Page 37 of Gripp

Gripp’s expression softened even further. “There isn’t,” he said. “When you jump in, dive straight to the bottom and follow it. The gap under the cave wall is only about two feet. It will be a tight squeeze for me.”

April nodded, trying not to hyperventilate and only succeeding in holding her breath.

“Then we’re out, right? We can just surface and swim to the nearest shore.”

Gripp shook his head.

“No. There’s about twenty feet of rock tunnel with no air pockets. Swim fast and hard with the current the second you get through the wall. Use the pressure of the water. When you see the light, don’t try to surface straight away. You could come up too soon and hit your head on the rock. Go forward as far as you can before trying to surface.”

April nodded. Her body trembled so violently she thought she might fall. “Then what?”

“Then head across the open water. There will be an island nearby, a very small one. Head toward it.”

Questions rose and stuck in her throat. She said nothing as Gripp handed her a small waterproof light. He tied her camera bag tightly closed and pulled her to the edge of the river, and got ready to jump.

She hovered on the bank, undecided. The river was utterly terrifying, but the path behind was certain death. As if encouraging her to make up her mind, she heard one of the men shout from behind. She cried out in fear.

“April!” Gripp cried. “You have to stay with me. If you miss the opening, you’ll drown. Do you hear me?”

“Yes,” she whispered, nodding.

Gripp kissed her quickly. “Do you trust me?”

She nodded. This she felt with a certainty that flooded her entire being. “Yes, I trust you.”

“Then jump!”

Gripp jumped, tugging April along with him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding it as she hit the water. Immediately, the world turned to chaos. April could barely see, even with the waterproof light.

The current was just as strong as she’d feared, and it hurled her against the cave walls and smashed her into the riverbed. April could barely hold her breath as she tried to feel her way to the opening.

A sudden thrust of water slammed her against the cave wall. She slithered against it, finally finding the gap and squeezing herself and her bag through.

She had no idea where Gripp was. The tunnel was still too dark. She couldn’t try to surface yet, or she’d hit her head. Following Gripp’s instructions, April swam hard with the current, letting it speed her along.

She felt like her lungs were going to burst when she saw the light ahead. Remembering what Gripp had said, she kept her head down until she was well and truly out of the tunnel, then surfaced.

April coughed, flailing wildly as she tried to stay afloat. The waves slapped against her as if trying to send her back into the depths of the river. At first, she could not see Gripp, and her fear robbed her of strength.

If he didn’t make it, I don’t want to either.

A few seconds later, Gripp surfaced right beside her, screaming her name. She reached for him, treading water for a few seconds so she could hold his hand.

“This way,” he motioned with his head. “Follow me.”

Gripp kicked away from her, and April tried to keep up, but he was a strong, fast shifter, and she was a very exhausted human. In despair, she watched Gripp pulling away from her.

She wanted to cry out to him, but she was afraid of swallowing water. She couldn’t even see which direction she was supposed to be headed in. All April could see were dark, violent waves that wanted to thrash the breath from her lungs.

“Gripp,” she called weakly. He was really getting ahead of her now, and she couldn’t keep up. As she tried to cry out again, her worst fear came true as water rushed into her lungs.

April coughed, feeling her arms fail as her body contorted under the pain of swallowing so much water. As she tried to wave to get Gripp’s attention, she saw a strip of green that could only be the island.

I’m so close!

April thrashed wildly, trying to cough the water out of her lungs and swim at the same time. She realized that she was floundering in the shallows, not ten feet from the beach.

I’m not drowning this close to shore!

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