Beware of the Werewitch

Chapter 7

Ella had been startled when the log moved. She tried to sit up, but the log was thrown sideways and spun as it fell back down, and then into the water. She landed in the icy river and immediately went under. The log came down right behind her and spun from the movement of the water.

A long branch from the side of the log rolled up and came over the top of Ella and pushed her further under. She ducked lower and held her breath, waiting for the log to move by her so that she could swim up on the backside of it. The force of the quickly moving water was pushing her at the same rate as the log. She was now being swept away and had no way to come up for air. She could feel her body floating up and down, moving with the currents of the water.

A hard whack to her back had her almost gasping in the water. The pain radiated out from the hit. More pain as her right leg came down hard on something in the water.

She knew she needed to at least get herself on top of this log to float long enough to get air. She was quickly running out. The urge to take a breath was almost painful now.

She reached up to another stub of a broken branch on the massive log and tried to pull her body up using the log as a hand hold. The log rolled under. Her shirt was caught by the branch that had been holding her down, and it pulled her further under, tightening the shirt around her neck. Reaching out with her other hand, she tried to free the shirt by yanking on the material, but it held fast. Ella thrashed against the branch's hold as panic began to set in.

She knew she needed to breathe and soon. Darkness was now creeping in around the edges of her vision. She had to keep fighting. She could feel the tree branches and the debris in the water cutting away at her flesh as she twisted and spun, but it only seemed to make the tree's hold on her shirt tighter.

Finally, she let go of the nub that she had been holding on to and reached for the hem of her shirt with both hands. Grasping both sides, she pulled the shirt over her head and freed herself. Ella could feel that she was moving away from the log as soon as she was free of the shirt. She was trying to keep her wits about her as she was tiring, and did not have the energy to keep fighting her way to the surface.

The river's current swept her to the side, and she crashed into a large boulder that was sticking out of the water. The force knocked the wind out of her, but it also brought her to the surface. On instinct, she grasped the top of the rock and gasped and coughed. No sooner had she filled her lungs with air, then the back side of the now spinning log came around and hit her, knocking her off the momentary perch she had found.

She went back into the water, which was now swirling and violent. She had traveled down to the rapids, and the water was now tossing her around into every rock and tree that was stuck in that section of the river.

Holding her breath the best she could, Ella tried to find purchase on any stone or limb that she came in contact with. Everything she touched was a fleeting hope that was pulled away by the swift water. She knew that she had to find something to stop her or she was going to be killed by all the rocks and branches that the river pounded her with. If that did not kill her, the lack of oxygen soon would.

The water popped her up and over some rocks and her head was suddenly above the surface. She breathed in as much air as she could get before she was pushed back down again by the force of the plummeting water.

She had dropped over the first of three mini-falls, and the fourth one was the biggest one on the river. No one that had ever jumped off it had survived. Unfortunately, the falls have claimed many foolish lives.

Ella knew that she had to find a way to get out before she got to the falls. She began to kick harder and try to get to the surface so that she could not only get air, but she could see where she was and what was around her. After bumping into a few submerged rocks, Ella finally found a rock that she was able to get a grip on. She pulled herself up out of the water and breathed for the first time.

Taking the time to catch her breath while she was finally stationary and above the water, she looked around her. She was close to the opposite bank. She also saw movement out of the corner of her eye on the opposite bank. Turning her head slowly, she spotted Jake moving with the log that was ahead of her now. He was following it down the river.

Terrified that Jake and Andy were still out here trying to make sure that she drown, she ducked as low as she could and was still able to breath. Ella stayed motionless, only letting her eyes scan the area for any sign of the other boy. Jake had moved off far enough that she could no longer see him.

Slowly and quietly moving her way around the rock to the small area where the water caught between several rocks and was making lazy eddies by the bank. Ella pushed off the rock and glided toward the safety of the mud on the side. She pushed her way up and out of the water. She wanted to collapse on the bank, but if she was seen by either Jake or Andy, they might try something else, and this time they had nearly succeeded in killing her.

Crawling on her hands and knees streaming water, she managed to make it behind a large clump of mountain laurel. The leaves and blooms hiding her from the view of anyone near the river banks. Ella laid down on her back and closed her eyes and thanked the goddess that she was still here. She would need to find another way across, but she had time.

She lay there for what seemed like just a couple minutes more, but was in actuality hours. Ella had gathered strength in the feel of the earth and plants around her, and now felt much better, but she knew that she needed to get home. She looked around her and realized that it was already getting dark.

She was supposed to be home by now. Her mother was going to skin her alive. Ella sat up with a start and noticed the chill in the air right away. Ella looked down and the memory of her tearing off her shirt to get herself untangled from the tree came floating back to her. Ella still had her bra on and her jeans, but she could do nothing about a shirt. It is no less than what I have on when I go swimming in a bikini. She told herself. The only thing was that she did not like to wear bikinis. It was not that she did not have the figure for it, she had no doubt that she did. To her, bikinis were impractical. All they were good for was lying in the sun and walking down the beach. They were not practical for swimming, or anything actually physical in the water. Her mother told her that she was being silly, but it was one thing that Ella had always been stubborn about: no bikinis.

She also was shy, and she felt that there was no reason to advertise what she was not selling. She was saving herself for her mate, and She knew from the older girls that when they found their mates, the males did not like other males seeing what was theirs. Hopefully she could make it to one of the extra clothes boxes before she encountered anyone else.