Washed Downstream

The pair slowly paddled across the river, the battle against the current increasing more and more as they neared the middle. Eventually, it seemed like both were just swimming straight up the river in an attempt to not get washed downstream.

Alice looked over at Kristen, and noticed she was struggling immensely. Her feeble attempt to keep her clothes dry was holding her back, and she was gradually being pushed downstream. Alice hastily called out “You’re gonna have to use both hands! Just keep holding them!”

Kristen was unable to respond, but internally agreed she would have to use both hands. Eventually, she began gaining traction, both started to get away from the middle of the river, towards the other side.

Just as Alice began thinking they were going to get out fine, she heard a loud “Oh shit!” followed by splashing. She turned her head, to see Kristen hastily swimming down the river. Alice frustratedly yelled after her “What are you doing?!”

Kristen swam quickly down the river, which seemed to be picking up strength. She yelled “I let go of my shirt!” Her eyes focused solely on the target ahead: a green object wading in the water, that seemed to be slowly sinking the closer she got.

Alice cursed, and swam after Kristen, knowing she couldn’t leave her side.

Once Alice finally caught up to Kristen, she noticed a worried expression on her face. “Hey, did you get the shirt back?” She asked concernedly.

Kristen shook her head up and down, but still retained her troubled expression. “Yeah, it’s just... I may have just messed up pretty bad. We’re stuck.” She said, a slight wavering in her voice.

Alice looked around, and noticed the incline next to the river rose dramatically where they were, almost an eighty degree incline up the side. Not to mention the incline continued for what seemed like twelve feet, and was dotted in small, green plants. Alice looked back to Kristen, understanding what she meant. “Can’t we at least try to climb out? There’s got to be some roots or something we can grab onto.” She said, waving a hand towards the wall on the left. The river seemed to increase its pace even further.

Kristen shook her head, and pointed her free hand to the plants. “See that? That’s poison ivy. If you try to climb out of here in that, you’ll wish you were dead.” She said defeatedly.

“What do we do?” Alice asked, now sharing the same worry Kristen felt.

“Well... all we can do is look for a good spot to get out. Hopefully soon, so we can just run to your grandma’s place.”

Both the girls looked the sides of the river over continuously, **** to find a way out. Alice saw a bridge ahead, now afraid she might be seen by a passers by. Both girls floated low in the water, and heard the sound of rapids ahead. Alice looked towards Kristen, and each exchanged a look of dread.

The rapids proved to be much larger than anticipated. Every time they thought they had a break, the river would pick up pace again. Several long minutes of desperately swimming along later, they caught a break at a singular rock positioned in the middle of the river. They both climbed on top of it, and lay on their backs. Alice’s chest heaved, and she laughed. Her laughter was quickly cut short by Kristen quickly sitting up on the rock, and searching around it. “Shit. Shit. Shit! Shit!” She screamed in frustration.

“What is it this time?” Alive said sarcastically.

“I lost my clothes. I can’t remember when I had them last either, did you see them?” Kristen hastily pleaded.

Alice thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think you had them. Did you accidentally let go of them when we hit the rapids?” She asked tiredly.

~~

Several minutes later, Kristen sat defeated on the rock. “I can’t believe I let go of them. That was my only access to clothes! Even if we make it back unseen by some miracle, your grandma will never let me live it down when she sees me like this!” She said, putting her head on her knees.

Alice shrugged, and patted Kristen on the back. “Welcome to the club.” She said sarcastically.

After a few more minutes of rest, Alice decided she’d had enough, and was going to take charge. “Alright! Sitting around moping about it isn’t going to get us any closer to home! We can do this, we just have to be smart.” She said, encouraging Kristen.

Kristen looked up, Alice’s peppy voice rallying her, and defeating her doubts. She shook her head in agreement. “Alright then. What’s the plan? Every moment we spend in the river we get further and further from your grandma’s house. We have to get out of here.”

Alice thought for a long time, eventually deciding on an idea.

“Didn’t you say earlier that there’s some rope swing outside of town? What if we get out where the rope swing is? There’s gotta be a way out there!”