Page 64 of Explorer's Revenge
“Are you okay?” Wilder wades toward me, Aiy right behind him, then Logan and Rick appear, rushing through the water.
Nodding, I begin to speak when my legs suddenly give out. Way catches me, and I blink up at them all. “I think something is wrong,” I slur.
“Shit, Wilder, look at her arm,” Way snaps.
“We need to move her now!” he roars.
“This way,” Logan yells, and I’m lifted. I must lose consciousness because the next time I’m aware of my surroundings, I’m lying on something in the water, the guys circling me. I glance down to see I’m on a small piece of wood, maybe from one of the ships, and they are pushing it through the water.
“What happened?” I rasp.
Aiy leans closer, his face pale. There’s a cut across one eyebrow, and I try to lift my arm to wipe the blood away, but it’s too heavy. “Shh, it’s okay. Just rest. We are going back to thebeach, I think. Rescue should be here soon. We just need to ride it out.”
Turning my head, I see Logan smile at me, while Rick squeezes my other hand. Way kisses my forehead, surprising me. “Stay with us, Carter, okay? We need someone to keep us in line.”
“Fucking hero shit,” Wilder grumbles and then looks at me. “Don’t try that shit again. We can save ourselves.” His voice softens when he adds, “Just rest. I promise I’ll get you out of here, Carter, and back to your dad.”
They are talking like I’m dying. Maybe I am. Is that why everything is so . . . strange?
I probably lost a lot of blood between my leg, arm, and head, not to mention the infection, so maybe my body is finally giving in.
“If I die?—”
“You aren’t dying,” Aiy snaps, sounding angrier than I’ve ever heard him.
“If I do . . .” I look at Wilder, hating that I’m adding this to his plate, but I know he can do it. “Tell my father I love him. Give him the videos.”
“I will, but you aren’t going anywhere,” he murmurs. “Hold on, Carter.” We travel faster, the soft lull of the water growing choppy.
“Something’s wrong,” Rick whispers, trying not to disturb me.
“Probably smaller waves coming—shit!” Way yells, and my eyes open just as another wave hits us. I’m thrown from the board, and I struggle under the churning water before I manage to resurface. Luckily the wood is near me, so I swim as hard as I can and throw myself at it. Clinging with the last ounce of strength I have, I look around for the guys, but I don’t see them anywhere.
They are gone.
I try to scream, but my throat doesn’t want to work. I float as time passes, until a bright light shines in my eyes, making them close. When I blink them open, I glance around in confusion. The water is moving weirdly and there’s wind. The light grows stronger until it’s right above me like a spotlight.
Tilting my head back, I glance up at it to make sense of what I’m seeing, my brain sluggish. The light is so bright it hurts, and that noise . . . it’s like a whirring.
Helicopter.
It clicks. There is a helicopter above me.
I wave my good arm. “Help! Help!” My voice is more of a whisper, but it doesn’t matter. A rope is dropped, then someone in a suit and helmet repels down. He stops next to me. “Miss, I’m here to help you. Are you able to grip the rope?”
I shake my head, almost slipping from the wood, and he speaks into his mic before smiling at me. “It’s going to be okay now. We have you.” Time moves strangely, but a rescue board arrives in moments, and he hauls me onto it, straps me in place, and waves his hand, and then we rise into the air and out of the water.
Turning my head, I see my good arm dangling down, but I can’t seem to move it. I ignore it, searching the water for signs of them.
They were right there with me.
I want to scream, but my body’s giving in, and they wouldn’t hear me above the sounds of the blades. They have to see this. They have to be here.
I’ll make sure the chopper doesn’t leave without them.
Just then, something moves in the water, and hope blooms in my chest, even as we are steadily cranked up toward the hovering machine. When it breaches the surface, though, I realize it’s not a person.
It’s that thing.
