In TREASURE: Enoch's Children Book II the boys find a hidden treasure, but there are those who want the treasure for themselves. They set seige to the town and threaten to destoy the town and everyone in it if they don't get what they want. Captured by Remmick and his crew Cory and Thomas manage to escape, but, it seems, their escape is short lived. With the grandfather of all storms brewing, and Remmick's crew looking for them, the boys feel very much alone in the Kanab River Canyon. Here's an excerpt from that chapter:

 

   Cory shook Thomas awake. They’d been asleep for less than 15 minutes. The overhanging rock was just above his face as he sputtered awake.

   “What’s up?” he said softly, aware if the men were looking for them and could be close.

   “The storm is here,” Cory said softly.

   “We’re out of the rain,” Thomas responded. “Maybe we should just wait it out. We're sheltered, and this is a great hiding place.”

   The cleft was horizontal, just over 6 feet above the canyon floor. When they crawled to the back they were essentially invisible from anyone walking along the ground.

   “No. We have to get out of the canyon right now. Come on.”

   Thomas could hear the urgency in Cory’s voice. He shook his head. A flash of lightning lit the narrow canyon for an instant. The canyon was empty.

   “We have to go now.” Cory insisted, pulling at his friend’s arm.

   “I’m comfortable here,” Thomas said, but was starting to scoot toward the ledge.

   “If this storm—“

   Thunder rolled down the canyon like a freight train searching for a wall to crash through.

   “If this storm,” Cory repeated, “is as strong as I think it is, we really need to get out of here.”

   Thomas began to understand. He’d heard about floods, had even seen one two years before wash through the river in the town. The high banks and the low level of the flash flood preempted the huge amount of damage it might have done. But it was frightening to watch. He imagined what they could do in a narrow canyon like this one. He rolled out of the overhang and dropped to the sandy bottom of the canyon.

   “I don’t suppose six feet would be enough to keep us safe,” he said, looking longingly at the horizontal cleft in the dark cliff.

   “Sometimes the water can be 20 feet deep in these canyons,” Cory returned, pointing to a fissure to the right, a quarter mile up the canyon. “It’s not raining here, but I'm pretty sure it is up north. This doesn't feel like an ordinary storm, Thomas. This feels like a granddaddy storm. If I'm right this canyon could be a death trap real quick.”

   Thomas nodded and followed Cory. He was aware Cory had studied the slick rock canyons around the town for years. And, he’d seen the destructive powers of swift water up close. The flash flood through the town had washed out the bridge to the lumber yard, taken out several shacks at the bottom end of town, and had torn out a quarter mile section of the road down canyon toward the freeway.

   “We may be able to get out through that side canyon up there. If it’s a short canyon we’ll be able to get above any flood waters.”

   “I’m not up for a swim tonight,” Thomas mumbled as thunder rolled around them.

   The lightning was flashing closer together now, every 5 seconds or so. Cory looked up as they walked, and saw the heavy, black clouds reflected in the flashing lights. A shiver ran down his spine. He began to walk faster.

   The sand in the bottom of the canyon was loose, and filled with rocks. In places they were sinking almost ankle-deep in the abrasive soil. Cory tried to pick the places he thought the shallower sand would be, but this didn’t help their progress much.

   Thunder was rolling over them constantly now. It echoed off the soft sandstone cliffs. It hit them like a solid wall crashing down on them. Thomas felt the sound deep in his chest. Cory looked back at his friend, and Thomas saw the look of panic in his eyes.

   “We really have to hurry,” Cory said over the rolling thunder.

   The lightning was flashing enough now they could see their path ahead clearly. They were almost to the side canyon. Thomas was breathing hard from the trudging. The exertion was something neither of them was used to. Running on hard dirt was a lot different than slogging through sand. Thunder rolled, and the sandy canyon wall to their right suddenly exploded, showering sand and pebbles on both of them.

   “What the—“ Thomas spat, turning around.

   Cory yelled, “Run, Thomas. Run now!”

   Thomas looked back. Behind them in the canyon, across from the overhung ledge they’d taken shelter in, were 4, maybe 5 of the men from the helicopter. One held a rifle to his shoulder, and when the lightning flashed, the barrel erupted in red flame. Thomas grabbed Cory and threw him to the ground as the bullet shattered the cliff face above them.

   Immediately they scrambled up and ran toward the side canyon. Thunder exploded around them, and lightning flashed again. The cliff face exploded again, and shards sprayed them.

   Cory ducked into the side canyon, for the moment hidden from the gunmen behind them. Thomas followed immediately, and both ended in a tangle of arms and legs in the soft sand. They struggled to untangle themselves, jumped up and ran around a tight curve and stopped.

   The little canyon ended in a steep sandy scarp nearly a hundred feet high. Neither boy waited, but began climbing the incline, scrabbling through the dirt and rocks.

   “We gotta climb out of this before those clowns reach us,” Thomas gasped.

   The lightning was abating. The thunder was leaving a frightening quiet in between peels. They were almost halfway up the scarp when they heard the rifle shot behind them. The sandy dirt above them exploded and showered down on them.

   The boys froze.

   “That’s far enough,” Rogers shouted from below.

   Both boys cringed.

   “Come back down or I’ll shoot you down.”

   “It’s dark,” Cory whispered. “What are the odds he’s that good o’ shot?”

   “They’ll kill us when we reach the bottom anyway,” Thomas snarled. “What do you want to do?”

   “Go down,” Cory returned. “Slowly. Go slowly. I’m really afraid of what may be coming.”

   Thomas realized he wasn’t talking about Rogers or even Baker.

   They started to climb down, picking their handholds and footholds carefully. Cory lagged back, slowing their descent a much as possible.

   “I’m praying for some help to save our skins,” Cory whispered.

   The men stood back, near the entrance to the side canyon, blocking their exit that way. Rogers pointed the rifle menacingly in their direction.

   “I never thought we would end up dead in the bottom of a slot canyon,” Thomas said softly. “I wonder if we’ll ever be found.”

   “Don’t know,” Cory said softly. “Something big is going to happen in a few moments. I can feel it. I just hope we can hold out till then.”

   “Quit talking and get down here,” Rogers snarled. “That was some cute trick you did to the helicopter. We’ll get it fixed, though. Once you’re down we’ll take a leisurely stroll back. This time you won’t have Remmick to help you escape.”

   “What did you do to him?” Thomas shouted.

   “Let’s just say he’s out of the picture now,” Rogers growled, and laughed.

   Quiet closed around like a blanket. The breeze stopped and, almost, it seemed to get darker in the canyon. The lightning was further away, and the thunder almost absent. Softly as if in the distance, they heard a soft hiss, growing to a gurgle.

   Cory turned and said, “Stop, Thomas. Rogers, I think you and your men had better climb up here with us.”

   Rogers laughed, and said, “No. You’re coming down one way or another.”

   He pointed the rifle from his hip and squeezed off a round that went way over their heads.

   “You see; you really don’t have a choice.”

   “In a couple of minutes we will,” Cory said. “Listen.”

   “What?”

   “Listen. Just listen.”

   The men were quiet, and one of them said, “He’s right. I hear something.”

   The gurgle had turned to a persistent soft growl. In the canyon the muffled echo amplified the sound. The men began to appear restless.

   “We’re going up,” Cory said, raising his voice slightly. “You can shoot us, but it’ll be the last thing you do. If I were you, I’d climb up here with us. I wouldn’t wait, either.”

   Cory motioned to Thomas, and they began scrambling up the steep slope again.

   Rogers raised the gun and aimed up at them.