US (Formerly The After Effect - Book 2)

24 - C R O S S I N G

The mountainous journey is finally coming to an end. Honestly, I'm a little relieved I won't have to trek through the snow-covered terrain any longer.

The cool part about the hike down is the vast array of waterfalls. On our right, massive cascades crash over ledges and slam into boulders at the base of each. The smaller falls and little cavities off to the sides are icicles over the stone. Some areas of the trail are slippery with ice, so for a majority of it, each of us is forced to grasp onto a partner. My instinct chooses Travis, but I tend to grab whoever is around more often.

We now stand near the bottom of the mountain and are faced with an endless rocky river with a rapidly flowing current. Rocks big and small are scattered about the river and pop above the surface like large-scale stepping stones.

"It seems to be the quickest way north," Travis explains, his eyes locked on the rushing water before him.

Mason nods in agreement. "I'll go first if y'all are scared." He steps forward and analyzes the rocks nearest to the shore. My teeth go on edge as he points his toe out, testing the distance. "Y'all coming or what?"

I glance at the others' stoney expressions as they juggle the idea of crossing over. Even Travis looks a little weary. It would be hard to not let the rush of the current be intimidating.

Kyle is right behind Mason. "I'm coming, man. I ain't spending another two days walking around it, that's for sure."

Travis places his hand along the small of my back and faces me. "What do you think?"

I'm taken back by his ask for advice. "It looks scary as hell, but we should do it. We just have to be extra careful is all. And I mean really careful. Those rocks are going to be slippery."

Jada and Tyson gaze at each other, as if they're considering taking the long way around. "We're in," Jada says, proving my assumption wrong.

Mason leaps onto the first boulder and throws tight fists in the air when he lands. "Hell yeah!" he screams. "Let's rock this bitch. No pun intended."

Soon, everyone is following his lead by taking a jump onto the same rock. All nine of us fit on the beast at once. The next rock is closer by and only calls for a single step to get to, and before I know it, we're shuffling across the rocks as if it's nothing.

Then we approach the halfway point and the boulders are not only thinning out, but exponentially growing smaller and getting closer to the water level. When Travis takes my hand, I know he's worried about taking the next few jumps.

Up ahead, Mason and his buds start to joke around and get comfortable, leaping away without observing the rock surfaces. When Kyle springs onto the next stone and slips onto his hands and knees, Mason and the other one laugh after clearing the rock with ease.

"Watch it, guys!" I warn them. Having fun is one thing, but when your life is on the line, I figure it's better to be cautious over anything else.

They ignore my words and resume playing around. Tyson and Jada are silent as usual. I know they think we're all a bunch of idiots. Sometimes, I agree.

When Travis and I reach the rock the guy stumbled on, Travis goes first and tests the friction of its surface. He gives me a nod and holds his hand out, prepping himself to catch me. I take a breath, veer my eyes away from the current between the two stones, and jump.

That's when the screams start.

I make it without struggle, but ahead of us, I see only four others. My head whips around and I notice Mason and Kyle shouting and waving their arms at their third musketeer, who's flailing in the water, the current already taking him a few yards down. I cover my mouth as I gasp and clutch onto Travis's forearm. We rush over to the others as quickly as possible.