Flashf0rward

Chapter 14: Rapids

Connor

Looking out over the ruined field, I saw what once used to be a place for farmers to grow their crops and tend to their animals. Now, it was untamed, uncared for, and practically ruined thanks to the sands of time. The sun cresting the horizon shone in my eye as I tied my eyepatch around my face, sighing a little at the familiar pain.

Brushing my hair back, I looked back at the smouldering fire pit that we'd used last night, along with our two horses who were standing there silently, waiting to be made useful. Looking at Ivy curled up in her bedroll, I noticed how peaceful she looked when she was asleep. It was strangely interesting to look at.

Walking over to her, I knelt down and shook her shoulder slightly. "Wake up, sleepyhead." I said softly, and Ivy's eyes opened, blinking twice and groaning. "What time is it?" She said as he pushed herself up, her red hair now turned into a messy bedhead. "Sun's just come up. We should get moving now if we want to cover as much ground as possible." Seattle was still a day and a half's ride from here.

Rubbing her eye with the heel of her palm, Ivy nodded. "Alright. Just...give me a few minutes." Nodding, I packed up the rest of my things and flung it over the saddle of my horse. "You given it a name yet?" Ivy asked, and I turned around, confused. "What?" She pointed to my horse. "Does it have a name?" I frowned and shrugged. "Why would I give it a name?"

Ivy loaded up her supplies. "I named my horse. Fred has been with me ever since I learned how to ride these things. It lets you get closer to it." Sighing, I leapt up onto the saddle. "I'm not going to name it." Ivy rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She rubbed her horse's fur. "He's just jealous, isn't that right Fred?" Fred whinnied slightly, and Ivy got on. With that, we rode off.

We were on the road for another few hours, stopping occasionally to let our horses rest or slow down. By the time the sun was at the highest point in the sky, we were beginning to see the faintest hints of civilization, or the remains of it anyways. We passed a road that was filled with abandoned cars, and by a small gas station that had slowly fallen to rust and ruin over the years.

We couldn't travel along the road itself, but we could use it as a guide to where the city was. Sure enough, a few minutes later, we came upon a green sign that was slightly rusted that had what we were looking for. White text that read: "Seattle, 40 mi." I looked over at Ivy. "We're getting close, come on. We started galloping towards that direction.

After riding for about half an hour, I noticed something in the distance. The sound of running water. It seemed to be getting closer and closer. Frowning, I looked over at Ivy, and from the look on her face, I could tell she heard it too. As we kept heading up the road, the faint sound turned into a massive roar, until we finally rounded a bend and saw what the source of it was.

There was a large iron trestle bridge that extended over a river for the people driving on the highway to use. Or at least, there used to be. We saw the remains of it still connected to the road while the other half had been snapped in two and fallen into the river, where the water had swelled and almost covered it, rushing along with the speed of white-water rapids.

I cursed out loud. "The melting snow must have flooded the river and it overflowed onto the bridge." Ivy thought to herself. "Can't we just take the horses across?" I shook my head. "Water's way too rough, current would drag them away. We gotta find another way around." This could complicate things. Heading down the river to try and find a place to cross could cost us hours.

Ivy was looking around for something, then suddenly pointed to a few feet downstream. "Look, there!" Turning my head, I saw what appeared to be a group of cars that had washed downstream after falling into the river. The roofs were peeking out of the water, breaking the surface occasionally. "We can use those to get across."

Turning to her, I glared. "Are you crazy? If we fall off that thing, both we and the horses could die. It's way too dangerous." She frowned back at me. "Well, unless you have a better idea that takes less time, I'd love to hear it. If not, I say we cross." Thinking to myself, I knew she was right. If this was as time-sensitive as she said, then we couldn't turn back now. "Alright."

Guiding my horse over to the river, I could feel it shifting slightly, nervous at the rushing water. Stroking its fur gently like Ivy taught me, I tried to calm it down. "Shhh, it's ok." Once it was docile enough, I began to guide it to the edge of the river, where it stood on the roof and hood of the first car.

Looking down, I could see the water rushing past the horses' hooves, sloshing through the interior of the car whose windows had been broken a long time ago. One false move...I didn't want to think about it right now. Pushing my horse forwards, it slowly walked across the makeshift bridge of cars, the steel beneath us groaning slightly as the worn and weathered frames of the vehicles shifted under the weight. Finally, I made it across, letting out a breath as I made it back onto dry land.

Looking back, I saw Ivy and Fred readying themselves to move across. "Alright, your turn!" I said as I got off my horse, ready to catch them if I needed to. Ivy looked as nervous as I felt, and I watched her slowly begin to move Fred across the cars. Fred was extraordinarily calm, and I knew he must have trusted Ivy greatly.

Then, something moved out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to see what it was. Then, my eye widened. Something was swimming fast underneath the rushing water, heading towards Ivy. My hopes that it was just a fish were immediately dashed when I saw a clawed hand begin to reach up from the depths.

"Watch out!" I shouted, then Ivy looked up at me, confused and frightened, as the hypermorph leapt out of the rushing water at her. Reaching my hand out, a strong gust of wind pushed the beast back, but pushed Ivy off her saddle, sending her down towards the water. I rushed towards the riverbank, and I saw that she was hanging on upside down by the stirrup of her saddle.

Her hair was hanging down towards the water, and I knew I couldn't do anything to help her without making her fall. "Hang on!" I shouted as she tried to pull herself up. Looking at Fred, I called out to him, hoping he would understand. "Fred! C'mere boy, come on!" He was spooked by the hypermorph, but he started moving forwards slowly. Any faster and he might knock Ivy off. Then, the water started churning again.

The hypermorph grabbed onto the car behind Ivy, pulling itself up out of the water and snarling at her and the horse. I couldn't risk knocking Ivy off again, so I ran to my horse and pulled out a rifle, taking aim at the morph. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, the morph leaped at the two of them, and I knew I was too late.

Then, two shots rang out, and the hypermorphs' skull had two large holes blasted into it, making its corpse fly back into the water. Looking back at Fred, I saw Ivy was upside down, holding a smoking pistol in her hands. She hadn't been pulling up to free herself, she'd needed to reach for her gun.

Fred made it safely across, and I helped Ivy back up, watching her sit back up on the saddle. "You ok?" I asked, and she kicked my shoulder. "Ow!" I said, frowning, and she looked down at me. "That's for almost pushing me off!" Rubbing my shoulder, I walked back over to my horse. "You're welcome." I muttered, then I saw her staring back at me. "I'm kidding, you dork. I know you were trying to help."

Rolling my eye, I pulled myself back up onto the saddle. "You sure have a funny way of showing it." Putting the gun back in her holster, Ivy smirked. "You have to admit, that was pretty cool, huh?" I gave her a hint of a smile as I motioned my head. "Let's get going, deadeye." I said as we began to ride off towards the city.