Rushing River's Flow

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(5 days earlier)

The wall of water hit Renat harder than a hammer. His head met the stone with so much force that the world immediately went dark. He awoke moments later submerged in a torrent of water unsure which way was up.

The young man began to panic as his lungs were already half-filled with water when a crack of lighting lit up below--or rather above--his feet. Swimming feverishly, the scientist pushed through the surface barely able to gasp a breath of air before being plunged below again.

The current was wicked, and Renat tumbled head over heels in its merciless flow. His head ached and his lungs burned with fire. He groped at the water, trying to claw his way to the top.

Another precious breath was taken before a piece of debris wrapped around Renat's ankle and tethered him in place. He was thrust deeper and deeper as the tether and the current played a deadly game of tug-of-war on his body.

Soon something would have to give, and it was most likely going to be him. He groped around desperately, searching for a sword which was long gone. The satchel was still around his chest, but the bag was pulling and twisting in such a way that it squeezed his broken ribs tightly. Wildly his fingers fumbled for anything that might help him when he found the knife at his waist. His wife's wedding gift!

Ripping it from his belt with all his might, the scientist slashed at the cord to cut his foot. For a moment, it seemed like the debris was going to keep him in what would be his watery tomb. But at last it broke, the sudden release sending Renat flying to the surface.

Water and air raced into his lungs as the harsh rain pelted against his face. He had to get to shore immediately, but where was it? His heart sank as he realized it was far so very far from where he was and getting farther by the moment.

However Renat knew that this was not the time to give up. If the scientist had to go down, he would not go out without a fight. He would not give death an easy victory.

Trying to float on his back was a futile effort in the torrential downpour amid the raging waters. But not all hope was lost. As the lanky man flailed about, his knuckles raked against a wooden surface in the water beside him. A log!

Renat swam as hard as he could to catch hold of the floating driftwood. There were many things swirling around in the waters, but a few of them were buoyant.

Gripping the makeshift raft, Renat tried with all his might to pull himself on top. For a moment, he did not think the wood was strong enough to hold him. The log bobbed beneath the water's flow, threatening to sink. Thankfully it bobbed just as quickly right back to the surface.

As Renat sat aboard his new watercraft, He surveyed his situation. His brain tried to come up with a solution as his body coughed and sputtered as much of the water out of his lungs as he could. The rain was not letting up, and even with the lightning he was riding blind.

However, the scientist began to realize one thing: he was on more than just a massive log. It was actually a tree which had been ripped from the ground by the flood.

Roots pointed towards the sky on one end, and it came to a very narrow point on the other with a few branches arching in between. Just as long as Renat didn't lean too far one way or the other, it seemed that the tree would not spin and buck him off.

His soaking satchel weighed him down, causing his balance to remain unsteady. It was a problem he would have to deal with, and soon.

The solution he came up with was actually very simple. He tied the bag off to the branch directly in front of him with a simple knot. The decision seemed to stabilize the tree and keep him in balance as well. If only everything else were so easy to fix. 'Onto the next problem,' Renat gritted his teeth and forced himself to focus.

All he needed to do was to get to the shore. He looked around the massive log with great care for something to steer. The scientist tried to remove one of the branches and dip it into the water's flow; it did no good. The current was too strong and the branch was too small against the mighty raft.

Renat moved away from his satchel down to a larger branch attached to the tree. He tried to detach it from his host, but he was not strong enough. Instead, he was able to bend it enough to dip the leafy end into the current.

The extra drag didn't seem to do anything at first, but then he felt the log slowly turning. If the scientist could control the raft and aim it in the right direction, perhaps he could make it to shore before something else went wrong.

The wild bobbing and weaving of the log slowly became more controlled. Renat had a glimmer of hope that he might actually succeed.

But then the log tilted and swayed wildly. At first Renat was not sure what happened, but then, glancing behind him, his face grew pale. For there clinging to the same long as he was one of the cursed lizards that he had hoped to have left behind.

At first, the lizard did not seem to see him. The creature was in the same struggle for survival as the prince. Then in the next flash of day, their eyes locked any hint of fear of the lizard had shown was replaced with intense and overwhelming hatred

"Die!" the monster hissed.

"You can talk?" Renat asked aloud in spite of himself. "What are you?"

The lizard did not respond. It scrabbled along the length of the tree in order to catch its prey. For the second time in a short span, Renat reached for the knife this belt and blocked the lizard's claw just in time.

"Stop! You'll throw us both off!" he warned the creature, but it didn't seem to care. Another swipe at the desperate scientist drew blood from the leathery skin of the horrid green creature. It wailed, adding its cry to the other nightly horrors.

The injury seemed to cause the monster to lose whatever sense it had left. Its animalistic tendencies took over in a blind rage. It clawed at the tree trying to get to the prince as he maneuvered to the end of the log and through the twisted labyrinth of roots.

"Stop," he cried again, "this area is not stable."

The beast did not care as it tore through the wood. In every direction the monster tried to get past the cage of protection to capture the prince, but it cut one too many hearty roots, causing the already weakened tree to splinter. Both creatures were cast back into the current.

Falling once again into the water, Renat eyed the shoreline before submerging beneath the water's surface.

It was significantly closer now. Although Renat was almost completely spent, he thought he might be able to make it.

He held his breath and dove below the water, swimming crosscurrent to the shoreline. His movements mimicked that of a frog he often watched as a boy in the pond near his home.

The motions were crude, but effective. Each time Renat crested the water, the man was getting closer. Stroke after interminable stroke, he pushed himself beyond his limits. At last, one more scoop in front of him landed him dirt instead of water in his hands

Crawling up onto the shore, Renat retched over and over. Whatever was left from Eliana's delicious dinner was now all over the grass beside him. With the task completed, he dragged himself on hands and knees away from the water's pull and into the dense foliage.

Renat wanted so badly to rest, but he knew that somewhere behind him the lizard could've made the same Herculean effort.

It was true that any moment the monster could emerge from the flood waters and attack the prince. He was not sure he had the energy to fight him again. Therefore, there was only one solution. Renat had to hide.

The scientist crawled and crawled until his arms gave out, and then he rolled as far as he could beyond that. When he finally came to a stop, the man was underneath the protection of a large willow tree.

Renat was almost positive that these trees could not grow in the mountains, yet here one was shielding him from the rain. Taking it as a sign, the young man hoped that it would also protect him from those who sought to kill him.

If they found Renat now, he did not stand a chance. Having no idea when the rain finally stopped, Renat remained in the high grass sound asleep until morning.

If only he had had a tad more energy, if only he could've seen the boats in the water searching on his behalf, if only he could've called out to him… Then perhaps he might have been saved from the horrid fate which awaited him with the morning.