Snap by Ellie Rollins Page A

city.”
    Danya considered the sign. Pia was probably right—it made more sense to head for the city than to risk their lives continuing downstream.
    â€œNo, really,” Danya called back to Karina, “we’re close to home now! But thank you for the adventure! Thank you for
everything
!”
    Karina waved back. “If you’re sure,” she shouted, “then you’re welcome, little free spirit!”
    â€œGood luck!” Simone called. At least Danya
thought
that’s what she said. The wind snatched at Simone’s voice, and all Danya heard was the word
luck
echoing over the roar of the water.
    Danya was so happy to be on dry land, she didn’t even mind the dirt and sticks still clinging to her wet hair and clothes. Sancho nudged her arm. He, too, looked wet and tired.
    â€œOh, buddy! Are you cold?” Danya stood and wrapped her arms around Sancho’s neck, rubbing her hands up and down his sides to warm him. He nuzzled into her shoulder, shivering.
    Unlike Danya, Pia seemed energized by their brush with death. She hopped up and down, unable to keep still. Danya pulled the waterlogged map out of her back pocket, and Pia peered over her shoulder.
    â€œCome on! Race you to the path.”
    Danya raised an eyebrow. She only now realized how exhausted she was, and after that swim she wasn’t even sure she could stand. She knew they had to keep going—she could still hear that insistent
tick tick tick
in the back of her head—but she was having a hard time making her arms and legs move.
    â€œYou can have the first turn riding Sancho,” Pia offered.
    â€œRiding Sancho sounds good,” Danya said. The girls loaded him up with their sopping wet bags, then they took turns ducking behind a tree to change. The clothes in Danya’s backpack were damp with river water, but they were clean and dryer than the ones she was already wearing, so she pulled them on. At least it was warm out. She’d be dry again in no time.
    Danya climbed onto Sancho’s back, and Pia took the reins and led Sancho toward a beaten dirt road that cut through the waist-high grass lining the river. Hills rose in the distance, covered with fuzzy green trees that reminded Danya of the piles of broccoli at her father’s friend Mr. Martinez’s vegetable stand. She wrestled her curls into a ponytail as she rode. The river water and wind had frizzed her hair, and fuzzy tendrils kept blowing into her eyes and tickling the back of her neck.
    As the sun fell lower in the sky, a silvery fog settled over the river and trees. Before long it started to get dark, and Danya began to think about her parents. She’d been away from them for almost a full day now. What were they doing? Were they sitting at home, waiting for her to call? Or were they actually on the road plastering missing persons posters all over the highway, maybe helping the police in their search? The thought made Danya feel terrible.
    Then, not far off in the distance, Danya saw a faint line of light. They drew closer, and she realized the light was coming from a city—Memphis! Skyscrapers jutted toward the clouds like steel mountains, and Danya could see the lit-up arches of a massive bridge stretching across the river. Just ahead was a huge, pyramid-shaped building. In the dusky early evening, the entire city looked bathed in gold.
    Pia spun in place giddily, and even Sancho seemed to stand a little straighter. His hair had dried during the walk and it puffed up around his head, made bigger by the humidity in the air. He kept shaking his head to get the strands out of his eyes, and Danya wished she had an extra ponytail holder to give him. She giggled out loud at that:
Pony
tail holder.
    â€œWhat’s so funny?” Pia asked. Danya explained her joke, and Pia actually groaned out loud, punching her playfully on the arm. Even Sancho whickered, and Danya thought it sounded like he was laughing.
    â€œNow