What Happens Next?! #4 Entry

WELL! I forgot all about this and I only had one entry and that's why I'm so late in posting this! My inbox got filled up and the entry got lost in all my emails and then I just completely forgot!

Better late than never?

Here was the prompt I gave you:

And here is the entry that Kaitlyn K sent in! Great entry, I always love to read your writing! Thanks for entering!

 It was like being in a nightmare:  You could see something bad was about to happen and you tried to run, but it seemed like you weren’t getting anywhere.       
        That’s the closest description I can give of being pulled by the current closer and closer to a waterfall.
        Why a waterfall, you ask?  What did I do that was stupid enough to land me in the middle of a river, heading straight to certain death?  I’ll tell you; but you might not believe me.
        The name’s Piercen.  Special Agent Judy Piercen.  My partner, Tracy, and I were on a special mission.  What kind of special mission?  Sorry, that’s classified.  What matters is that I happened to be kayaking in a beautiful, yet dangerous, river, surrounded by steep cliffs on one side, and a lush, grassy bank on the other.  I was looking around, drinking in the beauty when I should have been watching where I was going, when my kayak hit a rock lodged right in my path.
        My kayak turned over, and I scrambled out of it, straining to hold my breath while I waited for my life jacket to do its work.  When I finally surfaced, I took a frantic look around me.  Behind me Tracy was paddling as fast as she could toward me, but when I turned around, the sight that met my eyes froze the blood in my veins.  A mist rose above the water, and a great roaring reached my ears.  What possessed us to come kayaking on our mission without researching this river or getting a guide, I’ll never know.
        But what I did know was that I was heading toward a waterfall and no amount of feet kicking and arm stroking would get me to shore.  I was being helplessly pulled closer and closer, with only one hope to cling to.
        “God, help me!”  I cried.  I waited for something miraculous to happen; a rope to come falling out of the sky to pull me ashore, or a motorboat to come pick me up and whisk me away to the bank, but nothing happened.  I was being drawn closer to certain death, and there was nothing I could do about it.
        I probably swallowed a gallon of that water.  It didn’t taste too bad, but I’d much rather have filtered water any day.  The roar became louder and louder, and I was sure that if I ever got out of this scrape alive, I’d be deaf the rest of my life.  But unfortunately, it didn’t look like I would get out of this.  I was being tossed over the edge.  I was falling, falling...
        And then I woke up.

Now, since we only had one entry, I thought I'd share what I wrote for this prompt =D I planned on writing more but this was as far as I took it.

             It was like being in a nightmare. You could see something bad was about to happen and you tried to run but it seemed like you weren’t getting anywhere.

            I saw the ball roll onto the parking lot and I saw Amy chase after it.

            “No, Amy!” I screamed as the little girl ran into the path of an oncoming SUV. I threw myself forward, placing myself in harm’s way. I extended my arms and shoved Amy out of the way, sending her tumbling back into the grass. It was too late for me. I heard the squealing tires. I felt the crunch of my ribs rubbing against each other when the car slammed into me. My head cracked against the pavement. I heard voices…names…my name…then everything faded.

~~~

            My eyes flew open and a shout pealed from my lips as a searing pain ripped through my body. I tried to get my eyes to focus but everything looks blurry and fuzzy.

            “Mmmmhhh…” I tried to form words but nothing was coming out how I wanted it to.

            “Candice! I can’t believe I hit you!”

            “Girls, stay back!”
            “But I’m her best friend! Is she okay?”

            “Someone needs to find her mother.”

            So many different voices that sounded so familiar to me but I couldn’t picture their face or remember names.

            “Mmmhhh?” I tried again.

            “Candice? Can you hear me?”

            I slowly nodded my head, grimacing at the pain in my neck.

            “Okay, don’t move around. You’re pretty banged up.”

            I lay still and turned my attention on focusing on the blurry face above me.

            “Candice, I need you to look at me,” the voice said.

            I know that voice…who is it?

            “Please, Candice! Please be okay!” another voice shouted.

            Wait…I know that one too…that's Lynnette. She's my best friend.

            I struggled to sit up. I managed half way before the pain was too much and I fell back. Another moan of pain came from my lips. Now I felt nauseous.

            “Candice!” the first voice reprimanded. “Don’t move.” A hand touched my shoulder and the fingers gently stroked back and forth.

           Something about that hand was familiar too.

            “Candice, look at me and try really hard to look me in the eye,” the first voice instructed.

            Whose voice is that and whose hand is that? I wondered. I squinted and stared hard at the fuzzy blob. It started to take shape and molded into a recognizable face.

            Mrs. Evans! That's right.

            “There we go, that’s better,” Mrs. Evans said. “Now just keep looking at me while I check for injury.”

            I kept my eyes on Mrs. Evans as she poked and prodded, trying to deduce what injuries I had. Her hand contacted my ribs and I moaned in pain.

            “That hurts?”

            “Mhm,” I muttered.

            “Alright, just hang on, help will be here soon.”

            "Amy...is she okay?"

            "She's fine." a different voice said. "You saved her, Candice."

            "Lynnette?" I inquired.

            "Yeah, it's me. I saw the whole thing. You were great."

            I lifted my left hand to my forehead and attempted to rub away the pain that resided within. Instead, I found my hands sticky with blood. When I realized what the sticky substance was, I couldn’t help the tears that flowed. I was worried now.

            Mrs. Evans asked Lynnette to give me some space as she took a paper towel and cleaned the cut best she could and wiped off my bloody fingers. “Shh, honey,” she murmured. “Don’t cry over it. You’ll only make it worse.”

            I sniffed and closed my eyes. "Where's my mom?"

            Mrs. Evans took my hand in hers and gently stroked her thumb over my knuckles. “She's coming. Calm down…you’re going to be just fine.”

            Suddenly a person dropped beside me and seized my right hand. “Candice?! What on earth!?”

            I knew that voice instantly. “Mom!”

            “I’m here,” mom answered, kissing my cheek.

            Mrs. Evans briefed mom on what happened. She began with how I saved Amy and ended with what injuries she believed I had. 

            "You saved Amy?" Mom asked me.

            "Amy is absolutely fine," Mrs. Evans said. "Candice is very lucky that her ribs are the only part of her that hurts."

           "She'll be okay, though, right?"

           "I'm only a nurse, but as far as I'm concerned, she's going to be alright."