Kiera shrugged off Sooleawaa's hand. “It's my fault she's there. I'm going!”
“Kiera!”
Keeping low, Kiera broke free of Sooleawaa's grasp, swung around the log and moved forward. There were dozens of wounded or dead caribou lining the meadow between her and the river. She dove for cover behind the first one, just as a large doe jumped over her. The wind from its body rustled the top of Kiera's hair as the caribou passed overhead. Kiera half-crawled, half-ran, picking her way from carcass to carcass and avoiding the trampling hooves. Halfway to the river, there was a wide, unprotected stretch of grass and wild flowers. She looked to the river. From this distance, she could see the tears glistening on Shawnadit's face as she searched for her friend. The herd, lumbering up and out of the frigid water, seemed to make an effort to pass on either side of the little girl. But how long would her luck last?
Kiera didn't want Shawnadit to see her and move away from the partial safety of the water. She waited until the young girl was looking downstream, then she jumped to her feet and bolted across the open, unprotected meadow. Her injured leg was now the last thing on her mind. She accelerated into a sprint.
She was halfway across the meadow when an old bull caribou, seeing this strange animal charging towards him, took it as a challenge. He snorted, flared his steaming nostrils, lowered his antlers and charged at Kiera.
Keeping her eye on Shawnadit, Kiera didn't see the danger until it was too late. The sight of a charging bull brought her to a sudden stop. She froze. Where could she go? The antlers were lowered. In a second, she would be dead. Suddenly, something whizzed by her ear. The object hit the old bull in the front shoulder, causing his front leg to buckle. The enraged animal fell forward and cartwheeled, careening out of control in front of Kiera.
With the enormous tumbling boulder of fur and antlers almost upon her, Kiera did the only thing she could do. She jumped. She had almost cleared the animal when a flailing hoof caught her ankle and sent her into an airborne somersault. She managed a full rotation before landing hard on her heels and bottom. A second of shock passed before she realized that she was still alive. She rose to her knees and looked back over her shoulder. Sooleawaa, now a good distance away, waved at her with her bow from behind the log. She had saved Kiera's life again.
There was no time to think of that right now. Kiera shot back up onto her feet. Shawnadit turned away from the river and saw Kiera. Her eyes lit up, and she squealed with delight. A nearby female caribou with a young fawn, just finishing the crossing, heard the strange squeal. She abruptly turned, identified the small creature as a potential danger to her offspring and charged at the young girl. Shawnadit, seeing the angry doe, screamed. There was only one way for the little girl to run. She spun around and jumped feet first into the river. Shawnadit's little legs were no match for the speed of the mother caribou. The mother caught up to her in a flash. With her head lowered, she caught Shawnadit in her stubby antlers and launched her high up into the air.
Kiera stared in disbelief. She watched helplessly as the little girl flew through the air, landing well away from shore in the deepest part of the river. Kiera ran through the remaining caribou and downstream to the water's edge. She searched desperately for the young girl. The frothing, angry water revealed nothing. Dozens of canoes zigzagged across the river, pairs of hunters slaying the slowest of caribou with long spears. Kiera cupped her hands around her mouth in desperation.
“Help! There's a girl in the river! Somebody help me!”
The hunters were completely absorbed in the hunt. Kiera's plea went unnoticed. Without giving up hope, she chased the water downstream towards the growing rapids. While doing so, she stumbled on a pile of brush. She glanced down to realize that the branches were hiding a spare canoe. A paddle lay inside on the ribbing. She threw the branches aside, pointed the canoe away from shore and pushed off into the current.
ELEVEN
Chocan was closing in on an old buck. The cries and smells of the hunt brought alive all of the instincts of his ancestors. His blood pulsed in excitement. He was one with nature. Predator and prey. Death or survival. Today, life had been simplified into its most basic components.
His friend and hunting companion Huritt sat in the stern. He dug his paddle into the water to keep pace with the swimming animal. The caribou's eyes bulged in fear. Chocan lifted his spear and aimed for the side of the neck. He would try to make this as quick and painless as possible for the animal.
Something thwacked into the side of the canoe. Surprised, Chocan almost lost his balance, nearly joining the tired animal in the river. When he looked down, he saw an arrow embedded in the bark below his knee. They were under attack? At the Meeting Place? That was impossible! Instinctively, he lifted his spear in defense while he scanned the shore for danger.
He saw Sooleawaa, bow in hand, on the shore. Around one of her shoulders was a long coil of leather twine for securing a mamateek frame. She waved at him, then pointed downstream. Chocan turned. A canoe with a young woman was chasing something that bobbed in the water ahead of the craft. They were heading straight for the waterfall.
Kiera was relieved when she saw Shawnadit's head finally pop up from the water. Her little eyes showed shock, and her lips were blue with cold, but at least she was alive.
“Hold on, Shawnadit! I'm coming!”
She did her best to paddle the canoe up to the little girl. The current was picking up speed, and the bow now bounced on the increasingly larger rapids. She reached out to Shawnadit with the paddle. After several attempts, Shawnadit's numb hands grabbed onto the blade, and Kiera carefully pulled her to the side of the craft. She hoisted her arms over the side of the canoe and pinned them, preventing her from slipping back into the water. Shawnadit coughed up water through her chattering teeth.
“You…you came for me.”
“Of course,” replied Kiera, “but we are still in danger. I have to get you out of the water.”
Kiera tried to lift her, and although she was not heavy, every time she tried to lift Shawnadit completely out of the water, the canoe leaned over and nearly tipped.
“Stay in the middle,” suggested Shawnadit. “Balance the canoe.”
Kiera shifted closer to the middle of the canoe. She heaved again. This time, Shawnadit's feet came clear of the water. She fell into Kiera's arms. Together, they managed a tired laugh.
“There,” Kiera said soothingly, stroking Shawnadit's hair. “You're safe.”
Shawnadit smiled and looked over Kiera's shoulder.
“Kiera, look!”
The river suddenly narrowed into a roaring chain of rapids and rocks. Without guidance, the canoe floated sideways in the water. Kiera reached desperately for the paddle. The canoe's pointed ends suddenly slammed hard into two large rocks, bringing the craft to a violent halt. A wall of white water crashed into the upstream side of the craft. Water shot skywards like a geyser. Kiera pushed against one of the rocks with the paddle, trying to free the stricken craft. A sickening snap echoed beneath them. A huge crack in the ribbing tore open, then, an instant later, the entire craft shattered in two. Kiera and Shawnadit tumbled backwards through the hole and into the raging torrent. Bits of canoe bobbed along beside them as they were sucked further down the rapids. They slammed into huge walls of white water, each time being pulled into the frothing throat of the wave. They managed to struggle back to the surface, coughing and spluttering, only to be sucked under again.
Kiera fought the growing sense of panic. She maintained a tight grip on the back of Shawnadit's leather garment, towing the child through the endless cascade of rapids. There was nothing she could do but hope that the rapids would end before they both drowned.
Chocan shuddered as he watched the canoe shatter in two. His canoe had been only a moment away from reaching them. As he watched the girls disappear into the rapids, he wasn't sure if there was anything he could now do to save them. The waterfall