Chapter Twenty-Six: Frickin' Rivers

Duncan's POV:

"Let me go Duncan!"

"Oh come on Princess, live a little!"

"I'm trying to live, and you keep ruining my life!" Courtney hissed.

Finally I let go of her. "Drama queen."Courtney wanted to get out of the river and walk along side it, and finally I let her do that. She climbed up onto the grass and wrung out the water in her hair. "You know your shirts wet, I can see through to your bra," I smirked.

She looked down and scowled. "You're such a pig. Why don't you get out of the water, you've been in there awhile."

I shrugged. "Aren't you the one who suggested we follow the river?"

"Yeah, but I meant walking beside it, not swimming in it." Courtney stood up and walked along the river side as she said, while I let the slow water current pull me along. "Ugh now I'm cold! This is your fault for pushing me in there!"

"You can come and snuggle up next to me," I winked.

"Yeah, jump back in the freezing water and snuggle up to someone like you. That makes total sense." Sarcasm dripped from her tone of voice.

"You know, I heard from Reader's Digest or some shit magazine like that, that when a mother loses her child, she goes through stages of anger, depression, and thoughts of suicide." (A/N I made that up btw, I have no idea if that's true)

Courtney scoffed. "I can't believe you're making a joke about us losing Britney you son of a bitch!"

"My mom is a bitch," I agreed jokingly. "She convinced me to go to this stupid summer camp."

"Aren't you upset Britney is gone too?" Princess then asked me.

"Yeah. A little."

"A little? This just shows what failures we are! We couldn't even take care of a simple baby raccoon! This isn't like a sack of flour for a lesson in health class! Britney was a living, breathing baby! She was our responsibility! And we screwed up and lost her! And that only bothers you a little?"

"Okay, okay, sheesh it bothers me a lot more than I'll admit too. Look I'm sorry about bringing it up, okay?"

"I can't help but think Britney is somewhere cold and she's starving, she's alone, and she's starved of love!" Courtney exclaimed, on the verge of tears.

Where Britney really is…

"Hey! Izzy you just fed Britney my last cupcake!" Noah exclaimed.

"She needs cupcakes for her strength, don't you baby?" Izzy cooed, petting the raccoon's soft fur.

"Prrrt prrrt!" Britney replied, munching down on more sweets, while snuggling up to Bridgette.

Back to DxC…

"Princess, calm down. Britney is fine."

"No! She's not!" Courtney sniffled, wiping her eyes that were starting to water. Whoa. Was Courtney crying? She never shows signs of weakness and now she's on the verge of tears? Shit, I really screwed up.

"Listen," I said softly, "We're going to find her."

"We're probably not even going to find camp."

"Hey don't say that, we'll find camp."

"How do you know?"

"Well… because… following the river was your idea. And as much as I don't want to admit it, your ideas are really good, because they come from you. And you're smart, intellectual, bright, and logical," I said softly.

Courtney then gave me a small smile. "Those all mean the same thing doofus," she laughed.

"See?" I smirked. "That's why we're listening to you."

"What if I'm wrong?"

"Then I'll have something against you."

Courtney smirked back at me. "In your dreams ogre." She stood up straight and composed herself. "Are you going to get out of the water yet?"

"Nah."

"What if you catch a cold?"

"Will you keep me warm?"

"No."

"Then I guess I'll just take whatever consequences come if I stay in the water." Suddenly I felt a pull, and it started jerking me forward faster down the river! "Hey!" I exclaimed.

"Wait up!" Courtney called, starting to run to catch up to me. The pull in the water started dragging me faster and faster! "Oh shit! Duncan your caught in a river current!" Courtney yelled, while she kept running to try and keep up to me.

"What does that mean?" I shouted to her.

"It means you better get your ass out of the water NOW!" she cried, and her tone of voice wasn't demanding, it sounded scared. And Courtney is never scared.

I tried to move my arms and legs and swim towards the edge of the water where land was, but the pull of the current got stronger and stronger. The pull of the water felt like it wanted to rip my skin off, like it wanted to drag me down towards the river floor, and instead of moving my limbs to get to the edge, I was moving my limbs to keep my head above water! Faster and faster, stronger and stronger, and the even more harder it was to keep my head above the surface!

"Duncan!" Courtney screamed, while running as fast as she could to keep up with me. "Hold on!"I tried to shout back to her, but then I lost the battle of air and was taken completely underwater.

