Lightning split the sky, igniting the ravine with a flash of blinding white. A deep rumble bellowed from below, as if the damn floodwater had a bellyache.
"What's that?" Charlie's eyes snapped to me.
I peered upstream through the sleeting rain. The rumble got louder.
"What's happening?" Doug's ragged breaths hissed in my ear.
A wall of brown fury exploded around the upstream bend. Debris, logs, and churning mud smashed into the opposite ravine wall before pivoting straight toward us like a charging beast.
"Move!" I yelled, grabbing Charlie's wrist and yanking her to her feet.
Wind slammed into our backs as we ran for the rear of the cave. I turned to the entrance, pulling Charlie behind me just as the surge hit. A solid sheet of muddy water crashed over the rim and exploded across the floor like a battering ram, splattering filth and spray up our legs.
"Get back." I shoved her backward from the surge.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Doug's voice cracked behind us.
Charlie stumbled, her feet slipping out from under her. I caught her arm before she went down, and gripped her against my side.
"Jesus," she gasped, chest heaving. "What do we do?"
"Keep moving!" I pushed her deeper into the cave.
"The cave's flooding!" Doug's voice was pitched high, hysterical.
The stupid bastard stood frozen, staring at the torrent hammering through the cave mouth. "Get back!" I barked.
Another roar erupted from outside the cave. Doug shuffled back two steps.
"Doug! Move your ass!" I yelled.
"Doug, come on!" Charlie screamed.
His head jerked toward us, eyes wide, mouth open. But he was too slow.
Another surge exploded through the opening and swept his legs out from under him. He went down hard, arms windmilling, a choked scream ripping from his throat as the water swallowed him to the waist and dragged him toward the edge.
"Doug!" Charlie reached toward him, but I caught her wrist.
"Don't!" I barked. "He'll drag you down."
"Doug, get your ass up!" I hollered. “Now!”
He scrambled upright, sputtering and cursing, water streaming off him as he stumbled toward us. The floodwater slapped our shins, drenching my jeans. Thunder detonated overhead, and the shockwave rolled through the cave so hard the walls seemed to tremble. Another flash of lightning turned the torrent at the cave mouth into a sheet of churning, molten copper.
"What do we do?" Charlie's voice cut through the roar.
Water swirled around our legs, dragging sticks and foam and God knew what else in eddies that tugged at my boots.
"We get the hell out of here," I shouted over the thunder, "before the next surge swamps us."
"Get out?" Doug's eyes bulged. "And go where?"
"If we stay here, we're trapped."
"No." Doug shook his head, backing up a step. "Hell no. I'm not going back in that river. I'll drown."
"This water's rising fast," I shot back. "We can't stay here."