by Lisa Daniels
Cora beamed and ran up to him, stopping just a few feet from him and bouncing on the balls of her feet. “You made it! We had figured you were still stuck at work.”
“No way. They have broken the contract, so I told them they would– Oh, hi, Serenity. Silas.” His attention immediately turned to Serenity and Silas as they approached. From the way he had cut off the discussion, she had a feeling he was avoiding talking about work. Whether it was because he didn’t want to talk about it in front of her or because he really didn’t want to talk about it at all, she couldn’t say.
Now that everyone was together, they began to prepare the raft and oars. Ryland stayed close to her, saying very little while everyone else busied themselves with the preparation. Serenity briefly pondered asking him about work, but felt it was a subject that would likely make him snarky instead of conversational. There wasn’t much else to talk about, so she just watched and tried to learn about whitewater rafting from the hustle and bustle around the raft.
A low voice beside her cut into her observations, “You’ll need to be careful. I know you are tough, but this really is not something that a beginner should be doing.”
Serenity looked over at Ryland. “I know how to swim, so everything should be alright. Right?”
He gave her a look of pity. “When you are in the rapids, being able to swim really isn’t relevant. It’s nearly impossible for most people to force their face up to the surface during the worst of the rapids. And that’s assuming you don’t get knocked unconscious.”
“All of you guys seem to be fine, so how bad can it be?”
“We grew up doing this, and none of us started on anything like this.”
“If you really thought I shouldn’t be here, you could have asked me to stay behind. Like you asked me to avoid going on the trail by myself.”
Ryland grinned, “You are right. I probably should have. Then again, I wasn’t sure when I would get to see you again if I told you to stay behind.”
Serenity looked away for a moment and watched the progress of the people preparing the raft, trying to hide the slight blush at the words he had and hadn’t said. Mostly the group were arguing over little things and poking fun at each other. She turned back to Ryland. “So would you be here if I wasn’t?”
“Probably, yes. I said I would be here, and I hate when work forces me to break engagements. And since it already made me break one engagement with you…” His expression was unreadable as he looked at her. “There is only so far I am willing to let them infringe on my personal life.”
“You were supposed to tell me what you do when we went walking. Since I held up my end of the bargain, I expect you to hold up yours.”
“What if I tell you over dinner tonight?”
Serenity took a deep breath, the suggestion taking her completely by surprise. “I thought the group was going out to dinner.”
“I never said I would be part of the dinner plans. They will probably go somewhere like the diner, and that kind of food really does not agree with me.”
“Oh, well, um. Sure. If you promise to talk about yourself because you already know far more about me than I know about you.”
Ryland gave her a look that she couldn’t understand. “I put in about the same amount of effort as you to learn. It would actually have been easier for you–”
“Hey, you two!” Cora called up to them. “We’re ready!” She was seated toward the front of the raft and others were beginning to climb in.
Ryland smiled at Serenity, whatever he had been saying completely disregarded. “Come on.” He took her hand and helped her down the slope and into the raft. He carefully climbed in after her and pushed away from the bank.
“All aboard!” Cora said, her voice echoing in the woods. A cheer went up, and the crew chattered as they began their trip.
Once they got a little ways away from the bank, the raft picked up its pace, moving and shifting in a way that was far more noticeable than a ship at sea. Serenity was surprised as the raft jerked forward as soon as it hit the current. The group let up a whoop and their delight at the action was almost palpable. It felt like no time had passed before they were approaching the first rapid, and Serenity could feel her heart speeding up at the thought of how much worse that would be than the current flow of the river. Ryland may have had a point. This is not at all what I had expected.
People began shifting their positions as they reached the rapids. Serenity managed to force a smile as the raft shuttered and shifted wildly. Then the water struck her and she let out a loud gasp. It was freezing.
“It’s okay.” A warm hand took hers as her teeth began to chatter. She looked over into the cool eyes of Ryland. His smile did not fit the rocky motions or events going on around them – it made her feel much calmer than she should have.
The next few rapids were much tamer, and the group managed to fall into conversation. It seemed strange to watch people nonchalantly talking as they took the rocky areas, but it showed just how much experience they had with it. Serenity felt even more relaxed as they progressed.
They had been on the water for roughly 45 minutes when Cora turned around. “Alright guys, we are coming up on one of the big ones.”
Serenity turned to look at Ryland who was relaxing, the usual vague smile on his face.
“We know, Cora,” one of the other passengers said.
“Yeah, this isn’t our first time going down the rapids.”
Serenity pursed her lips, but no one said anything about her. Ryland’s hand slid over hers again, and she wondered when he had taken it back. The entire experience had been so wild that she had been overloaded by everything else. He leaned over. “Just hold on to me and you’ll be alright.”
Serenity nodded, but as her eyes looked at the rapids, she found she could not smile. He squeezed her hand. “It’ll be alright.”
At that moment, the raft reached the first major dip, and the entire crew began shifting to compensate for the raft’s movements.
