Five minutes suddenly felt endless.
The sound of quiet sobs made her look behind her. Marnie released the rope with one hand so she could wipe the tears from her face. Artie reached back and squeezed the other teacher’s arm before turning around so she could watch for Derek to reemerge. She couldn’t escape the crazy feeling that heneededher to keep watch, as if her hope and fear was all that was drawing him back.Please oh please oh please. Derek, please.
The seconds ticked by, the silence broken only by the incomprehensible voices on the radio and Marnie’s sniffles. Then Derek’s head broke the surface, followed by his shoulders. Tucked against his chest was a limp Chase.
“Got him.” Callum’s voice was thick with satisfaction. “Get ready to pull. I’ll tell you when.”
Everyone on the line cheered. Artie’s vision blurred, but she blinked away the wetness, determined not to dissolve into a weepy, relieved heap until everyone was safe and dry and home.
Pushing at the chunks of ice blocking his path with one hand as he kept the other wrapped around the boy, Derek made his way to the edge of the hole and signaled.
“Pull!”
They hauled on the rope as Derek boosted himself and the boy onto the ice. It immediately collapsed beneath their weight, dropping them back into the water. Shoving the newly broken pieces aside, Derek reached the edge and tried again.
“Pull!”
The ice started folding under Derek and Chase. Artie bit the inside of her cheek to stifle the panicked sound that wanted to escape.
“Pull!”
Artie threw her weight back as she yanked the rope as hard as she could, putting all her strength into it. The pair slid out of the chasm forming in the ice, with only Derek’s feet dropping back into the water.
“Pull!”
Her arms shook with adrenaline and fatigue, but she ignored the quaking of her muscles. Each yank on the rope drew the man and boy closer. The ice held beneath them, and they slid across the solid ice toward safety. Once they were just a few feet from the shore, Callum unhooked the foam strap looped around the boy and lifted him in his arms.
“Sparks! Get blankets from the warmer and the med kit,” Callum ordered, and Lou scrambled toward the dive van. Artie tore her eyes from Chase’s blue-tinted face to check on Derek. He’d gotten to his feet and was following Callum to a level area next to the van. Lou emerged from the back, blankets in one arm and a white case in the other. Derek grabbed a blanket from her, spreading it on the ground, and then took the kit from her.
“Artie, grab the radio.” Callum laid Chase on his back on top of the blanket. She scrambled to find the radio sitting on the ground where Callum had left it.
“Got it!”
“Press the big button on the side and tell dispatch that the victim is out of the water. He’s unresponsive and not breathing. Say that 1210 and 1228 are starting CPR.”
Not breathing.Her fingers went numb as she fumbled with the radio. Frustrated, she ripped off her glove and finally managed to press the button. Her lungs didn’t want to work, but she opened her mouth and forced out the words. Derek and Callum were doing freaking CPR. The least she could do was talk.
“Copy,” a calm female voice responded when Artie finished relaying the information. “Ambulance Two, did you copy?”
“Ambulance Two, we copied. ETA one minute.”
Radio still clutched in her fingers, Artie stared as Callum did chest compressions, counting out loud as he did so. When he reached thirty, Derek placed the bag valve mask over the boy’s face and squeezed twice. She watched Chase’s tiny chest rise and fall with each ventilation, which made it seem only that much more still afterward.
“C’mon, Chase,” she muttered. “Breathe. You can do it, sweetie. Just take a breath.”
Callum started compressions again, but he’d only reached nine when he pulled his hands away. The small body convulsed as Chase choked, and Derek pulled the mask off his face while Callum turned him onto his side.
As the boy coughed and vomited, Derek grabbed another blanket and wrapped it around Chase’s heaving form. Artie pressed her hand to her mouth, not sure if she was holding back relieved laughter or sobs.
“Artie.” Callum rubbed the boy’s back over the blanket as he turned toward her. “Let them know he’s breathing independently.”
Lifting the radio, she took a quavering breath and pushed the button.
“He’s breathing,” she said, her voice hoarse. Artie met Derek’s eyes and returned his relieved grin. “He’sbreathing.”
* * *
The ambulance arrived just seconds later, quickly followed by two fire rescue trucks and a sheriff’s department squad car. Derek stepped back to allow the EMTs access to the shivering, crying boy.
