Pride's Prejudice by Misty Dawn Pulsipher Read Free Book Online Page A

just came through.  It'll be slippery now, with the
rain."  She began to sound less confident herself.
    "Let's
just hurry," Beth said decidedly, and began walking back the way they had
come.  "But, you know, not too much.  Like you said, it'll be
slippery.  Just be careful."  And the rain began falling heavier
and faster as they descended the muddy ravine walls.
    ~:~
    Even
though William was under the cover of thick trees flanking the river, he could
feel the rain drops on his face.  The light patter increased to distinctly
heavy drops.  He would much rather stay and get soaked through than return
to camp and face the prospect of Kara and Lucy's cooking (or lack thereof), but
he didn't feel right leaving Les to that fate alone.  Not that he didn't
deserve it - this whole situation was entirely his fault.
    William
had just turned back toward camp when a branch snapped not far from where he stood. 
He swiveled back slowly, hoping that it was only Les.  In a morbid twist
of fate it could be Kara following him, but she would probably have gotten lost
before making it this far.  Peering through the trees and into the
darkening sky, he felt the blood accelerate in his veins.
    Beth
stumbled toward him, soaking wet and clearly distressed.
    "Beth?"
he asked incredulously, his heart rate picking up.  "What are you
doing here?"
    An
expression fleeted across her face - something to the tune of 'seriously?' -
and after a moment where she seemed to be deliberating, she spoke in a resigned
tone.  "It's Jenna - she's just down there, in the
ravine."  She was flustered and inarticulate as she explained their
predicament.  They had been hiking when it started raining, and when they
decided to turn back Jenna slipped and (Beth thought) sprained her ankle, or
worse.  She had tried to get up and walk on it several times, but each
time cried out in pain and sunk back down to the muddy ground.
    William
didn't wait for Beth to finish before starting off toward Jenna.  He slid
into the ravine with hardly any trouble, picked up a very sodden Jenna, and
scaled the slippery wall again with only a little more difficulty.  The
opposite wall of the ravine (which the girls had climbed down) appeared to be
washed into nothing more than a mud slide.  There would be no getting back
to their vehicle today.
    "Our
camp is this way," William informed Beth, starting toward it. 
William had anticipated Beth's protest, but it didn't come.  She simply
nodded, fixed her eyes on the mushy ground, and fell into stride beside him.
    ~:~
    Beth
stared into the campfire, watching the blazing orange tongues of flame against
the black night.  She sat on a log, shivering in her wet, muddy
clothes.  The blanket in her backpack did her no good, as it was also
soaked through.  It had been slung over a nearby branch to dry.  At
least the rain had stopped.
    After
ascertaining that her ankle wasn't broken, Les had lain Jenna in the tent meant
for William and himself.  The unanimous decision was that nothing could be
done about it until morning, at the earliest.  Now there was nothing to do
but put her in some dry clothes, wrap her in Les's thick down sleeping bag
(which he eagerly offered, insisting that he never used it when he camped), and
try to get her to sleep.
    Half
an hour later, Beth sat at the fire, mentally rolling her eyes while watching
the two girls in camp chairs on the other side of the flames.  Beth had
been nonplussed when William's redhead appendage from the quad poked her head
out of a large tent and squeaked at the sight of Jenna.  She had rushed
out of the tent, flanked by a blonde girl who looked equally, if insincerely,
distressed by the proceedings.  After Jenna had been seen to, Beth had
been introduced to Red (aka Les's sister, Kara) and her roommate Lucy, who was
quite possibly the inspiration for every blonde joke ever told.  The pair
were apparently attending Hartford on the graces of a company called Bottle
Bronze that