For this weeks Flash! Friday we had to incorporate man vs nature into a story about the following prompt:
Victoria Falls. CC2.0 photo by Tee La Rosa.
Up the creek
It all started when I stepped on that frog. It was an accident, darn thing jumped right under my foot. The squelch echoed off the valley walls, a warning and a call to arms for the other residents of the jungle.
The guide turns to glare at me and makes a cross over his heart. Superstitious tribal folk, afraid of mother nature. Where I’m from we’ve paved right over her and erected pillars of glass and steel on her grave.
He gets our canoes into the water quicker than usual. As soon as we leave the shore he starts shouting directions. Avoid this, go right, watch for crocs. I ignore him as usual, I’m not used to taking orders from anyone. His only job is to keep me safe. If I wanted someone bossing me around I’d have stayed at home with my wife.
The current starts to pick up. I’m about to take a picture when I spot dark black eyes poking out of the water. I crank my paddle, narrowly dodging the jaws that burst from the depths. The guide panics, but I just laugh and shout, “Nice try, but you’re going to have to try harder than that!”
That’s when I hear the roar of the waterfall.
