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.She switched on her flashlight and wavedit in a wide, slow arc above her head, squinting so hard into the rainthat her eyes ached.The air howled like a creature in pain, and fora moment, Dev thought she d imagined the sound of a motor.Thena flicker of light caught her eye, went out, and flickered on again.Arhythmic on and off that she recognized as a bow light, cresting anddisappearing into the troughs between the waves as a boat fought itsway to shore.She couldn t make out the figure in the boat as the craftwallowed, spun sideways, and threatened to go over.Miraculously,the pilot maneuvered the bow around until it pointed toward shoreagain, but the water was so rough the boat couldn t land.Holding theflashlight above her head with one hand, Dev waded into the water upto her thighs and stretched out an arm. Throw the line! she shouted against the wind, knowing it washopeless.She could feel the words being forced down her throat beforethey d even cleared her lips.Nevertheless, a line snaked through the airand whipped across her chest.Reflexively, she caught it and wrapped itaround her forearm.Fortunately, her jacket protected her arm, becausethe rope immediately tightened like a noose.She could feel it bitinginto her skin even with the protection of the nylon.Gritting her teethagainst the pain, she leaned backward toward shore, using her body asan anchor to keep the front of the boat directed toward land.Each timethe rope loosened she stepped backward, keeping the guideline tight.She could see Leslie s face now, screaming something to her.One step.Two.Three.Dev stumbled, fell backward into thelake, and lost her flashlight.The rope around her arm loosened as sheswallowed water and flailed in the shallows just offshore.Coughing andsputtering, struggling in her boots and wet jeans, she tried unsuccessfullyto regain her feet.Then an arm circled around her waist and steadiedher.She broke the surface spewing water and gasping for air." 150 "WHEN DREAMS TREMBLE Are you crazy? Leslie shouted. You could ve gone under theboat and gotten tangled up in the propeller.I could have killed you! Look who s talking, Dev shouted back. What the hell are youdoing out here? You re lucky you didn t capsize in the middle of thelake and drown. The storm s coming in faster than they predicted, Leslie said,ignoring Dev s chastisement. The lake s too rough to make the returntrip now. Let s secure the boat and get to high ground!Even as they shouted, Dev and Leslie both grabbed the towropeand dragged the boat as far up onto what remained of the shorelineas they could.Then Leslie staggered up the muddy bank and beganwrapping the line around a rocky outcropping.Dev joined her, andbetween them, they secured the boat as well as they could. We ll be lucky if it doesn t wash away, Dev said, her mouthclose to Leslie s ear. We ll be lucky if we don t wash away! Come on, Dev said, taking Leslie s hand. Follow me.Just as they cleared the underbrush and reached the relativesanctuary of the forest, a tremendous crash sounded overhead and agiant pine toppled and fell almost directly on top of them.Dev yankedLeslie with her as she dove off the trail and against the base of anotherevergreen.The trunk of the falling pine ended up canted against the treethat protected them, about four feet above their heads. Are you okay? Dev yelled. Scratched up a bit, but in one piece, Leslie called back. We need to crawl out from under here and head uphill.I ll gofirst.Hold on to my jeans so you can follow me. Be careful.Dev pushed at the branches with one arm and forced a tunnelthrough them with her head and shoulders.Now and then she registereddiscomfort, but her whole body felt bruised and battered and a littlemore pain barely mattered.Once she cleared the maze of branches, sheturned on her back and reached down for Leslie s arms to pull her freeof the debris.Leslie crawled out and collapsed on top of Dev.The rainwas so heavy it felt as if they were at the bottom of a waterfall and, onceagain, Dev was breathing water.She coughed.Leslie sheltered Dev s upturned face with her body. You rebleeding!" 151 "RADCLYfFEDev pressed her cheek to Leslie s chest and managed to draw airinto her lungs instead of rain. I m okay.The& campsite s& a hundredyards from here.Let s& go. Are you sure you re not hurt? I m good.Reluctantly, Leslie slid to the side so Dev could get to her knees.Then Leslie wrapped her arm around Dev s waist and helped her up.When Dev tried to pull away, she tightened her grip. Don t be stubborn.Just get us there.Traversing the slope was like walking through a sluice jammedwith logs.The rain was a solid wall of water, and branches skimmed byout of nowhere, bouncing off their bodies and scraping their faces andhands.After what felt like an interminable struggle, Dev stumbled to ahalt next to a nylon tent.With hands numb from cold and swollen frombatting away projectiles, she fumbled with the zipper and finally got itopen.Together, she and Leslie pushed through the flap, Dev zippered itbehind them, and they both collapsed onto Dev s sleeping bag.For five minutes the only sound in the small tent was the rasp oftheir arduous breathing.Then Dev sat up, fumbled in the dark, andfinally turned on a battery-powered lantern.The tent roof and sidesbillowed in and out as if it were a living, breathing organism. Some storm, Dev muttered, setting the light on the metal lid ofa cooking pot in one corner of the tent. Uh-huh, Leslie said [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]