"I'm not giving up my boots."
"It's better than drowning," he told her, tugging off her shirt and pants.
"I'm not really in the mood," she said.
"I hope you're joking."
She gave him a weak smile as he kicked off his polo and khakis.
He was a strong swimmer, but it was hard in the dark and the constantly moving ocean.
I'm never drinking again,he thought as he alternated between freestyle and backstroke to look out for any boats. Swimming at an angle to the shore so that he wasn't fighting the current by swimming directly at it, Carter thought he was making some progress. The lights seemed to be closer.
It was almost meditative, being in the relatively warm water.
Allie was having trouble, though; she was lagging several feet behind him.
"Grab onto my neck," he said as he paused to wait for her to catch up. "No, not my windpipe," he said while choking. "Just hold onto my shoulders."
"Can you pull me?"
"Of course." He could feel her arms trembling with the strain.
After what felt like hours of swimming, he reached a beach. There were several people out taking walks. One dog barked at him as he dragged himself and Allie out of the water.
Carter disentangled himself from Allie and pulled her onto the beach after him.
"Excuse me," he said to one couple.
They shied away from him.
"We don't have any money. Sorry," the man said and hurried off with his girlfriend.
Carter sat down on the low concrete wall separating the beach from the sidewalk and tried to catch his breath.
"I'm so thirsty," he rasped. He lay back, trying to keep his head from spinning.
"Carter?" Allie said, concerned.
"You there!" someone said, shining a bright flashlight in his face. "No sleeping! Move along!"
"I’m sick," he said. "Boat crashed." He did not feel well. There were people around, filming him and Allie with their phone cameras. Carter was so exhausted.
"I just need to sleep."
He woke up in the hospital. There was an IV in his arm.
"Good morning," the nurse said as she checked the machine that beeped next to Carter's head.
A doctor came in and looked at Carter's chart.
"My boat crashed," Carter said feebly. "I need—"
The doctor rolled his eyes. "A shipwreck. That's a new one. We aren't giving you any painkillers, by the way."
"I don't want any painkillers," Carter said hotly. "Where's Allie?"
The doctor ignored him and left. The nurse turned on the TV for him and brought him some ice chips. Carter sat straight up as the commercials cut to the news. He watched the shaky cellphone video of the EMTs packing him onto a stretcher and loading him and Allie into an ambulance.
