The Trials

The Trials
By: Max Senlick
Chapter One: Amber
Amber woke up to the false calm of rushing water. She sat up, her natural survival instincts kicking in. She quickly took in her surroundings; she was on a loosely put together raft made of what looked like bamboo stalks, floating hurriedly down a river, the top of a waterfall peeking over the edge of a cliff, which was about one hundred yards ahead of her.
She saw a few bamboo stalks high above her, and a rock in the water next to her. She picked up the rock and launched it at the roots of the bamboo. It fell with a soft clunk into the water, and she snatched them up. She yanked down a few loose vines and started tying the bamboo onto the ends of her raft, using the vines as rope. She had a few remaining vines, so she tied it into the bamboo as foot and hand holes. Amber grabbed hold of a vine with her left hand and got into a squatting position right as her raft hit a rock. She soared over the edge of the waterfall, and her raft spun her around mid-air. She saw the beauty of the waterfall before she was spun around again, this time facing the fast approaching ground. She twisted the vine so her raft was slanted, then leaped off with as much force as she could, and tucked into a roll as she hit the ground at tremendous speed. Amber evaluated herself, and luckily found that she only had a few bruises and cuts. She stood up and had just enough time to see mountains and trees before a large black mass barreled into her, and all she saw was a square of light quickly shrinking above her before darkness took over her vision.