Silver Rain

    "Come on Matthew! The clouds!" I shouted as the threatening black horizon drew nearer.
   "I know, I know, I'm coming," Matthew said grudgingly as he picked up his fallen papers and stuffed them into his backpack. A thick drop of silver rain landed on my nose, then another on my hand.
    "Hurry, Let's go!" I said as I walked out of the deserted schoolyard. Matthew hurried to catch up to me, and we started to run down the dirt path into the countryside. Thunder crashed and lightning lit up the sky; the rain came down. We ran over the bridge, the surface of the river rippling with every fat drop. The wind picked up and the rain soaked my jacket. Water poured down my face and my eyes watered, trying desperately to keep out the elements. My boots grew brown and soggy as they churned the dirt path into mud. Thunder so deep I felt the vibration in my bones boomed, and lightning cut the sky in two. The rain poured, making it hard to see, but through the heavy downpour I saw a light shine in the distance; a farm!
   "Hey Matthew! A farm! Look!" I looked around. "Matthew?" I turned and saw that Matthew was nowhere to be found.
   "Matthew!" I shouted. Frantically, I ran back down the path. Reaching the bridge, I found where Matthew's footprints left off. They led up to the bridge, then, a slide mark. Lightning flashed and in that instant I saw Matthew's backpack hanging off a loose nail on the side of the bridge. Panic built up inside of me, but I pushed it down. I ran down to the edge of the river, which was now moving threateningly fast, and waded in, shrugging off my backpack as I did. Tears of desperation and fear mixed with the rain pouring down my face. "Matthew!" I cried, "Matthew!" Please answer me!"
   The water was shockingly cold and the current nearly knocked me off my feet. I made my way to the center of the river. Lightning flashed and thunder shook the ground. The constant downpour pelted my aching shoulders as I fearfully searched the river bottom. My foot hit something and I swallowed a scream. My hand went down and I felt a shoe. I felt around, waiting to touch a leg or hand, but no, it was only a shoe. I realized I had been holding my breath, and slowly let it out. I had been so afraid that... no I had to keep looking. I started making my way downstream. The water slowly rose, but I didn't notice. I was too afraid of finding my best friend dead on the river bottom. It was then that I heard it, a very faint "help".
"Matthew!" I screamed. I started toward the noise.
   The water was nearly waist deep now, and I was getting dangerously close to Creek Falls, a large waterfall with razor sharp rocks on the bottom. The roar of the waterfall drowned out the thunder as I approached. There I saw him, in a sudden flash of lightning, clinging to a boulder a near 5 yards from the waterfall. Fear must have clouded my sense at that point, for I started blindly toward the rock. Halfway there my foot caught a submerged log and I fell. The icy water pulled me under and the current swiftly took me away. 
    When I finally came to the surface, fighting for breath, I was well past the boulder. I panicked and tried to swim but the river had swelled so much that all my efforts were in vain. I heard Matthew shout my name and then I was flying. It was a wonderful, terrifying feeling, to fly. It felt as if I had traveled to another world. Lightning lit up the sky as I flew and the roar of a distant waterfall drowned out any other noise. I felt something shatter my skull, and then there was nothing.