Midnight Runes (The Bestowed Ones) (20 page)

• • •

It was rarely a good thing to wake up early on a weekend. But this was an exception. Still, I hated my alarm when it went off at 4:15
A.M.
I took a fast shower, grateful I had washed my hair last night, then I dressed in comfortable clothes for the long ride. I grabbed my backpack and the small overnight bag I had packed. I had replaced my schoolbooks with snacks, an extra jacket, clothes to change into after rafting, and my MP3 player. I had barely finished my homework last night, but I’d have no time this weekend. Reading in a moving vehicle made me nauseous.

I quietly walked through the house, not wanting to wake my parents. It was strange being up before them.

The charter bus sat in the lot when I pulled in. I heard its loud engine the instant I turned off my car. I walked over to it, taking in the diesel smell that hung in the air.

Zach had reserved a section of seats for us. I chose the row behind him, placing my overnight bag in the overhead compartment and then putting my backpack under the seat in front of me. Elyse boarded and sat by me. Landon walked on a few minutes later and took a seat next to Zach. I couldn’t help noticing that Landon was the only one of us who actually looked awake. I settled in for the twelve-hour drive to the Smoky Mountains.

“I don’t understand why we have to leave so early in the morning if we’re not rafting until tomorrow,” Elyse complained.

Zach turned around. “We’ll have time to do whatever we want when we get down there. I looked up the new hotel Mr. Dorian was so enthusiastic about, and it has an activity center. They have a pool, but they have an arcade, mini golf course, half basketball court, and wallyball court too. We’ll grab dinner first and then run the place.”

“I can’t wait,” she said dryly.

“That’s the enthusiasm I’m looking for!” he replied sarcastically.

She gave him a quick glare then returned to rummaging through her bag. “And don’t even ask me to play any games until after we stop for lunch. Until then, I’m checking out,” she said as she placed headphones in her ears, leaned back into her seat, and closed her eyes.

“Grouchy much?” he retorted. If she heard him, she ignored him.

Elyse loathed long road trips. She preferred to travel by plane, so she didn’t socialize much the first few hours on the bus. But Zach liked to push her buttons, and last year they had argued that journalists are bound to go on road trips. He had said that her crew would leave her on the side of the road in the middle of farm country if she didn’t change her ways. I didn’t jump in during that exchange—he had a point.

We arrived at the hotel a little after 5
P.M.
, checked in, set our bags in our rooms, and then met in the lobby.

We voted for something relatively quick, so we could make the most of the activity center. A sub shop was a five-minute walk away, and by the time we had finished dinner and returned, the rest of the evening had been planned.

We had roughly four hours until lights out. That left an hour for each activity. We left swimming out. We’d see enough water tomorrow. I wasn’t too excited about the basketball part. Maybe we’d have uneven teams with the other seniors, and some juniors we asked to join us and I’d get to sit out.

The putt-putt course was challenging but fun. We all laughed a lot and had high scores after the third hole. The group decided that as long as I didn’t come in last, I’d be able to get away with not playing basketball, but I’d have to be a captain for wallyball. That wasn’t much of a consequence.

Zach was nervously excited about tomorrow, but Elyse and I were just excited. We knew what to expect. We wished everyone good night and headed to our rooms to settle in before lights out.

• • •

The bright sun greeted us the next morning. We needed all of the available sunlight to keep us warm on the cold rushing water. Well, all our parts but our feet, unless we fell in. It was much better option than a rainy, overcast day. Considering the time of year this trip was scheduled, it was amazing luck to have the weather participate.

We went through the first part of orientation, then collected our paddles, securely snapped our life vests in place, and picked out helmets that fit.

We had the second phase of instruction next to the river and took a bright yellow bus down to the launch site. I felt bulky in the gear as we bounded down hills and sped around sharp curves. I was convinced the driver would lose control and we’d roll down the steep ravine or at least crash into a tree. I tightened my seat belt; it was my anchor.

