Fictional Story

I had read part of a story about a kayaker that had to swim a dangerous river. Part of a book was printed in a magazine. I never finished the story. I have always wanted to know what happened so I made up my own story. Most of this story is fictional. I hope you like it. This is part one. 

Love B

I was immediately sucked out of my boat. My shoes where sucked off. My helmet was sucked off.  Thankfully my life vest stayed on. 

I was being churned so forcefully, that I had no clue which way was up, although I had no intention of going that way. An attempt to swim to the surface would result in another trip through the Washing Machine, the aptly named section of river that flipped me, that is that I capsized in.

Down is where I wanted to go. I caught a glimpse of light and kicked hard in the opposite direction. I’d done it. The current slowed and I began moving down river. Now if only I could hope for a breath, I would aim for that light again. 

Suddenly, but only for an instant, my head hit the blinding surface. I left this collision with half filled lunges and a slight hope that I would survive swimming one of the top rivers in the country.

Before I could finish hoping, the vertigo inducing churn had got me. This must be the rapid known as Forced Landing. It had a tendency to push boaters into a little eddy on the bank. In a kayak this would be bad due to the fact that, although the kayaker was calm and safe in the eddy, exiting the eddy would put the poor boater in the main current heading straight for a strainer. A large spruce had fallen here years ago making an other wise straight forward rapid a challenge requiring quick paddling and spot on positioning.

I hoped with with all I had that I would pop up in the calm waters of the Forced Landing eddy.  But I had no way of knowing if I was even past it or not. All I could do was swim down again, hoping to travel up. I had know kayakers say calmly, “Oh if your stuck in a hole be sure to swim down, and if you are still in your boat and can’t roll push your paddle down as far as you can.” Forcing yourself to swim down when all you want to do is go up into the beautiful air, is not an easy thing. My body was wracked with twinges of fear and warning. I can hold my breath for two minutes in a bathtub or swimming pool, only two minutes when I know which way to the surface, two minutes when the calm, heated pool is not forcing me to swim with all the strength I have. Two minutes is not enough out here. So I swam down.