Life On Terra: The Time-Drifter's Echo

By Rob De Hart

Will and Pikabo are LOST. The portal to Terra glitched, bouncing the extraordinary teenagers through time and place. Separated from their friends and allies, they gain insight into their predicament with every FLASH through time, but each location brings new challenges. They interact with people from their past, present and future, but each has secrets of their own. Their friendships and intellect are tested at every turn. And they're being tracked - Hunted for their special powers. Their ultimate goal is to reunite with Iggy and Akiri, who were last seen falling through a portal to Ignis, but first they must unravel the mysteries of the Time-Drifter and the Echoes, and survive Life On Terra.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rob De Hart
• Release date: Mar 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370067626

Rob De Hart

Rob De Hart was born and raised in West Los Angeles, California. He went to High School in Santa Monica, CA and earned a BA in Psychology from UCLA. He is married and has two young adult children both away at college.He has written three books in the four-part VITA Cycle:Life On Aqua - The Astronomer's CipherLife On Ventus - The Illusionist's EnigmaLife On Terra - The Time-Drifter's Echo

Book preview

Life On Terra

The Time-Drifter’s Echo

Book Three of the VITA Cycle

By Rob De Hart

Copyright 2018 Rob De Hart

Smashwords Edition

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Dedication

Four years. It’s been over four years since I published Book Two. Aqua and Ventus were each written and published in about ten months. Then as Sister Hazel sings, Life Got in the Way: My real job promotion, my two kids both graduating high school and attending college, and my wife and I having to pay for said college tuitions. Over these years, the plots, themes, and character ideas may not have been put on paper (or typed into my computer), but Terra was always in my thoughts – and the intricacies of the story needed this extra time to grow and connect. I think it was time well spent. I hope you all enjoy the final product -- the penultimate book in the VITA Cycle. This book is dedicated to those who waited.

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Books by Rob De Hart

Life On Aqua

The Astronomer’s Cipher

Book One of the VITA Cycle

Life On Ventus

The Illusionist’s Enigma

Book Two of the VITA Cycle

Life On Terra

The Time-Drifter’s Echo

Book Three of the VITA Cycle

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue

Four Worlds, Moon, and Everlast Or Worlds and Moon Last Forever

Part One – LOST

Chapter One

Flashes of Light Or Flashes of Life

Chapter Two

Rapids’ Breadth Or Rapid Breaths

Chapter Three

Fret and Wheezing Or Wet and Freezing

Chapter Four

Memory Store Or Memories Tour

Chapter Five

A Plan of Change Or A Change of Plan

Chapter Six

Wildlife Refuge Or Wild Lie Refugee

First Interlude

Repeat Rescue Or Re-Cues Repeat

Part Two – CROSSED

Chapter Seven

Patient’s Facts Or Fax Patience

Chapter Eight

Lost Love at First Sight Or Lost Sight of First Love

Chapter Nine

Lyin’ Time Or Timeline

Chapter Ten

Coed Searcher Or Research Echoed

Chapter Eleven

Down in Lockup Or Up in Lockdown

Chapter Twelve

Blood Relations Or Blood Relay Shunts

Chapter Thirteen

Time-Drift Or Timed Rift

Part Three – FAUST

Second Interlude

Lived in Lead Or Devil in Deal

Chapter Fourteen

Almost Bought the Farm Or Bought Most All the Farm

Chapter Fifteen

Jim’s Metal Antics Or Mental Gymnastics

Chapter Sixteen

Gas Masked Or Gassed Mass

Chapter Seventeen

Run Home Or Home Run

Chapter Eighteen, Part One

Parachute Or Shoot a Pair

Third Interlude

Racing at Runways Or Tracing Runaways

Chapter Eighteen, Part Two

Volcano Free-Fall Or Can Love Free All?

