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He went on his knees then on his stomach and crawled to the edge.
“I’m coming, Morpheus! Hold on, buddy!”
He moved cautiously at first, but Morpheus was struggling and losing the battle with the ice. He lunged when he saw him go under. Just as he was able to get a good grip on him, the ice beneath him cracked and he fell into the water with Morpheus in his arms still struggling. The shock of the ice-cold water was visceral and extremely painful. He felt the air knocked right out of him, then he went under. The jolt of being submerged in the freezing cold water felt like his skin was burning and freezing at the same time. His clothes were fully soaked, and they were dragging him down, as if he had concrete blocks tied to his jacket. He was under the surface very briefly, and as he took his next breath of air gasping above water, he realized his boy had pulled him to the edge of the thick ice with the last of his strength and was now going slack by his side.No!
Logan summoned whatever strength he had and tried to pull them out over the ledge. Doing it together was difficult, so he tried to hoist Morpheus to push himself. His limbs trembled and Logan wanted to scream for Sammy to help them, but his teeth rattled so hard his jaw was clenched tight. He couldn’t produce a single sound. The first try was a failure. On the second a bit of ice broke off and they had to start all over again, then on the third, he was able to push Morpheus out and the dog lay on his side, panting and whining.
Logan was so tired, wheezing in the cold water felt like swallowing razor blades. His limbs felt numb, and he was struggling to hold on to the edge of the ice. He still reached for Morpheus. He could see his breathing had gone shallow, and that horrified him enough to get the necessary surge of adrenaline to push himself out.
Logan lay on the ice, panting, feeling more tired than he ever had in his entire life. Morpheus was struggling beside him, and he forced himself to push off the ice and get up so he could save his brave and loyal friend. He shed his jacket as it weighed him down and he tried to lift Morpheus. He couldn’t move him at first, but on the second try, he was able to cradle him and lift him up releasing a terrible scream. He slowly started moving over the ice toward the pier. When he reached it, he saw Sammy running from the house frantic with worry. He reached for Morpheus and at first was overwhelmed by his weight, but he held on to him, just throwing a look back at Logan to make sure he was safely on the pier.
Logan followed him at a much slower pace, feeling completely drained. When he finally made it to the house, Sammy had Morpheus in the bathroom, covered in towels, drying him off. He had the hot water running filling the small space with steam.
Then he ran out to start stripping Logan out of his freezing clothes. He pulled blankets out of the linen cabinet and wrapped him up, leading him to the couch, and then ran back to Morpheus in the bathroom. Logan could hear him let a sad sob out, but then Sammy was talking in a soothing voice to the whining dog. He was so scared.
Sammy yelled out, “Babe, are you okay? Can you move your fingers and toes? Logan, talk to me, please!”
Logan swallowed hard and gritted his teeth, then tried to calm his breathing. “S-s-s-stay with M-m-morph. Keep him warm. I’m okay.”
“Babe, I’m calling 9-1-1, we need to get help for both of you.”
“Just Morph, not me. No hospital. Call Dave, p-p-p-please.”
Sammy bust out from the bathroom. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“If you tell them what happened, they’ll think I did it on purpose. That I tried to kill myself and Morpheus saved me.” He stared Sammy straight in the eyes and forced himself to say very calmly, “I didn’t.”
Sammy stood there glaring and very visibly shaken, panting in distress. His decision was finally made when they heard Morpheus whine in the bathroom. Sammy got his phone out and called Dave. As soon as he heard what had happened, his friend wasted no time, and got into his car and promised to be there in fifteen minutes. He would come to transport Sammy and Morpheus to the nearest animal hospital. Sammy ran back to the bathroom, and Logan could hear him talking in a soothing voice, praising the dog for being so brave.
Then he returned to the living room and frantically started stocking the fireplace, trying to start a fire for Logan to warm up. It took him a few tries to get it going properly and in between, he was checking on Morpheus. On his last run back when he was satisfied the fire was going steady, he turned to Logan and with a tone that warranted no arguments said, “No hospital, fine. But I’m calling your mom. I can’t leave you alone. You were in the water too, for God knows for how long. I want someone to keep an eye on you until I get back.”
Logan just nodded. “We can call her together.”
Debbie was frantic and promised to be on her way immediately. She barely registered Logan telling her his partner Samuel was taking Morpheus to the hospital to be checked.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Logan
When Dave came rushing through the door, Logan had been able to warm himself up a little but was still naked and wrapped up in blankets, sitting on the floor by the fireplace. Dave stopped by him giving him a trying look. Logan shook his head, and he was so profoundly grateful that that was enough for Dave to believe him. His friend gave him a curt nod in acknowledgment and ran further inside the house, calling out for Sammy. “Samuel, where are you?”
“Bathroom. Grab another quilt from the linen cabinet. Do you have blankets in the car?”
“Yes. Wait...” He was rummaging through the cupboard then ran into the bathroom with the blankets.
He could tell exactly when Dave entered the bathroom, because of his very audible gasp. “Oh, poor baby.”
There was shuffling and whining, and Logan could feel his face burn with tears. He was so worried he hadn't been able to pull him out on time. “Fucking useless!”The thought wouldn't stop swirling in his mind, drawing other negative feelings and doubts.
Dave ran past him with Morpheus swaddled like a baby in blankets. Sammy was after him but halted by Logan and dropped to his knees. He cupped his face in his hands firmly. “I want you to listen to me, very carefully. I love you. I know this was an accident. You didn’t freeze, baby, you saved him. You were very brave. You hear me? You did good. I’ll call you as soon as we get there and again when the doctor sees Morpheus, okay baby? Can you get up? Can you go upstairs and get dressed? Do you need help?”
Logan swallowed hard and then mumbled, “No, I’m alright. I'll do it now. My mom should be here soon anyway.” He closed his eyes and more treacherous tears rolled down. “I love you so much. I don’t know what––”
“Baby...” Sammy kissed him and murmured in between pecks, “Please, don’t worry. You did great! I’m so proud of you! You’re my hero. I love you.” Logan chuckled in between breathless sobs and his teeth chattering, despite his best effort to keep the tremors under control. Sammy wiped his tears, kissed him and ran out the door. He could hear them pull out of the driveway. He tried to get up off the floor, but his entire body was sore. He tried not to panic but worked on his breathing and forced himself to calm down.
His third attempt was successful, and he was able to stand somewhat steadily on his own. He made his way to the staircase slowly. Just as he got to the bedroom, he heard his mother rush into the house calling his name frantically.
“Logan! Logan, where are you? Are you alright? Logan!”
