Page 92 of Sheltering Instinct

Chapter Thirty

Tess

One of the skills that Tess had learned in her youth was that the first knee-jerk body reaction was the lizard brain, or, as Abraham called it, the ancestral brain. It was the part of the brain that wanted to survive. It was often reliable. But sometimes, modern circumstances didn’t mimic those of the ancients.

In ancient times, when predators were attracted to movement, freeze was the perfect stay-alive tool. In this case, it absolutely was not. But the teacher was paralyzed.

The rain was so heavy that Tess couldn’t see beyond the bridge apron in either direction.

Here they were: two functioning adults, thirteen children, and a woman deeply in need of medical help. With the others lining the beam, Levi wrapped Tess in his arms.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Tess found hope in the sound of his heartbeats. “We don’t have much time, Tessy, but we have some. Let’s think this through.”

“We have to take into consideration the volume of rain. It’s heavy and slippery.”

“Looking at the water levels. We can’t stay here.”

“And yet … ” She turned her head and kissed his chest. She left it unsaid that there seemed to be no way out.

A tree floated under the bridge, scraping the sides with its leafless branches.

“Pull up your feet. Pull your arms in,” Levi called.

As it moved through, it caught on the edge of the apron. The trunk pushed left and right, trying to flow with the water.

“We could jump for it,” Levi said as he assessed. “Half on one side, half on the other, we link arms, stay buoyed with our jugs.”

“Mojo and the teacher.”

He drew a line with his finger. “We lay them on top.”

“And when the log rolls, what then?”

“We’re imperiled no matter what choices we make. There is no safe way out of this circumstance. What we have is hope and effort. If I go first, I can straddle the trunk, and you can lower the kids to me. Mojo, the teacher, then you dangle down, and I reach for you. If we hurry, we might make it before this breaks free.”

“I’d have to drop them from my hand to yours. Why don’t I untether myself from the beam, and you tie the rope to the trunk so they can climb down as you guide them?

“Because Tess,f you fall, then who will help the children? It’s game over.”

“What if the tree doesn’t break free? What if the water swells, and we’re trapped?”

“You know this very well—sometimes, it all just comes down to dumb luck. Children,” Levi called. “I’m going to give you instructions. You will repeat them back. I want you to know what to do if you end up in the river. Hold onto the handles of your jugs and hold your heads up where you can breathe. Feet point downriver. Pull your knees to your chest to make you more buoyant. Try to see where the water is calmer and angle yourself in that direction if it’s toward the shore. Tell me what you will do. I will—”

As a group, the children repeated his words.

Tess absolutely did not want this to happen. Right now, she was on a solid structure. For the moment, they were all safe. Safe-ish.

The children shivered with cold, and soon, hypothermia would affect their capacity to function and help with their own rescue.

Soon, this area would fill with roiling water, and they’d be trapped. All it would take was one large wave from the north, and just like the schoolhouse, this space could fill in an instant.

She whispered into his ear. “That’s the best we’ve got?”

“Given our limited understanding of the situation, that’s the best we’ve got at this moment. And under the bridge, at least we’re not fighting the rain.

“Okay. Okay. I’m just going to amend that you go first, and Mojo goes second. Put Mojo further up the tree. Since he caught the boy earlier, I think that if one of the children slips, he might catch hold of them before the water makes the decisions.”

There was no more discussion. It was as if those words flipped a switch, and Levi was moving. He tipped her head back and kissed her with such conviction that it was an unspoken promise, “I’m getting you through this.”

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