Epilogue

Supermoon and Sun Or Super-Son and Mom

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Prologue

Four Worlds, Moon, and Everlast

Or

Worlds and Moon Last Forever

From the Field Book of Dr. Thomas Banks:

12th September, 1992 KE

The worlds are konnected. They must have once been one world. Therefore the four worlds must have nearly identikal geography. The power that separated the worlds must be related to the same power that konnects them. The one-time pad key kode found on the Moon was not placed there by someone on Aqua. The worlds must share the same Moon. The key found on the Moon and the ciphertext kode found on Mount Everlast must have been placed by someone from another world. Men from Aqua were able to see the koded tablets on both the Moon and atop Everlast. Elevation, or more precisely, the distance from our worlds’ kores is the key. The event that tore these worlds apart is still aktive. It started at the kore of these worlds and is expanding like an invisible shell. It hadn’t yet reached the top of Everlast in 1987. The shell konnects the worlds – but for how much longer? The four worlds and the Moon may last forever, but will their konnection? What happens once the shell envelops the last mountain, our atmosphere, the Moon, other planets? We may never know. But the shell is out there, slowly expanding over time. Man may be able to harness its power to not only visit other worlds, but visit our past as well.

****

Part One:

LOST

Chapter One

Flashes of Light

Or

Flashes of Life

The Dawn of Time

For both Will and Pikabo, their first kiss seemed to last an eternity – and it did. The fireworks they thought they heard exploding just before they entered the portal vortex were now brilliant flashes of light penetrating their closed eyelids. When their lips finally parted and their eyes opened, the intense flashes of white light were too much to endure. They squeezed their eyes shut but the flashes still stabbed their minds like a multitude of strobe lights set to maximum. Steadily, the periods between flashes became more discernible but no less disorienting. Will and Pikabo were like two A-list movie stars bombarded by the flashbulbs of a hoard of overzealous paparazzi at a world-wide premiere – and they forgot their sunglasses.

Something was terribly wrong. Seven months earlier, the portal vortex they passed through from Aqua to Ventus was practically instantaneous and painless. This one made both of them feel like they were being held in suspended animation – but the feeling was anything but restful or dreamlike.

A battle was being waged. Light was pitted against Dark – and Light was winning. Neither Will nor Pikabo’s powers gave them any defense against the blinding, disorienting bursts. But in time, the periods of dark began to repulse the light, eventually lasting longer than the bright flashes and revealing that they weren’t darkness after all. For the first time, Will and Pikabo could see the world around them in between the flashes, but each glimpse of the world was different. The changing scenes became just as disorienting as the light had been.

FLASH!

A split second of a mountainscape.

FLASH!

A half-second in of an empty prairie.

FLASH!

Pikabo opened her eyes to see a dry creek bed. Will?

It was the only word she could form in the second she had before another flash of light took them to a pine forest. Day turned to night and a wave of freezing cold air pierced them like a thousand needles.

P – Pikabo? stammered Will.

FLASH!

The Sun beat down on them again. They were standing in meadow of tall grass where they spent just under four confused seconds.

Pikabo? repeated Will. Are you OK?

I – I don’t know.

FLASH!

It was early morning and they were standing on a beach watching the Sun rise over an ocean.

Will! What’s going on?! shouted Pikabo, shaking, desperate for Will to hold her tighter.

I don’t know! I’m seeing flashes of different places, replied Will, pulling Pikabo in closer.

Me too! Then a bright burst of light and another place.

Will was relieved, I thought I was having a seizure or some–

FLASH!

They were back in a forest. This time the Sun was shining above and the air was comfortably warm – but this was of little comfort to Will and Pikabo.

Pikabo was still clutching both Will and the wire-mesh box. I don’t know if I can take this much longer. She released her hold on Will, bent over and held her stomach. I think I’m gonna throw up.

Will looked empathetically at his best friend. Pikabo then dropped to her knees as she held her long blonde hair away from her face with her free hand.

Please don’t! protested Will. He knew the sight and sound of Pikabo vomiting would most likely induce him to do the same. His plea could not be obeyed and Will reflexively lost his breakfast as well. They both immediately felt better, looked around the dense forest of trees, and then back at each other.

I think whatever is happening to us has stopped, said Will.

I’m not so sure–

FLASH!

They both instinctively clenched their eyes shut in response to the blinding burst of light. They opened them to find themselves standing in a gulch in the middle of a high desert. Will looked over at Pikabo and saw her counting on her fingers.

What are you doing? he asked.

Once Pikabo had all five fingers open in her free hand, she tossed Will the wire-mesh box and continued her count on her other hand. She uncurled a new finger every second. She then gave Will one word of her reply with each second that she counted.

