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.I slid my hand down to his neck and squeezed him deliberately hard, which at least elicited a pained hiss.His eyes came into actual focus.More forcefully, I asked, “Can you unfasten the straps while I hold him up?”Alex nodded but still made no move.I looked him in the eyes, prayed for strength, and let go off the wheelchair.Alex screamed and struggled to hold the wheelchair on his own.“What are you doing?” he shouted at me.I grabbed for the wheelchair again and helped haul Sean’s head out of the water.Sean coughed.He heaved and water spilled out of his mouth and nose but he didn’t open his eyes.“Sean! Sean! Baby, can you hear me? Come on, please, baby, talk to me!” Alex’s voice broke.I closed my eyes for a brief moment, not wanting to see the anguish on Alex’s face.When I reopened my eyes, Alex was crying.Sean stopped coughing and remained unconscious.His lips lost the blue tinge, though, so I pulled myself together.In the distance, I heard approaching sirens.“Rescue units are on their way.Come on, Alex, unfasten the damn straps! Now!”He blinked.“Can’t we… tow him to the beach in his wheelie?”“He’s too heavy in it.Come on, I’m sure I can hold him up alone for a few minutes.”Alex looked at me, confusion and fear clearly written all over him.I had never seen him this uncertain before.Not that I had a lot of memories for comparison but Alex didn’t act rational, not at all, not even when he had to know that Sean’s life was at stake.“Move!” I hollered.He obeyed instantly.He let go of the wheelchair, which put a lot of strain on my arms.I gritted my teeth as he dove into the water, attempting to unfasten the straps on Sean’s feet.I tried not to panic when Alex stayed underwater for what seemed to be an eternity.I knew he was only there for less than a minute.I knew I should keep a more professional approach to this whole disaster.I just couldn’t.I couldn’t slip into my normal, detached work mode, pushing emotions aside for the time being.I was already way too attached to them.Yes, to them, not only to Alex.Alex returned to the surface, panting for air and splashing water around.In a wheezy voice, he informed me, “His legs are free; I only have to unfasten the belly strap.”“All right.When you’ve unfastened that strap you have to hold him close.Can you do that?”Alex nodded in fierce determination.I had no doubt about him succeeding.When he next emerged, Alex held Sean’s body tightly pressed against his own.Sean’s head lolled on Alex’s shoulder, which sometimes put his mouth and nose dangerously close to the water.I let go of the wheelchair.We watched it sink—fast.A big wave rolled towards us and neither of us could avoid being swamped.After coughing up a lung, I discovered Alex a few feet away from me.I swam toward him, horribly aware of the power of the water around us.Alex’s teeth chattered and his lips had a slight blue tinge to them.He looked exhausted and scared and not even close to being able to swim to the shore with Sean in tow.I held out my hands and demanded, “Give him to me.”Alex’s eyes widened and he clutched Sean more tightly.“Alex, we have to get him to the shore and I think I’m in better shape than you.It’ll be quicker if I take him.”Alex whimpered and shook his head.All the while we trod water and cooled off to the point where hypothermia became a real threat.Water sloshed around us, pushing us apart, and I wondered if I could force Alex to hand me Sean without hurting either of them.In the end, it was a decision I didn’t have to make.Alex whispered, “Okay,” and his eyes brimmed with new tears as he carefully shifted Sean’s body over into my arms.Sean groaned and Alex froze midshift.Gently, I pulled the boy into my arms and said, “I got him.You follow us as quickly as possible, got it?”Alex nodded, clearly exhausted.He was much too close to collapsing.Swallowing hard, I hardened my voice.“He’ll be okay.Come on, now.”I turned on my back, cradled Sean’s head securely on my shoulder, and started the long and trying journey to the shore.We weren’t that far away from land, but the sea’s roughness made it hard to cover the distance quickly.My breath came in labored gasps after a very short time, my muscles burned from exertion, and water kept finding a way into my mouth and nose.Coughing and cursing, I plowed further on, ignoring the increasing effort I had to make to keep our heads over the waterline.Alternatively, I glanced to the shore to make sure I was headed in the right direction and back to Alex, whose movements were turning jerkier and weaker.Several times, I saw him disappear under a wave.Each time my heart stopped beating, only to start anew in a frantic and hurtful pattern when his head broke the surface again.I was filled with appreciation for my job, which required a certain level of fitness.I wouldn’t have been able to make it to the shore otherwise.The wind picked up in strength, pushing the waves up to high piles and making it all the more difficult to swim.The distance between Alex and me grew wider and wider.Acid bile rose up in my throat when it dawned on me that Alex wasn’t going to make it on his own.Gathering strength, I put more force into my strokes and finally, there were other people around us, grabbing me and Sean and helping us to wade out of the water
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