled out a rock. Then he gathered up a couple of twigs and a few other rocks.

  “It wasn’t that hard. I went back to where the bank is lower. I lay down on my stomach and put my hands in the water. It’s going so fast, I just had to hold still and wait for something slippery to swim into my hand. Then I closed my hands and caught it.”

  He gave her a quick grin as he began to strike his rock against another. “I’ve got fast reflexes.”

  She had seen this rock before. He always played with it. “What are you doing?”

  “Well, we’re not going to eat them raw, are we? This is my fire-starting rock. It’s called flint.”

  “I know what flint is.”

  “That’s right, you’re smart. So you know if I have this rock and any other rock, I can get a spark. It might take awhile, with everything being damp, but we’ll get a fire going soon.”

  Sparks jumped from the rock, landing on the twigs.

  “You know,” he said, leaning over to blow on the sparks, “it’s probably just gonna be us for awhile. Even if we try to go faster than the others, we’re going to have to walk back for at least a day to find a place to cross. And then another day or two before we find everyone. Will you be okay?”

  He laid the fish on the rocks next to his little fire.

  “I guess.”

  Ricky didn’t say anything for several minutes. He turned his attention back to the fish, cooking them on the rocks in the fire until the skin turned pink and flaked with his stick.

  “You’re not the first person that had bad things happen to you. You can’t let it stop you from living the rest of your life.”

  She studied him. “Where’d that come from?”

  He slapped a hot fish down on the dirt in front of her. “Dinner is served.”

  “Do I just pick it up and eat it?”

  “Here.” He crouched beside her, using a stick to pull up on the skin. “It comes right off.” He slid it off, exposing the hot flesh and bones.

  Jaci’s hands trembled, and she picked it up, sucking the meat off the bones.

  “Most people don’t eat the organs,” he said, watching her. “Normally.”

  Everything tasted wonderful. Jaci stopped at the head and eyes, her hunger finally tamed enough to be picky.

  Ricky squinted up above the tree line. “There’s a bit more sun left. Are you up to walking until nightfall?”

  Jaci looked at the other fish cooling. “If I can have one more fish.”

  Chapter 25

  Ricky led the way upstream the next day. Jaci watched him tear pine needles off a branch before tossing the last piece into the raging water below them. The sun broke through the cloudy sky, sending beams of warmth down to the earth.

  Ricky had failed to catch a fish for breakfast. It seemed to have left him in a bad mood. He hadn’t made any attempts at conversation.

  Jaci picked up one of the pine needles and stuck it in her mouth. She sucked on it, careful not to poke her gums or lip. It helped get rid of the taste the water had left.

  “So what do you and Neal like to do for fun?”

  “Neal’s idea of a good time is studying for a test, or reading a text book.”

  “I take it you’re not the intellectual type?”

  He laughed. “Come on, now, you figured that out the first day we met.”

  “So what do you like to do?”

  “Oh, you know. The usual stuff.”

  “Like?”

  “Oh, sports, movies, food. What about you?”

  “Well, I’m kind of like Neal. Straight-A student. I also like to run. Sara and I were on the track team at school.”

  “So you like sports, too.”

  “What about what Neal said? About you being on probation?”

  “I got in trouble.”

  “No kidding. What did you do?”

  “Well, it’s just this bad habit of mine, ya know? I caught the bathroom on fire and got suspended.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yeah. Overkill, huh? That’s what you get in a small town.”

  They backtracked a little past where the dam had broken before they found a wider place in the stream. It had stretched to twenty feet across, with eroded bank on either side. It looked to be about three feet deep.

  “We’ll cross here,” Ricky said, stopping.

  Jaci shook her head. “It looks dangerous.”

  “It is. See that fallen tree?” He pointed at the far side.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s right at the deepest part. Let me get there, I’m a good swimmer. Then you just have to get to me.”

  Her heart hammered. “Maybe we should keep looking.”

  “It’s not going to get better, Jaci. We can wait a day and see if it gets lower. Or we can try now.”

  She took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s try.”

  Ricky descended the bank. The water crept up to his waist, and she chewed her lip, watching him fight the current. He moved slowly, but reached the log and turned around.

  “Come on, Jaci. I’m here.” He motioned for her.

  Jaci slipped into the water, fighting tears as the cold bit into her skin. She gasped as it reached her navel. She wasn’t much taller than five foot. She took a step forward and nearly lost her footing. Her hands flailed, looking for an anchor, finding none.

  “Look at me, Jaci. Come this way.”

  She focused on Ricky. A slight frown creased his features, and he moved his hands as if pulling a rope. She took another wobbly step. The water pushed her, and she froze, planting her feet into the rocky bed. She shot out a desperate prayer.

  Please give me courage. She took a deep breath and plunged onward.

  Within minutes, Ricky’s hand grabbed hers and pulled her to the log. She wrapped an arm around it, clinging to it, shaking.

  “You did it.” Ricky guided her out of the water.

  Jaci collapsed on top of the bank and burst into tears.<
br />
  Ricky pulled her to him. “You’re safe now. You made it.”

  In the afternoon of the next day, Jaci thought she saw motion ahead of them in the trees. She squinted, hoping it was her friends and not hungry wild animals.

  A flash of orange caught her attention. The orange backpack. She grabbed Ricky’s hand. “Ricky! I think I see them.” She pointed up ahead.

  She made out Sara and Amanda as they got closer. She stopped in mid-step, noticing their haggard appearance. They huddled together at the base of a tree, mud and dirt covering almost every inch of their faces and clothing.

  “Sara!” Jaci called out.

  Sara shot to her feet and raced toward them, leaving Amanda to scramble up after her.

  Ricky let go of Jaci’s hand and caught Sara in a hug.

  She turned on Jaci next, wrapping her arms around her neck and clutching her. Silent sobs shook her body. “We were so worried. Are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine, Sara. Are you?”

  “Shh.” Sara pulled away, her face pale. “There’s someone out here.”

  Jaci’s fingers tightened around Sara’s arm. “What do you mean?”

  “We heard him yesterday,” Amanda said. “Talking on a radio or something. Saying he thought he’d found our trail.”

  “Maybe it’s a good guy.”

  Sara trembled. “And if it’s not?”

  Ricky looked past the girls. “Where’s Neal?” he asked.

  Sara put her head in her hands and began to cry.

  “Where’s Neal?” he repeated, an edge hardening his voice.

  “He left us!” Sara cried into her hands. “You didn’t come back. He tried to cross the water. The dam broke. It swept him downstream.”

  Ricky jerked as if he had been stabbed. “Where is he now?”

  Amanda shook her head. “We don’t know. We followed the river here to this point. It forked into two rivers, and we didn’t know which one to take. There’s no sign of him. We’ve been here for two days.”

  “I’m going back.”

  “No, Ricky, don’t!” Amanda cried, grabbing his arm. “We need you.”

  “I can’t leave my brother,” he said, his voice anguished.