Page 57 of Wandering Wild
I’m going to die.
That’s my only thought as I hit the water, my nerve endings blaring with agony, the cold sinking into the deepest part of my being.
I’m immediately sucked under, tossed and turned by the weight of the deluge falling on top of me. By some miracle, there are no rocks to crash against, but the current is swift and drags me along, making it impossible to gain any control. It’s all I can do to fight my way upward, finally breaking through the surface long enough to gasp in a choking breath before I’m sent straight back under again.
Zander—where is Zander?
I can’t see him anywhere, the rapids tearing at me as they haul my quickly freezing body along the river, around boulders and bends and down even more waterfalls, albeit mere bumps compared to the beast from which we just fell. Every time I manage to suck in more air, I search desperately, but I still can’t see any sign of him.
But then—there he is, swimming ahead of me.
No, not swimming.
He’s being dragged along as helplessly as I am. Only—there’s something wrong. He’s not splashing and struggling and battling the rapids like I am. He’s eerily still, his limbs floating lifelessly as the river carries him along, his face turned upward and his eyes?—
His eyes are shut.
Panic slams into me and I fight harder than ever against the current, swimming with everything I have. I cry out when a sharp turn nearly sends me crashing into a boulder, my lungs burning as I inhale a mouthful of water, but still I swim, harder and harder, until I finally manage to close my fingers around Zander’s arm.
He doesn’t respond to my touch, not so much as a fluttering of his eyelashes.
I act on instinct, hauling his unresponsive body closer and kicking with all my might toward the riverbank, then somehow find the strength to heave him out onto dry land. No longer burdened by his weight, I’m nearly torn away by the current again, but I grasp hold of a tree root and pull myself up until I’m free, panting and spluttering on the rocky earth, my heart crashing against my ribs.
“Zander?” I choke out, kneeling over him. “ZANDER!”
I’m so frozen that I’m physically aching, but I barely notice, because something else much more important has my attention.
Zander isn’t breathing.
For one horrifying moment, I’m paralyzed, but then years of first-aid training kick in and I lunge to check his pulse, finding nothing. I don’t allow myself to think before shoving my fingers into his mouth to make sure his airways are clear, and then I immediately begin chest compressions, bearing my whole weight down on him.
“Don’t you dare die on me,” I command, my words breaking. “D-Don’t you dare.”
I finish my first set of compressions and hurriedly pinch his nose, placing my mouth over his and breathing air down his throat until his chest rises, once, twice, and then I return to my compressions.
“Zander—please—” I beg him, tears streaming down my face as a bone-deep fear begins to swallow me.
How long has it been? How long does he have before?—
Suddenly, Zander gives a violent jolt, and then river water spews out of him as he coughs and coughs and coughs, the sound as painful as it is beautiful.
Because he’s breathing.
He’salive.
My relief would bring me to my knees if I wasn’t already on the ground. I don’t know when I started fully sobbing, but I’m shaking as hard as he is when I wrap my arms around him, holding him close as he gasps in life-saving air. I know I should move him into a recovery position, but I can’t bring myself to let him go.
“Y-You’re okay,” I tell him, rocking him gently. “You’re—You’re s-safe.”
Pulling back slightly, I frame his face with my hands, shifting wet hair away from his eyes. He’s dazed and disoriented, and still breathing hard, but he’s finally starting to come back to himself.
“Please say something,” I whisper, tears continuing to roll down my cheeks. I have no idea how long he was unconscious for—how long he wasdeadfor. The cold water will have worked in his favor, but there could still be brain damage if his oxygen supply was cut off for too long. If I was too slow in getting him out of the water—if I didn’t move fast enough when I?—
“Charlie,” he breathes my name, halting my spiraling thoughts. He leans forward until his forehead is resting against mine. “Charlie.”
That’s all he says, but it causes a new sob to leave me, and I pull him even closer, tightening my embrace.
We hold each other like that for long enough that our breathing settles, but if anything, we’re shaking more now, as both shock and cold set in. Dusk is well on its way, and we need to find shelter, preferably somewhere dry enough to light a fire. It’s already going to be difficult since it’s starting to drizzle again, and a quick look upward tells me there’s more rain coming. We can’t dally on the riverbank, and we should take advantage of our adrenaline while it’s still coursing through us.
