“Help!” she cried out in case someone would hear. Maybe Nathan had survived and was out there somewhere.
Her muscles burned, and her strength was quickly fading. She knew to float feet first and go with the flow, but this was no normal river that had swept her away.
Ahead she spotted a small calm pool between the rocks. It was coming up quickly to her right. With the last of her strength, she swam toward it. This was her chance to make it. Please, God, help me.
The initial rush of water had flowed over the small pool, but now the water level had dropped as it spread out and rushed forward. She swam toward the calmer water and used the current to her advantage, allowing it to carry her forward. With one last push, she found herself heading straight for a thick branch wedged against a boulder. If she could just grab on to that, she could pull herself over to the safety of the pool and then out of the water.
She let the current carry her. Just a few more feet. Wait for it ... Wait for it...
She grabbed hold of the branch. The violent river tried to push her, rip her away from the branch. She dug her fingers, her nails even, into the wet bark. This was her lifeline.
Thank you, Lord, for sending me help.
She put one arm over another as she clawed her way toward safety.
Almost there. Almost there.
Groaning with the effort, she put all her strength into it and pushed forward against the current. Holding tightly to the tree, digging her fingers into the bark as she went, she pulled herself toward the calmer pool sheltered from the violence. She had no idea if the dam would collapse more, so there was no time to lose to get to higher ground.
The powerful tug of the current eased off. She’d made it to calmer waters. She couldn’t relax yet, but she exhaled slowly, letting renewed hope infuse her. She’d come this far.
Her feet touched the ground covered in smooth pebbles. Moving forward, she gained traction and pushed herself through to the calmer water and beyond that, toward the bank.
Suddenly her foot was caught. Stuck. She pulled and tugged, but she’d somehow stepped between two small rocks in an awkward position. Erin sucked in a breath and held it as she thrust her head beneath the water’s surface, then reached down to free her foot. She tried to move the rocks pinning her in place. Pulled on her leg. It was no use. Lungs screaming again, she rose above the water and sucked in another breath.
Erin looked around and took in the rushing river that still poured from the dam as the reservoir released its contents. At some point, it had to even out, didn’t it? She searched for Nathan. He was somewhere out there too. Or across on the other side. Nathan, where are you?
Her heart tried to stay afloat on top of the ever-rising dread and the possibility that he was already gone.
Another crack resounded, reaching to her bones and echoing between the trees, mountains, and canyon farther down. Oh no. Her gaze jerked upriver. The dam was too far for her to make out much, but she suspected the sound meant it was giving way even more.
Erin prepared for the worst. More water could rush over her and flood the pool, her momentary safe place. Even if it did, it might not last, and she could hold her breath for that long.
“Erin!” Nathan’s welcome voice found the terrified places in her heart. She looked around for him. “Erin, over here!”
There, a few feet away, he swam diagonally toward her across the floodwaters. He lifted a hand. “Here!”
“I see you! Be careful!” She pointed at an even greater volume of water. “Hurry. It’s coming directly for you.”
And I’m stuck.
Tears surged. Erin could do nothing but watch the wall of water race for her again. Engulf her. Take her under. If she somehow survived, this would become the new recurring nightmare to replace the old one, though both were filled with terror and darkness.
Still, her mother’s voice from long ago broke through her thoughts, a constant reminder of that night and her mistake. But this was no time to think on the past. The secret could die with her today.
She held her breath. The force slammed into her and freed her from her prison but ... swept her away again. She couldn’t breach the surface, no matter how hard she tried.
Her lungs spasmed as she breathed in the river.