Cora was letting out a whoop of excitement when the raft suddenly spun around, tossing her body to the side. Her whoop changed into a scream as her body pitched forward over the edge of the raft. Her head momentarily went under as her hand grasped a handle. Her oar sped away from them as her shocked face looked back at the crew. The two people closest to her immediately jumped into action. Silas grabbed one of her arms and legs before she fell out of the raft. Trenton grabbed her leg, and as soon as he confirmed his grip, Silas leaned over, his arms dipping into the water as he began to pull her up. Her eyes were focused on his as her startling purple hair clung to her face. Several others were holding on to him as he tried to pull her back. Ryland slid forward a little, telling a couple of them when it was safe to pull Cora in and when they needed to wait until the raft stopped shifting around wildly. The rapids seemed to be never-ending, and Serenity suddenly understood why Ryland had been against her being there. She was no help at all. The best she could do was cling to the raft and watch as the others worked to get Cora back aboard.
Serenity’s attention was focused on the efforts of the crew, so the sudden motion of the raft took her completely unaware. The raft slammed into a rock and jerked the passengers in the other direction. Serenity felt like she was on a ride at an amusement park, a ride that didn’t have to meet any safety regulations. The raft spun so that Serenity was now at the front. The next rock knocked them to the left, but they were immediately turned back to the right by a log sticking out. The crew was fighting to get Cora back in the raft, something that no longer seemed to be guaranteed as they found it more difficult to keep a hold on her now that they were covered by the cold water. It soon became obvious that the best they could hope for was to keep a hold on her until they reached the end of this part of the rapids. Serenity watched the scene unfolding almost like it was a horror movie. She was unprepared for the next motion of the raft as it bumped into another rock, pitching her to the side and causing her to lose her balance. As she a
ttempted to correct it and get a better grasp on the handle nearest her, the raft went over something in the water. Briefly airborne, Serenity found herself just high enough to slip over the side and into the water.
The shock of leaving the raft was quickly replaced by the only thought that mattered – Freezing! Freezing! Nothing anyone could have said prepared her for how cold the water was. She barely noticed as her body slammed into a few objects because her mind was completely taken by the shock of the water’s temperature. Serenity had no idea where the raft was or what was happening to her as her body was thrown around in the water.
Suddenly she felt something catch her and begin to drag her in the water. Unable to focus or see anything around her, she felt herself beginning to lose consciousness. It almost felt as if the water was moving less rapidly. Desperately trying to get her mind to focus on the situation, Serenity found she was losing to her body’s desire to sleep. The worst thought was that every part of her hurt, making it seem like death may not be as horrible after all. Trying to force herself to stay conscious, she found that it was a losing battle as her eyes refused to stay open.
Chapter 9
Out of the Water
The sound of crickets met her ears, and Serenity tried to remember what had happened. The image of Cora’s purple hair and shocked expression as she clung to the raft made Serenity sit up abruptly, and immediately she regretted it. There was a pounding in her head and her body felt stiff from cold.
An arm wrapped around her and pulled her back down. “Not a good idea. My apologies for the situation, but your body temperature dropped too rapidly and there aren’t a lot of options out here.”
Serenity tensed up and looked to the side. Ryland was looking at her with a serious expression. The next thing she noticed was that he was not wearing a shirt. Her eyes immediately moved to her body and she saw that she wasn’t wearing a shirt either. He pulled a light blanket over her as she realized exactly what kind of situation she was in. His bare skin was pressed against hers, and her face immediately flushed. A small part of her mind noticed the increase in her body temperature, but she quickly pushed the thought aside as she tried to wrap her head around the situation.
Her initial response was to pull away, but she was able to quickly understand what Ryland meant after processing the stiffness and cold that she felt. Instead of moving away from him, she turned her back and pressed into him. “Thank you.”
“No, you don’t need to thank me. You should be furious. I should have been there to keep you from going over.”
“You were trying to help with Cora. I can’t blame you for that. I should have gotten a better grip on the raft. That was an incredibly pathetic display on my part.”
“With the speed of the water and the way the raft was moving, it was not the kind of situation that anyone should have expected a novice to be able to handle. I should have realized that and stayed close.”
“Obviously, you got me out of the water, so don’t worry about it.”
“I'm sorry,” he murmured, almost as if he hadn’t heard her. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her to him a little more tightly. The warmth from his body was unreal, almost as if he was unaffected by the cold that still felt biting to her.
Serenity sighed and stared in front of her. They were silent for a bit when she couldn’t take it anymore. “You know most of what we know about hypothermia was learned from terrible human experimentation by the Germans. Well, the Nazis. Without their unethical work, we wouldn’t know nearly so much today.”
“That’s not true. They may not have had scientific terms for it, but the natives were quite aware of how to take care of someone who had fallen into cold water, as well as what signs to look for to act to save their lives.”
“Really?” She turned her head slightly. “Still, that’s not quite the same thing. Science can help find the right solution.”
