The girls assure me she’s okay, that the area between the inflatable seats did not flood. The current begins to slow and then we’re out of the rapids and back into calm water. I kneel on the paddle to keep it from getting loose and wipe my glasses with my shirt. Deke looks like a big wet dog, totally soaked, but the look in his eyes warns me not to make any wise remarks. Not that I would dare.

“She’s awake!” Mia sounds greatly relieved. “Cindi says to thank you. She says we are her guardian angels.”

I’m shaking from the chill of the water. Also from sheer exhaustion. That was like ten of the gym class workouts I always hated. Other kids could do like twenty pull-ups. I couldn’t even do one. But somehow I paddled hard enough to keep up with big strong Deke, and we all came through alive.

I’m so tired I want to curl up and sleep, but my heart is pounding way too hard. If we come upon another stretch of white water, we’re doomed, because my skinny arms feel like they’re about to fall off. I look over at Deke and realize he’s as exhausted as I am. But not so tired he can’t give me a high five. “You did good, dude. I could barely keep up.”

That can’t be true, but it’s nice to hear.

wuppa

“What’s that?” Imani sounds awestruck. “DO YOU HEAR THAT?”

wuppa wuppa

Oh yes, we all hear it, even Cindi, who lifts her head and stares into the sky with a smile on her face and her eyes beaming. We’re listening to the most beautiful sound on earth.

wuppa wuppa wuppa

Helicopter blades.

46. Something We Need to Discuss

My brain is shouting, WOW WOW WOW, but I can’t seem to say it out loud. Too choked up. Doesn’t matter, Mia is cheering for all of us. She stands up in the tippy raft, waving both arms at the big orange helicopter hovering over us.

“We did it! We did it! I can’t believe it, we actually DID IT!”

A helmeted crewman leans out of the open door of the helicopter and points to the shore. Both sides of the river are heavily forested, so there’s no place to land. The rescue will take place from the air.

Deke and I don’t have to discuss it, we know what to do. Dig in with our paddles and get to the shore, fast as possible.

Imani leaps out, takes the rope, and ties it to a tree.

“Cindi first!” she shouts, but of course she can’t be heard above the roar of the helicopter. It hovers directly overhead. The downdraft from the blades roars like a hurricane, knocking leaves and small branches from the shivering aspen trees, spreading white rings in the water.