Blood Red Road

right, but … I shake my head. No time to stop an think now.
    When we reach the riverbank, the thick reddish brown stream of muddy water’s flowin fast. It catches on a dead tree lyin on the riverbed, turns it this way then that way, slowly, like it’s makin up its mind what to do with it. Then it lifts the tree an rushes it downstream.
    The riverbed’s narrow here but deep. The banks ain’t wide. If the rain keeps fallin like this, it ain’t gonna take long fer it to overflow its banks an fill the gorge. We’ll be swept downstream if we’re caught in it.
    Epona an Ash is almost at th’other side.
    Be careful! calls Epona. The riverbed’s all churned up mud! It’s hard to keep yer footin!
    Jack heels Ajax an he starts to wade into the water. Emmi’s sat behind Jack, clingin to his waist.
    Suddenly I know what it is that ain’t right. My heartstone’s gone. I run back to where I took the thorn from Hermes’ foot. There it is, lyin in the mud. I snatch it an shove it deep into my boot. Run back to the riverbank.
    In time to see Ajax stumble.
    In time to see Emmi lose her grip on Jack’s waist an fall into the river.
    Emmi! I cry.
    She cain’t swim. Without thinkin, I dive in to save her. I surface to see Jack haulin her outta the water by the back of her tunic. He swings her up in front of him.
    Is she okay? I call.
    She’s fine! he says. Jest git yerself across!
    Hermes plunges past me. He’s had it with waitin. He’s crossin by hisself. Looks like I gotta do the same.
    The water’s reached my chest now. The wicked current wraps itself around me. I ain’t took more’n four steps when somethin bumps into me. I look down.
    It’s a human leg bone.

    I gasp.
    All around me, the dead are risin.
    Another leg bone bobs to the muddy surface. Then a skull. A arm bone. They swing lazily. The current grabs ’em an carries ’em away.
    Wreckers must of used the dry riverbed as a mass grave an now the heavy rain’s churnin it all up.
    I snatch my hands from the water, hold my arms high, outta the way. Slowly I turn in a circle, blinkin the rain away from my eyes.
    Ohmigawd, I says. Ohmigawd ohmigawd ohmigawd.
    The river’s alive with dead men’s bones. It’s thick with ’em.
    My breath’s comin shallow an fast.
    I feel somethin touch me. I make myself look down. A skellenton’s wrapped itself around my chest. The skull grins up at me.
    I shove it away. But when I pull my hands up agin, the whole top half of the skellenton comes with ’em. I’m stuck in the ribcage. The skull’s right in my face.
    I scream. Shake myself loose. Scramble to git away. Lose my footin.
    I fall. I go unner.
    An the current sweeps me away.

    I fight my way to the surface. Spit out a mouthful of filthy river.
    Help! I yell. Help!
    I doubt if any of ’em can hear me over the poundin of the rain an the rush of the river. An I must be well outta earshot by now. I’m a ways downstream from where I fell, that’s all I know. An I got no idea where this river goes.
    I grab onto the trunk of a dead tree as it slides past me. I pull myself up so’s at least my head’s outta the water. I hang on tight as I go rushin along on the river of mud an bones.
    Jack! I shout. Jack!
    The heavy rain means I cain’t see no further’n three arms-length in front of me. There ain’t no way of tellin how far I am from the riverbank, but I know it’s there somewhere. I gotta try to make my way over to it.
    I grit my teeth an kick hard, tryin to steer away from the middle of the river, but the current’s got other ideas. The moment I start to make headway, it snatches at my tree an whirls us off. I keep on tryin, over an over agin. But the current’s too strong fer me to fight.
    Then I start to hear another kinda roar. One that ain’t the rain, but somethin else. It reminds me of … I cain’t think what, but I know that whatever it is, I heard it not so long ago.
    The river’s gittin narrower an narrower. I’m bein carried towards a group of jagged rocks that stick up outta the water.
    I’ll try to grab holda one.
    But I’m goin too fast. As I reach the rocks, the tree trunk I’m clingin to hits the first rock an cracks in two. I lose my grip. I’m dragged unner the water. My nose fills. My mouth fills. I’m chokin. My body smashes aginst stone. Once, twice, I hit the rocks, still unnerwater. I’m tumbled every which way.
    I bob to the surface. Gasp fer air, spit out water. Grit in my mouth, on my tongue. I got nuthin to