Page 156 of Swept for Forever
I turned my head. The sun beat down. But through the glare, up on the right, I spotted a thick branch drooping low over the riverbank.
She swam first, fighting the pull of the current while I pushed with everything I had left. We were so close.
Autumn stretched her arm, reaching for the branch.
She missed.
We were swept past.
“No—no no no!” she gasped, turning back to look at me.
I was struggling now, my limbs numb, my head underwater again. When I came up, I was coughing up water and choking on panic.
The river didn’t pull, it tore.
A scream of water and foam, dragging us through sharp bends and sudden drops with no mercy, no direction. I couldn’t feel the bruises anymore. Couldn’t tell which way was up. Just the roar in my ears as I fought to stay above the surface.
I twisted mid-current, searching for her.
She went under and came back up with a curse. I was close enough now to see the panic in her eyes and the sheer fight in every stroke.
“Dom!” she gasped. “We’ve got to?—”
“There!” I shouted, pointing past her. There was another bend. Another branch.
It was lower.
But not by much.
I looked at her, then at it.
She didn’t have to say a word. I already knew. We were only going to get one more shot at this.
We kicked toward it, the roar behind us deafening. Iclenched my jaw, every inch of me aching, battered, and near breaking.
It came into view. It was a rough bark with twisting limbs. Just close enough.
Without thinking, I surged forward, cupped her waist with both hands, and shoved her upward with everything I had left.
She caught the branch mid-motion and wrapped her arms tight around it. Her legs swung out over the water as the branch groaned, threatening to give. Then, she climbed, fast and desperate.
I reached for the same branch, but it was slippery, narrow, and cracking under her weight. My fingers barely took hold of the end.
It bent.
I dangled there, my feet skimming the current as I held on by instinct alone.
“Dom!” Her voice broke. “Grab higher…climb… please!”
But I couldn’t. The branch was going to snap.
And if I tried?
We’d both go under.
I looked up. She was crying and trembling, still holding on.
“Dom, don’t you dare—” Her voice cracked.
