42
Dried Out
They clung to the rock for hours, it seemed, muscles straining against the weight of their gear and against the pull of the current both. Had they not been tied off by the rope Jared had so quickly anchored, Julian felt certain he could not have stood it.
As it was, by the time the rain stopped and the waters began to recede, he could feel neither his arms nor his legs; they resembled nothing besides quivering weights that hung from his body. When finally his foot touched ground beneath the water, it felt like a boost from the gods.
When the waters had receded enough that he could flop down onto his back without fear of being swept away, it was sheer paradise, and never mind the chill of the water that remained.
Finally, after a small eternity, Julian roused himself eno
