Hello, and welcome to bedtime stories with me rara. Okay. So last time I left you, hang in. As April had got swept away by a flash flood. So I'll pick up the story there. And today I'm gonna be reading chapter six, near death experience. The wall of water rolled April over, pushing her down into the river bed, like a dumper wave at the beach. Her head banged on a rock and lights explode in her eyes like fireworks. She didn't know which way was up. A tree branch slammed into her chest. Her hand hit a smooth rock and her brain focused for a millisecond. That must be the bottom. She pushed hard with her feet and her head burst up through the water. She gassed for breath. As the current carried her further and further downstream slamming her against rock and debris. There was a throbbing pain in April's head. Her vision was blurry, but with all her anger against so many things in life, she registered one clear thought she was gonna die. If she didn't do something to save herself, she had to swim. But where too April looked about, it was hard to make out anything clearly with the raging water and branch she's pulling at her and dunking her back under her brain started to turn over. What do they always say? Don't swim against the current swim across it. April began to push away across the flow towards the bank. Her progress seemed painfully slow. The water was pulling her downstream at great speed, but then the Creek hit a sharp bend and the water slowed for a moment. April gave it everything. She had thrashing through the water cluttered with her debris until she finally managed a class, but a handful of reeds on the bank. The sharp blades of grass cut into her skin, but she held tight as the water tried to pull her back into the flow, struggling to find grip with her feet on the muddy bank, April clamber and pulled herself hand over, hand up the grass, into her chest. Then her waist, and finally her legs were on dry land. Even then she didn't feel safe. What if the flood water grew higher? She crawled on her hands and knees a few more paces, coughing up river water. Eventually she collapsed face down in the scrubby grass and mud trying to draw breath into her aching lungs. She wasn't dead. She would see pumpkin again. It was going to be all right. Probably her heart rate started to slow. The adrenaline started to ebb and she became conscious of all the pain she was in from her physical injuries. April felt an overwhelming urge to burst into tears. For the first time, since their mother had been imprisoned by the collective, April found herself, wishing her mom was there to give her a hug. She refused to give into it. The others would come and find her any moment. Now she would not be crying when they arrived. April rolled onto her back and sucked in deep breaths, trying to calm herself, trying to reorientate herself again. And that is when she smelled it a smell that was utterly atrocious, like an animal, but not just any animal, an animal that had never been washed. Even though it had been eaten. A lot of rotten fish, it was foul. April opened her eyes to see where this odor was coming from. Her vision was still blurry. There was something in her eyes, something wet. She reached up and wiped it away. Then looked at her hand. It was red. Her face was covered in blood. Her heart rate started to escalate again. Then she heard a noise, a very deep animal grumble. April looked up an enormous black bear was standing over her upright on its hind feet. It raised its arms. It opened its mouth as if how, but barely any noise came out. Just a low gutteral sound. April's brain went totally blank. Fear had wiped all thought and feeling from her mind. After a moment, the bear staggered back April probably became aware that she could hear a girl screaming. The bed turned and lumbered away. Crashing through the Bush. April realized the girl screaming was her. She sounded so terrified that she'd not recognized the sound of her own voice. She was screaming and screaming and screaming with fear. Then there was another noise barking, desperate yapping barks, and suddenly pumpkin lept out through the bushes and into April's arms. She clutched into her chest, loving her dog with every particle of her body next fin through the trees behind her and collapsed on his knees at her side. Oh, thank goodness. He cried. You're all right, April then did her second wildly uncharacteristic thing. She wrapped Finn in a big hug, only breaking off when pumpkin wimped in pain, because he was being squashed. Constable pike and Neil burst through the bushes too. Then Joe and officer Denson arrived from the other direction. A moment later cry. He said Constable pike, pulling out a handker sheet and quickly holding it to April's head. There was a gash along her hairline. The blood had run down her face and spread across her water soak shirt. She looked like a victim from a horror movie. It's okay. We'll get you to the hospital. You don't understand, said April grabbing hold of the Constable by his shirt color. I saw a bear and that is the end of the chapter. So we'll leave it there until next time. Goodbye.