Nine – Ten – Counting – how – many – seconds – pass – between – each – flash. Pikabo looked down at her hands and resumed her count aloud, Nineteen – Twenty...

Will didn’t want to interrupt Pikabo again. He remained standing beside her, still gripping the handle of Circio’s hard-plastic suitcase in his left hand and now letting the wire-mesh box sit atop the open palm of his right. Will started counting aloud with Pikabo – but he didn’t know why.

Twenty-one – Twenty-two...

Pikabo nodded to Will to encourage him to keep counting aloud. They said the number Twenty-three in unison and then Pikabo raised her voice for emphasis.

"HOLD – BOX – TIGHT! – SHOULD – HAPPEN – SOON!

Will closed his fingers around the box and drew it in against his chest. Pikabo rejoined Will in the count, Thirty – Thirty-one –

FLASH!

The desert gulch disappeared and they were now standing in the middle of a dirt road. There was a large barn nearby and a small house further in the distance. Pikabo’s eyes were still a little watery from vomiting less than forty seconds earlier. She used her water-powers to shape her tears to form binocular zoom lenses. Outside the farmhouse she saw a grey-haired lady hanging her wet laundry on a clothesline.

How did you know when the flash was coming? asked Will.

I’ll tell you in a minute! shouted Pikabo and she took off in a run toward the house. Come on!

Even though Will was still carrying the small wire-mesh box and a fairly heavy suitcase, his super-strength enabled him to catch-up to Pikabo rather easily. They sped past the barn in such a rush that neither of them saw the man standing near the back of the barn mumbling something to himself. The man didn’t act surprised to see two teenagers, but he was rather giddy with excitement. He glanced up periodically to see what Will and Pikabo were doing, but he was preoccupied with typing into a small, handheld device and constantly manipulating a toothpick in his mouth.

Pikabo slowed down so as not to startle the old lady.

The lady’s thinning hair was tied-up tightly in a bun atop her head. Both her skin and clothing were wrinkled and faded from decades of hard living. She finished pinning a drab old dress onto the clothesline and looked up to see the two teenagers approaching.

Ty kto? Čto ty delaeš’ zdes’? barked the lady in her native tongue. The translation was, Who are you? What are you doing here? But neither Will nor Pikabo understood Russian.

Don’t be alarmed, said Pikabo in a calm, soothing voice. We’re lost. Can you tell us where we are? Pikabo had her palms open in a non-threatening gesture and hoped that opening her bright blue eyes nice and wide was disarming.

American? questioned the old lady with a thick, Russian accent.

Yes! Amerikan! smiled Pikabo. Where are we?

The lady’s eyes bulged out in fear. She cried out, Boris! Spravka! Priezžajte sejčas! Boris! Help! Come here now!

A very large old man, presumably Boris, burst out from the house holding a double-barreled shotgun. He saw the two seemingly harmless teenagers and let his guard down.

The old lady stood behind her husband and whispered in his ear, Oni âvlâûtsâ amerikanskimi. They are American.

Boris raised his shotgun and leveled it at Pikabo. Will stepped to the front, but he didn’t want to risk putting either the suitcase or the wire-mesh box down to raise his hands.

Položite ruki, ili budu strelât’! Put your hands up or I will shoot!

Will smiled and shrugged, also in an attempt to disarm the escalating situation, I don’t understand what you’re saying.

Will tried to look as peaceable as Pikabo, but he didn’t have her natural-born ability. Boris pumped his shotgun and fingered the trigger.

Will retreated in a backwards walk and whispered to Pikabo over his shoulder, Get behind me and… Run!

Pikabo ran and Will turned and followed.

BANG!

Will could hear Boris pump the shotgun again.

BANG!

Will felt the first shot riddle off his back and the second shot wing his left arm, but he kept running directly behind Pikabo. Once again, they were too preoccupied to notice the man with the toothpick who continued to type furiously into what looked like a beveled rectangular pane of opaque glass. Pikabo’s beeline sprint to get behind the safety of the barn had her pass within ten feet of the mysterious man. With an expertly timed underhand motion, the man tossed Pikabo a roll of duct tape.

For the suitcase! shouted the man.

