“You can’t die now!” she cried.

She felt a sudden panic at the idea of losing her new friend, and she slapped her back again and again—and suddenly, Dierdre began to throw up water. To Kyra’s great relief, Dierdre grabbed hold of the log, balancing herself as she gagged.

Kyra beamed as her friend slowly came back to life. Dierdre, spent, turned and looked at her, arms trembling, and while no words came out, she could see the gratitude in her friend’s eyes.

Kyra noticed something rush by in the rapids, and she turned and saw it was a piece of their shattered raft. More pieces floated by, the raft now useless, and Kyra realized that this log in the river was all they had.

As their log cruised downriver, Kyra, Dierdre, and Leo instinctively climbed up onto it, sitting on the broad, flat surface, just wide enough for them all to fit. Leo lay down on his stomach, whining, clearly suspicious of the log—luckily it was too heavy and wide to spin. It straightened out and cruised like a spear down the rapids, and the current, fortunately, slowed enough to make it manageable as a vessel.

“It’s not roomy,” Kyra smiled to Dierdre, “but I suppose it will do.”

Dierdre smiled back, looking exhausted but alive.

“We haven’t much farther,” she replied, studying the horizon ahead. “See that fork?” she asked, pointing. “Where the river splits, that’s where we get off. From there on, we are back on land, on foot.”

Kyra saw the fork in the distance and was relieved there was an end in sight; she’d had more than enough of this river, and was eager to get back onto dry land.

She took a deep breath for the first time. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw the waterfalls, now far behind, and she could hardly believe they had all survived. She realized how lucky they were to be alive, and in one piece. She looked back ahead and wondered what other perils lay in store for them.

They continued downriver as hours passed, Kyra watching the changing landscape with awe. The trees shimmered, all shades of white, as they crossed through the Whitewood, white leaves falling everywhere, lending the place a magical feel. Kyra watched it all, shivering, her clothes wet from the spray, and Dierdre finally reached out and pointed.

“There,” she said. “See those two boulders? They mark the road to Ur. We must get out here.”

Kyra and Dierdre did their best to direct the log for shore, reaching over and stroking and kicking the water. But despite their efforts, nothing worked. This big stubborn log refused to be directed.

“We’ll have to jump!” Kyra said, realizing they were about to fork the wrong way downriver.

They stood and as they did, Leo barked at the water, clearly reluctant.