Chapter 15: Drowning

As soon as the water closed over her boots, Susan felt the undertow. She took one further step and slipped on a rock. Her feet flew out from under her and she fell back into the lake. She went under the dark water and felt herself being pulled by a strong current,in over her head almost immediately as the bottom dropped out from under her. She clawed her way to the surface and caught a glimpse of a patch of glowing red eyes already a terrifying distance from her before going under again.

Susan kicked off her rubber boots, knowing they would pull her deeper. At the same time, she shed her raincoat. She was suddenly very thankful for the swimming lessons Mom forced her to take and the years of playing in the cold North Atlantic. The water was cold, but not icy, and only took her a minute to get used to.

Now on the surface and able to maneuver, Susan began to look frantically around for Tucker. She started to panic as she realized she couldn't see him anywhere. It was only by sheer luck her hand brushed against soft fur. She locked her fingers around his tail and pulled him to her.

Poor Tucker gasped water and she was certain he would have drowned if she hadn't found him when she did.

"Susan!" He choked. "I can't swim!"

She got a hold of him as best she could with the strong current buffeting her and lifted his front paws to her shoulder. He dug in his claws so hard she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. But, he managed to pull himself onto her back and cling on for dear life as she tried to figure out what to do.

There was little light in the river passage, but Susan knew Tucker could see better than her.

"How close are we to the side?"

"Close," he said. "I could almost touch it."

"Is there a beach or a ledge?" Her teeth chattered a little. That worried her. She was already losing body heat. It wouldn't be long before she started to feel tired. They had to get out of the water!

"No," Tucker said. "Just rock. Wait," he looked up ahead of them, "do you hear that?"

Susan couldn't hear anything above the rushing of the current. "What is it?"

"A roaring sound," Tucker said softly. "Susan, I think I know where we are!" His voice was panicked."What is it?" She repeated. "Tucker!"

"We have to get out of here!" He told her. "We're heading right for the waterfall!"

As he said the word, Susan suddenly heard the roaring, rushing sound of water cascading over the edge of the river.

"How far?"

"I don't know," he said, desperation in his whole body. His claws dug in deeper. "Close."

"Is there a beach before it?" Susan asked. "Yes! And a lot of rocks,."

"Tell me when you see one," she said. "I'll try to grab it and you can climb out." "I'm not leaving you!" Tucker had to shout now to be heard over the roar of the

water.

"I'll be okay!" Susan yelled back. "You need to get help!"

Tucker didn't answer. Susan felt something hard brush against her leg. "I felt a rock!" She said. "We must be really close!"

And then the passage opened up and Susan could see more clearly. And wished for a moment she couldn't.

The cavern the water rushed into was huge and full of rocks. The water crashed over them, turning white and frothy. She was suddenly very afraid. One wrong move and they would slam into a rock and it wouldn't matter if they went over the waterfall then or not.

"Hang on!" Susan yelled as a large rock loomed. She kicked as hard as she could out of the way and made it just in time. She continued to kick her way on an angle toward the shore. All the while, the edge of the falls got closer and closer.

Susan was getting very tired, but refused to quit. It wasn't just her life she was responsible for. She had to save Tucker.

Susan was close, so close to the shore, when she heard someone shout her name. She looked about wildly and, concentration gone, lost her momentum and collided full-on with a large rock.

She felt the smooth stone hit her in the chest and almost passed out. Luckily, she wasn't hurt, just winded, and got a grip on the stone. She felt Tucker's weight leave her and looked up to see him perched on the rock, looking down at her.Susan felt relief flood her that her friend was safe. Tucker, however, wasn't so relieved.

"Susan!" He yelled. "Hang on!"

Her grip slipped. The rock was smooth, battered by who knew how much water, its edges long since worn away. She struggled to hold on but she was so tired.

She felt claws hook into her shirt and looked up. Tucker had one paw on her shoulder. "Don't let go!" He said.

Susan nodded, too tired even to talk. The water continued to push against her, shoving her sideways across the surface of the rock. She looked up at Tucker again just as her grip let go and did the most unselfish thing she had ever done in her whole life. With the last bit of her strength, Susan pulled his paw free of her shirt and let the water take her away.