I vigorously paddled across the river, my small kayak turning side to side. My pursuers, Randall, Jon, and Juan were quickly catching up to me. With a repeated motion, I quickly turned the paddle in the water before pulling it out. The water splashed and infiltrated my ship, but I didn’t let that stop me.

Clouds moved across the sky above, and the overcast had me worried. I could smell the stench of fresh pine. I could feel the cold water soaking in between my toes. I looked ahead at the rapids. I took a deep breath and continued onward. I desperately paddled, picking up the pace in an attempt to outpaddle my friends. Randall laughed like a maniac as he passed Jon before he splashed water in his face. Jon drifted toward the side before hitting a rock and getting stuck. Juan quickly sped up toward me, starting to gain speed over me. Juan then passed Randall, still focused on passing me. 

I prepared for the worst before the kayak dropped down into the rapids. I quickly paddled on as the rapids shook and turned the ship. My body swayed side to side and from the drop, I was covered in water. Luckily, I had my raincoat on, and I was able to avoid getting too drenched. I tried to regain control of the ship, water almost blinding my view. Then with a jolt, my kayak turned over as it went over a rock. I was under the water now. I shivered before I quickly tried to flip the kayak over. Then I saw Juan. He quickly passed me.

“So long Marcus!” He teased.

I got back onto the kayak as Randall neared me. I immediately began paddling again through the rapids. Juan was already way ahead of me. Randall steered the kayak toward me and my kayak swayed to the side as he poked his paddle into my kayak. In retaliation, I quickly did the same, which resulted in Randall’s kayak to flip over. Now Jon was behind me. I paddled harder. Juan had already made it to the second round of rapids, while I was still in the middle of them. I grunted under my breath before paddling faster. I slammed the paddle into the water and quickly pulled it out before repeating the process. Randall was still getting back onto his kayak. 

Now, it was Jon I had to worry about. Jon lightly tapped his paddle into the back of my kayak. In response, I paddled harder. I stroked my smooth black hair just as I was beginning to feel a drop of water. I looked behind me to see if Jon was splashing anything on me. No, it was raining. The rain pelted onto my raincoat and quickly filling up the kayak. I knew I should’ve checked the forecast. Juan was slowing down from exhaustion now. With excitement and competitiveness, I steered my ship into Jon’s, knocking him off his kayak. Then I proceeded to stare into Juan’s eyes as he looked back to see what was happening. I could almost forget all about the rain as my mind was set on outpaddling Juan. 

The rain came down harder, and it started seeping through my raincoat. My face was dripping with rain and my hands were almost numb from the constant thud of rain hitting them. Even then, I was too determined to be stopped by some rain. I had to secure myself as the best paddler, and establish that I was the most athletic. At this point, I didn’t even worry about Jon and Randall, they were far behind now. All I had to focus on was paddling. That’s when I saw a flash of light, followed by a thunder boom that shook the entire ground. My heart dropped. I wasn’t going to let a thunderstorm stop me at this point. Pushing onward, I conquered the second round of rapids. I was rapidly approaching Juan now, and we were probability more than halfway through the river. The weather didn’t look very promising though, the sky was darkening and wind pushed my kayak to the side. I found myself paddling harder only for my effort to be futile in the essence of the fierce storm. No matter how much harder I tried, the storms winds prevented me from reaching my full potential. 

“Tired already?” Randall asked me, pushing his kayak into mine.

“Not yet,” I exclaimed. 

Then I bumped my kayak into Randall’s with such force that the kayak fell into a rock and got stuck. Fog was starting to form, which made it harder to see Juan. I stormed toward Juan, picking up the pace. I had to get to him fast, before the storm started to limit me even more. Another loud boom of thunder shook my kayak. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I saw an eagle flying overhead. Then I continued to press onward, almost catching up with Juan before a sudddn gust of wind blew me backward. Then, I paddled harder. It looked that I was going to pass Juan. 

Then I realized that we had already made it to the finish line, and I had come in second place…