4th Down Read online

  At last, the waterfall was visible — a shimmering cascade tumbling down a granite cliff into a deep green pool. Even from where we stood, spray, carried on the breeze, misted our faces. Nobody spoke as we stopped to take in the view.

  At the base of the falls a sandy beach lay bordered by a grassy meadow. We weren't the only people who'd decided to spend the day at these falls. A few other women in various stages of undress were already tanning themselves on the sand.

  "Over here," Reeva said, heading for a spot away from the water's spray.

  We spread our blankets on a grassy knoll and began unpacking our knapsacks. I produced my paper bag full of cheese balls and Allison handed me a plastic cup filled with red wine. "What's in these?" she asked, biting into one of the golden rounds, her face showing both surprise and pleasure.

  "Just about everything I could find in my kitchen," I admitted. "Think of it as an adventure. You don't know what you're getting until you sink your teeth into it."

  Allison gave me a long, appraising look that for some reason made me blush.

  "To friends, new and old," she said, clicking my cup with hers. Others joined the toast, and I noticed Sabrina glaring at me.

  Soon conversation was flowing easily, and for once the women refrained from their habitual bickering. Holly was giving Fay a run for her money in the cool and aloof department, watching everyone else with a half-smile. Billie was trying to get Karen interested in the woman she'd brought along, but Karen seemed intent on trying to jolly Sabrina out of her pouting. Reeva was clearly smitten with her new, navel-ringed girlfriend, and the usually loquacious Lacy was busy eating everything in sight. Allison sat down next to me and did her best to be flirtatious. I lost count of the number of times her hand brushed mine or rested against my leg. For my part, it was fairly easy to reciprocate. Allison was hard to ignore.

  After lunch, Karen organized a football game. As much as I enjoyed the sport, this time I was looking forward to watching the way the women played — not just because of the football references in the notes, but because I'd learned years ago, before I'd ever thought of becoming a EL, that you can learn a lot about a person by the way they handle winning and losing. I was curious to see them interact on the field.

  "Losers have to tote all the trash back," Karen said. "Come on, let's choose sides. Reeva, you be the other captain."

  Reeva pulled herself away from her new friend and palmed the football. "I'll take Fay," she said. Fay looked surprised, but went to stand beside her. Reeva probably thought that with Fay's sturdy body, she'd make a good blocker.

  "I'll take the cowgirl," Karen said. I was starting to dislike the nickname, but I walked over and stood by her anyway.

  Karen and Reeva quickly chose their teams and called us into their huddles. Karen began barking out her orders like a seasoned drill sergeant and Allison, who was on our team, elbowed me in the ribs.

  "Just humor them, okay? Karen lives for these games almost as much as Reeva."

  As the game got underway, I marveled at the marked difference in the way the two women quarterbacked their teams. Karen marched us down the field in an orderly if boring fashion. She handed off to me or Peaches, tossed little swing passes to Sabrina and called a ridiculous number of quarterback sneaks. She virtually ignored Allison, who ran the deep patterns, and it finally occurred to me that Karen didn't have much of an arm.

  Reeva had a cannon. She handed off to Lacy just often enough to mix things up, but relied heavily on Billie's ability to snatch the ball out of the air on a dead run. Just as often, Reeva threw to Holly who, without seeming to break a sweat, managed to be in the right place at the right time. Sure enough, Fay was used primarily as a blocker, which didn't seem to thrill her in the least.

  Even with Reeva's superior arm, we managed to stay close, in part due to Sabrina's diligence in pursuing the ball carrier, and in part due to Karen's ball-control tactics. It took them a couple of plays to score. It took us an eternity.

  "Isn't it about time for a beer break?" Lacy asked, gasping for air. She wasn't the only one ready for a breather. We'd been at it for over an hour.

  "Score's tied." Reeva looked a little winded herself. "Let's go one more. First team to score, wins it." She flipped a coin and Karen called heads. Grumbling, Reeva tossed Karen the ball.

  "Maybe we should mix it up," Allison said in the huddle. "Let's take one deep." It was the first time she'd come close to complaining about the fact that Karen hadn't thrown to her. She'd run a country mile and hadn't yet touched the ball.

