Week 421 – That sounds great!

Just when he’d thought it was over, just when he thought they were safe, just when he could hear his own voice echoing in his mind yelling “that sounds great!” as he thought about a warm fire, dry clothes, and being out of the elements, it all fell apart. 

Having reached the end of her rope a quarter of a mile away from safety, Cara collapsed beside him. 

Liam grabbed at her but he was numb from the cold, clumsy, exhausted for hiking for a couple of hours in the elements, without proper clothing, and he missed by a mere inch. 

The splash as Cara hit the water seemed to rise above the sounds of the storm. 

Her head went under and it didn’t come back, the icy water not enough to rouse her injured body from unconsciousness. For a split second Liam hesitated. If he went in after her there was a chance the current would drag them both under and to their deaths. But if he didn’t go in then there was zero percent chance that Cara would survive. 

Knowing there was no way he could live with her death on his conscience, Liam jumped. 

If asked he would have sworn that there was no way anything could make him feel any colder than he already did. But he was wrong. The freezing water made it feel like a million tiny knives were stabbing into his skin, and even though he was a strong swimmer, had swum in this exact river many times before, his body seized up as his muscles protested the drop in temperature. 

It was only sheer willpower, and a healthy amount of fear for the woman who had battled bravely through their trek without a single complaint even though he knew she was hurting, that he managed to regain control of his body before the cold water dragged him under and he succumb to its power. With strokes a lot less smooth and steady than normal, he began to search for Cara. 

The dark choppy water, the continuing rain and sleet striking him from above, made it almost impossible to see anything further away than about a foot in front of him, but he didn’t give up. Couldn’t. Cara hadn’t and he wouldn’t either. 

So he searched, and searched, and searched. 

And when his search was rewarded by something soft brushing against his hands, he grabbed hold of it, of her, and prayed that he’d found her in time. And that he could get them both out of the freezing water before it was too late.