3. Second Niagara

Ran watched the water level of the raging giant river washing away large logs of wood. It was still quite far from the campsite. But if they didn't do anything to anticipate it, Ran worried that the water level would get higher and reach their campsite. Going up the hill again wasn't an option. Cindy hadn't fully recovered yet.

Ran looked around. Searching for something to float on. There was nothing but clumps of bamboo that thrived on the banks of the river.

Ran had one crazy thought. Why didn't they build a raft out of those big bamboos? At least they had a plan if the river continued to rage and overflow to where they were camped. It was a sound backup plan.

Ran told his idea to the rest of the team. They all agreed. Especially after seeing how powerful the giant river rolling everything in its path.

There were no more logs carried by the current, but the muddy water seemed to be getting higher.

After having a light meal, the four healthy team members quickly cut down the bamboo trees and made a raft. Based on their survival experience, the raft shouldn't be too big because it would be unstable in a fast river current. So, they made three small rafts. Each for two people including equipment and supplies.

Cindy still hadn't woken up yet. Apparently, the effect of the poisonous thorn bush was very strong. Even though the poison's destructive power was no longer life-threatening, Ran, who was a doctor, thought that Cindy's eye change were only temporary or that there was something else he couldn't explain.

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At noon, all rafts were done, along with the folding paddles they had brought with them as standard expedition equipment. For precaution, Ran asked everyone to put all equipment on the raft and tightly tied. If anything happened, all they needed to do was jump on the raft without worrying about packing up.

There was a short groan. Cindy! Everyone rushed to her. Cindy slowly opened her eyes. Everyone except Ran looked away. The girl's eyes were still completely black. That beautiful face had strange and horrendous eyes.

Cindy blinked. Looking around while stretching her body. Cindy felt something strange in her vision. She recognized her teammates. But it was like black and white movie. Cindy looked around. Bamboo groves, soil, rivers, and even the sky were all in black and white! Cindy almost screamed!

Ran held the girl's hand to calm her down. The head of the expedition team signaled his friends to continue preparing for the river crossing, because the water seemed to be rising fast.

After the others left to get ready, Ran helped Cindy sit down and then told her what had happened.

"But Ran, what's wrong with my sight? Why does everything look black and white like an old movie? Please explain. Is this the effect of the serum or the poison?" Cindy asked in a sad voice. Being color blind was a blow to her.

Ran took a deep breath. Confused about how to respond because he didn't fully understand what happened to her eyes.

"Cindy, calm down. I guess it was the herb's poison. Be patient. Hopefully, we can get out of here as soon as we find civilization and call someone. We will use our rafts through this giant river. As soon as possible. Look, the water's rising."

Cindy looked around. Ran was right. No need to panic. She should think clearly and help her friends to leave this strange place as quickly as possible.

Cindy stood up. Wow! Her aching body had recovered. In fact, she could move easily

Her body was very fit. Ran was amazed with what he saw. She looked healthy and fresh. Watching her jumped up so lightly reminded Ran of the heroes in kungfu movies. Fast and agile!

Yet he knew exactly. Cindy used to be a graceful woman who couldn't move fast! Ran kept the confusion to himself. He didn't want to make her panic again or overwhelmed everyone. He would find out why later. When they were safe.

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The water reached their camp site. Ran was about to helped Cindy step onto the raft. It was unnecessary as Cindy had stepped onto the raft as swiftly as a cat.

Ben, the biggest and strongest of them all, rode the raft, along with most of the equipment. While Rabat and Tet were on the other raft.

The five expedition team members looked at each other as if trying to lift each other's spirits. They would ride a bamboo raft across a giant river with fast moving currents. It would be quite an adventure!

As soon as the three rafts were floating in the water, they immediately rowed the raft slightly to the middle of the river. Ben, who was a rafting instructor in his hometown, told them not to paddle hard because it would use up their energy. Paddling only used for directing the raft. Those were some of the lessons from Ben about rafting through the fast-flowing river.

Ben was right. When they almost reached the middle of the river, the current turned out to be calmer. They were relieved.

The next task was to use the paddles to prevent the raft from drifting to the edge of the river.

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The river was calmer downstream. Some of them started to enjoy the journey and were even laughing. The river was very wide. The shores were so far away from each other that it looked almost like a huge lake. But the scenery along the way was breathtaking!

Especially when they passed by dolphin-liked river fishes jumping along the rafts. The fish swam in the opposite direction to them. Meaning the fish were swimming upstream. Tet mentioned that the fish might be some kind of salmon that always went upstream to lay eggs.

There was one thing that Tet missed. The fish were panicky, judging from their swimming style. The fish seemed to be avoiding some threats. Tet didn't know that the fish had actually been swept downstream and were now desperately swimming upstream to avoid something.

And that something was now visible from a distance! Foams of water were whiten and foggy. The current was also getting stronger. Ran, who was always alert, squinted his eyes and grabbed the binoculars. His stern face turned pale as soon as he realized what it was in the distance.

"Hey!….. Hey!… row to the shore! row to the shore!" Ran shouted on top of his lungs as he was rowing his raft hard toward the riverbank. The others on the two rafts were clueless of what was going on, but hearing Ran's scream and seeing him frightened rushing to row the raft to the side, made them paddling as hard as they could toward the riverbank.

The roar of the mighty waterfall was heard. It was still covered by the sound of the river's current, but then the roar was louder. It was a waterfall! A colossal waterfall!

The three rafts were racing. Ignoring the limit of their arm and body strengths, the rafts were rushed toward the riverbank. It was so close! When the water was getting stronger, they managed to land the raft on the riverbank, and tied them to hanging roots of a large tree.

The five of them worked together to unload all equipment by climbing the hanging roots. The men looked exhausted because the buttresses of the trees were so big and the distance between them was quite wide. But Cindy was jumping from one point to another effortlessly.

As soon as they reached the land, the five adventurers witnessed a terrifying scene not far from the downstream. The river currents plunged like millions of moths into an immense abyss! A waterfall that was far bigger than the Niagara!

The five of them were silent for a few minutes as they took deep breaths over and over. God has sent them on an adventure like no other!

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