A Note to the Reader When Trip of a Lifetime was originally published serially on Paddling.net in 2003, the final chapter was intended to be the end of the novel. So many readers wondered what happened to Ed, Brenna, and the rest of the gang that their story simply had to be brought to closure.. Read on.
Our story continues…
Epilogue
Brenna sat down at the desk. The computer monitor’s cold glow cast the only light in the room. Outside, Scapegoat Mountain towered over the wooded valley. In the deepening Montana twilight, the mountain’s massive east face was a featureless black wall, the spring-fed lake at its foot no more than an inky pool. A narrow stream flowed lazily out of the lake. High overhead, silhouetted against the cobalt-blue sky, a lone bald eagle made languid loops, following the murmuring water as it meandered through the valley.
A gentle breeze set the gingham curtain in the open window dancing. From a nearby stand of Engelmann spruce came the unmistakable churrrr of a short-tempered red squirrel. Nearer still, horses snorted and stamped.
Brenna typed: Dear Jack…
But then a spasm of pain shot up her arm. She stopped typing and closed her eyes, willing the agony to stop. Suddenly, without warning, she was back in the water…
She was swimming blind, forcing herself to keep going, to hang on, to ignore the panic that threatened to overwhelm her. She knew only one thing now: she was going home, and she was damned if she was going to leave Ed behind.
Blossoms of light appeared on the high, dark bank—muzzle flashes, Brenna realized. Between flashes, there was only blackness. Ed’s unresponsive body seemed to get heavier by the minute. Brenna pulled him along in her wake. His life jacket held him on the surface, but that was all. Was he breathing? Brenna didn’t know. She only knew she had to get ashore, fast. The numbness in her right arm had gone as quickly as it struck, to be followed by a searing pain. Still, her grip on Ed’s collar never slackened. With her good arm she stroked hard toward the riverbank.
A hand snaked over her right shoulder and across her chest. She found herself moving faster. Effortlessly. A familiar voice sounded in her ear: “It is me, Brenna.” Sergei! Together the two of them swam toward shore, tugging Ed behind them.… Read more…
Hooked? A new chapter in our serial adventure novel, Trip of a Lifetime, will appear every Sunday. If you’ve missed a chapter, or if you’re coming aboard for the first time and want to catch up, just use the hot-linked title to go to the archives.
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A REMINDER This is a work of fiction. All the characters are figments of the imaginations. It’s NOT a paddling guide. If you’re planning a trip on the Albany River—or any other body of water, come to that—consult the most recent edition of a good guidebook and be sure you’re thoroughly familiar with all applicable regulations. While maps of Ontario show some of the waterways mentioned here, the places depicted in our story exist only in our minds—and in yours.
