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Romeo swam out to where he thought he saw Tyler’s car go in. By now it had sunk beneath the surface, so he was guessing at best. The moonlight was strong and bright, but it was still night. It was still dark. It was hard for him to see anything on the lake and virtually impossible to see anything beneath it.
He dove. The water was cold and thick. You never really think about how much gunk is in an active lake till you’re swimming in it - algae, plant matter, dirt, fish poop… The list is long.
Nothing. He dove and touched nothing. He dove again, this time farther down. The lake was about sixteen feet deep at this point. It didn’t take him long to hit the bottom. His hand sunk into the sediment. His fingers scraped against something jagged. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a car.
“Help me! Help me!” Nikki yelled. She had barely made it to the surface and was fighting to stay there. She was losing. “I can’t swim!”
Patrick popped up not far from her. Maybe a dozen feet to her left. He got his bearings quickly. He was unhurt and not far from shore. He could swim. He heard Nikki scream for help. He didn’t listen.
Patrick didn’t quite know what had happened but he knew it wasn’t good. For all he knew it was some kind of attack. Maybe an attack on the Mayor. Terrorism maybe. There was some kind of shooting after all, wasn’t there? Which meant he might be in danger too.
So instead of doing the right thing and helping Nikki. The right thing and helping anybody. He turned tail and swam. The only person he was going to save this night was himself.
“Help me! Please!” Nikki pleaded again, spitting the lake from her mouth. Coughing it out of her lungs. Hoping anyone would hear. She was frantic. Her hands slapped the water. Her legs jerked beneath the surface. Through the gasps and the tears she cried again and again for help.
Benny was already on his way. He had seen the whole thing. As soon as the immediate shock wore off he made a beeline toward her. Or at least toward the last place he thought he saw her. He dove in and swam hard. As she slipped under for what could have been the very last time, he grabbed her.
“I got you,” he said with a breathless whisper. “I got you.” With his right arm wrapped around her he began pulling them both toward shore.
Through her haze of panic Nikki figured out someone was there. Someone had pulled her up. Someone was helping her. It wasn’t too long before she figured out who.
Tyler came up gasping for breath. He’d never been so thankful in his life that he owned a convertible. Yeah, he was thrown for a loop. Flipping head over heels through the air before splashing down into the lake. That’s what you get for not wearing a seatbelt. But he was unhurt and, thankfully, not trapped at the bottom of a lake with a stuck buckle or door that wouldn’t budge. He’d seen enough movies to know how that story line was destined to end.
He came up about a dozen yards out. In a patch of lake seaweed. With a thick slab of it still clinging to his face. He took stock. Looking around him in all directions. He knew what he had done. He also knew he was gonna be in big trouble for it. Huge trouble. Going to jail trouble. He only had one choice. There was only one thing he could do. Run. Well, swim first, to shore. Then run.
“Where is she?!” Cap yelled frantically. He was in the water too now. Just a few feet away from Romeo. Odds and ends popping to the surface between them - a light sweater, a plastic cup…
Romeo didn’t answer. He looked around, desperately scanning the surface. Looking for any sign of her. He dove again. Down and to the left this time. He was searching for the car. This is taking too long, he thought. Where is she??? Where is the car? His mind raced. Up again for air. Then down. Changing his angle. Searching in a different spot.
He surfaced again. Bobbing in the water in front of him was Ant’s jeweled flower flip flop. The one with the missing crystal. “No!!!” he shouted. He thrashed around. He grabbed for it. As if reaching it would be the same as reaching her.
“Where is she?!” he screamed into the night.
50
“Where is she?!” Cap yelled at Romeo. As if Romeo knew where she was and wasn’t telling him.
Romeo ignored him and dove again. Down beneath the murky surface. He was starting to panic. His brain on fire. Screaming in silence. Why can’t I find her?!!
They had found the car. On the bottom and underwater. Not far from where they had started looking. Now they were both searching it with a frenzied fervor. Going at it from every angle. In it, around it, even under it where it wasn’t smack flat on the bottom of the lake. It had landed awkwardly and was propped up on one side by something about a foot high. A dead tree trunk or old tire maybe…
Cap had lost track of how many times he’d gone under. He was running out of air again. His lungs about to burst. He pushed his body to the limit as he felt again along the rear of the car, along the bumper and trunk line. That’s when he felt someone grab his shoulder. He couldn’t see who. He reached up and grabbed the hand. The slender fingers, the tennis bracelet he gave her for her sweet sixteen. Instantly he knew it was his baby girl.
Excitedly he turned and kicked off hard against something firm, propelling himself up to the surface. There she was. Right in front of him. He grabbed her and pulled her closer. Hugging her with all he had.
“Are you okay? Are you okay?” he sputtered.
She buried her head in the crook of his neck. She was a little girl again. In the arms of her daddy. “I am. I am,” she whispered.
“Come on. Let’s get you to shore.”
/> They started swimming together. Soon they were close. Close enough to stop swimming and walk. Slogging their way up the bank. Heavy with wet clothes and the gravity of what had just happened. What had almost just happened.
Others rushed to their side. Helping them with the last few steps. Mrs Cap ran to them both.
“Thank God. Thank God,” she cried as she nearly tackled her daughter..
“I’m okay,” Ant said. “I’m okay.”
