River Crossing by Cleo the Muse
Rating: All Ages
Genre: General
Warnings: None
Episodes: None
Synopsis: DFR "The River" challenge response. Daniel is faced with a formidable obstacle and must find his way past it.
Status: Completed as of 04/10/07
River Crossing
"There is nothing insignificant in the world. It all depends on the point of view."
-- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, Letter to Johann Christian Lobe
Water roared, striking against hidden rocks and forming frothy white caps that splashed and sprayed into the air. Down at the water's edge, the noise was near-deafening, echoing through the woods and drowning out the sounds of the birds and insects as surely as the water itself could drown him.
Daniel kicked at the sand under his boots, unwilling to admit defeat to the raging river which had been a merry little bubbling brook only hours ago. It had rained since then, a torrential downpour which marked the beginning of the wet season for this part of the world the locals called Cebrene. The influx of additional water had swelled the stream beyond its banks, increasing the speed of its flow drastically.
He looked around carefully for anything he could use to cross the expanse. He could conceivably fell a skinny tree, perhaps, but there weren't any in sight which wouldn't take him an eternity to hack through with his puny knife. He also considered trying to find a place where the banks weren't nearly so far apart as they were here, but just as quickly realized that the only place which could have escaped the river's expansion would be where the land was much, much higher. As much as he hated heights, he'd rather stick with the low areas.
The only option remaining, then, was to try to carefully wade his way in while using a stick to probe the ground immediately before him so that he wouldn't accidentally step into a hidden hole and be sucked under by the force of the water. Foot entrapment, he remembered it was called, was one of the greatest dangers when trying to cross an area of rapidly-moving water.
He cast about again, this time looking for a suitable walking stick. Not far from the river bank, he found a limb that was only slightly taller than he was, but thin and light enough that he could carry it with one hand. Returning to the water's edge, he checked to make sure all his gear was secure, then carefully began to make his way across the raging expanse.
"Daniel!"
He ignored the distant-sounding cry, knowing it came from his teammates on just the other side. He knew they were worried about him, but he refused to give in, to admit defeat. If he did that, he'd have to return to shore and wait for rescue. Instead, he concentrated on questing ahead with his makeshift probe, checking the stability of the hidden riverbed ahead before taking each step. He was more than halfway across when disaster struck.
The once-reliable stick failed to detect a precariously-balanced rock, translating it back to his hands as a stable surface. Once he stepped on it, though, the hidden stone shifted, slipping out from underneath his foot and upsetting his balance. He frantically grabbed for something, anything to arrest his fall, barely having time to cry out before he was pulled underwater. The currents which had been beating steadily against his thighs and waist were now all around, tugging at his hair and clothes, stealing his breath and robbing him of his sight.
He kicked out strongly, coming up for air but unable to properly get his feet under him. Survival training took over then. It was a remnant from the rafting trip he'd grudgingly been convinced to take with his teammates only a few months before, though he'd never tell them exactly how much he had enjoyed it. Struggling against the pull of the water, he reoriented his feet so that they pointed downstream and concentrated all his efforts on keeping his head above water. It was a significant accomplishment in itself, especially as he had no flotation device aiding him.
Suddenly, his feet encountered an obstacle, knees buckling with the impact and sending his entire body crashing into the surprisingly-soft surface. Before he could register what he'd struck, he felt himself being hoisted into the air, carried away from the dangerous currents which had been tossing him around like a piece of debris. He coughed harshly, trying to expel the water from his lungs.
"I told you to let us help you across," Jack admonished softly, though his voice was loud to Daniel's ears.
He glared up at the colonel, annoyed to find that the "net" used to rescue him from the river was actually the older man's ball cap. "It was just a stream," he sulked.
"Yeah. A stream to us normal-sized folk. To ten-inch tall archaeologists, it's gotta be like something out of Deliverance."
"Ha," Daniel remarked, clutching the sides of the cap as it was accidentally jostled. "But if I hear one more 'Ken-doll' joke, I'll punch you in the knee."
"You can reach that high?"
Daniel looked pointedly at his watch. "Two more hours, Jack. Two more hours is all the Cebrans said it would take for me to return to normal height. You're gonna get it, then."
Author's Notes:
//sigh// As though I didn't have ENOUGH plot bunnies nipping at my heels, along came this one...