She had floated very far downstream

Chapter originally written by Phantom Pen on writing . com

It slowly began to dawn on Mackenzie that her surroundings were... different. She was still surrounded by the gentle quiet of nature, but there were details that differed from her surroundings when she had started swimming. The stream's current must have been a bit stronger than the redhead had thought, and she'd unknowingly floated away from her starting location!

Cursing quietly under her breath, Mackenzie went horizontal and began trying to paddle back upstream. The last thing she needed was to strand herself naked somewhere because of such a silly mistake! The redhead took a little bit of comfort in the knowledge that at least her belongings would be right where she'd left them, safe and sound. All she had to do was make it back to them.

After a few minutes of paddling, Mackenzie realized her situation wasn't improving. In fact, it was getting worse! The scenery around her had changed yet again. Mackenzie finally realized that the current of the river was too strong for her to swim against, meaning if she wanted to return to where she'd entered the water, she would have to leave the safety of the stream and walk back along the shore.

Mackenzie wisely decided that it wasn't worth it to simply wind up further and further downstream. Who knows where she might end up stranding herself! Instead, the tired redhead turned to face the nearby shore and began swimming towards it instead. As she made it back to dry land, she let a huge sigh of relief. Her arms and legs felt more than a little exhausted, as swimming against the current had proved to be an unwinnable battle. She stood up into the dry air, instantly feeling every bit of the breeze as it blew all over her naked body. She instinctively ducked back down into the water.

"Shit!" Mackenzie said aloud with a bit of a shiver. "How am I gonna get back to my clothes?" She wrapped her hands around her body for a bit of warmth and cover. Mackenzie was well acquainted with hiking in the outdoors, but was definitely not used to doing so naked.

The exposed woman looked up and down the forest. She didn't see any signs of civilization nearby, and was far from sure where she was. Plus, having only a general idea of where her clothes were in relation to her, Mackenzie now had a choice. She thought that the river had bent around enough that she had gone in roughly a large half-circle. So, logically, if Mackenzie cut straight through the woods beside her, she could reduce her necessary travelling distance down significantly. However, if she was wrong in that assumption, then she might wind up getting herself completely lost. On the other hand, Mackenzie knew that if she followed the river back the way she'd swam, she would get back to her clothes eventually no matter what.

Plus, if she cut through the woods, Mackenzie might increase her chances of running into other hikers or campers. While if she stuck to the riverside, it was less likely Mackenzie would find any other people. However, the dense woods would undoubtedly afford her many more opportunities for cover if she did encounter anyone. Whereas the open riverbank gave her only one real option for quick cover: jumping back into the water. Mackenzie shivered again as she tried to make up her mind. Whichever option she chose, she needed to pick it quickly. Because either way, it was going to be a chilly trip back.