twenty-one
The cold was so intense and the fall so sudden that Vivienne couldn’t scream.
One moment, she hit the hard ice. The next, the ground disappeared and she was plunged into the freezing water.
People shouted all around her. The more they tried to get out of the cold lake, the more shards of ice cracked. The sounds of bodies splashing into the water terrified her.
Samuel wrapped his arms around her and tried to push her up. But the mud sucked them down, and she couldn’t breathe because it was too cold. Their fingers didn’t find purchase on the ice.
A chaos of screams and splashes erupted around her. She couldn’t understand where the shore was.
Boats started to float through the broken ice, pulling crying people up. Samuel tried again to lift her, but she couldn’t help him. Her wet clothes weighed her down, and the water, heavy and sticky with mud, ice, and sludge, blocked her. Her feet didn’t reach the bottom. She couldn’t haul herself up.
He flipped his fingers quickly in front of her, repeating, “I’m sorry.”
But it wasn’t his fault. If her ankle hadn’t been sore, she would have escaped with him. She’d slowed them down although he’d panicked.
Her teeth chattered as she shook her head to tell him it wasn’t his fault the ice had broken. There had been too many people.
She didn’t feel her body anymore. Even her throbbing ankle stopped bothering her.
He hugged her, but his warmth wasn’t enough to bring her comfort. Her eyelids became heavy. Fatigue washed over her. He tried to pull her up again but didn’t find a grip on the slippery shards of ice.
A shadow loomed over her, and she blinked the fatigue away.
“Miss, we’re going to take you out.” Two men on a boat grabbed her arms.
Samuel thrust her up as well. Mud and water splashed everywhere as she dropped on the boat where other drenched people were shivering. She took a deep breath and tasted the mud on her tongue. Her muscles spasmed with the cold.
The boat rocked hard, threatening to capsize.
“We’re too full,” the man said. “Sorry, mate. We’ll pick you up next.”
What?They were leaving Samuel.
“No!” She meant to shout, but only a feeble sound came out. “Don’t leave him.” She stretched out a hand, but the energy to pull herself up deserted her.
“We’ll capsize, miss,” the man said. “Do you want to go back into the water?”
“I’ll get out.” She reached out to touch Samuel, but he swatted her hand away.
“Go,” he mouthed. “Go.”
“Miss, stay still or we’ll all fall.” The man shoved her back none too gently.
“Samuel.” Her voice didn’t want to come out.
He shook his head with determination.
She lost sight of him as the boat sailed through other boats and people stuck in the cold water, begging for help. Even her tears were frozen. So many people were still drowning.
Once the boat reached the shore, she scrambled out of it, muttering, “Thank you,” to the people who had saved her.
The men barely nodded before returning to the lake for another round.
Shivering, she sat on the muddy ground, craning her neck to see Samuel through the people, but she couldn’t find him. Too many arms waved, and too many people shouted.
A woman in a nurse’s uniform wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. “Come with me, miss. We’re taking everyone to the hospital.”
