It takes some trial and error, but eventually, I climb up a steep edge onto the top of the cliff. I'm slightly lower, but the angle takes advantage of the sliver of moonlight glowing under the storm clouds, and I'm able to get a glimpse of the spot I was trying to see across the water. The dark rocks jutting out far into the ocean look even more ominous, but it's the shape of the boat that catches my attention. It sits right where I saw it the first time, close to the rocks and not moving.
A sudden blast of lightning illuminates the angry waves washing up on the sides of the boat and the empty deck. With it comes a sheet of cold, soaking rain. Muttering under my breath, I walk away from the edge of the cliffs and start back down the path. The rain comes harder, and the forest around me gets dark to the point that I can't see further than a couple of feet in front of me. My eyes sting from the tiny, hard drops hitting them at a harsh angle, forcing me to look down. It makes it even harder to navigate where I am and what I'm doing.
It doesn't take long for me to realize I've taken a wrong turn somewhere. I'm no longer headed in the direction I took to get up to the top, and now I don't know where I am.
Another flash of lightning is no help. The shadows are shifting in the wind. And the rain keeps coming down.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Straining as hard as I can to see what's around me, I reach out and grab onto the trees on the other side of me to keep myself from slipping on the mud forming at my feet. Another flash of lightning accompanied by a tremendous clap of thunder startles me, and I take a step off to the side. The ground under me immediately gives way and my feet slip out from under me. The tree I'm holding onto cuts into my palms as I desperately cling to it, trying to regain my footing.
No matter how hard I struggle, I can't keep my grip. The rain is too hard, and soon my hands slip away. As I fall, I instinctively force my body around, so I'm sliding down a rocky ledge on my back rather than my more vulnerable stomach and face. I dig my heels into the ground to try to slow my progress, but it’s no use. The ground disappears from under me.
I fall through emptiness for only an instant before my body hits cold, churning water.
The loud sound of the storm around me has blended with the torrential downpour of a waterfall. The pressure of the water hitting the surface creates a strong pull that drags me down. I push myself back up, desperately grabbing for breath. But as soon as I open my mouth at the surface, only more raindrops are dragged into my lungs.
The waterfall pulls me down again. I flail to orient my body and struggle to clear my brain. Rising up one more time for another breath, I relax to let the water bring me back down. Now that I’ve oriented myself, I finally open my eyes under the water. It’s calmer somehow as if the storm cannot pass the thin line separating water and air. My heart is still racing, but I'm able to maneuver over and plant my feet on rocks positioned on either side of the waterfall. Pushing with every bit of strength I have, I propel myself away from where the waterfall drums down into the pool of water beneath it.
When I'm away from the force of the downpour, I surface and swim until my hands hit the edge, then pull myself up. Pain courses through me. My sinuses and lungs burn from the water I inhaled, but I'm on solid ground.
I drag myself painfully to my feet and look around as best I can. From what I can see, the waterfall flows down into an open area created by a horseshoe of rocks. It's not particularly high, but there don't seem to be any paths that lead up from where I am. There's no way my phone survived that, so I don't bother trying to fish it out of my pack.
Instead, I flatten one hand on the rocks and start to slowly walk around the narrow shoreline, hoping to find a pathway back to the resort in the darkness. I don't find a path, but after a while, I reach a large, flat rock sticking out from the wall a couple of feet up. Growling with effort, I drag myself up onto the rock. It's not much but it's progress.
It takes what feels like hours to climb up the side, going from rock to rock, occasionally slipping back down. By the time I get to the top of the cliff, I can hear voices somewhere through the pounding of the rain and the roar of the falls.
I scream out toward them, clawing my fingernails down into the ground to yank my body up. Hands clamp around my wrists and drag me up just as I feel like I'm going to fall again.
"Miss Griffin," a frightened voice says. "Are you alright? It's me, Joshua."
It takes me a few seconds to focus on the face in front of me. The rain has let up some, and I can open my eyes fully. It's the same older, friendly face that looked back at me through the rearview mirror on the drive to the resort. He has me by both arms, holding me up on my feet with more strength than I would have imagined from him. Relief washes through me, and I nod, resting my hands on the arms supporting me.
"I think I'm alright."
"Good, good." He turns