The rafting company announced that each raft would have one guide and preferably an experienced rafter or two. The summer had been a rainy one, and the river was higher than normal. The extra water intensified the rapids and created new obstacles along the way, making the category three river a four, pushing a five in some areas.

The instructors urged us to evaluate the circumstances and determine if we still wanted to go. Many of us had come last year, except for the freshmen, who looked a bit bewildered at the daunting task of staying in the raft the entire trip down the river. But in the end, no one sat out.

The guides encouraged the guys to integrate into the groups so their strength could be used to navigate the trickier rapids. Since Elyse and I had rafted before, we teamed up with two freshmen—Emma and Jason—and Zach and Landon.

We were on the river around three hours when the guides signaled to pull over on the bank. They used this opportunity to give detailed instructions on navigating the most complex part of the trip: the Pinball Slot. They warned us that if the raft went in at the wrong angle, it would hit a large boulder, ricochet into another boulder, and flip. I remembered this area from last year, but all the extra rainwater had made it even more treacherous. We wanted to avoid being dumped into the water at all costs.

One raft went through the unnerving rapids at a time. I eyed the challenge from the safety of the water’s edge, noting the similarity and difference this year. It still divided the river in two sections: to the right, one that was wide enough for our raft, and to the left, one that clearly wasn’t. The extra water covered much of the massive bolder. So much so that only three feet stuck up from the water’s surface.

We watched three groups make it through without issue before they signaled it was our turn.

Our frenzied rowing was no match for the current. It pushed us toward the gigantic boulder in the center. We frantically paddled for the safe route, but we only managed to slightly turn in that direction.

Inch by inch, we lost the battle. We smashed into the boulder. The force of the water urged us to go over it instead of around it. The water pinned half of the raft on the flattened rock formation. The other half dipped into the river and swiftly filled with rushing water.

We scrambled for something to hold on to, but nothing was safe. The relentless water forced our raft backward into the too-small space and flipped it.

I took in a lungful of air before being catapulted into the river.

The shock of hitting the ice-cold water caused me to expel most of my precious air. I somersaulted beneath the water, the violent current carrying me downstream. Even my life jacket had a difficult time finding the surface in the turbulent water. I still had my paddle, but even with a death grip on it, I could feel it being sucked away. Just as I came up for air, the intense power of the water spun me around. It felt like a hundred hands forcing me backward. I smashed into a boulder with enough force to knock the wind out of me. The rest of my air was gone. I fought to stay above water and struggled to wedge the handle of the paddle between cracks in the rocks so I could catch my breath.

The surging water pushed me under again, and I collided with another boulder. My vision faltered, and I felt myself slipping into darkness.

I
felt an arm wrap around my waist. In an instant, we were out of the freezing river.

The sounds around me were so muffled I thought I had earplugs in with noise cancelling headphones on top. I could barely hear the words shouted right above me. I slowly gained awareness.

“Open your eyes if you hear me,” the urgent voice demanded. “Come on, Brynn!” The fear in his voice made me fight to stay awake, despite the welcoming blackness. I struggled to open my eyes.

I felt delicate pressure on my wrist. Was he taking my pulse? Of course I was alive! I had to tell him. My eyelids flickered.

The pressure moved to just under my jaw line. I felt fingers searching for a pulse while a thumb gently brushed my cheek.

My eyes dazedly opened, and I blinked, struggling to recognize where I was. Tall evergreens shot toward the sky. They seemed to be closing in on me. I turned my head to the voice of the person kneeling beside me.

Landon blurred in and out of focus.

“Breathe!” he shouted. His eyes were wild.

Yes. I needed to breathe. I opened my mouth to tell him I couldn’t, but no words formed. I raised my hand to the base of my throat, panic setting in. Something released inside, and I inhaled. Gratitude swept over me.

I greedily took in breath after breath. Relief flooded my cells. The wonderful sensation spread all the way down to my toes.

“Don’t hyperventilate,” Landon scolded.

I focused on his concerned face. “What…happened?”