Spins, turns, and disorientation. That's what I was experiencing. It was like I was inside a cement mixer, and the weight and pull of the water kept me down, while my body was like a rag doll that twisted and turned wildly. It was like I was high without the pot. I was losing air, and dizziness from the spinning was disorienting me. For a moment I tried opening my eyes, but all I saw was blue so I shut them again. I knew one thing was for sure; I was in trouble and only Princess could help me.

Courtney's POV:

Shit! I wouldn't be running and screaming my lungs out if Duncan had just listened to me and got out of the water! The current in the river got stronger and stronger the further we went down, and real panic hadn't set in until Duncan went under the surface. "Duncan! Duncan!" I screamed, hoping that he would bob back up. He never did.

My legs felt as if they were going to fall off but I forced myself to keep running. If I stopped, Duncan would keep getting pulled away and I'd most likely lose him. I'm not losing Duncan. Not now, not ever. It was hard to think of a plan and keep track of him at the same time. I couldn't see Duncan in the harsh river waters. Three seconds have gone by and he hasn't come up yet. Typically a person who is not a professional swimmer has under a minute before they lose their air and drown.

Fifteen seconds. Duncan was still underneath the surface. Damn it he's not coming up, the current is too strong! There has to be something! Quickly I looked around me and tried to find something to put in the water, something he could grab on to!

Thirty seconds. Shit I've got to hurry! I ran towards the forest and saw a branch that looked thick and sturdy enough to hold his weight. With all my strength I grabbed the branch and tore it off the tree. Ordinarily, that'd be impossible, but you'd be surprised what humans can do when adrenaline kicks in.

Forty-five seconds. I ran and tried to peer into the water, to try and see if I could catch a glimpse of Duncan so I knew where to stick the branch in. The weight of the branch was starting to strain me, but I kept running.

Fifty seconds. Finally! I see it! A flash of neon green, that's got to be his Mowhawk! I skidded to a stop and fell on my knees, piercing the raging water with my branch! "Ah!" I screamed when a piece of bark cut my hands. I ignored the blood that dripped down, and felt a sudden impact slam against the branch! It was Duncan! I reached a bloody hand into the water and grabbed what felt like his shirt, then brought him to the surface.

This is more difficult than it sounded, because with one hand I'm keeping him from getting pulled away in the river with the branch, and the other hand I lifting him up. And he's heavy. "Shit!" I shrieked, reaching the point of tears from my struggling. You can do this Courtney. You can do this! Save him! With a burst of frustration and agony I lifted Duncan completely out of the water and threw the branch where it got lost in the current. "Duncan…" I whimpered as I dragged him away from the edge. His face was still. He wasn't breathing. He swallowed too much water.

Tears fell down as I cascaded towards his lips and pressed mine to kiss. No, I'm not kissing him, but I swear if he lives I will. I was giving him CPR, and trying to get all the water out of his lungs. I blew more air into his mouth and departed, pounding down on his chest with my fists. "Breathe god damn you!" I yelled. I pounded his chest harder and harder and pressed my lips to give him more air. After a few seconds I raised up and yelled. "BREATHE!"

My heart sank as Duncan coughed, spitting up the water he swallowed. He's alive. Duncan is alive. "Pr-princess?" he asked weakly.

"I thought you were dead you bitch!" I shrieked, crying even harder. I don't want to sound so mean… but he scared me… I thought he was gone.

"I'm okay," he coughed, sitting up weakly. "Just tired."

"You bet you're tired you bitch!" I yelped, "I thought you were dead!" There was no use in trying to conceal how relieved I was, and I cried as hard as the tears came, and tried to get a grip. Duncan's eyes softened and he pulled me into his arms for a hug.

"You saved my life," he said.

"Damn right you bitch!"

He smiled. "How many times are you going to call me that?"

I buried my head in his wet chest and closed my eyes, while he rubbed my back to comfort me. "As many times as it takes."

Author's Note:

DRAMATIC! Eeep! I can't help it, once in awhile I need to be dramatic! I know the chapter wasn't too funny, so next chapter the mood will be lighter. I hope you liked it though. I made the chapter especially long since I updated late. I HAVE AN EXCUSE THOUGH!

Okay, so first there was an avalanche, and then a tornado, a twister, a typhoon, a tidal wave, and then hail the size of cars that came crashing down, knocking out my power, so I lost internet. Believe me? I thought now. Okay, so I live in the south, and it was thundering and raining, and my power was out all day yesterday. That is the truth. And now you are set free. Lol XD So sorry for the lack of updating. But that's why I made it up to all of you by making a long chapter :D Long chapters ftw! Oh and sorry for all the cursing. This is rated T, but I made them cuss because the situation was desperate, and every cusses when they're desperate.

So please review, PLEASE, and thank you for reading!