Pikabo reactively snatched the silver tape from the air, but didn’t pause to see where it came from. Nor did either she or Will acknowledge or even register what the man shouted. Neither stopped until they were both safely on the other side of the barn and out of range of the shotgun.

Are you OK? Were you hit? asked Will as he looked up and down Pikabo’s body for any injuries.

No I’m fine, said Pikabo. You?

Both shots got me, said Will, but I’m fine. The suitcase has seen better days, though. Will twisted the suitcase in his hand to show Pikabo the end littered with holes.

Pikabo glanced down at the roll of tape in her hands but ignored it to focus on a more time-sensitive issue. Will! Keep holding the suitcase and the box. I think another flash is coming very soon.

How do you –

FLASH!

The barn vanished, but so did the flat dirt road they were standing on. They were again in a forest, but the ground was sloped at a severe angle. Their feet touched down and they both immediately started to tumble down a mountain.

Will’s earth-powers protected him from the physical pounding of the tumble, but he knew Pikabo’s water-powers wouldn’t prevent her from breaking her neck. Will released his hold on both the suitcase and the wire-mesh box and focused his attention on Pikabo, who had already completed two full-body revolutions down the slope – jettisoning the duct tape on her first impact with the mountainside. Will willed his body to hold his ground and reached out for Pikabo as she tumbled by. Three of his fingers managed to curl around the end of her left pant leg. An ordinary fifteen-year-old boy would lose this tenuous grip, but for Will it was more than enough.

Will was born on Terra, the earth-world. As a one-year-old, Will was transported to Aqua through a portal vortex powered by the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon in perfect alignment, known as a perigean spring tide. The combination of earth and water in a massive mudslide generated a portal vortex that connected Terra to the water-world, Aqua. The portal’s energy gifted baby Will his earth-powers of super strength, physical invincibility, and an uncanny ability to control his own density. Will put all of these powers to the test in this moment.

He dove headfirst down the mountain and simultaneously pulled in Pikabo and enveloped her in the protective cocoon of his arms and legs. The pair somersaulted several more times, but Will cushioned every bone-breaking jounce with his invincible head, back, arms and legs. Eventually, Will managed to splay his legs and dig his shoes into the ground, ending their tumble and bringing them to a stop.

You OK?

Pikabo surveyed her body. Remarkably, her only injuries were a scraped right elbow and a bruised left knee. Yeah, I think so, she replied.

The entire tumble was over in less than fifteen seconds, but each of them took another fifteen to let their dizziness subside. Will then remembered what he was thinking before the last flash.

How did you know when the flash was coming?

Pikabo didn’t answer the question, at least not directly. How much time do you think passed between the last two flashes? she asked. You know, how long were we with the Russian lady and Boris near the barn?

Will thought for a second and answered, I don’t know – about a minute?

Pikabo nodded. The one before that – the one we counted -- it was between 31 and 32 seconds. I think the time between flashes is doubling.

Will nodded and thought aloud, So you think there’ll be another flash in two minutes?

Less than that now, said Pikabo. We’ve been here for nearly a minute already. She looked at Will and then around their immediate area. Where’s the suitcase? Where’s the box?

I dropped them to save you! burst Will.

Right! Thanks for that by the way. But we need to find them. Pikabo tried to stand but quickly sat back down on the ground and wrapped her arms around Will to stop herself from falling down the mountain slope again. She looked Will eye to eye. "You need to find them – and fast."

Will helped Pikabo to a nearby tree and once she was secure, he looked up the mountain. I see the suitcase! Will started running up the impossibly steep slope and stopped about 30 feet up. Pikabo could see him grab the suitcase and look around.

I don’t see the box!

It probably got stopped by a tree root or rock or something! Pikabo thought about how steep the slope was and added, But it’s got to be in the fall line, this mountain is too steep for it to stray too far to the left or right! Keep climbing!

He climbed another 30 feet, looking to his left and right as he scaled the mountain.

Pikabo kept her real eyes locked on Will and kept her mental eye on the stopwatch in her mind. We only have about ten seconds before the next flash! Hurry! she shouted. She then turned to look down the mountainside. There it was – the wire-mesh box was 25 feet directly below her. Will! I see it! It’s down here!

