Lost and Found (Twist of Fate #1)(55)

“Sorry. I was just thinking about what you said about sharing a tent tonight,” I admitted, smiling to myself.

“Oh yeah? Did you have some thoughts about that, or were you trying to figure out how to get out of it? I promise I don’t fart as much as Bear.”

I snorted. “Are you trying to sell me on what a good tent-mate you are? As if we haven’t shared a tent a thousand times before? Hell, for that matter, we’ve even shared a sleeping bag a million times before,” I reminded him, making my way through the sparse damp grass of the plateau. “I’d be happy to share one again. Of course I would. Only this time, can we be naked? I’d like to try it that way for once. Naked sleeping bag sharing. I think we should make it a thing. Don’t you? I could get used to that.”

I kept walking for a few beats before I realized he hadn’t responded.

I stopped and turned around to see why he’d gone quiet. Xander stood still and stared at me with his head cocked. My nerves kicked into gear and I wondered if I’d said something wrong.

“Xander? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“Shh,” he said quickly. “Do you hear that?”

I stopped to listen and realized there was a loud sound of water rushing nearby. “Is it a waterfall or something?” I asked.

“That’s the river we’re supposed to cross. But it sounds really high and fast. C’mon. There’s a spot we can scout it from up here before we go down the plateau and lose sight of the best place to cross.”

I followed him for a few more minutes until we got to the edge of the plateau. Down below, in a canyon of sorts, was the river. Water gushed over rocks and across downed tree trunks, and I looked upriver to see if I could find out where the sheer volume of water was coming from. There was a waterfall feeding it, but it was way off in the distance. I wondered if the storm could have created enough water to make the river that full.

Without realizing it, I’d snuck my hand into Xander’s and linked my fingers with his.

“How’re we going to get across?” I asked, nerves snaking in my gut.

He shook his head. “We might have to wait until the water dies down a little. It’s too dangerous to try right now.”

“There has to be a way to get across. What about that rope system you told me about? The Tyrolean something.”

“Tyrolean Traverse. One of us has to be able to get across to set up the anchor on the far side,” he explained.

“Well, shit. If you can do that, we might as well both get across without all the bother,” I muttered, trying to look up and down the river to see any slower spots or wider areas where the water would be much shallower. “Wait… right there,” I said, pointing to an area where several large boulders crossed the width of the river.

Xander followed my gaze until he spotted the area. He pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. “Maybe…”

“Let’s go check it out, at least. We won’t know how it really looks till we get there.”

I began to walk toward the edge of the plateau in the direction of that spot on the river, but Xander reached out and grabbed my pack to stop me.

“Hold on there, hotshot. Let me call Gary first and check in, okay? While we’re still high up, it’ll be easier for the radio to reach him. We’ll call Jake afterwards.”

I blew out a breath and nodded. Once I heard Jimmy’s voice, maybe I could stop worrying so much. Yeah, right— as if I would stop worrying about one of the boys in my care.

While Xander tried to raise Gary on the radio, I dropped my pack and wandered off to take a leak. When I returned, Xander was finishing up the call.

“What’d he say?” I asked.

“He talked to Jake, and he and Jimmy are fine, but apparently there’s a giant storm coming this way. This afternoon’s shower was just the front of it. Gary said we should try and get to them before it hits so we can all be together in that lower altitude. The storm won’t be as dangerous down there where they are, and we might still be able to hike out even if it’s raining. But if we don’t get down in altitude, we could get stuck.”

I knew he didn’t like the idea of hiking through the darkness, but it was clear we no longer had a choice. “Okay, well, I guess we should get moving.” Without waiting for a response, I began walking down the side of the plateau and into the trees in the direction of the portion of the river we’d pinpointed. By the time we arrived at the side of the river, the sky had darkened again with more storm clouds.

“I don’t like this,” Xander said as we stood and assessed the boulder crossing. “The rocks are wet and slippery. All it would take is one slip.”

I knew he was right, but I also knew we needed to get to Lower Bower before the storm hit.

“Xander, it’s only going to get worse according to Gary, so unless you have a different plan, we need to do this.”

“Okay. But you have to listen to me, Bennett,” he said. Worry lines creased his forehead, and I wanted to reach out and smooth them. But I kept my hands to myself and gave him what I knew he needed— my full attention.

“I’ll go first,” Xander began. “The most dangerous part of a river crossing is drowning, obviously, and your backpack can make it ten times worse. So, make sure your waist belt is unclipped. If anything goes wrong, Bennett, let the pack go. Do you hear me? Nothing in that bag is worth dying for.”