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She lifted her head, listening as they got louder.
“So what’s the verdict?” Josh called out.
Saff’s voice came through the quiet forest. “The water is too high to cross,” she said, slightly out of breath. “But there’s a rock ledge that passes through one part of it. It has a few gaps, but I think we can cross it if we’re careful.”
A second later, she felt Saff’s arm brush against hers.
Maddie took her hand, clasping it in her own.
“You think that’s better than going up the hills?” her father asked.
Saff waited a beat, and then Maddie heard why. The sound of the inhaler hissed beside her.
“Erin,” Saff said, her voice a little coarse, “how’s the swelling on your ankle?”
Her mom sighed. “I can manage, but it’s worse than when we left.”
Maddie pursed her lips, thinking about the last time they’d crossed a river. She wasn’t exactly eager to do it again, but she could also hear the clear exhaustion in her mother’s voice. If they went a longer route, especially something uphill, her mom would be in pain.
“We should go through the river then,” Maddie said.
They were all quiet for a moment before her dad spoke. “You’re sure we can all cross safely?”
Saff coughed. “If we’re careful, yeah. The hardest part will be getting Erin across, but with you and Josh helping her, it should be fine.”
“Okay,” her dad replied. “Lets go.”
***
As they made their way to the river, Maddie figured out why it had taken Saff as long as it did. The path was difficult, cluttered with large rocks and fallen trees.
But after another twenty or so minutes, the sound of rushing water finally met her ears.
“How close are we?” Maddie asked, as Saff helped her step over a wide log.
“Almost there. Maybe another thirty feet.”
Maddie clutched Saff’s arm as she stepped up onto what felt like solid rock beneath her feet. By the steep uphill climb they’d gone over, she could tell they’d gained a good bit of elevation to get there, and she hoped her mom was holding up okay.
Saff’s pace slowed as the ground evened out.
“This it?” Josh called out.
The nearby water was now loud enough that they practically had to yell to hear each other.
“Yeah,” Saff answered. “This was the best spot I found. We could follow the bank a little ways down and try to find a betterone, but I’m not sure we will. And the trail is tough to get through.”
Her breathing was ragged, and Maddie once again heard the familiar hiss of the inhaler.
“You okay?” she asked, giving her hand a light squeeze.
“Fine.”
Maddie frowned, running her hand up and down her forearm in a soothing motion. “Maybe we should take a break after we—“
Josh called back to them. “I’ll go first.”
Then his voice drowned out into a low muffle as she heard him speaking to their parents.