Chapter 2

Graham saw my face go cold and assumed he'd finally intimidated me. A smug grin spread across his face. "Don't let her ruin everyone's mood. I came prepared!"

He clapped his hands and called toward the path leading down to the river, "Coach Bentley! Over here!"

A few moments later, a muscular man in a tight-fitting athletic shirt came walking over with a red whistle hanging around his neck. His skin was dark from the sun, and the first thing he did was blow a sharp blast on the whistle.

"Hello, everyone! I'm your outdoor instructor, Coach Brett Bentley!" His gaze swept over me before he said dismissively, "Graham told me one of you is worried about safety.

"Relax. Swimming in the river isn't nearly as dangerous as people make it out to be. As long as you can dog-paddle, you won't sink."

The moment I heard that, my expression changed completely. Anyone who understood the water would know better.

Dog-paddle?

In a river full of hidden currents, dog-paddling would only get you killed faster.

I stepped forward and looked him straight in the eye. "Are you certified in open-water rescue? Do you have current CPR, AED, and first-aid certification? What about Wilderness First Responder training? At the very least, are you a certified lifeguard?"

The smile on Brett's face stiffened for a moment before growing even wider. "Miss, certificates are just pieces of paper. They're all theory. I've led hundreds of outdoor team-building events by the river. Do I really need a few certificates to prove I know what I'm doing?"

Graham immediately chimed in, "You hear that, Daelyn? Coach Bentley's the professional here. He's a lot more trustworthy than a champion who's only ever splashed around in a swimming pool."

Zara swung her livestream back toward me. A new caption appeared across her screen.

[Guys, the champion is questioning a professional coach now. This is hilarious!]

The comments came even faster.

"Hahaha. Guess all that book knowledge doesn't mean much now."

"She's seriously pathetic. She's too scared to get in, so she's trying to ruin it for everyone else. What's wrong with her?"

"Coach, prove her wrong!"

I ignored Zara and turned back to Brett. "This isn't a swimming pool. This river has thermal layers. The surface water and the water below can be drastically different temperatures.

"Hit the colder water below and your muscles can seize instantly. From the first cramp to drowning can take less than twenty seconds."

Brett seemed to be losing patience with my questions. "Enough talking. I'll show you."

He kicked off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and strode into the river. The water barely covered his ankles. He waded out a few more steps until the water reached his calves.

Stopping on the shallow sandbar, he turned around, waved at everyone on shore, and beamed. "See? Isn't it perfectly safe? Come on, everyone! Get in and cool off!"

"Whoo!"

The entire class erupted in cheers. Applause and whistles filled the air.

Everyone thought I'd just been proven wrong.

But my eyes stayed fixed on the water beneath Brett's feet. He was standing on a sandbar carved out by the current. The water there was shallow, slow-moving, and tinged yellow.

Less than ten feet beside him, however, the water suddenly turned dark—an ominous, inky black. That was the edge of the excavation pit.

I shouted another warning, "Stay away from that dark water! That's where the old sand-mining pit is!"

As if he were determined to prove me wrong, Graham picked up an empty plastic water bottle and hurled it toward the dark patch.

With a splash, the bottle landed on the surface and began bobbing gently.

Graham spread his arms and laughed at the class. "See? The bottle didn't sink. So where's this deep pit you keep talking about? Daelyn, have you been watching too many horror movies?"

I pointed at the bottle as it slowly drifted across the water. "Look at the direction it's moving. It's drifting sideways. That means there's a reverse current beneath the surface. It'll pull people toward the middle of the river instead of pushing them back to shore."

Kaleb's voice suddenly cut in, thick with impatience, "Daelyn, can you stop repeating all those stories your parents used to tell to scare kids? We're adults. We can think for ourselves."

That single sentence destroyed the last traces of everyone's hesitation.

Even the classmates who had still been having second thoughts completely let their guard down.