Computerized

Chapter Fifteen: Beautiful Rapids

Anton and Hannah tied the kayaks together with a thin white rope while I loaded everything into the water tight compartments. Ty was resting against the bank when I approached him.

"We're ready to go."

Ty nodded and attempted to stand but was to shaky. I bent down and looped and arm underneath his, helping lift some of his weight. He stood with my help, wincing when he straightened out his back. He climbed into his kayak slowly his face contorted in pain. He looked relieved when he was situated comfortably in the plastic boat. I climbed into my own kayak and sidled up to him.

We started heading down stream. Ty had fallen asleep in a matter of minutes, but I didn't mind. Whenever he had an episode he was wiped out for the rest of the day. They took the energy out of him. So, I just kept a close eye on him making sure he didn't fall out of the kayak.

"When we get to the rapids you'll have to wake Ty up," Andrew said. I nodded my head even though he couldn't see me.

"How far are they?" Hannah asked.

"They're about two miles down," Andrew answered.

A half hour later I woke Ty up. When I told him we were near the Rapids his eyes shot open. We floated for a few more minutes before I began to hear the sound of rushing water. Just around a bend, white water sprayed up in each and every direction. Waves crashed against a few rocks.

"You'll be fine as long as you stay steady in your kayak and steer away from the rocks. Don't worry, the Rapids only last a few minutes," Anton announced. He had to raise his voice above the water's sound.

Just seconds later cold water splattered into the kayak, soaking my legs. Ty held onto the sides of his kayak, his eyes barely open. He looked terrified with his body tensed. Anton let out a whoop of joy as he paddled on. He obviously enjoyed this, and had done it many times before. I found myself smiling, and Hannah smiled along with me.

Ten minutes later we came out into a calm section of the river. Ty let go of the sides of the kayak, his body trembling with fear. The adrenaline coursing through me slowly died down, my heart returning to its normal pace. My dark brown hair was matted to my forehead in a mess, and my wet clothes clung to my thin frame.

"Good job guys! We only have a half hour more until we get out of the river. Then we hike four miles in, but it's fairly flat. Afterwards, we will set up camp for the night and start up again early tomorrow."

We all agreed to the plans. My arms ached and the sun beat down on my back. Thankfully, the half hour went by fairly fast. Anton pointed downstream a hundred feet to a sandy area. We pulled up to shore and dragged our kayaks up. Between to large pine trees was a rack made from wooden two-by-fours. We hung the kayaks up after taking out our bags.

"Ready?" Anton asked.

Ty was sitting on the beach, unable to lift the kayaks or he'd tear out the stitches. I could tell he was in a lot of pain—more than he was willing to admit. He slowly stood and hissed in discomfort when the wet fabric of his shirt clung to the wound. He ignored it though, and nodded.

"Let's go," he ordered.

We all complied, trekking on forward through the forest. We would see small deer every once in a while, scampering across the path. Birds chirped and sang above us. It was beautiful. The pine trees shaded us, so the walk wasn't to hot. We walked for nearly two hours and by that time Ty was stumbling in front of me putting a majority of his weight on one side. I walked closely behind him, ready to help if he needed it. It was a few more minutes before Anton set his bag down.

"Through these trees," he paused and pointed to a line of trees just before an opening, "is a steep rocky cliff that we will climb tomorrow but until then we will set up camp here."

We all agreed happily. I pulled out my phone which had no service. It was 7:50 in the evening. Hannah and I set up our sleeping bags beside each other. Ty had already collapsed against a tree so I set up his bag too. Anton lay his by Hannah and Ty asked to lay his by me.

I had to stifle a laugh. It was funny that they felt they had to protect us. Hannah and I were enclosed in the middle while they huddled close to us on the outside. It was still bright daylight but the trees made it much darker. I grabbed a half a chicken sandwich from my bag along with an apple and a bottle of water.

Anton and Hannah also began eating dinner. We were starved, gobbling the food down in mere minutes. Ty though didn't bother with food. I unwrapped his sandwich and handed it to him with a stern glare. He just mentally thanked me and took a bite out of the food. Anton had gathered a few sticks and piled them up, lighting them with a match. The sticks lit up in an orange glow. The four of us sat around the fire for a while chatting before Anton stood.

"I'm going to go wash off in a creek up here a little ways. You wanna come?" He asked, but his question was directed towards Hannah. She smiled, a red tint creeping on to her cheeks.

"Sure," she replied. They walked off leaving Ty and I alone.

I laid down on top of my sleeping bag and let my thoughts wander. That is until Ty's voice broke me from my thoughts. I didn't catch what he'd said though.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

Ty chuckled. "I asked if you missed Matthew."

"Oh," I whispered. "Yes, I do. I miss him more than you could think."

"Don't worry Rebecca, it will all be okay. Things will work out, you just have to give it time." Ty's kindness surprised me. He usually was a blunt, painfully honest person who didn't always think about others feelings.

"How is your stomach?" I asked.

"It's killing me, but I'll be fine. Thank you though, for stitching me up and not letting me drown." Again he surprised me. Maybe his near death experience had softened him.

We lay in silence for a while, staring up at the sky. The sun had set. Now the sky was a dark pink haze. A few stars were slowly starting to show up and the moon was visible.

"Rebecca your beautiful." Ty blurted out. Before I could react Ty realized what he'd said out loud. "I-I mean...you, your just, you look ni-"

"Thank you." I whispered softly, interrupting him. He smiled slightly and nodded just as Anton and Hannah came back. I seen their hands intertwined but they let go before the light from the fire hit them. I pretended to not see, but planned on interrogating Hannah later.

I said good night and we all slipped underneath our sleeping bags. Before I fell asleep though I heard Anton and Hannah whispering and scuffling closer. I smiled at the thought before drifting off to sleep.