Crossing the Deep (20 page)

“Yeah, and about a million to go.”

“I think your counting is a bit off.” He tried to keep it light. He had to make her believe he wasn’t worried. Truth be told, he was scared to death. Maybe having a girl who couldn’t walk well hobble across slippery rocks over a flooded creek wasn’t such a good idea. Didn’t matter now though. If they stayed, they were dead. If they fell in, they were as good as gone. He was committed now — no looking back.

The water flowed around the rock, pooling in ponds next to the bank. A glance across the creek found the water much deeper and swifter closer to the middle.

“Rachel, we need to take it easy. Don’t rush,” he said, calculating the best way to cross. “These snowflakes will make the rocks more slippery, you know, because we don’t have enough to deal with.”

“Makes life worth living.” She smiled. How she could genuinely smile at a time like this astounded him.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said. “Stay one boulder behind me, got it?”

“Don’t worry.”

Easier said than done
. Instead of saying anything, he nodded.

Chapter Seventeen

Asher jumped to the next boulder. While shorter than the one Rachel stood on, it would take a good jump to make it. Her body shook. This was going to hurt and hurt bad. She shuffled her feet, trying to decide which one would be best to leap with. Figuring it best to have a better start than landing, she jumped with her good foot.

The landing was one of the most painful things she’d ever experienced. Upon impact, her bad ankle rolled causing her to scream and fall. Asher quickly grabbed her and pulled her up on the rock. She knew he was talking, but she couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying. All she could see were those stars again.

“Oh, God. Give me strength. Please,” she prayed through rigid breaths. Crossing on those rocks had been a stupid idea.

She calmed down enough to feel Asher’s arms around her, reassuring her with their firm grip. Grateful to have him supporting her, she leaned on him enough to take some weight away from her ankle, but not enough to push him off the rock. The pain made her feel sick to her stomach, and she felt like hitting something. “I’m sorry,” she said into his chest.

“Don’t be.” He rubbed her hair. “It’s okay. You’re doing fine. Don’t freak out on me now though. We’ve gone this far. Can’t turn back now.”

Rachel raised her head. “I know. I’m sorry about the meltdown.” She wiped the tears out of her eyes and focused on the next rock. “I can do this.”

“I know you can,” he said. She smiled, glad to have him with her. “As hard as it is, forget about the pain, all right? Focus on me.” He tilted her chin up to him. “Focus on the bank on the other side. That will get us home. I promise I’ll make it worth your while when we get across.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” She grinned, wondering what idea he had in mind.

“Good.” He smiled back before facing the boulder bridge ahead.

The next rock looked more like a stepping stone. A small amount of water flowed over it. He used it to hop to the next big boulder. “Follow me,” he said. “Then I’ll help you over. I can’t help you onto the first rock, but I can help you onto the boulder. Do it quick, and it won’t hurt so bad.”

“Got it.” She hoped the old Band-Aid adage applied to ankles too.

Coldness crept back into her hand as he let it go and stepped down to the smaller rock and up to the bigger boulder. He made it look so easy, but then again, he had two working legs.

She shuffled again, this time deciding the landing would be the best to focus on. Fighting the urge to close her eyes, she stepped onto the little rock with her bad foot and sprang toward the bigger one. Asher grabbed her by the arms and pulled her up. Her foot didn’t hurt as bad as the time before, and she was grateful that she didn’t cry that time. “That wasn’t so bad,” she told him. It could have been worse.

“Piece of cake.” He shivered.

****

Asher wished there was an easier way to get across this mess, but he didn’t see one. With that in mind, he left Rachel and leapt to the next boulder.

Rachel followed behind him, this time with only a small balance check. They were getting into some sort of rhythm, and it gave him hope.

They continued that way for the next few minutes: not rushing but going at a steady pace. Asher would jump and turn in time to help Rachel onto the rock. As they made their way across, the occasional flurries picked up and began falling more steadily.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Rachel pull her hoodie up over her head and tighten it. He wished he had one of those. Leather jackets weren’t the best things to wear out in the elements. A tip he’d have to remember on his next ill-fated trip to the woods.

