I feel the pull of the harness as I focus on hanging on to the raft while the others work against the strong current to get us to shore.
“Two victims hanging on!” Cap calls out.
I hope that’s all there was to begin with.
The victims turnout to be fucking kids. Hog is standing in shallow water and pulls the first victim from the river, while I grab on to the second one. God, they’re no more than maybe fifteen, if that. Stupid kids. Half-drowned and hypothermic from the perpetually cold mountain water.
Blue and Sumo quickly take over the kid Hog pulled out, who seems to be in worse shape than the one I have. I quickly roll him on his side when he starts puking as Vic comes running up with an extra thermal blanket.
“Were there just the two of you?” I ask him.
His eyes widen and he frantically looks around.
“Th-three,” he manages through chattering teeth. “He w-went under at the f-f-first w-wave.”
I don’t hesitate and start running up the shoreline, toward the first drop I saw the raft go over. Maybe the third victim had been able to grab on to one of the rocks. Someone is manning one of the floodlights, panning the water. I scan the surface, hoping to see something, anything.
“There,” Cap says as he jogs up beside me and points at a head bobbing up, right before it disappears again.
I shove my regulator in my mouth, pull my mask back over my face, and rush into the river. The lights mounted on either side of my mask are barely helpful under the surface but I forge ahead, using my hands to search. Every so often I surface and find Cap on shore for navigation.
I’m starting to lose hope of ever finding the third victim when I feel something brush my hand. I grab a handful of what I assume is hair and kick to the surface, but I can barely lift his head out of the water. He’s stuck on something.
A heavy hand falls on my shoulder and I turn to see Cheddar right behind me. I lift the regulator from my mouth.
“He’s stuck, hold his head above water. I’m gonna check it out.”
He gives me a thumbs-up and takes the kid from me. I replace my airflow and duck under the surface. The water seems a little calmer here and I’m able to follow the kid’s body down to where his foot is caught on something. It looks like the wreckage of a car but I don’t have time to investigate, I have to get the kid out of the water if we have any chance of saving him. One firm rip has him loose.
Cheddar is already heading back to shore with the boy and I follow behind.
Sumo takes the kid from Cheddar, checks for a pulse, and starts compressions. I toss off my mask and tank before dropping down on my knees beside the boy’s head and get ready to give him a breath. Vic comes running up with a backboard and the medical kit from our rig.
“I’ve got a pulse,” Sumo indicates, turning to Vic. “Bag him.”
She pulls the Ambu bag from the kit and I make room for her by his head.
“Oh my God…”
She drops the mask, clasping her hand over her mouth as she stares at the victim in shock.
“Vic?” I pick up the mask, cover the kid’s mouth, and start squeezing the bag. “Do you know him?”
“Yeah…” Her eyes dart my way. “It’s my nephew.”
Chapter 5
Trin
The sharp ringing drags me from a restless sleep.
In an effort to locate my phone before it wakes up the rest of the house, I knock my Kindle off the nightstand. I squint against the sudden bright glare of my screen, identifying Vic as the caller. I also note it’s ten to two and suddenly panic puts pressure on my chest as I answer.
“Are you okay?”
My heart skips when a man’s voice answers.
“Katrina? This is Bodhi Jones. Your sister is fine. We were called out to a water rescue and she’s riding in the ambulance with a patient and asked me to call you.”
My sluggish brain is having a hard time processing.
“Uh, okay. But why—”
“We were able to pull three boys from the Animas River. The raft they were in capsized.”
A raft? In the middle of the night? What does this have to do…
Did he say boys?
Fear hits me like a kick in the gut, but my feet are already moving. I dart down the hall and run up the stairs, muttering my son’s name over and over. When I barge into Tucker’s room, I find his bed empty and his window open a crack.
“Trin? Are you there?”
I bring the phone I was clutching in my hand back up to my ear.
“Tucker,” I manage breathlessly.
“Listen to me. Your son is on his way to Mercy and Vic is with him. I’m coming to pick you up so I need you to get dressed.”
A sob escapes me as I back out of his room.
“Oh my God…”
Dressed. I need to get dressed.
At the top of the stairs I catch sight of my father’s bedroom door.
“Pops. I can’t leave him.”
“Shit,” I hear him mutter, followed by a brief pause before he comes back. “Get yourself ready. I’m five minutes out and I’ll help you with your father when I get there.”
The curt instructions give me something to focus on, other than the sheer panic coursing through my veins, and I start down the stairs.
“Okay.”
“Trin? Breathe. I’ll be right there, hang on.”
“Okay,” I repeat, feeling shakes take over my body as the phone goes dead in my hand.
I’m on automatic pilot as I flick on the light in my room and grab for yesterday’s clothes I tossed on the chair. I’m just shoving my feet in a pair of sneakers when knocking sounds from the front of the house.
His hair is damp, a few curls plastered to his forehead as he steps into my front hall. By now I’m numb, unable to think clearly, but Bodhi puts his hands on my shoulders and ducks his head low so his eyes are level with mine.
“We need to get your father ready,” he says calmly and I nod.
He gives my shoulders a light squeeze before letting me go and I turn to the stairs, feeling his presence close behind me.
Pops is disoriented when we wake him up. This is a departure from his regular routine, he doesn’t understand what is going on so gets agitated. Bodhi instructs me to gather him some clothes while he sits on the edge of my father’s bed, calming him down.
Getting him dressed takes far too long and by the time we walk toward Bodhi’s truck I’m almost running. Anxiety has kicked in.
“What happened to your face?” Bodhi interrupts the spinning of my world as he backs out of our driveway.
I shake my head, this morning’s incident furthest from my mind right now. My son is the center of my life and the thought of Tucker hurt, or worse, is all-consuming.
With a quick glance over my shoulder at Pops, who is sitting quietly in the back seat, I redirect his question.
“Nothing. Tell me what happened?”
“We got a call an upturned raft was spotted on the river. We got there just in time to intercept it in the rapids with two boys barely clinging on. A third victim—your son—was knocked loose but got his foot stuck on something underwater. We located him, managed to get him to shore, and were able to stabilize him.”
“Is he hurt?”