"There it is," Erika called from behind.
Julie looked up. She saw the houseboat still tied to the shoreline, resting on a steep patch of rocky ground about forty feet above the bottom of the canyon. It hung downward at a steep angle. There was no sign of Max or Darlene anywhere.
Paul cupped his hands "MAX? DARLENE?" but no one responded. "Where are they? I hope they're okay."
Julie was worried. Where were they? Darlene was not the type to wander. "MAX?"
Erika pointed at the houseboat. "Come on."
After a somewhat difficult climb up the steep muddy hillside, Julie reached out and pulled herself up next to the houseboat using one of the ropes dangling off the back. She felt the houseboat give slightly at her pull and immediately released the rope. It wasn't stable. Erika climbed up behind her and grabbed her arm. She was panting. Paul passed them both, climbing up to where the boat had been tied to the shore.
Julie and Erika maneuvered upwards to where Paul was standing. When they reached the top, Julie sat down in the shade caused by the front deck and looked back down in the muddy canyon. Erika sat next to her. Julie looked downstream and up, even up on the cliffs surrounding the small canyon, but saw no signs of the other couple.
"Where are they?" Julie asked.
Paul shrugged. "I wonder if someone already picked them up."
"Maybe they left a note or something," Julie said hopefully.
Paul motioned to the two women. "Let's climb up and start gathering everything together. We can look around and see if there's a note or something."
Erika nodded.
Paul grabbed one of the lines tied to the shore and hoisted himself up. The houseboat shifted with a loud groan. He dropped back to the ground and backed up a few steps. "That's not going to work. How bad do we need that stuff anyway?"
"My wedding ring is in there," Erika argued. "I'll climb up."
Paul looked at her apprehensively. "Don't be stupid Erika, it's not safe."
Erika walked over and tested the ropes that held the houseboat to shore. The first rope was tight enough to not budge when she pulled on it, the second almost the same. She crouched down and looked under the boat, where the two pontoons sat on the rocky ledge. "I think it's okay."
Paul walked behind her. "You're not going. If anyone is going I'll do it."
Erika walked over to the side of the boat and put her hands on it, dug her feet, and shoved. The boat didn't move. She wedged herself against it and shoved again. Nothing. She glanced at her husband. "I'm lighter, I'm going to do it."
Julie protested. "Wait. Let's think about this for a second."
Erika shook her head. "It'll be okay. I'm the lightest. And we have to look for a note from Max or Darlene. We can't just leave them."
Paul nodded reluctantly. "Okay, but if something happens, be ready to jump off."
Paul clasped his hands together to make a step for Erika. She put her foot in and climbed onto the deck. The houseboat creaked loudly, which made Julie's heart stop, but the vessel didn't move. Erika stood, ready to dive off if necessary. They all hesitated for an instant, before Erika headed inside.
"Leave the door open while you're in there," Paul yelled. "Actually, try to leave all the doors open. Leave yourself an escape route, and be ready to jump if it starts to move."
Julie called out a list of all the things they needed, starting with car keys, wallets, a cell phone, and a few pieces of clothing. Based on the hike up the canyon, they needed better shoes for the hike down. Since there was some probability of spending the night outside, they needed blankets. Julie tried to describe as best as she could the location of each item on her list, based on what she could remember.
"I can't find your truck keys."
Julie looked up. "Did you try Greg's shorts?"
"Yeah."
"And on the hutch next to the bed?"
"Hang on. I found them. They were on the floor next to the hutch."
Erika appeared and handed both sets of keys, wallets, purses, an armload of clothes, and Julie's tennis shoes to them. She then went back into the boat.
Paul yelled inside. "That's enough. Get out of there."
Erika returned with an armload of blankets and pillows. She dropped them to Paul, then went back into the boat. "I'm looking for some shoes for me. I'm not going to―"
The houseboat shifted slightly with a loud screeching noise from the metal pontoons on the rocks. Julie heard Erika scream from inside and a thud that sounded like her falling down. One of the ropes holding the boat snapped and fell slack.
"Get out of there!" Paul screamed.
No response.
"Erika? Are you okay?" Julie called out.
The last rope vibrated with tension. The houseboat shifted again with another loud screech. It wouldn't last much longer.
"ERIKA!" Paul screamed.
The second rope let go. The houseboat started to slide. Through her scream, Julie saw a motion through the door of the houseboat. The houseboat fell, but a running Erika dove headfirst off the boat onto the sand like a baseball player sliding into second. She hit the ground hard completely stretched out on her front side. Julie heard a loud groan when Erika landed.
The houseboat picked up speed fast and fifteen feet down, one of the metal pontoons dug in and the momentum caused the houseboat to roll over in one swift motion. After that, it rolled a few more times, leaving small pieces along the way. It hit a rock outcropping and lost one of the pontoons. It hit the next rock dead-on and the whole thing disintegrated, debris shooting in all directions. The pieces all came to a stop at the bottom.
Stunned, Julie stared at the rubble for a second before kneeling by her friend. "Are you okay?"
Erika lay on her stomach. She pulled one of her arms out from under her and lifted herself up. She had a bloody splotch on her forehead and her cheek. In spite of her condition, she smiled. Her voice came out broken and soft like someone who had the breath knocked out of her. "I got 'em," she said, and she held up her tennis shoes.
A sound came from behind them "Hello!"
All three of them looked up the canyon to see where the sound had come from. They saw Max and Darlene running toward them.
After two days on the river, David had learned that water levels varied daily. Supposedly, these changes were caused by adjustments at the Glen Canyon Dam, even though it was over a hundred-thirty miles upstream. Some mornings when they awoke, the water could be as much as five feet higher than the night before. However, David had never seen Keller nervous like he was at Elves Chasm. Keller said he didn't remember ever seeing it rise that fast. After that, Keller hadn't spoken much since they pushed off. He kept scanning the banks of the river as if he were looking for something. In all the days on the river, David had seen many emotions from Keller, but never fear.
As the raft came around the next bend, they could see white water ahead. Judy pointed at it. "Keller, what's this one called?"
Keller craned his neck around. "There aren't supposed to be any rapids here. Something must have…" Keller then yelled to the guide in the other raft. "What happened here?"
The other guide yelled back, "Nothing. The water is just way higher."
Keller looked at Judy. "I've never seen this much water in the river. Usually, this section is calm." He looked upstream nervously. "They must be doing some kind of experimental dump up at the dam.
"What do you mean experimental dump?" asked Afram.
Keller motioned upstream. "In the early nineties, a politician from Arizona, think his name was Babbitt or something, made 'em open the gates at Glen Canyon for a couple weeks to stir up the silt in the river. They were trying to restore the sand on the banks. Maybe they're doing it again." He shook his head. "Although, you'd think they'd have said something." He looked confused. "It's going to make it tough to find a camp site."