her back. She didnt reckon she could face a third attempt at basic training. Failure now would be the end of her CHERUB career.
Mr Large crushed Laurene knuckles as he tugged her back to her feet.
Lhoe the best swimmer out of you six trainees??Mr Large asked, eyeballing Lauren again.
Le, I suppose,?Lauren said.
Thate riiiiight, isnt it??Mr Large said cockily. Juite the little mermaid, I recall ?So if one of you had to swim across a fast-flowing river, grab six lovely grey CHERUB T-shirts and then swim back again, yout be the ideal candidate. Wouldnt you??
Hes sir,?Lauren barked, trying desperately not to show Mr Large how upset she was. He absolutely loved it when he made a trainee cry.
Mr Large took a step back and addressed the whole lineup. it suggest that all of you do what you can to help Lauren out; because if she doesnt come back with the T-shirts, I抣l make each of you swim across individually and fetch your own. The river is four hundred metres away, over the brow of the next hill. It suggest you get moving if you want to be indoors by sundown.?
Lauren led the row of kids scrambling uphill through the deep snow, dragging their equipment sleds behind them. Mr Large and the two assistant training instructors, Mr Speaks and Miss Smoke, followed them.
The rushing water made a roar that overpowered all but the most persistent howls of wind. The river would have been over a hundred metres wide in the summer, but the banks were iced up, cutting Laurene swim to less than sixty.
Miss Smoke, a woman who was butch even by the standards of retired kickboxing champions, pointed her muscular arm at the opposite embankment. Hour grey T-shirts are in a waterproof backpack behind that traffic cone,?she rumbled.
The six trainees huddled up and pulled their balaclavas away from their mouths, so they could hear each other speak. As their steaming breath mingled, nobody could look Lauren in the eye. They felt sorry for her, but at the same time it was a relief not to be suffering alongside her.
it could have been worse,?Lauren said, trying to sound cheerful and break the silence. i抣l have to go in naked. If It wearing clothes, they抣l freeze solid the second I step out of the water and I抣l never get them off.?
A twelve-year-old Kurdish boy called Aram replied. Lete all got Vaseline in our first-aid packs. It will act as insulation if Lauren smears it on.?
That抣l help keep me warm,?Lauren nodded.
Lhat if we tie our rescue ropes together and knot them under Laurene arms??Bethany suggested. it should be long enough to reach across the river and we can haul her in if she gets in trouble.?
Lood idea,?Lauren grinned. i抣l still have to swim out, but you guys can pull me back with the rope.?
Co you think you can make it over??Aram asked.
ite gonna be cold and the current looks vicious,?Lauren said. But the distance is only a bit more than one length of a swimming pool.?
The six trainees tied their rescue ropes together. Lauren double-checked all the knots, then the kids burrowed inside their sleds and grabbed their tubs of Vaseline.
Bethany led the way out to the riverbank and began helping Lauren unzip her outer layers of clothing. The kids knew from their survival manuals that any water flowing in these parts would be a couple of degrees above freezing. You wouldnt swim in it out of choice, but it was survivable. Laurene real problem was the air outside the water, which was more than fifteen degrees below freezing. A few minutes?exposure to temperatures this low would blister Laurene bare skin, as surely as if shet jumped into a bath of boiling water.
Two of the boys laid a foam-insulating mat on the snow and weighted down the ends with sleds to stop it blowing away.
OK,?Lauren said. Coes everyone know what their job is? I dont want any hold-ups.?
After a line of nods had satisfied Lauren, she sat on the foam mat and two of the boys started tugging at her snow boots. Once they were off, Lauren stood up, and stepped out of her snowsuit and outer fleece layer in a single frenzied movement. Next, she peeled away the tightly fitting inner fleece, followed by her socks and underwear. Bethany gathered up the inner layers of clothing as they were cast off and pushed them inside her snowsuit so they didnt freeze up.
As soon as Lauren had hurled her knickers away, she dived on