He reached for my life vest. “This will make breathing easier,” he said as he unfastened the three buckles. “Our raft flipped. We all went in. You managed to be the only one who had trouble navigating the rapids.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Where’s…?” I trailed off, not able to finish the thought.

His expression oscillated between worry and rage. Something wasn’t adding up, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. If everyone else was okay, why was he so upset?

“You’re okay now. I’ll get us back to the group. They’re looking for you. Rest.”

I obliged. Rest sounded good. I closed my eyes. I felt that I was missing a crucial piece of information. It felt like a small, annoying tug at the back of my mind, but I didn’t have the strength to fight it. I dipped into the darkness.

“Over here!” Landon shouted, jolting me awake.

I was more alert when my eyes reopened. I heard leaves crunch and twigs snap as they rushed to us.

I propped myself up on my elbows and watched the anxiety fade from Landon’s face. All that was left was rage, which he masked when he noticed me observing him.

Our guide was followed by two others, with Elyse trailing behind. As soon as she saw me, she sprinted over, knelt by my side, and threw her arms around me. “I was so worried. Are you hurt?”

I shook my head. I didn’t appear to have any injuries. “I must have blacked out.”

Our raft guide, Jeff, asked me to follow his finger with my eyes only. After his little exam, he said, “I’m glad we found you. The river scattered us, and we all went in different directions. I grabbed the back of two life vests to help them get to the riverside, and a few yards down, the other two were there.” He helped me stand and scratched his head, mumbling to himself, “I don’t know how you got this far downstream without anyone seeing you go by, though.” He did a quick assessment, taking inventory of my range of motion.

While I flexed each arm and leg for him, I looked past him and met Landon’s eyes. They burned with something indescribable. “Thank you. That’s twice now.”

He flashed a hint of a smile and barely nodded.

“I really don’t know how I’d get out of that without your help.”

He looked away. “Are you able to stand?”

I stood, slightly wobbly at first, but I willed my muscles to comply.

Jeff stayed by me, knowing from experience how drained I was. “Let’s get back to base so we can change into dry clothes. We only have to walk a short distance to get there.”

We walked in silence, falling into a single-file line as we marched our way through the evergreens.

I tried to put the events in order as my brain became more alert. I remember being propelled up the river with…oh, I must have been the only one to go that direction. I didn’t recall any of the others around me. All I remembered was white water. So how did he get to me?

We reached the outpost. The bus with our bags sat next to a small log building. I couldn’t wait to peel the cold, wet layers off. They clung to me. Each step felt like trudging through waist-deep, wet cement.

A few rafters were already seated at the outside picnic tables, excitedly rehashing their close calls.

I waited as Elyse grabbed our bags off the bus and I followed her inside. The staff had spread trays of hot chocolate and cookies on the counter, but I had to get into dry clothes before enjoying them.

Elyse, Emma, and I headed for the changing room. The six stalls along the wall each had an automatic dryer. We were grateful for the opportunity to put ourselves back together. I put my wet clothes in a plastic bag, then I stuck my head beneath a dryer and combed my hair with my fingers. The hot air comforted and rejuvenated me.

We emerged from the room, changed and in brighter spirits.

Jeff and Landon were off on their own, talking intently. Jeff had his arms crossed over his chest, and the look on his face showed that he disagreed with whatever Landon was saying.

I decided I’d wait inside until all of the groups changed. I selected a cup of hot chocolate and loaded it with whipped cream. Zach sauntered up to the counter while I debated between a chocolate chip cookie and a peanut butter one.

“After what you’ve been through, have one of each,” he offered.

“No kidding. It sucks not breathing,” I said and took a sip of the delicious hot chocolate. “Will it be your last rafting trip?” I teased.

“It was fun. But I could do without the whole going-in-the-water thing next time.”

We chuckled and headed over to join the rest of our group, gathered in a semicircle.

“I’m going to sleep the whole way home,” Elyse proclaimed. She nudged my shoulder. “I’m sure you will, too.”

“Definitely. That was too much excitement,” I added.