****

The rocks at the end of their little rock bridge weren’t as big as the ones at the beginning. They weren’t big enough for both of them to stand on. Asher jumped to one and then another, two rocks ahead of her. He stopped on the small rock next to the shore, holding his hand out as far as he could to help her when she was close enough.

Rachel rocked back and forth, steadying herself for her next move. She couldn’t wait to get this over with.

Faster than she should have, she jumped to the next rock. Her foot slipped, and she yelled as she fell hard. Grasping the rock for dear life, she found a narrow crevice to hold on to and pulled herself up on trembling legs.

“You all right?” Asher yelled, jumping back over to the boulder between them. His eyes were wide like a deer’s, and she thought he might knock her down trying to help her.

“I’m fine. I’m fine. Stay right there,” she said, regaining her balance. “This rock isn’t big enough for us both and neither is that one.”

“Our luck, right?”

“Seems that way.”

“I’m coming to help you,” he said, leaning over to get her hand.

“No, you’re not,” she protested. “Back up to that smaller rock behind you so I can cross over. I’ll be all right.” All she wanted was to get to that shore, and Asher, protective as he was, slowed her. “Come on. Hurry up.” She motioned him to move back.

“Don’t be cocky, girl.” Asher held out his hand. “We will make it, but we have to be careful. I’ll help you up onto this one. Jump and give me your hand.”

“I’m not cocky, and you are wasting time. Back. Up,” she said with every bit of determination she could muster, praying it did the trick, and she could at last move off of the blasted rock.

****

Asher didn’t want to back back off and onto the shore, but he had no choice. She wouldn’t budge any other way. He had a bad feeling but tried to ignore it. Rachel had made it this far — maybe she did have God on her side.

She closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer by the looks of it, and stepped off onto the next rock. The woman should have gotten a gold star for the number of prayers she said. In his whole life, he’d never seen anyone pray as much as she did.

Once she made it, she steadied herself then smiled at him. “Good job!” He beamed, feeling positive for the first time in a few days. “We’ve got this!”

“We’ve got this.” She grinned, stepping down on the last rock before the shore. When she did, her foot slipped on the slick rock and rolled at a nasty angle. She didn’t have time to scream before she fell into the water and the rapids dragged her down the creek.

“No… no!” Asher threw the backpack to the ground and jumped on the rocks to try to grab her. Unable to get to her in time, he watched helplessly as the current slammed her hard against a rock, twisting her body like a rag doll as it took her farther downstream.

Frantic, Asher ran, navigating the rocks down the creek. A little farther down, the current threw Rachel into a boulder, smashing her head into the rock. Her fiery hair billowed around her hair like amber waves. A red, a deeper red, filled the stream around her like spilled ink.

Blood.

Asher stumbled from rock to rock to get to her. He couldn’t reach her from any angle he tried, so without seeing if it was safe, he jumped in. The water came up to his waist and hit him like hundreds of knives slashing his midsection. But that only lasted a second or two before the numbness hit. He felt his energy draining away, and he couldn’t have that. Rachel needed him.

His mind switched to autopilot. Ignoring what the icy water was doing to his body, he focused solely on Rachel.

When he reached her, he wasted no time turning her over. She wasn’t moving, and her lips were pale blue. “I’ve got you, Rachel. Don’t give up on me; do you understand me?” He fought the current, pulling her with him toward the bank. The shore was only a few yards away, but it seemed much farther.

Once he got to dry land, he turned her toward him and wiped the hair from her face. A large gash oozed bright red above her left eye, and her skin was the color of snow.

He was soaked, and the cold mountain air felt like needles stabbing him with every blast of air, but he didn’t have time to care. Rachel lay lifeless under him, her eyes shut. Blood flowed in large rivers down her cheeks and into her hair. If her head was that bad, he hated to imagine her internal injuries.

Taking only a second to catch his breath, he checked her over. The gash was a concern, and her right leg bent at an unnatural angle perpendicular to her body. Gauging by the way she hit the rocks, it wouldn’t be beyond reason if her back was broken.

