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Chapter Twelve
"Where is she?" Zac yelled over the wind.
"I don't know! Oh wait!" Lindsay called, pointing out to a spot in the ocean. "There she is! But she's not swimming..." She added.
"I have to get to her! I have to save her!" Zac said, frantically looking for a way to get off the boat.
"Zac, no! You'll end up killing yourself too! There's nothing you can do."
"I have to do something! I can't just stand her and watch her drown. Even if I don't save her, at least I'll know I tried!"
Lindsay sighed. "This is stupid, Zac!"
"So what if it's stupid. I have to do it. I'll always wonder if I could have saved her if I don't go. Wish me luck!"
"Good luck..." Lindsay whispered. Zac threw his sweater off, and gave Lindsay a hug. "Bye, Lindsay. Don't worry. I'll try my best to save your sister."
By now, Lindsay was in tears. Taylor walked out from the passenger room, and Lindsay clutched him, sobbing. "Tay...lor....Lauren...water...." She broke off, to choked up to talk. He pulled Lindsay close to his chest, and she cried on his shoulder. "Shhhh." Taylor said soothingly. "It's OK. Now tell me what happened. If you can."
"Lauren...She was thrown over board by...Jack, I think." Lindsay said, and gulped back a cry.
"Lauren was thrown overboard?!" Taylor cried. "That creep! He can't just throw some overboard! It's...It's...Wrong!" He spat out.
"Yeah, well he did, and thanks to him, Lauren is gonna....I can't say it."
"Then don't. You don't know that for sure, Linds. She could be OK!" He said, trying to be optimistic.
"Yeah, right." Lindsay said, sarcastically. "Like she would be tossed out into the Atlantic Ocean, and survive?"
Taylor sighed, but stayed at a loss for words.
"Well, if all you are going to do is cry, I guess I'm going to be the only one to try and save Lauren."
Zac prepared to jump, but a pair of hands held him back. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Zac?" Isaac asked incredulously.
"Saving Lauren!" Zac cried. "Why is that so bad? I want to save her! I..I don't want to lose her. I don't want to see her die."
"Still, Zac, it's so dangerous!" Isaac protested.
"Shut up! All of you, just shut up! This is what I'm gonna do, so why do you guys wanna stop me?" Zac tore away from Isaac's grip, stood on the guard rails, and dove into the icy water. He was stunned at how cold the water was. It was like three thousand knives penetrating his skin all at the same time. He shivered. Zac stayed a float for a couple of minutes, and then with a huge breath of air, he dove under the water, swimming in his shorts and T-shirt.
He stoked hard against the waves that were pulling him back to the boat. Salt water stung his eyes, but he kept on going, determined to reach Lauren, and not to lose sight of her body.
White foam spilled over his head, and the force of the huge waves crashing on top of his head gave enough energy to drag him under water. He held his breath, and fought the undertow, struggling to get back to the surface.
As soon as his head broke the surface, he looked frantically around for Lauren's body. But there was no sign of her. Where was she?
Finally, Zac caught a glance of her body, and he desperately tried to reach her. He reached her, and he found that she was floating - Facedown!
He bent his arm around her head, and lifted it out of the water. He felt Lauren's chest for a heart beat, but his hands were too numb to feel one.
Zac looked around in panic, but he found no place to bring her. Two voices rang in his head, and Zac didn't know which one to listen to. 'Great,' one of them thought. ' I should have stayed on the boat, like everyone told me too.' The other one said, ' You did the right thing, Zac. You're going to save her.'
Zac saw something brown in the distance, and as the waves pushed him closer, he realized it was an island! "Yes!" Zac yelled. "Yes!"
He let the waves push him closer, and as fear gave his limbs a new strength, he sliced his way through the undertow. Zac reached the island, and gently laid Lauren on the sand. He brought his lips to hers, trying to remember how to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He took many calming breaths, and he pressed his lips to Lauren's, starting the breathing sequence technique.
Finally, after a few agonizing minutes, Lauren gave a series of coughs, coughing up the water that had filled her lungs. Zac let out a long breath of relief that he didn't know he was holding. 'I saved her!' He realized. 'I saved Lauren's life!'
"Zac?" Lauren asked. "Is that you?"
"Yeah, Lauren, it's me. I'm so glad you OK!"
"What happened?" She asked, looking weak, and confused.
"That's not important. What's important right now, is finding you some shelter and getting you some rest."
We finally found cave, and Zac carried me inside the opening of it, laying me on the cold rock ground. "You didn't have to carry me Zac, really, I couldn't have walked!"
"No problem. Besides, you swam in the ocean! You ought to be tired."
"Well, you swam in the ocean, too, Zac. But I am weak. My arms and legs are killing me!"
"Then, close your eyes, and go to sleep." Zac said, getting up. Before he could walk any farther I called out, "Zac! Where are you going?"
"I have to go find some leaves or something. That way, you'll be able to get a little warmer."
"No! Don't leave me!" I cried.
Zac rushed over to me. "Lauren, it's OK. I won't be gone long! Really."
"But I don't want to be alone. I'm scared, Zac." I whispered.
Zac leaned forward, and his lips brushed against mine. "It'll be OK. I'll come right back. I can't let you suffer."
"What about you? You'll-"
Zac but his finger to my lips. "Don't worry about me. I'm concentrating on you. You were in that water far longer than I was. Now, I won't be long."
"OK," I said, watching him leave the cave. I sighed, and put my head on the ground of the cave. This was going to be a long night!
