Page 8 of Born a Hero

Paddling for all he was worth; ignoring the cold of the water and the disgusting mess of the brown murkiness, he made his way to the panicky woman and saw her plight instantly. There was a car coming straight for her side of the tree and the weight of the vehicle might be enough to crush her.

Never having been a great swimmer, he outdid himself in his efforts to get to her. Then something seemed to grab at his leg. He felt the agony as he scraped against a pointed and dangerous unseen adversary. Wanting to reach for the painful area, he willed himself instead to ignore it and keep moving.

Almost at the tree, he saw what she was screaming about.

“Don’t come too close. You’ll be killed. Stay away. I’ll get to you.”

When she saw he had heard her, she lowered herself into the water and flung her body toward him, half swimming, and half drowning in her hurry to get away before the coming vehicle stopped her forever.

Paying no attention to her warnings, he forced himself closer, was able to reach her, and pull her to him. He hauled her up on the ballast beside him and with his body weight, he swung them around. Then he used the hood of the approaching vehicle as leverage to push them away just in time before it crashed into the tree, breaking off the section where the woman had gripped only moments before.

Clinging to each other now, he felt the rope start to tug him back in the direction from where he came. Hearing her dreadful cries of relief and pain and thankfulness all rolled up into prayers, he hugged the woman to him even tighter.

No doubt the poor lady had gone through hell and now saw a chance to survive. No wonder she thanked him repeatedly, wrapped her arms around his neck, and let the tears flow.

Once Sonja had tugged him back to the window ledge, he helped the lady crawl inside first before attempting to follow.

“Here now, you must be exhausted. Let me help you too.” Sonja reached for his hands and used her weight to bolster him into the opening. As soon as she saw the blood pouring from his leg, she slapped him gently. “You’ve hurt yourself, taking such a dangerous chance. You’re the angel, bud. Not me. Here take this towel and dry off. Then wrap up in the quilt. I’ll get the first-aid kit.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He thankfully did as she ordered and watched her retrieve the white bag with the red cross on it before moving over to the half-drowned woman lying in a heap on the floor.

Seeing the blood still oozing from his wound, he quickly put a bandage over the area, covered himself, and joined her to see if the woman needed his medical help.

“I’m – I’m fine now. I’ll be okay once I get my breath. Th-thank you for saving me. Without your help, I would have been another statistic for sure. The car smashed the tree where I held on. I-I would have been crushed.” Tears leaked out of the eyes holding shock, while her sopping hair hid half her face.

Sonja brushed it away and wrapped yet another towel around her shaking shoulders. “You’re welcome, sweet girl. Now we need to get you dry.”

He got their attention, needing to ask, “Are you injured anywhere?”

The woman shook her head and admitted, “Just exhausted, And my hands are sore from clinging to the pole.” She opened her fists, and he saw the bruising and bloody scrapes, knowing this woman had suffered terribly.

“Once you get changed into something dry, I’ll take care of those for you.”

Seeing Sonja’s head gesturing for him to leave and knowing when he wasn’t needed, Bryce went back to the window where Justin still lay curled up in his cocoon. He wiped himself dry first and then rebandaged his gash using iodine and medicated ointment before putting his clothes back on.

Next he checked the boy and his training kicked into high gear. He found him burning with a high temperature that had skyrocketed in the short time since he’d last checked.

“Mom-my.” Tears poured down Justin’s red cheeks as he peered up at Bryce longingly, his body shivering. Bryce felt the sweaty forehead and saw the feverish need in the boy’s glassy stare.

“I want my mommy.” His voice increased in volume, no longer willing to be placated.

Chapter Ten

A scream of wonder pierced the quiet as Dena heard the sounds of her child’s cries.

“Justin!”

“Mommy.”

Not quite dressed, the shirt Sonja had leant her still undone, Dena half ran, half fell to where the boy lay. Landing hard on her knees beside Bryce, her hands trembling wildly, she reached for the child, pulled him into her arms, rocking back and forth.

“My baby. Your safe. Thank God. Thank you. Thank you.”

Seconds later, she seemed to understand there was a problem. Holding him back so she could see his face and the rapture at the sight of her, she looked first at Bryce and then at Sonja. “He’s sick.”

“Just a little fever.” Sonja replied, “It’s a miracle that you’re his mom. We were worried about you when we found him in the car alone.”

Holding her boy close, her hand gently caressing his hair, Dena whispered. “I just went to pay for my gas. Stepped out of the car and then the wall of water came before I could get back to him. I’ve been frantic all night.” She held her boy away and saw his lackadaisical behavior, his weakness and shuddering.

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