Extinction: Book Three of the Viral Apocalypse Series by Michael McBride

Author:Michael McBride [McBride, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Preternatural Press
Published: 2024-06-18T00:00:00+00:00

Lucas followed Billy around a rocky bend, and there it was, in all its majesty, flowing a hundred feet straight down: the Colorado River. There was simply no way to appreciate its sheer magnitude without seeing it up close. With recorded flow rates upward of ten thousand cubic feet per second, it provided power and water for forty million people across seven states. Looking at it now, with the thunder of its passage reverberating from the canyon walls and whitecaps bursting from hidden rocks, the idea of setting out on a raft with the intention of finding a hidden orifice, let alone stopping when they saw it, seemed laughable. It was easily two hundred feet wide and Lord only knew how deep, and that was here, miles to the north of their destination, which was at the heart of the steepest section of the entire canyon.

“What were we thinking?” he whispered.

The path subtly descended as it traced the topography, ever so slowly working its way down to a sandy stretch of bank maybe a quarter of a mile long. Weeds and shrubs grew right up to the water’s edge, while fire rings marked the campsites where rafters had overnighted on multi-day excursions. It was about as close as they could get to the perfect launch site without losing another half a day and setting out from Lees Ferry, just downriver from the Glen Canyon Dam.

Lucas watched the sun sinking in the sky to the west. It occasionally disappeared behind the rocky crests high overhead, darkening entire sections of the path. After so long in the sun, the sudden change made him shiver.

The path settled into the bottom of the ravine, following the course of a dry streambed the rest of the way to the river. It was all Lucas could do not to throw himself in the water. He shrugged the raft from his shoulders and collapsed to all fours. His back ached something fierce, but together they’d done it. They’d gotten the rafts all the way down here. Now all they needed to do was inflate them.

“I’ll check in with the others and let them know we made it,” Riley said, wandering down the bank with the sat phone.

Lucas nodded and glanced uphill. They’d traveled so far that he couldn’t even see where they’d started. Nine miles had sounded like nothing when they’d set out. A mere three-hour walk at a leisurely pace. Nothing to it. Of them all, he should have known better. Now, here they were with maybe two hours of sunlight left, and they hadn’t even put out on the water. If they missed their destination, it would be full dark and well past midnight by the time they reached Bright Angel Canyon and the nearest debarkation site, which meant they’d be braving the roughest stretch of rapids in complete darkness. Their only realistic option was to pitch camp and leave at first⁠—

“We need to hurry,” Milana said.

She unbundled the rafts and started unrolling them in a blind panic, revealing the hand pumps bundled inside.

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