‘What do you think we should do?’
I break off as Jeffers speeds past us then launches himself into the water and starts swimming out to sea.
I look back at Milo. ‘He’s not trying to swim back to the mainland, is he?’
‘He wouldn’t be that stupid.’
We run back to the others. Danny has his arm around Honor, who’s sobbing uncontrollably, and Meg’s staring out to sea with her arms crossed over her chest.
‘He wouldn’t listen!’ she says irritably. ‘It took us over an hour to get here by boat. He’d have to swim for hours to reach the mainland. And he’s not even that strong a swimmer.’
I shield my eyes from the glaring sun and follow her gaze. It can’t be much after seven o’clock in the morning and it’s already swelteringly hot. The sea’s calm but there’s a strong tide. Jeffers has only been in the water for a couple of minutes but he’s already slowing down and his technique’s terrible. He’s craning his neck out of the water instead of breathing out below the surface and coming up for a breath every three strokes. There’s no way he can keep that up all the way to the mainland.
‘Jeffers!’ I cup my hands around my mouth as I walk towards the shore. ‘Jeffers, come back!’
Milo starts to shout too, so does Meg, but if Jefferson hears us he doesn’t respond. Instead he continues to splish and splash through the water, his T-shirt billowing out around him like a big green life vest.
‘We’re better off trying to fashion oars out of some wood,’ Danny says, Honor’s face still nestled into his neck. ‘Row the boat, and Anuman, back to the mainland.’
‘It’s not a bad idea,’ Milo says begrudgingly but I shake my head.
‘I don’t think we should risk it. There are some pretty strong currents between here and the coast. If we get into difficulty and get swept off course we’d be in real trouble.’
‘Since when were you Captain Ahab?’ Meg snaps.
‘Who?’
She rolls her eyes. ‘Moby Dick?’
I’m about to snap back that I used to go sailing with the swimming club but I’m interrupted by Milo shouting and pointing out to sea. Jefferson has stopped swimming and is flailing around in the water, one arm raised.
‘He’s in trouble!’
I react instinctively, pulling off my linen top and trousers. As I run into the water I can hear the others shouting and calling my name but I don’t stop and I don’t look back. I run until the sea is waist high then launch myself forwards and, head down, pull my arms through the water. It’s like coming home, being in the water again, and I feel strong and powerful as I plough towards Jeffers. When I reach him he grabs at me frantically, wrapping his arms around my neck as though I’m a life buoy. We sink instantly, and my world turns a hazy shade of blue and green as I fight to break his grip. He’s scared, and much stronger than he looks. No sooner do I loosen one of his arms, he tightens his hold with the other. My lungs burn as his pale, drawn face looms closer then drifts away as we wrestle underwater. I can’t hold my breath for much longer. If I don’t get away from him soon he’s going to drown us both. I lift my knee to fill the space between our bodies then, leaning back as far as his grip will allow, push as hard as I can. His grip loosens around my neck and I kick my legs frantically, head craned towards the surface. I gulp air into my lungs but I don’t tread water for long. Jefferson’s still under the water, his body starfishing – arms and legs spread as he sinks towards the seabed – a metre or so below me. I take a deep breath and dive back into the water. I hook my hand under his chin and frantically kick my legs but he’s a dead weight, and we’re barely moving. Fear so powerful it’s paralysing flows through me. We’re both going to die. This is it. This is how our lives end. We’re seventeen and we’ve barely lived. When the others go back to the mainland they’ll have to tell our parents that their children are dead. Oh God, Mum and Dad. They’d have to mourn a second child.
Fear morphs into rage and I kick harder, reaching through the water with my free hand. I won’t let the sea beat me. No one’s going to die.
I hear the scream of a gull as my head breaks through the water. I choke back air, gulping and panting, my lungs burning and my limbs aching. I lean back, kicking hard with my legs, pulling Jefferson’s head up and out of the water, my hand still clasped around his jaw. But his lips don’t part and his eyes don’t open and his weighty body remains below the surface of the water. He’s not floating because his lungs have filled with water. Adrenaline and rage course through me and a silent chant fills my head: get back to the beach, get back to the beach. I stare up into the cloudless azure sky and it is as though time has stopped. It’s just me, floating in the ocean, utterly alone in the world. And then I hear raised voices and bodies splashing through the water. Before I can turn to look round, strong hands hook me under the armpits and drag me through the sea, my heels catching in the rough sand. I try to speak, to shout for them to help Jefferson rather than me, but my voice has disappeared, replaced by a seal-like bark each time I inhale.
Chapter 8
DANNY
The relief Danny feels when Jefferson coughs violently and spews sea water onto the sand is overwhelming. He thought his friend was dead when he dragged him out of the water. Jefferson’s head was lolling to one side and his eyes were closed. After Danny laid him on the sand he felt for his pulse, fumbling inexperienced fingers over his friend’s wrist, and promptly recoiled when he found nothing but cold, slippery skin. Meg took over then, pushing Danny out of the way. She heaved Jefferson onto his back, clasped her fingers together and had just lowered her hands to his chest to start CPR when he lurched onto his side and began to cough.
Unlike Jefferson, who’s still lying on the sand, Jessie is in a sitting position. She’s further down the beach with Milo and she’s trying to talk, but each time she opens her mouth she makes a weird rasping noise. Danny’s eyes meet Milo’s. They stare at each other – wordlessly sharing the horror of what they just witnessed.
Danny hadn’t even realized that Jeffers had got into trouble. He was whispering in Honor’s ear, reassuring her that everything was going to be OK, when Jessie suddenly stripped off her clothes and ran into the sea. She was a good swimmer. As kids she’d always win the races they held in various hotel pools, but she ploughed through the sea towards Jeffers like a woman on a mission. When she reached him Danny felt himself relax – everyone was going to be OK – but when they both disappeared under the surface of the water he felt as though he was trapped in a nightmare or a horror film.
He jumped to his feet and ran to the shoreline with the others and stared impotently out to sea, not knowing what to do. When Milo charged into the water Danny did the same. They half ran, half swam, side by side, to where Jessie was sculling through the water on her back, her hand cupped under Jefferson’s chin. The water was shallow but she was too exhausted to stand. Milo dragged her to the shore while Danny did the same for Jefferson.
Now, as Jessie makes her way down the beach towards them, supported by Milo, hot tears fill Danny’s eyes. She could have died. Her and Jefferson. Instinctively he reaches for Honor’s hand but there’s no one beside him.