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 4: Rescuers and Revelations
"Hey!" I yelled, starting down the tree. "Hey, are you ok?" I glanced up in time to see the wall of water tower menacingly over the camp.
The girl dragged herself out of the mud to her feet and flung herself at the tree just as the roiling water entered the camp.
I stopped on a branch about fifteen feet above her and thrust my hand down, reaching for the girl, all thoughts of my cousins and friends pushed to the back of my mind.
She reached the third branch as the water hit the first trees with a powerful force, making the tree groan and lean.
"Jump - you have to jump!" I yelled, reaching down for her.
The girl gathered herself and made a lunge for my outstretched hand just as the water hit the tree.
Instantly, her legs and waist were engulfed in a wave of icy river water and the current threatened to pull her under, but I hung on.
"Hang on!" another girl screamed from a nearby tree.
The girl lifted her head, stark terror blazing out of her eyes.
I was bracing myself against the tree branch, leaning out almost horizontal backwards over the water, holding onto the girl's hands with both of mine. My hair was plastered to my forehead and the muscles in my arms stood out as I strained to keep hold of her.
Just when it seemed I couldn't hang on any longer, I saw two dolphins appear on either side of the girl. My jaw dropped in astonishment. One dolphin was trying to lessen the pull of the water and the other was giving the girl a push up. I pulled and hauled the girl up onto my branch with a grunt.
The girl released one of her hands and grabbed the tree branch we were standing on, draping herself over the sturdy, reassuring surface. "Thank you," she gasped, chilled to the bone, "Thank you."
I looked for the dolphins. I saw a student fall from a branch and a dolphin suddenly appeared to push him back up. I counted one, two, three, four, five… no, six! Six dolphin heads were popping up, rescuing students, towing students back from having been washed downstream… I even saw one student and two dolphins explode out of the water, the boy gasping for air. I would later learn the boy had been tangled in his tent straps, unable to get out.
Suddenly, the water began to ebb. Waves were lapping around branches lower and lower down the tree-line. The tent poles from the top of the plateau began to poke up out of the water that was now behaving playfully, all traces of menace gone from its demeanor.
I suddenly remembered my cousins and friends and leapt down the branches, eager to get down, though the water hadn't completely ebbed yet. I was just going to slowly climb until the water was low enough to wade or walk through. My foot slipped on that same dagblasted branch the girl fell from, though and I fell headfirst into the icy water.
The current was surprisingly strong; I grabbed at rapidly passing branches, snagging them with fingertips and having them ripped out of my grasp. The girl I had rescued screamed and then my head went underwater.
I scrambled back to the surface, gulping in air before being plunged downward again. I saw shrubbery on either side of me now and knew I was headed downstream. I let out a yell and tried to get to the side of the river, but the current flowing down the middle was too strong.
Suddenly, I heard Rachel calling me: Travis!
I looked around wildly, but I couldn't see my cousin.
All of a sudden, a dolphin appeared under my arm. I latched on to the stubby dorsal fin, fingers slipping on the slick, rubbery skin. Another dolphin appeared on my other side. Somehow, I managed to drape my arms over their backs, just in front of the dorsal fins. That gave me enough leverage to keep myself firmly between the dolphins as they maneuvered out of the current and headed back upstream.
"Rachel!" I yelled, looking around wildly, thinking my cousin was in the water somewhere, "Rachel, where are you?!"
The dolphin to my left turned its head and gazed balefully at me. Travis, stop yelling.
That stopped me mid-yell. She sounded so close and… clear. I could hear her easily over the roar of the water; almost like we were sitting together in a quiet room. Did that dolphin really just look at me… balefully? I could almost tell the dolphin was annoyed with me… but that wasn't possible, right.
Yes, Travis. It's me, Rachel. I'm the dolphin.
I let out a yelp and gave an involuntary jump, sending myself underwater. I spluttered as I surfaced again and gingerly put my arm across the dolphins' backs. I glanced from one dolphin to another.
Jake sighed. And I'm the other one.
I peered into the eyes of the dolphin on the right. The dolphin nodded its head vigorously up and down.
"I'm dreaming," I said suddenly, "There's no way this is happening."
The dolphins suddenly ducked out from under me, leaving me to flounder again.
You are NOT dreaming, Rachel said. The-dolphin-who-was-Rachel splashed water at me. See? That's cold. And you can't breathe water, she added, swimming back under my arm as I floundered again.
By this time, we were approaching the beach and I could soon feel my feet scraping the river bottom.
The dolphins helped me stand and then wriggled back into deeper waters.
Distract the others; we'll be back in a few minutes Rachel called, and then dove under the water.
I was stunned, but obediently turned and began to scramble up the plateau for a better view. Yep, I counted 6 blow spouts, six dolphins. Hmm….
"Travis!" Mr. Dixon yelled and, grabbing me by the shirt, half pulled, half led me up the embankment. "Where are your cousins?" he asked frantically, scanning the faces of the students that were slowly, wearily appearing out of the trees.
"I… I think they're still climbing out of the trees, Mr. Dixon," I said thoughtfully.
Mr. Dixon nodded and ran back towards the tree-line, directing students to salvage what they could from the wreckage.
There was a rustle in the bushes to my left. I turned and was face to face with the red-tail. The harrier was sitting on a branch not 3 feet away.
Rachel spoke to you. a voice said.
I my his head, " Are you… are you.. . speaking? To me?"
The hawk wore a pained expression and sighed.
Yes, I'm speaking to you. You know about us now. Rachel wanted me to tell you to find some clothes for everyone. Let me know when you find them.
I nodded and stumbled over to the plateau, dragging myself wearily up the slick, muddy sides. When this was all over, I wanted a nap.
Luckily, I found clothes for everyone, though the tent poles were so tangled on the girls' tent, I had to use my Special Forces folding blade that Dad gave me last Christmas. When that went too slow, I reached for the K-Bar strapped to my left calf. That sliced the fabric apart like butter.
I wadded the clothes in a big ball and ran back to the bushes. Luckily, I was out of sight of everyone else. Pretty handy spot, I thought.
The hawk and harrier were still there.
Great, Rachel and the others are waiting about 10 yards down the beach and back in the trees. Be quick, though. Mr. Dixon is getting too close to them the hawk thought with some agitation, glancing down the beach.
I nodded and, summoning still more strength, I mustered a jog down the beach. That swim had really taxed my strength; maybe I'd better start working out with Dad. My dad was a beast, able to do 70 pushups or 77 situps in a single minute. I could do 59 pushups and almost as many situps, but there is always room for improvement.
Sure enough, I found Rachel and the others right where the hawk said they'd be.. No wonder they need the clothes, I thought, they're all in spandex. Gratefully, they took the soggy clothes and put them on.
"Ok," Jake said, teeth chattering slightly, "Let's get back to the others."
We all walked slowly back up the beach, waving reassuringly to Mr. Dixon as he raced towards us, shepherding us back to the knot of students.