“When it comes down to it, do you want me to be able to tell you why you are dying as you die? Or would you prefer that I be able to react and help you without you losing some appendages waiting for science to figure out how far gone you are?”
“Obviously, I prefer to be helped, but–”
“Sometimes intuition and tribal knowledge are better than anything an egghead can come up with.”
“I’m one of those eggheads.”
“Yes, I know. It’s not meant to be an insult. It’s just that when the time comes, action is what matters. I’ve known too many people who talked themselves out of doing what their intuition told them to do, and it is almost never a good thing.”
“I wasn’t saying that you should ignore intuition. I was just trying to say that the science of hypothermia is only understood because of–”
“That I understand. I prefer the action and lack of science that saved lives to the scientific findings that relied on killing people.”
Serenity didn’t know how to respond to that, so she focused on the point that was bothering her. “It doesn’t mean that you should completely disregard science.”
“I am not disregarding science, but it really only helps for long-term solutions and when you have time for analysis. When it comes to being out in the wild, intuition is your best tool.”
Since she did not have much experience being in the wild, Serenity felt it was best to remain silent. Ryland clearly felt certain of his belief in intuition, and she did not want to argue with him. Her instincts were not well honed, and in the past they had not served her well. Then again, living in cities was nothing like living in nature.
After a few minutes, Ryland spoke again, “I know you are probably still very uncomfortable and cold, but we need to check you out.”
“You mean like moving my fingers and stuff?”
“That’s part of it. You struck several rocks. My initial assessment suggested nothing was broken, but I didn’t check too closely because your body temperature was too low. Trying to identify broken bones was not as important as keeping you alive, so I prioritized warming you over anything else.”
Serenity gave a little nod of understanding.
“Are you feeling warm enough?”
She moved a little, shifting the light blanket that was over them. “I think I’ll be alright. At least my teeth aren’t chattering now. ”
“Okay. I’m going to wrap the blanket around you and check your arms first. That means we’ll need to wrap the blanket around your torso.”
She nodded.
“Okay. I’m slipping out from under the blanket now. Let me know if you get too cold.” The warmth at her back disappeared and was quickly replaced by something being tucked under her. A pair of strong hands gently rolled her over. “I apologize for touching you, but I will need to move down your body after checking your arms.”
“Stop apologizing. I’m not going to argue with you since it seems like you know what you are doing.”
“I don’t have any medical training, if that is what you mean. Well, not a traditional type of medical training.” His hands were feeling along her arm. “I’m going to bend your elbows. Let me know if anything hurts.”
“Okay.” She watched Ryland as he focused on checking her arms. He periodically looked up at her, and she shook her head as he bent her elbows. When he bent her left wrist, pain shot up her arm. Ryland stopped at her obvious pain.
“It appears to be a sprain. Hold on.” He moved out of her field of vision, and she finally began to look around her. They were in a small confined area, and it seemed like a very small cave. A small fire was a slight distance away from her, but she couldn’t make out much in the dim light it created. When Ryland returned to her side, he had gauze. For a moment she wondered where he had gotten the supplies, but that was hardly her focus as he wrapped up her wrist and explained what was coming next.
“Now try to move each of your fingers. One at a time.”
She did as she was told. “No pain. And I can feel them, although they are still a bit cold.”
He grippe
d her hands for a moment, his large hands easily holding both of hers. Bringing them to his mouth, Ryland blew into a gap between his hands, then started to rub her hands. Serenity could feel the circulation, and her fingers tingled a bit. Wiggling them a little, she smiled. Ryland let go of her hands. “We will work on them a bit more after making sure you are alright.” She nodded. His hands went to her shoulders. “I am sorry about this, but do let me know if you feel any discomfort or pain.” His hands lifted one arm, then the other. “You’ve already sat up and I checked to make sure there aren’t any broken vertebrae in your neck, but we need to find any source of pain indicating anything else that could be a less obvious injury. Let me know if there is any pain or discomfort because we will need to be careful if there is any damage.” He then began to slowly move her head, turning it in several different directions after feeling along the back and sides.
When she said that there wasn’t any severe pain, he paused. “I’m really sorry about this.” His hands moved down to her breasts and felt along the ribs under them. “I can’t apply a lot of pressure here in case any of them are broken, so if you feel any discomfort, speak up immediately.”
Her heart racing, Serenity couldn't do any more than nod once. He kept his eyes on the progress of his hands as they worked around to the sides, then back around, testing each rib. Hoping that he wasn’t able to feel her heart, she tried to hold her breath.
“Did that hurt?” His hands froze.
“No, not at all. Just starting to feel cold.”
“I’m sorry I'm not any faster. I will get this done as quickly as possible and then if you need I can warm you up again.”
Serenity did not trust herself to respond to that. Attempting to breathe normally, she watched him work his way down her body. He went through a similar spiel before pressing on her stomach and asking about pain.
