Eyeseffendee

10

The crashing river beat at great stones and my hopes. The stars, once my friends, snickered at me as they speckled the sky, reminding me of the passing time. Cold winds screamed as they raced through the dry trees, reminding me of my failures.

You're letting Saguaro die for you.

She'll be torn apart.

You left Hare and Sego to the Fuegos.

You smell like fish.

I scowled, not accepting the thoughts, but not exactly pushing them out either.

I had scouted ahead of Saguaro to see how far away the waterfall was. It wasn't too far, close enough for a quick jog, but the contents of the river, especially near the base of the waterfall, made me worried. The relatively smooth river turned into a rocky, muddy nightmare as it got closer to the waterfall. The water was no longer a cooling shade of gray, but a deep, mucky red. I tried to force the image of blood rolling down the stones from my head. Smooth stones turned into sharp, jagged edges, catching onto every piece of debris that floated down the river, including scraggily sage brush, tree branches, logs and even a falcon carcass. I didn't want to know how such a big bird was stolen by the river.

Just as the river began to relax again, I spotted Saguaro, struggling to doggy paddle upstream. I was surprised by her strength; her stroke wasn't pretty or fast, but efficient enough to keep her moving forward.

I was tired from walking, the heat, and lack of sleep, but Saguaro must have been exhausted. Her breaths were tight and shallow, but her eyes were fixed towards the horizon, determined to win a battle that was not her own.

"Sarah!" I called out, climbing onto a rock protruding over the river.

Her gaze became distracted at the sound of my voice, but only for a moment. "How-far-is-it?"

"Not far," I yelled over the river. "But there are lots of rocks ahead. The only way to get around them is to climb out of the water and hike."

"Not-going-to-happen!" Saguaro called, gasping for air between each word. "Can't-leave-the-water!"

I frowned. "It's the only way! They won't notice you sneak out!"

"Yes-they-will. It's-their-river." She breathed.

She was right, but I wasn't happy about it. I had no idea how she would swim up a stream of gushing, vertical water.

I followed her closely, making sure she made progress. Her efforts became strained, but she never gave up. Occasionally I would call out encouraging words, such as you're doing great and you aren't going to drown (I was doing my best to be positive). I don't think she appreciated my cheering, but she didn't show it.

Great trees blocked the riverbank, so my view of Saguaro was obstructed. I was worried about her. She seemed strong enough to swim, but she was getting tired and the worse was still ahead. Not to mention the passing time, darkening the night with each moment.

I wasn't too worried about being out at night; I went on nightly runs frequently. But I never left my territory. I knew the Piedra tribe lived on a relatively safe part of the Sonoran desert, but this was far away from my old tribe. The desert wasn't safe at night. Hare used to tell me, Delta and Horizon about the monsters that dwelled amongst the dry cliffs. I never believed those old Navajo tales of spirits and demons; I though they were just stories to humor our imaginative minds, but the last few days had changed my mind about the old folktales.

I heard movement amongst the dry tree branches and whipped my head around instinctively. Nothing was there, but that didn't smooth my hackles.

I met up with Sarah again, still struggling against the current. She had seen the treacherous rocks, but continued to push onwards.