Botanicaust

kind, would they? Or lead cannibals back here …
    “ I ’ m sure they ’ re just exploring. Hunting. ” His whisper didn ’ t give her confidence.
    A scuff to her left made Tula ’ s heart jump as a small figure scuttled toward them, joined by a matching shape a second later.
    “ Hunters. ” One of the twins hissed.
    “ Men hunters. ” The other voiced.
    “ What? ” Levi asked.
    Tula translated.
    “ We have to get off the road. ” Levi rose and gathered the blanket, shoving it into the pack. Already covered in goose bumps of fright, Tula ’ s skin tightened in the cold night air.
    “ We cross the water. ” A child pulled on Tula ’ s hand, urging her from the clearing. “ They keep going. ”
    Fear choked Tula as they stood on the stony bank of the water. Pale starlight reflected ripples on the surface. The other bank might as well have been on the other side of the planet. The burble made her knees weak. “ You go. ”
    “ They say we should swim? ” Levi asked. Beside her, the pack scuffed the rock as he set it down. “ I ’ ll take you across. Then come back for the pack. ”
    The subtle splash of water ahead told her the twins had gone ahead. “ Take the pack first. ”
    “ Tula, I ’ d rather lose the pack than leave you behind. ”
    “ I can ’ t. ”
    “ I ’ m not leaving you. ” He gripped her bicep like a vise. The determination in his voice sharpened Tula ’ s fear. He wouldn ’ t leave her. If she didn ’ t swim, cannibals would eat them both.

S he tried to pull away, but he gripped her painfully. The sound of the backpack ’ s zipper ripped through the quiet night. “ With the empty water bottles, the pack will float with us, ” he said.
    Barely cognizant of his words over the thundering of her heart, she nodded into the darkness. She had to be brave for Levi. On stiff legs, she followed his pull into the water. The edge dropped out and she squealed, then muffled herself as her feet stabilized. The current thrust against her trembling calves.
    Levi turned and hooked her hands into the back of his waistband. “ Tula, don ’ t panic. Keep your arms away from my neck so I can breathe. But don ’ t let go. Try to lie still. Float. Okay? ”
    She gulped air in response, fingers aching from her grip on the fragile fabric.
    He planted a kiss on her lips, both hands cupping her cheeks. “ I love you. Please don ’ t let go. ”
    He waded into the flow. As he pulled her deeper, her limbs grew stiff. Cannibals are after you . The thought urged her on. Water scrolled around her hips. Then in a rush it lifted her feet out from under her and flung her downstream. The fabric slipped in her fingers, and she clenched her hands tighter.
    The current was strong. Her head bobbed above water and she choked in a breath. Don ’ t let go . An eddy dropped them in a heart stopping rush downstream, burying her, and her feet thrashed uselessly. One of her hands broke free. In panic, she threw her arm around Levi ’ s waist. Her palm slipped against his wet skin, and her legs tangled with his. His kicking threatened to jar her loose. She wrapped both arms around his waist, pressing her face to his lower back.
    He kept stroking forward. Her grip slithered to his knees. His body twisted rhythmically as he kept stroking with his arms. The rasp of loose gravel and the lick of weeds bumped her knees, and she kicked out, but couldn ’ t get her legs under her. His feet bounced against the bottom twice. But the water was still deep, and she couldn ’ t let go of his knees without being swept downstream. Hands tangled in her hair, yanking her upward, and she clambered up his body as her lungs cried for air. His arms circled her, pulling her tight to his chest as he bobbed them into shallower water.
    Choking in great gulps, she tightened her arms around his neck. “ I didn ’ t let go. ”
    He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “ Thank you, God. ”
    Together they slogged to shore and climbed free of the river ’ s grasp. As Levi led the way downstream, Tula regained her composure. “ How do we find Eily and Ana? ” she whispered. They could not call out to the twins. They could not stop. The cannibal hunters would surely swim over if they knew their prey had crossed. She hoped the girls managed to stay together. As self sufficient as they seemed to be, they were still just children and should not be alone.
    “ They know we ’ re traveling this way. We ’ ll find each other. ” Levi