Recoil

8

I kicked back up to the surface, forcing myself to breathe in through my nose, only to choke as I took down yet more gritty water.

I got a glimpse of her, kicking and trying to keep her head up, but only for a moment, then the water took me under again. As I came up, fighting for air, I heard her somewhere in front of me.

‘Nick! Nick!’

I looked, but saw nothing in the torrent.

I was dragged back down and inhaled more river, but this time, as I scrabbled my way to the surface, the current had carried me almost to the far bank. It wasn’t dying, though. The river curved to the left there, and I was on the outside of the bend, where the force of the water was at its fiercest. An eddy caught me and threw me against the bank. I flung out my hands, trying to grasp at anything I could.

I forced my eyes open again but they stung too much. Thrashing around blindly, my left hand connected with something solid. I made a grab, but whatever it was gave way. The next thing I knew, my right arm had hooked into a root. The current swung me round and pressed me against the bank, and my feet touched the riverbed. I clung to the root and took a series of deep breaths. Downstream of me nothing moved except severed branches and debris caught in the flow.

‘Silky! Silky!’

I struggled against the weight of water until I could reach out with my free hand and grab another root higher up the bank. I hauled myself up until only my legs were left in the water.

Suddenly I was lying on the bank, chest heaving. As soon as some strength returned to my limbs, I rolled on to all fours, then staggered to my feet.

I followed the bend in the river and more dead ground came into view with each step. Just a hundred metres on from the bend, a massive deadfall from my side of the bank had all but spanned the river.

At the far end of it Silky was clinging to a branch on the downstream side, just metres from safety.

I fought the urge to run straight to her. All she had to do was hang on. I moved back into the canopy, lying down about twenty metres short for one last look. The contact group might have patrolled this far or even used the tree to cross. It would be a natural point for them to check, in case we knew about it too.

It was a new fall, not a dead one, hit by the lightning. The trunk had been split and a metre of it was still sticking out of the ground on my side, its core clean and bright against the scorch-marks of the strike. I would have to swim the first five or so metres.

One last look, then I ran and dived into the water, hoping I’d make the five metres, or that the current would swing me into the trunk.

Arms milling like a lunatic, I kept pushing forward as the water took me. I banged into the trunk at its fracture point and held on, fighting the flood as it tried to take my legs with it. Gulping for air, I heaved myself up and climbed on to the trunk. No time to rest. I crawled as quickly as I could towards the far bank.

I grabbed a branch with both hands and pulled down with all my weight. I twisted and pulled, and finally it snapped away from the trunk. I didn’t bother stripping it.

She didn’t say a word, just stared at me with huge, pleading eyes. This was not a good day out.

I straddled the trunk and pulled off my OGs.

‘Take it with your teeth!’ I had to holler above the roar of the water as I used the branch to pass down the end of one OG leg, knotted to help her grip. I’d knotted the end of the other leg too. ‘Listen to me, OK?’

She shook the water and hair from her face. Her eyes kept flicking towards the OG leg that was her lifeline.

I kept hold of my end as I dangled the other above her head. There was no way she could let go of the deadfall, even with one hand, without being swept away. She had to grip the leg with her teeth first.

I manoeuvred the material within reach and she clenched her teeth on it. I could see from her expression that she wasn’t going to let go.

‘Silky, look at me.’ She had to understand exactly what I wanted her to do. ‘When I say the word, I need you to let go of the tree and grab the knot with both hands. Got it?’

She nodded.

Wrapping the knot round my wrist, I braced myself.

‘Now, Silky. Now!’

She let go of the tree and the current grabbed her. There was an almighty jolt, then what felt like a herd of huskies pulling on a leash. I held on to my end like a man possessed.

‘Kick, Silky. Kick.’

The pendulum effect of the current swept her in towards the bank like a hooked fish. She grabbed a branch to stabilize herself; I dropped on to my chest and we linked arms. She didn’t need to be told what to do next. I heaved and rolled and she used my body as a climbing frame. A moment later she was lying beside me on solid ground, coughing and fighting for breath.

I hauled myself to my feet and picked up the OGs. ‘Come on. We’ve got to get in cover.’

She stood for a second, then collapsed. Her right ankle was swollen and red.

I bent down and managed to manoeuvre her on to my back, and her head lolled over my shoulder as I staggered uphill, into the trees. She moved her face close to mine. ‘Thank you, Nick.’

She should have saved her breath. We were back on the wrong side of the river.