  "We can't risk the interception. Billie's too fast."

  With that, Karen called a series of the same predictable plays she'd called all afternoon. Naturally, the other side seemed to anticipate each call. After three downs, Karen had been sacked once, thrown a short completion to Sabrina that netted almost no yards, and tried a quarterback sneak that gained only a couple. We were facing fourth and long and Reeva was chomping at the bit.

  "Let's go for it," Sabrina said.

  "On fourth down?" Karen was incredulous. "You know it's not a high percentage play. If we don't make it, we're just handing them the game."

  "I can make it," Allison said. "Just throw long."

  "That's exactly what they'll be expecting," Karen said.

  "Not if I'm the one to throw it," I spoke up. They all looked at me. "Set it up like you're going to go short to Sabrina. When Reeva rushes you, toss the ball back to me. I'll throw long to Allison."

  It said something about Karen that as much as she hated relinquishing control of the football, her resolve to win was stronger. Even so, I wasn't sure she would actually do it, but at the last second, with Reeva bearing down on her, Karen flipped me the ball.

  I pump-faked to Sabrina, which drew Billie off Allison for just a moment. It wasn't much, but Allison took advantage of the brief separation and broke for the end zone. Sending a quick prayer skyward, I reached back and gave it everything I had. The ball sailed through the air, an imperfect spiral, rocketing toward Allison's outstretched hands. I saw her leap, like a graceful gazelle fully extended, her hands almost touching the ball. Then, without any sense that it was coming, something huge and devastating slammed into me, knocking me to the ground.

  I've been knocked out before, but never without a moment's warning. This time there was no chance to brace myself for the impact. When I opened my eyes, Reeva was standing over me, red-faced, a look of absolute shame in her eyes. The other faces were hazy and out of focus.

  "You're bleeding," Lacy said, touching my lip with a tissue from her pocket. "I thought this was supposed to be touch football," she spat at Reeva.

  "I couldn't pull up," Reeva said. "I was going for the ball. I didn't mean to hit her."

  "Shit, Reeva. The ball was already in the end zone when you decked her," Allison said, panting. She still had the ball in her hands, and despite her concern, she looked absolutely radiant. She'd finally gotten to catch the ball.

  "Nice catch," I said. I forced myself to sit up, feeling suddenly queasy. There was a good amount of blood splattered on the front of my shirt, and I could tell my lower lip was already twice its usual size.

  "Hey, look. I'm sorry, okay?" Reeva looked as miserable as anyone I'd ever seen. Even Fay had given her a disapproving scowl.

  "It's okay," I said. "No hard feelings." Billie came running up with a cold beer, and pressed it against my lip. When I winced, she pulled it back. "Just open it, okay?" She did, and I took a tentative sip out of one side of my mouth, then held the cold can gingerly against my lip. Allison held her hand out to me, helping me up.

  "Nice throw," Karen said as we walked back toward the blankets. Somehow, she didn't seem that happy about it, though. Moments earlier, it seemed she'd have done anything to win. Now that she had, she wasn't all that ecstatic.

  "It was pure luck. I just closed my eyes and heaved it. Allison did all the work."

  Allison, who still hadn't let go of the ball, was beaming. "Come on, let's go for
a swim," she said.

  "I think I'll sit this one out." My lip was throbbing and I really did have a headache.

  "You need someone to stay with you?" Billie asked.

  "No, really. But thanks. I'll be fine."

  I watched them peel off their clothes, some wearing bathing suits, others not, and hike down to the base of the falls. The afternoon sun was still quite warm, and while the idea of a dip in the water was appealing, it was nice just lying where I was, babying myself. Before I knew it, I dozed off.

  The bad thing was down there all right. I could see its evil eyes gleaming beneath the water. It was searching through the darkness for me, and I tried not to move, lest it find me. But I needed air. As stealthily as I could, I propelled myself toward the surface. I'd almost made it when the thing's grip seized my ankle, yanking me downward. My lungs were bursting, but instead of fighting against it, I turned and dove straight for it. Its head was covered with something dark, but the eyes looked vaguely familiar. I was almost close enough to grab whatever was covering its head, when it abruptly let go of my ankle and disappeared into the depths below. With one last burst of energy, I shot forward and gulped the fresh air into my lungs.