Trying to remember what little CPR he’d seen on television, he checked for a pulse. His heart beat faster when he didn’t find one. “Don’t you leave me out here! Do you understand me, Rachel? Don’t do it!”

He tilted her head back as far as he thought was necessary and placed his lips to hers. Her mouth wasn’t as warm as it had been the last time he’d touched it. It was like ice — like in his dream. An uncontrollable shake rocked his body. Asher breathed into her mouth, but didn’t see her chest rise, so he tilted her chin farther back and breathed again.

Nothing.

He adjusted her head again and breathed. Cautious excitement filled him when he saw her chest rise. Maybe there was hope after all!

Without waiting, he unzipped her coat down to her soaked teal shirt and started chest compressions. Never having taken a CPR class, he had no idea how many to do or how to do them right. He hoped he didn’t break her ribs or something, but the alternative seemed much worse. Asher did twenty compressions, hoping that was enough.

Running on adrenaline, he checked her pulse again. There wasn’t one. He swore into the air and breathed back into her lips. “Please, don’t do this to me.” He whispered, breathing again. “Wake up, Rachel. I don’t know what I’m doing!”

There was no response.

He went back to chest compressions — this time thirty. Then he breathed. Chest compressions. Breathe. After three rounds, he checked for a pulse again. A sob stuck in his throat, and the tears flowed down his cheeks when he didn’t feel one.

He bent to the ground, lungs burning from exhaustion and terror. This couldn’t be happening. Not after everything they’d gone through.

With shaking fingers, Asher moved the ginger hair stuck to the girl’s face. Losing her was not an option — not this girl he had grown to care about despite his best efforts to avoid it. Her lifeless body screamed at him for help which he tried but failed to give. He had done everything he knew to do, and it wasn’t good enough.

Asher fell back on the ground, not taking his eyes away from her. There had to be something he could do. He couldn’t let her die out here. He loved her too much.

“She loved You!” he yelled to the heavens in the only prayer he could muster, leaning back on his knees as the snow fell around him. “She loved You, and You did this to her. How can You say You love people… when You keep killing them?”

He didn’t know what to do. A few compressions more did no good, and she hadn’t breathed. She’d gone too long without oxygen. He’d lost her forever.

Realizing she was gone caused him to double over and the tears to drip from his face. “God, I can’t do this. I can’t lose her. She always said You could help us — help her. God please, don’t let her die. Don’t take her away from me. Please save her.”

He wondered if his prayers were even getting through. Then he remembered David talking about God one time; saying that you needed to be saved for Him to hear your prayers, except for the prayer of salvation. A deep burden consumed Asher. Not only had he lost her, but he didn’t even have a link to God.

Looking down at her, he knew what he wanted to do. Sid had been saved when he died and so had Rachel. He knew they would be together in Heaven, but where would he be? He daresay that he wouldn’t be with them, and that scared him more than anything. To never be with his friend again — to be away from Rachel forever — it seemed like an impossible ending to his life.

He couldn’t do this by himself anymore. With a heavy heart, Asher closed his eyes and prayed to God, this time with a sincere heart. “
God, I'm sorry for every rotten thing I've done. I believe in
You. Please,
believe in me.”
His tear-blurred
eyes looked down at Rachel, lifeless on the ground. He remembered all of the times she prayed and how she had ended them. He'd give anything to hear her say it again.
“In Jesus’s
name I pray, Amen.”

Asher lay down beside Rachel and pulled her close. Her icy body felt wrong. “God? Can You hear me? I have no idea what else to do for her. Please, please save her. She has so much left to do. Please.”

Something new filled him. He could feel his chest warm and not feel as constricted. How dare he give up on Rachel? She wouldn’t give up on him so easily.

Asher got up and stretched Rachel back on the ground. He tilted her head back again and blew, this time harder. “Breathe for me, girl,” he said, all the while praying. Again, he breathed for her.

On the third try, water hit him in the mouth, and Rachel started coughing.

“Oh God, thank You!” he whispered amazed, rolling Rachel to the side, so she could cough up all of the water she had swallowed.

She laid there coughing for what seemed like an eternity, but Asher didn’t rush her.