in the ribbing tore open, then, an instant later, the entire craft shattered in two. Kiera and Shawnadit tumbled backwards through the hole and into the raging torrent. Bits of canoe bobbed along beside them as they were sucked further down the rapids. They slammed into huge walls of white water, each time being pulled into the frothing throat of the wave. They managed to struggle back to the surface, coughing and spluttering, only to be sucked under again.
Kiera fought the growing sense of panic. She maintained a tight grip on the back of Shawnadit's leather garment, towing the child through the endless cascade of rapids. There was nothing she could do but hope that the rapids would end before they both drowned.
Chocan shuddered as he watched the canoe shatter in two. His canoe had been only a moment away from reaching them. As he watched the girls disappear into the rapids, he wasn't sure if there was anything he could now do to save them. The waterfall was rapidly approaching. He turned to Huritt.
“Paddle as hard as you can! We must catch up to them!”
Huritt nodded. If they went further, they might not be able to pull out of the rapids before plunging over the top of the waterfall.
Chocan said a prayer as their small craft shot down into the rapids.
The men expertly weaved their way around the protruding rocks and over the waves of water. Chocan used his position in the bow to guide the canoe towards the two bobbing girls. The growing roar ahead warned him that this was a suicide run rather than a rescue attempt. Kiera, however, was almost within range of his grasp.
Kiera felt Shawnadit go limp in her arms. It took all of her strength not to let go of the girl. She kicked and pulled with her final bursts of strength in order to keep Shawnadit's head above water, often sacrificing her own gasp of air in the process. She tried to kick again, but her legs didn't respond. She sank deeper into the darkness. This was the end. Poor Shawnadit. What the little girl had suffered in her short life simply wasn't fair. This was all her fault. She cradled Shawnadit in her arms. Death was again reaching up from its watery grave.
Chocan threw his upper body into the water where he had last seen them. He grabbed furiously for anything solid in the liquid maelstrom. There! His fingertips touched something soft. Lunging, he grabbed on to it and heaved. Kiera materialized from the froth. Miraculously, she was still holding on to Shawnadit!
“Kiera!”
No response. He slapped her face. With a violent shake, she gagged and spluttered.
“Kiera, hold onto the side of the canoe! I'll take Shawnadit! Kiera, you have to let go of her now, or else we'll all be killed!”
Kiera blinked up into the bright sun. She allowed her frozen arms to let go of Shawnadit, but she was too cold to hang on to the canoe. As Chocan grabbed for the girl, Kiera began to slide back into the water. In one swift motion, Chocan hauled the unconscious girl into the canoe. He then grabbed Kiera before she slipped back under the surface. Huritt reached forward and pulled Shawnadit to the back of the canoe to make room for Kiera.
“Your turn now,” Chocan said and grunted as he took on the weight of the waterlogged young woman. He hauled her over the side and let her collapse into the bottom of the canoe. There wasn't time to do anything more for the new passengers. He jumped back into his seat and grabbed the paddle. In the distance, both he and Huritt saw the horizon of the river disappear into a mist of nothingness. The roar of the approaching waterfall was almost deafening. Together they dug their paddles into the water and pulled for their lives.
They veered hard to the left. Paddling at an angle to the current, they aimed the bow at a flattopped outcrop of rock that jutted out into the raging river. The boat leapt towards the safety of the relatively calm whirlpool that had formed upstream of the natural breakwater. The rock seemed to take on a life of its own, reaching out towards them, encouraging them to reach the swirling waters within its protective harbour.
Seconds later, Chocan cursed. Even with their muscular shoulders burning from the effort, both men were now realizing that the angry river would win this race against time. The current was simply too fast and too strong. It seemed inevitable that they would be carried past the rock and towards the waterfall's foaming edge of death.
Suddenly a person burst forth from the forest. It was Sooleawaa! She raced along the shoreline and leaped up onto the flat surface of the protruding rock. Chocan plunged his paddle into the water once again. There was hope after all!
Chocan and Huritt heaved on the paddles with an even greater effort. They came within a canoe's length of the rock tip as the current ripped them past its salvation. Sooleawaa was standing as far out as she dared on the rock's slippery surface. She threw the coil of leather twine at the passing craft. The twine landed on top of Kiera, whose face was still ashen with shock. Chocan reached back and grabbed the twine. He quickly wrapped it around the wooden supports of his seat. Huritt dug in at the stern and spun the canoe around until it faced upstream.
As soon as Sooleawaa had thrown the rope, she quickly backed away from the water's edge. She had only a second to make a life-saving decision. She would not be strong enough to hold on to the canoe alone. Three steps away, a jagged spire of rock jutted out from the table-like surface of the outcrop. Sensing that she was staring at her only hope, she dove onto her chest and wrapped the twine around the protruding stone. The rope snapped viciously taut. She grunted as the twine rammed her knuckles into the rough surface of the rock. Wrapping the twine around one hand then the other, she hung on.
There was a tremendous jolt. Chocan fell backwards onto Kiera, knocking the wind out of the already battered, shivering girl.
“Sorry, Kiera,” said Chocan, apologizing. “Huritt! Get up here! Now! Sooleawaa's not going to be able to pull us in all by herself!”
Chocan grabbed on just ahead of the knot and heaved. He grimaced as he pulled again, moving the canoe only slightly upstream. Huritt reached over Chocan's shoulder and grabbed on to the twine as well. Together, the two men pulled again. Hand over hand, ignoring the blinding spray of water, they slowly fought their way towards the rock.
The twine held. The canoe finally made its way to the edge of the outcrop. Chocan leaped out first, rolling onto the flat surface. He lay down on his stomach and held onto the gunnel of the canoe so Huritt could disembark. Huritt carefully lifted the passengers out of the canoe and into Sooleawaa's waiting arms. Finally, Huritt himself climbed out, allowing Sooleawaa to knot the twine around the rock, ensuring that the canoe would not float away. Chocan crawled to Shawnadit and checked her breathing. She was all right. The four rescuers joined the child and thankfully collapsed onto the wet, cold surface of the rock.
After catching his breath, Chocan leaned over and eyed Sooleawaa.
“Where did you come from?”
Sooleawaa was wrapping a piece of leather around her injured hands.
“I promised the elders that Kiera wouldn't get into any trouble. The fact that I saved my brother and his foolish friend in the process, well, the elders will just have to forgive me. It simply couldn't be helped.”
Chocan laughed. “Sister, you never stop amazing me. Thank you.”
She stood up and lifted Shawnadit into her arms, then paused to give her brother a flash of a smile.
“You can thank me later. I think we had better get these girls to a fire and warm them up.”
TWELVE
The
