Chapter Five

Lena's head felt like the pot Walker banged on when she sat up the next morning. In spite of being worn out, she didn't sleep well at all. She spent the long night hours expecting a large grizzly bear with huge claws or a wolf with dripping fangs to tear through the side of the tent any minute. She wondered just how much it would cost her to have someone take her back to civilization. No way could she take three more days of this vacation. Her nerves just couldn't take it...

As soon as breakfast disappeared, everyone began preparing for their trek back to the river for another day of fishing. Lena waited until Walker raised their supplies up into the tree then went to talk with him in private.

"Walker, I want to leave. I'll pay extra if you'll have your friend with the mule or somebody take me back to civilization."

"Sorry, Lena. Calvin is on another trip." He turned to look down at her. Walker took in the slight shadows under her eyes then softly asked, "You didn't sleep much last night, did you?"

"No, I didn't, and my head is splitting. What if there were an emergency and someone got hurt? Surely you have a way to get them out of here, don't you?" She sounded desperate even to herself.

"Yes, but this doesn't qualify as an emergency. It's only a few more days, Lena. I'll try to see that it's easier on you. You did really well yesterday. You even helped out last night. And what about Rob?" he tacked on.

"Yeah, what about Rob?" she sighed, accepting she was well and truly stuck with the status quo. "Okay, I'll get ready to go. Got any aspirin?"

After three aspirins and a large cup of coffee, Lena actually managed to keep up with the rest of the hikers. She suspected it had to do with Walker stopping often to point out birds and plants along the way. It seemed to be his way of making the group slow down for her, she realized with a smile. Then she actually began to enjoy the walk and listen to what he said. He proved very knowledgeable and entertaining about the area and the wildlife.

At the river, Walker led the group farther downstream than the day before. He pointed to deep pools below the white water.

"The larger trout are smart. They hang around in the deep spots at the base of the rapids. The water is cooler and brings their food right to them. They don't have to work as hard. The perfect cast will settle your fly on top of the white water and let it roll down into the pool with the flow. A bad cast will get you tangled in the rocks. But if you want a trophy trout, this is your best bet."

"I'm for that," Clark spoke up. "Which lure? Then point me to my spot."

Everyone laughed at his little boy eagerness.

Lena noticed that as the group paired off, Rob and Eileen seemed to be getting chummy. They paired off leaving Kevin and Clark to fish together. Derek was odd man out again as Helen and Janie teamed up. Then, surprisingly, Helen called to Derek, asking him to join them and learn to fish with a couple of old ladies.

"If you'll walk with me while I help them all find a good fishing spot, I'll show you something special afterward," Walker bribed Lena. He really did have something to show her, but most of all he didn't intend to leave her alone to get into any trouble.

"It'll cost you a candy bar."

"Now where would I get a candy bar?" he asked, laughing.

Lena pointed to his pack. "I saw you stash them in there with the sandwiches. I'll skip mine at lunch so you won't be short one."

"Deal, but you have to wait until we get down river a ways."

Watching Walker point out the best places for fishing and drop off one small group at a time, it took them a while to work their way down the river. Rob and Eileen were the last two dropped off. Walker left his large pack hanging in a tree near them and slid on a much smaller one before he and Lena continued down the vague trail alone.

"Does that bother you?" Walker asked once they rounded a bend in the river, leaving Eileen and Rob behind.

"What? Oh, you mean Rob and Eileen?" Lena thought about it a minute then answered honestly, "No, it doesn't. Rob and I aren't... Well, our relationship has turned into a friend thing, nothing more. Eileen is much more his type." She picked her way around a large boulder, keeping an eye out for snakes and wildlife.

Walker reached back and took her hand to help her down a steep section of the trail. "Is it because he brought you here? Do you hate it that much?"

Lena enjoyed the feel of his large calloused palm cradling her small smooth one as he steadied her. She stopped at the bottom of the hill to look around her. The birds sang and the green trees and blue sky were truly spectacular. The water splashed and gurgled as it swept by, heading for a distant ocean.

With a sigh, she admitted, "No, I don't think I really hate it so much. I like what I see here. It's beautiful. Like this..." she gestured around her, "it's not so scary. But when I think of all the dangers out there and what could happen..." Lena didn't finish the thought, but shrugged again, at a loss for words.

Walker reluctantly released her hand and walked on. "Fear of the great unknown. I guess I get that. But I'm glad you don't really hate it. There's so much to see and learn." He didn't tell her he would enjoy teaching her all about it, but he came close. Definitely too soon for that.

Not long after, Lena heard a sound like distant thunder. It grew louder as they walked. When she couldn't hear herself think, Walker took her hand and guided her off the trail, hiking down a long slope. Bushes and trees blocked her view, but the noise grew fainter and then louder again.

