Not that this seems to bother U'dron—he's cutting through the waves with speed, a determined look on his face. I want to get out and swim to meet him, but I'm so cold the idea seems horrific.
Just as I decide to brave it, Dad puts a hand on my shoulder, pinning me in place.
I shrug his hand off, irritated. "You can't paddle fast enough, you jerk! Someone's here to save me!"
Dad glares at me, his hand fisting in my damp tunic when I try to push him away. What a bastard.
A moment later, U'dron's head breaks the surface of the water. There's a long, slimy tentacle of something wrapped around his arm, another around his neck, but he ignores them, grabbing onto the raft. The moment he does, the entire thing nearly tips over, and I let out another squeal, this time of horror. He can't fit on here, but he can't stay in the water, either.
Dad plants a foot against U'dron's face and shoves, hard. "Go away! This female is mine. I found her!" The translation is rough, the language garbled, but the meaning is clear.
"She is not yours," U'dron growls, holding onto the raft as Dad tries to shove him under. The entire thing nearly tips again, and I grab Pak before he can slide off the side.
"Oh, so now we're talking?" I cry out. "For real?" I want to smack them all in the mouth for being such dicks about this. "I can't believe that you're talking to everyone but me. What gives?"
Dad just growls and tries to kick U'dron off again. U'dron grabs his leg and with one smooth move, drags him into the water with him. Pak lets out a little scream of terror, and I grab the kid before he can follow them. The raft sloshes miserably, and the oar falls into the water. Shit. Do we jump in now or do we stay on here and try to make it to shore? "Wait here, Pak," I say, releasing the kid. "Sit down. I'll get us to land."
I reach for the oar, but as I do, U'dron and Dad erupt from the water, snarling at each other like two angry cats. They hit and fight, and more of those filmy tentacles are wrapped around them, not that either seems to notice. A moment later, they go back under the water and the oar drifts just out of reach. Well, fuck. I lean over and try to grab it—
—and then I'm in the ice-cold water.
The shock of it hits me like a slap to the chest. Everything in me feels like it just got punched, and I claw at the water until I break the surface again. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. "U'dron?" I chatter.
The raft drifts nearby, with Pak on it, alone, a worried expression on his face. A moment later, the kid jumps into the water next to me. Well, fucking great. If this isn't the most ridiculous situation, I don't know what is. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Pak flails, his head coming above the surface, and does that awful gasp that only a child that doesn't know how to swim makes when they realize just what they've gotten themselves into. I grab him by the shoulder and haul him against me, and his small arms twine choking-tight around my neck. "Let's get to shore, little buddy."
I want to check on U'dron and Dad, but they bob and thrash under the water, still fighting. I figure if they can fight, they're not drowning, which puts them a step above me and Pak. I doggy paddle as best I can toward the shore, but it's so cold and slushy it's like swimming in ice cream, and I can't feel my limbs before long, my teeth clacking loudly with the chill.
My legs are so cold that it doesn't register that something's got me until I'm jerked under. I let out a cry that's swallowed up by more seawater and fight my way back to the surface. When I do, Pak is crying, and I see both U'dron and Dad have realized we're in trouble and are lurching toward us.
Thank god.
Before I can tell someone to get Pak off my shoulders before he drowns me, the thing on my leg grabs me and pulls me under again. I'm not under for longer than a breath before a strong hand grabs me and hauls me back to the surface. U'dron looks me in the eye