Chapter 6 - The Surge
The wall of white water tore around the bend like a living freight train of destruction, snapping ancient pines and churning the river into a violent froth of mud and debris.
"Move! Up the rock face, now!" Ramon roared, his voice cutting through the rising thunder of the impending flood.
There was no time for hesitation, no room for error. The gorge walls were slick with wet moss and loose shale, but the alternative was being swallowed by a fifty-ton surge of freezing mountain water. Victor moved with terrifying speed, hoisting the unconscious woman over his broad shoulder in a single fluid motion and driving his fingers into the narrow crevices of the rock face, scrambling upward like a seasoned free-climber.
Diego grabbed Lily by the jacket collar, lifting her bodily toward a rocky ledge five feet up, where she scrambled frantically with her muddy bare feet, crying out as sharp stones bit into her skin.
Ramon and Matteo formed the rear guard, pushing themselves hard against the vertical rock as the first vanguard of the flash flood slammed into the riverbank below them. A colossal spray of freezing water exploded upward, soaking them to the skin and nearly peeling Ramon’s grip loose from the stone. Logs the size of semi-truck axles crashed against the base of their shelter with explosive concussions that shook the entire cliff.
"Boss, grab my hand!" Matteo yelled, his boots wedged into a narrow limestone crack as he reached down with one hand while keeping his rifle slung tight across his back.
Ramon didn't wait. He lunged upward, his fingers locking around Matteo’s forearm just as a secondary wave surged over the ledge they had occupied only seconds before. The water tore at their trousers, heavy and freezing, carrying away spare gear and leaving behind a slick coat of black silt.
"Up! Keep climbing!" Ramon commanded, hauling himself onto the narrow shelf where Diego and Lily had already huddled.
May you like
Above them, Victor had reached the top of the ravine shelf, hoisting the injured woman over the crest before rolling over the edge himself and reaching down to grab Lily by the arms. With a mighty heave, Diego boosted the child upward, and Victor pulled her safely onto the upper forest floor.
One by one, they dragged themselves over the jagged lip of the gorge, collapsing onto the damp earth of the pine forest just as the main body of the flood tore through the channel below, turning the narrow canyon into a churning, impassable abyss.