  "Hey, girlfriend. You okay?" Billie's kind eyes were the first thing I saw upon waking. My heart was pounding.

  "Just a dream I keep having," I said. "I'm afraid it's trying to tell me something. Like a premonition. Where's Allison?" I couldn't shake the feeling that the dream was trying to warn me of some imminent danger.

  "They decided to hike up to the top. Me, I've had enough exercise for one day. If I'd have had to run downfield one more time, I'd have keeled over."

  "The top of the waterfall? Did everyone go?" I was trying not to sound panicked, but my voice was giving me away.

  "Well, Allison went first. Sabrina followed after her and Karen and Fay took off after Sabrina. I think Reeva and Harriet went into the woods to mess around. I'm not sure who else was going. I decided to come get something cold to drink. Why? What's wrong?"

  "Come on," I said, getting to my feet.

  "Cassidy, what's the matter? You're freaking me out."

  "I'll tell you later. I promise. Right now, I just want to find Allison." I started jogging toward the base of the waterfall, Billie right beside me.

  "Does this have something to do with that dream you were having?"

  "I hope not." The truth was, I didn't know.

  Chapter Eleven

  There were several trails leading to the top of the waterfall and I had no idea which one Allison had taken. The path we chose was rocky and slippery with moss but looked like the most direct route. There were dozens of side trails leading off into the woods, and every time we passed one, I wondered if Allison had wandered off to pick flowers or had gone straight up to the top. I had nothing to go on but my instincts, which I knew from experience were sometimes eerily accurate, sometimes sadistically false. We were about halfway to the top when we rounded a bend and ran into Reeva's friend, Harriet, bent over a patch of mushrooms next to the trail.

  "Look what I found!" she said. "These morels cost over twelve dollars a pound in the store, and that's if you can even find them! They're all over the place up here." She'd collected quite a pile of them and made a make-shift basket out of Reeva's flannel shirt. I picked up one of the mushrooms and examined the reddish-brown, brain-like folds of the cap. I dropped ;he mushroom on the ground and wiped my hands on my pants.

  "You haven't eaten any?" I said. Harriet looked at me, her almond eyes suddenly huge.

  "No. Why?"

  "These aren't morels," I said. "They're called false morels, also known as turban fungus. If you eat them raw, they're deadly. You should wash your hands."

  Harriet threw the shirt to the ground and backed up, clearly terrified.

  "Where's Reeva?" I asked.

  "She went on up to the top of the waterfall. I told her I'd meet her there after I finished picking these. You're positive they're poisonous?" She was scrubbing her hands against her bicycle shorts frantically.

  "I took a class," I explained. "There are so many wild mushrooms growing where I live, I wanted to be sure." I was already moving up the trail as I spoke. Billie was right behind me.

  "Maybe that's what your dream was trying to tell you," she said. "If you hadn't come along, she might have eaten one."

  "Maybe," I said. But if so, why did I still feel such an urgent sense of dread?

  The waterfall cascaded down the rocky face of the cliff to our left and we could see the top every now and then through the trees. We were almost there, when the path turned and we suddenly had a clear view of the ridge. There, standing over the falls like a red-headed angel with wings spread, was Allison, exulting in the view. Billie and I stopped. She was alone, and apparently quite safe. My hammering heart slowed to a mere thud.

  "Did I mention that most of my premonitions are false alarms?" I said, grinning at Billie.

  "Actually, you failed to mention that. Come on, we may as well go on up. We're almost there anyway."

  We were about to continue, when suddenly something small and round like a rock came hurtling out of the woods toward the bluff, striking Allison on the back of the head. She fell forward, knees landing on the edge of the cliff. From where we were, we could barely see her. Then, before either of us could move, another rock followed the first.

