and he starts breathing. His breaths are very shallow and weak and he’s still limp, but he’s breathing. He moans.

“Ryan, we need to get him out of the water and warmed up,” I say as I glance away from the river and into the trees. I catch a hint of dark movement and branches rustling. “We’re not alone—we need to go! Now! And we need our packs!”

I finish hauling James out of the water while Ryan races back to grab the packs we had thrown aside. As soon as he returns, I gasp, “Push James up on my back—we’ll take turns carrying him. We’ll go upstream. Maybe there’s a place where we can hide.”

We’re moving again, but not fast enough. Those people back there saw us. They know who we are now…they know that we&r...

Please subscribe to keep reading.