Will gripped the suitcase tight and sprinted down the mountain as fast as he could – making ten to fifteen foot leaps with every step. Pikabo judged his pace, did some quick mental math, and deduced that Will wasn’t going to make it back to her position in less than ten seconds and would fall woefully short of the box. Pikabo swung her legs down the mountain, released her hold on the tree, and began to slide down the slope. She was in control for the first ten feet, but she quickly gained too much speed and caught her left ankle on a protruding rock. She vaulted into the air, flying between the tree trunks headfirst. The good news was that her trajectory would put her in arms-reach of the wire-mesh box. The bad news was that she would then split her head open on a large boulder, careen across it’s jagged rock face, and eventually come to a literal dead stop 100 feet down the mountain.

She flew over the box and grabbed it with both hands. She then closed her eyes, curled into a ball, and braced for impact.

Still futilely dashing down the mountain, Will could see Pikabo’s death-drop. He let out a gut-wrenching wail, Noooooo!

Pikabo’s life flashed before her. She thought about the life she was working so hard to reconnect to – her life on Aqua. Seven months earlier, Will and Pikabo, along with their friend Iggy, had saved Pikabo’s home world from an invasion from Ignis, the fire-world, but in doing so, they were forced to flee Aqua through a portal vortex to Ventus, the wind-world. After 220 days on Ventus, and only about four minutes earlier, Will and Pikabo entered another portal vortex – a portal they thought would seamlessly connect them to Terra – but the events of the last four minutes made it clear the connection was anything but seamless.

But Pikabo wasn’t thinking about the past or the strange flashes of the last four minutes. She was thinking about home – about a future life she hoped to nurture and grow on Aqua. She saw herself reunited with her father, returning to high school, and eventually attending college. Will was there, by her side, and so was Iggy and even Akiri, the girl they met on Ventus. Pikabo conjured images of the foursome sitting on the quad of Santa Monika High at lunchtime. She pictured herself sitting next to Will in a dark movie theater eating popcorn and squeezing his hand during the scary parts. She saw herself attending a college lecture, older now and wearing the same style glasses that her mother once wore during the reading of a bedtime story.

All of these thoughts and images bombarded Pikabo’s mind in the second she had while plummeting through the air toward the mountain boulder. Will was still 30 feet away when he heard the thunk of Pikabo’s head pounding into the granite.

****

Chapter Two

Rapids’ Breadth

Or

Rapid Breaths

Lost In Time

Will was now standing over Pikabo. He didn’t know how he made up the last 30 feet, but there she was on the ground, still curled up in the fetal position. In anticipation of Pikabo smashing into the granite boulder, Will had closed his eyes. He couldn’t bear to see his best friend crack her head open. When he opened his eyes, the boulder was gone, the mountain was gone, and he and Pikabo were in a grassland valley.

Pikabo rolled over and felt her forehead. She then looked at her hand to check for blood. There was none. Simultaneous with the impact, the next flash had occurred, saving Pikabo’s life. The flash played tricks with Will’s mind, and combined with his dread and apprehension, he had fabricated the fatal thunk.

I didn’t think I’d be happy to experience another one of those flashes, said Pikabo.

Will dropped the suitcase, fell to his knees, and enveloped Pikabo in another hug.

I’m fine! I’m fine! sputtered Pikabo, gasping for breath. Let me go! The box is digging into my stomach!

Will released Pikabo. Tears welled in his eyes and he couldn’t stop his hands from trembling. He too had experienced his life flashing before his eyes, but his images were nightmares of losing Pikabo and living without her.

Will, I’m fine, repeated Pikabo matter-of-factly. She looked around the valley. In the tall grass, hundreds of feet away, she saw some movement. She focused in and saw animals hopping around.

Kangaroos? she muttered. After a few more seconds of following their movement, she confirmed the marsupial sighting.

Will, I think we’re in Australia.

Australia? questioned Will. What’s going on? The portals don’t transport you around the world. We should still be at the same coordinates, just on another world. The tornado should have taken us to Terra. We should be in Kansas just west of the Missouri or Pekitanoui River – whatever they call it on whatever world we’re on.

"I don’t know what world we’re on, but I can tell you that I see kangaroos, and that means we’re on the continent we know as Australia."

Check the GPS, suggested Will.