  Billie and I raced up the path, scrambling on all fours at times, scraping our knees and knuckles as we forced ourselves up the rocky trail. When we reached the top, we looked around frantically. Allison was nowhere in sight.

  I ran to the spot where I thought she'd been standing and forced myself to look down. There, a few feet below the top of the cliff was a short ledge. Allison's body dangled in the air above the raging falls, one foot wedged into a tentative foothold. Her fingers dug into the rock of the ledge below us.

  "Allison!" I yelled above the roar of the waterfall. "Hold on!" My heart was in my throat and my ears were pounding.

  "What are we going to do?" Billie shrieked. Her eyes were wide, and I knew she was as terrified as I was.

  "Do you have a belt?" She shook her head and we both glanced around frantically for something Allison could hang on to. There was nothing but rock and plants.

  "If you can hold onto my ankles, I think I can get down far enough to get hold of her wrists and pull her up. When I do, you'll need to pull me back up by my ankles."

  "Pull you both up? I don't know if I can, Cassidy." I didn't know either, but I didn't see any alternative. Allison wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. I lay on the ground and inched forward, my head suspended above the hundred-foot drop. I felt Billie's fingernails dig into my ankle and welcomed the pain. As long as she didn't let go, I didn't care how deeply she dug.

  "I'll have to go lower!" I shouted. "You need to ease up some!"

  Billie was pulling back so hard, I wasn't able to reach Allison's wrists. I could see Allison's face, pressed against the granite wall, her eyes closed. Her hair was plastered against her scalp with sweat, and blood was trickling from her ear. Her knuckles were white and I feared her grip was fading fast. She still had a toe-hold, but if her hands slipped, it wouldn't be enough to hold her.

  Billie inched forward, easing me down another half-foot. The blood pumped in my head, and I knew my face was beet red.

  "A little more, Billie. Come on!" I felt her nails dig into bone as she held onto my ankles, moving closer to the cliff edge. At last I was able to reach Allison's wrists. They were slick with sweat as I tried to get a good grip.

  "Hold on a little longer, Allie!"

  Even though I was right above her, I had to shout over the roar of the waterfall. I wiped my hands on my shirt, trying to dry them, and grabbed her wrists again. If my hands slipped, well, I couldn't allow myself to think about that possibility.

  "You can let go of the rock, Allison! Just let go and grab onto my wrists!"

  Slowly, she turned her head upward and for the first
time, she opened her eyes. I tried to appear calm, but with all the blood having rushed to my head, I'm not sure I pulled it off. My eyes were already starting to bulge.

  "Grab my wrists!" I commanded.

  Her eyes locked with mine and, after what seemed an eternity, she let go with first one hand and then the other, digging her fingers into the flesh of my wrists. The sudden weight of her body tugged me downward.

  "Now, Billie! Pull us up!"

  My arms ached and trembled as I tried to pull Allison upward while Billie struggled to pull my legs back up the cliff. It was like being pulled apart. I could feel the muscles in my thighs stretching and my shoulders felt as though they were being ripped from their sockets.

  I willed myself to ignore the pain and thought of all those stories in which people suddenly have superhuman strength and are able to lift the car that's just fallen on someone. No sooner had I thought it, than Billie seemed to be endowed with that super-human strength herself. With a sudden burst, Allison and I were miraculously hauled up the side of the cliff and onto the safety of the ridge.

  When I dared to open my eyes, I was surprised to see Reeva and Sabrina standing over us. Billie was sprawled on the ground beside me. It had been Reeva who'd added the extra strength Billie needed to haul us up.

  "What happened?" Sabrina asked, kneeling over Allison.

  "I slipped," Allison said. "I got too close to the edge." Billie and I exchanged glances, and when she opened her mouth, I shook my head. She narrowed her eyes, but kept quiet.

  "You're bleeding!" Sabrina said, noticing the red, sticky mass in Allison's hair. I noticed Allison's fingernails were bloody as well.

  "You shouldn't have come up here alone," Reeva said.

  "I thought you guys were right behind me." Allison looked pointedly at Sabrina.

  "I had to pee," she said, looking mortified. "I had trouble finding the path again."