A/N: I know the Animorphs aren't really close, but this is more my idea of how they would act if they all chilled out a little and really enjoyed themselves. I do not own anything pertaining to the Animorphs. Those all belong to K. A. Applegate. Travis and Dave are my own characters.
Chapter 2: Rafting and Camping
The water started out smooth and calm and proved easy to navigate at first, but, as the flotilla got farther down the river, the water became faster and slightly choppy. We were in the upper box of the river, or the first half of the journey. We spent about four hours on the water for some of the younger members to get some experience and then they would camp at a beautiful spot on the bank of the river. As the rafts went down the first, very small drop, several freshmen girls (and one very embarrassed sophomore boy) screamed in fear and delight. Rachel rolled her eyes and let her paddle dip lazily into the water, creating eddies around the edge of the paddle. Tour Guide Dave was in his place at the head of the raft, posing like George Washington crossing the Delaware.
As the raft went over another, slightly larger drop, Dave wavered a little at the jolt, but recovered his balance.
Marco shot an evil glance at Jake, who shook his head.
"Not now, we'll do it on the way back," Rachel whispered.
Marco watched wistfully as "Captain" Dave wobbled again, but bent his head back to his paddle with a sigh.
Finally, after three hours of basic drills like paddling, steering, and turning the raft around, the last hour was devoted to learning what to do in an emergency situation.
"Alright dudes and dudettes, we're gonna learn how tuh flip these babies right-side up, in case they flip over in the rougher water," Dave announced. "These dudes and dudettes in my raft are gonna help me demonstrate."
"Oh boy, I'm gonna get wet," Marco said sarcastically.
"Come on, Marco; it'll be fun," Cassie said with a grin.
"Besides, you might be able to show off for that senior; what's her name?" Rachel said with a wink, "You know girls like guys that can swim."
Marco turned red and muttered several threatening things to himself as the group tossed their stuff into another raft to keep dry.
Cassie couldn't keep the grin off her face as they paddled out into the middle of the river to attempt their demonstration.
"Okay, dudes and dudettes, you know how to flip a raft, so let's do it. Try not to hurt any fish or snapping turtles, okay?" Dave said as they positioned the raft to bounce off an upcoming rock and flip.
"One…." Cassie began.
"Yeah, let's not hurt the water breathers…" Marco grumbled.
"Two…" Jake said, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
"Two and a half…" Marco interjected, raising his paddle.
"THREE…" I yelled as the raft heaved over and my head plunged under the water.
Six heads bobbed up to the surface and lined up on the left side of the raft. We leapt on and grabbed the right side of the raft, throwing our weight back to flip the raft right side up. The raft righted itself obediently and we climbed back into the raft.
"That, people, is how ya flip a raft!" Dave said exuberantly.
"Yeah, now we get to watch them do it," Jake said, leaning back against the raft and pulling his fisher's hat over his eyes.
Marco, Rachel and Cassie followed suit and Dave continued shouting directions at the other campers while the raft floated lazily down the river. I absently trailed my hand in the water and scanned the trees for signs of animal life. I blinked in surprise. Were those the same raptors I'd seen in the trees back by the school? I knew it was odd for raptors to be in the same vicinity, but almost unheard of for a red-tail and a harrier to be within 15 feet of each other. Frowning, I made a mental note to go check Wikipedia when I got home
Finally, after Dave was satisfied that at least a majority of the people in each raft knew how to flip the raft, he gave the command to paddle for the bit of sand that was going to house the campers. It was a manmade mile-and-a-half long strip of beach that sloped up to the edge of a pine forest that stretched for miles. About forty tents were going to be erected in this small space and prime territory was going to go fast so, as the rafts neared the mile marker from the campsite, some of the seniors began to paddle faster.
"Come on, let's paddle and get there first," Jake said and grabbed his paddle.
The others followed immediately and dug their paddles furiously into the water.
"Dig, Travis, Dig!" shouted Rachel as beads of sweat sprang out on her forehead.
"I'm digging, I'm digging!" I responded with a grin as I raised my paddle for another dig.
We pulled even with the senior raft and exchanged glares and grins as the two rafts raced towards shore.
"Get ready to jump to shore when we land!" Jake yelled as they approached the bank.
Rachel, a star member of the gym team and the Animorph with the longest legs, balanced herself on the bow of the raft and, as it scraped the bank of the river, launched herself up on the bank and raced for a spot right on the water where the sand was raised up to a plateau about seven feet above the beach..
The seniors beached their raft just as Rachel grabbed a nearby stick and scrambled up the side of the plateau, clutching for handholds in the clay.
A senior boy leapt up the opposite side of the plateau as Rachel dragged herself onto the flat surface and stabbed the stick into the soft clay.
The Animorphs and I cheered as we climbed out and secured the raft.
Dave started awake from his nap in the back of the raft, oblivious to the drama that had just taken place.
"Alright, dudes and dudettes, let's set up camp!"
"Good job," the senior said with a grin. "I'm Jason Allen," he said and offered his hand.
"Rachel," she replied and took the offered hand.
"You did well in the demonstration today," Jason said as they climbed back down the plateau.
"Thanks; I'm glad you enjoyed it," Rachel replied with a smile. Maybe she wasn't such an Amazon after all.
Cassie rolled her eyes with a grin and helped some sophomores beach the raft that had taken their stuff before the demonstration.
"Well, let's get crack-a-lackin', then," she said, heaving the hideous purple mesh bag onto the beach.
"Hey, be careful with that," the owner said, picking it up and dusting it off.
"See ya around," Jason said and went to go unpack his raft.
"Bye," Rachel said with a grin. She could feel a faint blush rising in her neck and cheeks.