When the Moon Rises Chapter One- Fight the Current

Kyle Harden frowned as he peered from behind a tree. His heart racing, he saw the river he'd been hearing for the past hour. It was wide and the water was fast and dark, letting him know it was deep. Gulping, he subconsciously took a step back, knocking into Max. He stumbled, but Max caught his shoulders and steadied him. Nodding at the elder in thanks, he gazed at the river again. In the distance, drawing closer with each passing second, the sound of the hounds could be heard. The howling that those dogs gave off made him shudder and get chills. "Max...how are we going to get past that?" he whispered, looking at the river. If they tried to swim, they were dead. If they stayed here, they were dead. They were dead either way. He shook his head. "We're going to die..." he mumbled, and clenched his eyes closed. Max's hand on his shoulder tightened, and he found himself being turned to face the elder. Sighing, he allowed his green eyes to open. "We can't swim through that...they'll get us..." his voice was shaky and sounded strange, but he didn't care. He wasn't embarrassed to be afraid; he was terrified out of his mind. He was only twelve; he was allowed to be afraid, he was allowed to be scared. He shook his head. "We're going to die-" his sentence was cut off as Max's hand clamped over his mouth, silencing him. Blinking, he gazed at the elder boy, confused. Max's eyes were closed, and he seemed to be listening intently to something. "...Max?" he mumbled under the elder's hand. Max shook his head and placed a finger to his lips, a signal to be quiet. Taking his hand away from the younger, Max let out a growl beneath his breath. "...What is it?" Kyle squeaked, his voice small and frightened. "Max, what's wrong?" For a moment Max didn't answer, and Kyle began to worry even more.

Then the elder whispered, "They're planning something. They coming from all sides...we have to cross the river." and then he opened his eyes and gazed at the river, his eyes narrowing as he did so. "We have to cross the river," he repeated in a determined tone of voice. "It's out only hope. We have to cross."

Kyle blinked. "What?" he asked. "Are you crazy? We can't! Look at it!" he pointed at the river, and Max shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment, before he opened them again. "We can't cross that, Max...we can't..."

"Yes, we can. Be strong," he said calmly, and began walking down toward the river bank. "We can, Kyle. But you have to believe you can. We can do it," he whispered as he began walking into the water. He didn't stop until it was up to his hips. Sighing, he called out to Kyle in a calm, relaxed voice. "Come on, Kyle. You can do it." He looked back at the younger when he didn't get a response, and frowned in concentration. "C'mon, kid. You can do it...just stay with me."

Taking a deep breath, Kyle gave a brief nod and raced down the gentle slope onto the river bank, where he began to wade in. He stopped beside Max, the water at his stomach, almost to his chest. Taking in a deep breath, he whispered, "It's cold, Max...the water..." he frowned. Max only nodded and walked out a little further, where he stopped to wait on Kyle. Kyle followed after him, the water rising to his upper chest, almost to his neck. Swallowing, he murmured, "I don't like this..." he shook his head and closed his eyes. "I don't like this, Max..."

"I know you don't," Max whispered reassuringly to the younger, his voice calm and collected. "I know you don't like it, but you don't have to. I don't like it either, but it's either this or them." Kyle could only nod, his heart beating at the inside of his chest. Max stalked out a little further and began swimming out to the middle of the river. Kyle watched from where he stood, and he knew it was a struggle for the elder. The water was fast, and it was hard to fight the current. It was about to knock him down while he was just standing there, let alone when he was trying to swim through it. Taking a deep breath, he hurried after Max, not sure if he could do it but knowing that he had to. Swimming wildly, he raced toward the middle, huffing and puffing as he fought the current. His eyes widening, he felt himself start to go with the current. "Swim, Kyle," Max order from the middle of the river, kicking his legs to keep himself afloat and struggling against the current. When Kyle started to go under, Max gave a cry and dove toward him.

Spluttering and coughing out water, Kyle resurfaced, his body trembling. "Help!" he cried as he went under again, the water killing his voice as it erupted into air bubbles. Struggling, he managed to swim back to the surface. "Max-" again, the water cut off his cries. Further down he went, the water growing colder. 'No!' he thought to himself, and kicked, struggling to make it back to the surface. Breaking through the top of the water once more, he heaved in a giant breath. "Help-" he went under again, and found himself tumbling under the water, the current rushing him in different directions, none of them leading toward the surface. His lungs burning, he kicked toward the surface, but just as he broke through the top and sucked in a small breath, another rush was upon him, sucking him under as a wave hit him. Growing tired, he could no longer fight it. He tried to cry out under water, but that just made him lose his breath as it turned into bubbles and floated away. 'No I don't want to die!' he thought to himself. 'Max, please! Help me!' His lungs were on fire, his throat hurt from the water that seemed to always be running down it, his legs and arms were tired, and he hadn't the strength to fight his way back to the surface. He cried out again, his voice drowning out in the water. HIs eyelids felt heavy, and he felt them begin to explode. His lungs were ready to burst, and his heart was racing, pounding on his chest. 'No...' he thought again, and then his body gave a sudden jolt, and he winced in pain. 'The...hell?'

Watching the light of the moon fade from his view through the hazy water, everything went black.