Chapter 3
Water held me up. Orange vest pressed against my neck, tight, plastic smell sharp. Arms floated out. Eyes closed, then opened. Sky pale, no sun. Lake water dark blue, cold seeped through pink dress, dress clung to legs. Ears rang from rotor wash. Helicopter hovered behind me, sound low, heavy. I couldn't see him, felt rotor wind pushing small waves over vest.
White boat cut toward me. Hull white, cabin white, wake white behind. Two crew on bow. One man crouched, knees bent, hands gripped red ring. Rope coiled at his feet. Second crew held cabin rail, shouted. Voice thin over wind and engine.
I tried to lift head. Neck stiff. Vest held me, but water moved under back, choppy, slapped shoulders.
Man on bow shouted, "Ring coming!"
He swung ring overhead, threw. Red ring spun, rope trailed. Fell short. Hit water maybe ten feet from me. Splash. Rope jerked. Ring bobbed, drifted with wind away from my hands.
My arms wouldn't move at first. Fingers numb, cold. Chest tight. Breath shallow. I watched ring float farther. Thought drifted: stay still, vest holds. Then thought sharp: reach now or lose chance.
I rolled slightly, kicked legs. Dress tangled. Water filled shoes. I reached with right hand, stretched. Fingertips brushed water. Ring still far. Shoulder burned.
Boat engine eased, bow turned a little. Same man pulled rope in fast, hand over hand, ring skipped toward boat. He coiled rope again, reset feet.
"Second throw, grab with both hands!" he shouted. "Kick to me!"
I nodded. Couldn't speak. Mouth tasted lake water, salt, fuel.
Rotor sound changed behind me. Helicopter pitch shifted. I turned head. Helicopter still hovered, door open, dark shape inside leaned out. Gray suit still visible. He watched. Pilot faced forward, helmet gray, hands on controls. Helicopter held hover, then nose dipped slight, tail swung.
Man on bow shouted again, threw. This time ring sailed higher, dropped closer. Red plastic hit water two feet from my left arm. Rope landed across vest.
I grabbed. Both hands closed on ring. Plastic hard, cold. Rope burned palms. I pulled ring to chest, slipped arms through, hugged it. Vest and ring together held head higher.
"Got her!" bow man shouted to driver. He braced feet against rail, leaned back, pulled rope. Second crew reached over side, hands out.
Rope tightened. Ring dragged me forward. Water washed over face, I coughed, held tighter. Arms shook. Legs kicked weak. Each pull moved me closer to hull. White hull grew big, waterline stained, ladder rung silver on side.
Behind me rotor roar rose. Helicopter banked, turned away from boat. I heard wind snap, saw shadow pass over water. Gray suited man no longer leaned out, sat back inside. Door still open but helicopter moved, gained distance over treed shoreline. Pilot held controls steady, turned south, no circle back, no hover to help.
Bow man kept pulling. "Almost there! Hand to me!"
I reached with one hand while other held ring. His hand grabbed my wrist. Grip strong, warm. Second crew grabbed vest strap.
"Let ring go, hold ladder," first man said.
I let ring slip, grabbed silver rung. Metal cold. Crew lifted under arms. Dress heavy with water, weighed me down. They hauled, I scraped knee on hull, then rolled over gunwale onto deck. Deck wet, white fiberglass, smelled of gas and fish.
I landed on side, curled. Blanket appeared. Heavy wool, gray, rough. Crew wrapped it around shoulders, pulled over vest. Blanket scratched neck but held heat.
"You're okay, you're on boat," woman crew said. She knelt, hands on blanket, eyes level with mine. "Stay still. Breathe slow."
I shivered. Teeth clattered. Couldn't stop. Orange vest still inflated, pressed under blanket, made shape bulky. Water dripped from hair onto deck.
Boat engine throttled up. Bow lifted. White wake spread behind. Helicopter shrank, distant speck over lake, moving toward shoreline trees. Sound faded fast. No rescue basket dropped, no radio call I heard.
Crew kept hands on me. Bow man coiled red ring rope, ring rested on deck beside my feet, dripping.
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"Head to dock," driver shouted. "Call EMS now."
I stared at sky. Helicopter gone from view. Blanket held tight, shivering hard, but inside boat, not water.
