The area was no more than twenty feet away, but Sara felt her arms tiring as she swam. The coldness of the water hit her like a slap in the face, and she realized that the low temperature would slow her down.
She surfaced, looking around for the boat. Again, Jeb came at her full throttle. Again, she ducked under the water. She came up just in time to see the boat skimming toward the submerged rocks. The nose of the boat hit the first one head-on, popping up, flipping the boat over. Sara watched as Jeb was thrown from the boat. He flew through the air, splashing into the water. His hands clawed helplessly as he tried to keep himself from drowning. Mouth open, eyes wide with terror, he flailed as he was pulled down below the surface. She waited, holding her breath, but he did not come back up.
Jeb had been thrown about ten feet from the boat, away from the rock field. Sara knew the only way she would make it to the shore was to swim through the rocks. She could tread water for only so long before the cold enveloped her. The distance to the dock was too great. She would never make it. The safest route to the shore would take Sara past the overturned boat.
What she really wanted to do was stay where she was, but Sara knew the cold water was luring her into a sense of complacency. The lake’s temperature wasn’t down to freezing, but it was cold enough to bring on moderate hypothermia if she stayed in too long.
She swam a slow crawl to conserve body heat, her head just above the water as she made her way through the field. Her breath was a cloud in front of her, but she tried to think of something warm; sitting in front of a fire, roasting marshmallows. The hot tub at the YMCA. The steam room. The warm quilt on her bed.
Altering her course, she went around the far side of the boat, away from where Jeb had gone down. She had seen too many movies. She was terrified he would come from the deep, grabbing her leg, pulling her down. As she passed the boat, she could see a large hole in the front where the rock had torn through the bow. It was overturned, the belly up to the sky. Jeb was on the other side, holding on to the torn bow. His lips were dark blue, a stark contrast against his white face. He was shivering uncontrollably, his breath coming out in sharp puffs of white. He had been struggling, wasting his energy trying to keep his head above water. The cold was probably lowering his core temperature with every passing minute.
Sara kept swimming, moving more slowly. Jeb’s breathing and her hands pushing through the water were the only sounds on the still lake.
“I c-c-can’t swim,” he said.
“That’s too bad,” Sara answered, her voice tight in her throat. She felt as if she were circling a wounded but dangerous animal.
“You can’t leave me here,” he managed around chattering teeth.
She started to sidestroke, turning in the water so as not to put her back to him. “Yes, I can.”
“You’re a doctor.”
“Yes, I am,” she said, continuing to move away from him.
“You’ll never find Lena.”
Sara felt a weight drop onto her. She treaded water, keeping her eyes on Jeb. “What about Lena?”
“I t-t-took her,” he said. “She’s somewhere safe.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He gave what she assumed was a shrug.
“Where’s somewhere safe?” Sara demanded. “What did you do to her?”
“I left her for you, Sara,” he said, his voice catching as his body started shaking. From the recesses of her mind, Sara recalled that the second stage of hypothermia was marked by uncontrollable shaking and irrational thought.
He said, “I left her somewhere.”
Sara moved slightly closer, not trusting him. “Where did you leave her?”
“You n-n-need to save her,” he mumbled, closing his eyes. His face dipped down, his mouth dropping below the waterline. He snorted as water went up his nose, his grip on the boat tightening. There was a cracking sound as the boat moved against the rock.
Sara felt a sudden rush of heat through her body. “Where is she, Jeb?” When he didn’t answer, she told him, “You can die out here. The water’s cold enough. Your heart will slow down until it stops. I’d give you twenty minutes, tops,” she said, knowing it would be more like a few hours.