"What is it?" she yelled at one point.

Walker shook his head then grinned at her. "You'll see. Come on."

The sound became intense once more, almost deafening. Lena could feel the ground vibrating beneath her feet.

They stepped out from behind the thick, low-growing bushes and Walker pointed.

Lena gasped at the sight of the waterfall plunging down from above into the large blue-green pool spread out in front of her. Had it not been for the rocks and huge boulders bordering it, she might have thought they'd found a tropical oasis. "It's beautiful. Look at the rainbows."

The sunlight filtering through the mist created multiple arcs of vibrant color up and down the fifty-foot fall of water. The flow erupted over a stone ledge then crashed with a thunderous sound into the pool, throwing white spray high into the air.

Walker leaned near her ear to yell, "You can go wading if you want. Just don't go in too far. The undertow from the fall might drag you under."

Lena grinned up at him and wasted no time shucking her hiking boots and socks before rolling up the legs of her jeans to mid-calf. "It's so cold," she giggled as she eased one foot then the other into the clear mountain pool.

The water felt wonderful to her sore, achy feet. She watched Walker as he chose a rock to sit on while he chewed on a piece of jerky. He struck her as an odd man, but how nice of him to bring her to see the waterfall.

When her feet grew numb from the cold and her toes looked like prunes, she joined him on the rock. Lena grinned happily as she accepted the bar of chocolate he handed over.

Much too soon, Walker yelled in her ear, "We need to go back to check on the others and have lunch."

Lena reluctantly slid the two pair of socks onto her air-dried feet and tugged on her hiking boots.

The hike back took a while with most of the trail being uphill. Walker began to worry he'd left the others unsupervised for too long, but he'd been captivated watching Lena play in the water. Then just sitting with her gave him such unexpected pleasure. He moved out a bit in front of Lena, hoping she would move along faster.

However, Lena's legs soon tired and threatened cramps from the unfamiliar climbing. Walker helped her up the steepest parts, but it didn't prevent the strain on her legs. She moved slower and slower as her legs ached.

Finally, not too far from the spot where they left Eileen and Rob earlier, a sudden muscle spasm ripped through her left calf muscle. Lena grabbed for her lower leg. Her right foot slipped on the rocky surface. She couldn't regain her balance and tumbled into the river racing by several feet below. The cold water took her breath. She felt pummeled by the strong currents and couldn't stop herself from being carried along.

Walker heard her scream and turned back, but couldn't grab her in time. He saw her hit the water head first. He blamed himself, knowing he should never have moved out so far ahead.

The rushing whitewater quickly swept her away from him. "Roll on your back! Keep your head up!" Walker shouted and prayed she could hear him. He shrugged out of his daypack and dropped it, afraid of catching it on a rock when he eventually went in after her. Then he raced down the bank, jumping from rock to rock, trying to keep up with her – to keep her in sight. Hopefully, she would wash to the side in one of the small pools where he could fish her out. Fear that her head would be slammed against a rock tightened his gut.

Lena didn't weigh much and he saw the rapids toss her around like a leaf in a tornado. She also had no training in whitewater survival. Lena continued to fight the water instead of relaxing back to let it carry her along on top. He watched as she buffeted against boulders and tried to grab on. Walker shouted himself hoarse trying to tell her what to do, how to save herself, until he could reach her.

In a panic, Lena couldn't force her body to give in and let the rapids sweep her along as Walker yelled for her to do. Is he crazy? Or maybe he just wanted to be rid of her, once and for all. If she weren't so terrified for her life, she would laugh at the irony of the situation.

A numbing cold stole through her body. At least the cramps in her legs were gone, along with most of the feeling. Maybe Walker would get his way after all. Bumping against the boulders sticking out of the water didn't hurt so much any more. God, I'm so tired. She would relax for just a minute to regain enough strength to fight once more.

Walker saw the instant when Lena gave herself up to the current. She began riding along the top of the rapids instead of being beaten by them. Good girl! He raced faster. Walker knew he must reach her before she got to the long narrow chute of rough white water leading directly to the waterfall.

Never slowing down, Walker raced along the trail ahead of Lena then plunged into the only pool left where he might intercept her. The shock of the cold water robbed his lungs of air as he fought out into the chest-deep center of the pool. The water slowed and swirled to each side, but the current moved strongly through the middle. He waited anxiously for Lena to appear while ignoring the cold biting into his flesh and sapping him of strength and body heat. Walker knew he had only this one chance, and he would make it work.

Lena felt as if she crashed into a brick wall. Then something grabbed her and refused to let go. Too weak from the cold and her previous struggles in the water to fight any longer, Lena kept her eyes closed and smiled to herself as she wondered if it would be painful to be eaten by whatever creature dragged her out of the water.