Good idea. Pikabo opened the wire-mesh box and pulled out the GPS device. After pushing a series of buttons and turning the device off and on again, she looked up at Will in frustration. It’s not working.

The electrical circuits must be fried from the portal.

No, that’s not it, said Pikabo shaking her head. The box protected it. It powers on and off just fine. It just can’t find a signal to tell us where we are.

How long do you think we’ll be here – you know, before the next flash? asked Will.

Should be about four minutes, guessed Pikabo, still messing around with the GPS. Her eyes then shot wide-open for a moment and she began pressing the same button on the device repeatedly. Will! There are coordinates saved in the memory. Tons of them.

Do you recognize any of them?

No, not yet, said Pikabo, still advancing through the list of coordinates. Wait! Yes! I do! This one is the waterspout in the Florida Keys! Pikabo advanced to the next coordinate. And this one is the tornado we just went through! Pikabo tried to advance to the next coordinate but the last one remained on the display. And that’s it. That’s the last one in the memory.

Last one – Last one, repeated Will. He remembered those words coming from both Mr. E. and Circio back on Ventus. Count them, he instructed. Count how many coordinates are saved in the device. I bet you there are 52.

Pikabo scrolled back through all of the saved coordinates. 52 – 52 exactly. How did you know? What does it mean?

Haven’t you wondered where the list of the 52 coordinates came from? asked Will.

They came from Dr. Bank’s field book, replied Pikabo. Remember, they were coded with a one-time pad. I deciphered the code myself.

Right, I know, but where did Dr. Bank’s get them? Where did Circio get them?

Pikabo looked at Will in confusion. I don’t know.

Us! I think the coordinates came from us!

Hold up. Pikabo shook her head. The coordinates were written into the field book long before either of us was even born. If I remember correctly, the one-time pad was written into the field book in 1975. The ciphertext was entered in 1987, the same year Dr. Banks took the two lines of code to my father to decipher. There’s no way the coordinates came from us.

There’s one way, nodded Will. And it may also help explain what’s going on with all these flashes. Remember what Circio said before we jumped off the bridge? What he said about what happened to him when he went through the artificial portal and reappeared fifteen seconds later? Remember? He disappeared clean-shaven and reappeared with a full beard.

Pikabo started to nod along with Will. He said he was sent back in time – That the system of portals had to correct its error and send him back to his own time.

Maybe something similar is happening to us, proposed Will. You have to admit, something strange is going on here. Seven months ago when we went through the waterspout portal, we were instantly transported from Aqua to Ventus but we were still at the same coordinates. Now I think we’re being bounced from location to location – place to place.

Coordinate to coordinate, added Pikabo.

Right, nodded Will. "So maybe that explains why there are coordinates saved in the GPS’ memory. The system of portals is trying to correct some error – send us back to our proper location.

Pikabo furrowed her brow in disagreement. The system of portals is correcting some error? she repeated with disgust as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. The portals can’t think. They don’t have brains. They are natural phenomena that occur when all of the required catalysts converge during a perigean spring tide.

Will nodded in agreement. "Right, fine, OK. The portals can’t think. We don’t know why we’re flashing from place to place. But why doesn’t the GPS tell us where we are now?

Pikabo’s eyes widened.

Will immediately knew that she had a thought – an important thought. What?

You’ve just answered your own question. We’re not just bouncing from place to place, maybe we’re also bouncing around in time. That’s why the GPS isn’t showing our location.

Will nodded for a brief second but wasn’t really following Pikabo’s logic. He shook his head, Huh?

Pikabo put the GPS device back in the wire-mesh Faraday cage and then pointed to the sky. Will looked up to the sky, back at Pikabo, and shook his head again.

It’s not getting a signal, said Pikabo matter-of-factly. She then grabbed the suitcase from Will. Pikabo put the wire-mesh box inside the suitcase and pushed it back to him.

You said that already. What are you getting at? asked Will as he clutched the suitcase handle.

Satellites. No satellites, no signal, said Pikabo. We must be in a time before GPS satellites were put into orbit.

Both Will and Pikabo looked up to the sky in search of a satellite they knew they would never be able to see even if one was there. Neither of them saw the ground beneath them disappear.

FLASH!

SPLASH!

They dropped into a wide river. Will,