That was a precaution that paid off—the anchor reached the riverbed and snagged, pulling his arm, then his body, pulling him so hard that the wall of the raft was in danger of buckling.

Someone shouted, “Whoa!” as the boat slowed dramatically, but Tom could tell it wouldn’t be enough. The anchor had caught on something but it was already becoming slack in his hand, only its own weight in the water pulling them back.

“That helped,” said Alice. “Do it again.”

He pulled the anchor back and threw it again, but this time there was no purchase, no jolt in the raft’s progress.

George shouted, “Running out of time!”

And Tom knew now that he didn’t have time for another exploratory drop. He looked to the shore, the roots of trees gnarled on the banks. It was worth a shot, but he’d need both arms, he knew it.

He called back, even as he was heaving the anchor in again, “Everyone get down! Someone hold my legs!”

He felt someone grab his injured leg and he winced with pain, but immediately, Kate said, “Not there. Like this!” She put one hand on his thigh, another around his ankle.

The anchor came free of the water. Tom pulled it close, grabbed hold of the anchor itself, slimy with whatever it had dragged through.

George shouted something else, maybe just his name, sounding panicked, but Tom focused only on the weight and feel of the anchor in his hand, the rope in his other hand, the trees on the bank with their roots twisting and jutting down into the water.

He hurled the anchor, throwing so hard that his shoulder jarred with the effort. It arced toward the bank, reminding him for a moment of the flare, tearing across the barn and into the torso of that man. It disappeared in among the trees and plants, but again, seemed to gain no purchase, for a second or two at least.

The jolt came, though, and when it did it still caught him unawares, slamming him into the side of the raft, forcing Kate and Sandeep to cling more tightly to his legs. His other shoulder felt almost as if it had popped out of its socket. He heard people fall and tumble behind him as the raft ground to a halt. The water crashed up against it and spilled inside, not enough to cause a problem, but enough to know the anchor had snagged on something and the raft had as good as stopped dead.

The dog barked, excitable, and the raft drifted toward the bank. They were still a little way from the beach that Shen had spotted, but this close to the vegetation, the current was slower and he knew they were out of danger now.

“Everyone okay?” He got a gabble of responses. “If I let this go, can we take it down to the beach?”