prologue
Splash, swoosh.
Splash, swoosh.
A group of teenagers in a group of canoes, paddling to their next campsite.
Their paddles almost in sync, rarely making a mistake.
On their canoes reads Camp Whitepine, the summer camp that sent them there.
Splash, swoosh.
Splash, swoosh.
"Almost there!" One of the counselors yelled. It was Canada, it was summer, and it was perfect weather.
One of the canoes was entirely friends.
"C'mon Alex, you're the bow. You gotta tell me where these rocks are!" A tall, sturdy teen said. His hair stood upright as if from gel, and his nose was the slightest bit big.
"Jack, we switched a long time ago," an anorexic-seeming kid spoke. His hair was thin and laid on his face, and he was paddling ferociously despite his size.
"Yeah, Alex is in the middle with me!" Another teen spoke. Her hair was half tied up in a ponytail, and she was shorter than both the anorexic and sturdy teen.
"In that case, Alex, hurry up and paddle!" Jack said, splashing water in Alex's face. He missed and hit the anorexic.
"Sorry Rayne!" He yelled as he got splashed by the kid in the bow.
"Watch it you two," Alex yelled and tried to splash both of them, but missed Jack and hit the other person in the middle of the canoe.
"God, Alex. Now you wanna stop staring at Spenser?" The ponytailed girl teased.
"Watch your mouth, Lily," Alex warned her.
Lily shrugged and continued paddling. The rest of the group followed her lead.
The roar of the whitewater was heard before seen by the paddlers.
"The tide is too dangerous for us to paddle through. We'll have to portage," the other counselor warned.
The bright yellow sign for portages was nowhere to be seen, though, and this meant they had to go through the whitewater.
Filled with confidence, they all lined up to get through.
Rayne, Alex, Lily and Jack paddled harshly yet leniently to go with the flow of the rapids, not once hitting a rock. They trailed behind to make sure everyone got through.
But the counselor was right. It was too dangerous to get through the water. One roar of the waves was all it took to sink the last canoe.
Alex wasn't going to let her friends die, though. As the waves tipped the boat one way, she shifted her weight the other.
Shift, repeat.
As the last wave made its way towards them, she shifted more than she could.
Her lifejacket was of no use.
Alex sank into the waves as the water laid claim to her death.
