Page 105 of Shadow of Hope
He gently moved wet strands of hair from her face. “Let’s pray for Colin and leave him in God’s hands. There’s nothing else we can do for him right now. We have to move on and try to save our own lives.”
“Okay.” She led them in prayer, her voice breaking and her tears ramping up.
“Let me.” Micha took over for her, his prayer surprisingly eloquent in such a difficult time.
“Now,” he said. “I need you to trust God. Leave Colin in His hands and get control of your emotions.”
She didn’t know if she could do that. But she had to, right? She wasn’t the only one in danger here, and if she didn’t help, Micha could die. She sucked in cleansing breaths and willed herself to stop crying. She forced herself to remember the days in foster care when life seemed the bleakest, and remember how God brought her through those times. She had to believe no matter what happened today, He would bring her through this, too.
The right place for right now. Remember that too.
“That’s it,” Micha said. “Deep, even breaths.”
He took slow ones, mimicking the pattern she should follow.
She did and finally had a chance to realize how calm he’d remained in all of the terror.Amazing.
She had to be of assistance, not a liability. “What can I do?”
“We’ve traveled out of the shooter’s range by now,” he said. “I’ll sit up and take control of this boat to try to get us to shore. I need you to stay put but listen and act on any directive I give the moment I give it. Okay?”
“Yes. Of course. I’m in control now, and you can count on me.”
“That’s my girl.” He kissed her forehead. “Okay, here we go.”
He climbed to the seat and braced his feet on the sides of the boat, then glanced around. The wind buffeted his body, threatening to heave him overboard, but he remained seated.
She understood them not wanting to outright shoot this man after them, but if they had, Colin would surely be alive, and they wouldn’t be fighting for their lives on a rushing river. But taking a life, even the life of someone threatening you, was a big deal. Maybe not in television or movies, but in real life it stuck with you forever, and she didn’t wish that on either Colin or Micha.
“I see something ahead,” he shouted. “A light. Going to try for it.” He leaned forward for the oars.
“Wait,” she shouted to be heard over the churning water and heavy rain. “I can hand them to you.”
“Do it now!”
She reached the one on the right and passed it up to him, holding firm until she was sure he had a good hold on the ancient wooden oar. He put the metal oarlock in the holder on the side of the boat and left it inside resting on the seats, keeping a hand on it.
Please don’t let it be washed overboard.
He held out his free hand. “Give me the other one.”
She rolled and grabbed it to carefully maneuver it out from between the seats. She raised it up and the wind caught hold of the wood, fighting to take it from her hands. She tightened her grip, straining to hold on until the gust died down.
She fought hard, her arm muscles straining as if they were being pulled from her body. She got her arms down and hugged the oar to her chest until the wind eased up.
“Good work,” Micha yelled. “Hand it up now.”
She lifted what felt like a hundred pounds in her stressed muscles when they were probably pretty light under normal conditions.
Micha grabbed hold, inserted it into the holder and then took the other one. “Here we go.”
He leaned back and dropped the oars into the water.
Please, please let him hold on and succeed in taking us out of danger.
Micha’s muscles labored beyond anything he’d ever experienced, the water fighting his effort to direct the boat to the shore. Dev had given him a quick lesson on how to drag one side and row with the other. He followed the instructions, but Dev had been right. This was a foolhardy move.
No matter his attempts, the current continued to win. The boat plummeted down the river, winding around a curve. Logs floated by. He shoved them out of the way with the paddle. Barely keeping from missing a large one. If it had struck the boat, they could’ve capsized.
