Ch2
Jim wasn't sure what was going on or what had happened. All he knew was he woke up and Pam was no where in sight and Kelly was screaming for help. Before he had even thought about it he had already ran straight into the lake and had swam half way to Kelly. As he got closer he could make out what she was saying.
"Pam slipped on the rocks and hit her head. She went under. Hurry! Please hurry." Kelly was screaming and crying frantically.
He sped up, swimming faster than he had in year and tried to ignore the pain in his legs and arms as he worked muscles he didn't know he had. When he reached Kelly he looked down and saw Pam a few feet below the surface. He took a breath and dove down. He grabbed her around the waist with his left arm and began to kick towards the surface.
"Oh my God, is she okay? Is she breathing?" Kelly began screaming as soon as he surfaced.
"Go to shore and get help, now!" he yelled back forcefully.
He readjusted his grip on Pam and began swimming as fast and as hard as he could toward the shore. Her tiny body felt so heavy, and even though he couldn't bear the thought he knew she wasn't breathing. He thought about stopping mid-swim to deliver a breath to her, but he thought it would be best to get to shore and work on her there. He was kicking like crazy but felt like he was getting nowhere. He kept thinking back to his lifeguard training. He could barely remember anything, but it kept his mind off thoughts that would have otherwise sent him into a full panic.
He could feel the water becoming shallow and realized he could stand. He picked up Pam in his arms and ran as far up the shore as he could before collapsing down. He pushed the hair out of her face, did the chin lift and head tilt that he somehow remembered and placed his ear to her mouth. As he expected there was no exchange of air. Jim pinched Pam's nose, sealed his lips around hers, and blew two slow, full breaths into her lungs. He saw her chest rise and fall with each breath. He placed his fingers to her neck in hopes of finding a pulse.
"Shit!" He couldn't remember all the steps. He knew the landmarks for chest compressions, but he couldn't remember how many to perform. He thought he had learned five, but maybe he had recently read something about it now being thirty. Thirty seemed too many. He couldn't concentrate and he wanted to scream. He shook his head and decided he needed to act.
He placed his hands over Pam's chest and began to push down hard and fast.
"One, Two, Three, Four, Five," he counted under his breath.
He pincher her nose and gave her two breaths again.
"One, Two, Three, Four, Five," he counted again.
Where the hell is Kelly he thought as he gave Pam two more breaths.
"One, Two, Please, Four, Pam," He said fighting back tears.
Two more breaths and he felt the tears rolling down his cheeks.
"One, Please, Three, Please, Five," he whispered.
He thought he heard people coming as he gave her two more breaths.
"One, Two, Three, Four, Five," he counted once more
"Jim, I'm coming, I'm CPR certified!" he heard Dwight yelling as he gave Pam a breath.
Water shot out of her mouth and her chest heaved as she tried to breathe. He gave her another breath before realizing that probably wasn't a good idea. It made her cough so he rolled her on her side and she continued to cough.
Jim dropped down on his elbows. Every part of his body hurt and he felt like he might vomit. He touched Pam's arm and encouraged her to keep coughing. He was so relieved to hear her breathing, but he was terrified that something else would go wrong.
"Move, out of the way, I need to asses the victim!" Dwight yelled as he tried to push Jim away.
"No Dwight, I have it, she's breathing."
"Are you certified? I think not. I will take care of..."
"No…Dwight…I'm ok." Pam gasped as she rolled over onto her back.
"Someone please hand me a towel for her." Jim said looking around at all the stunned faces watching Pam coughing.
"Oh come on people, didn't anyone bring a towel?" Michael asked with an eye roll.
"Angela, just hand me one from over there!" Jim said pointing towards his towel. "How far out is the ambulance?" he added. No one responded to his question.
"Didn't anyone call an ambulance when Kelly told you what was happening?" he asked in an annoyed tone.
"I can call one now Jim. I have my phone." Kevin stated.
"It's a bit late now guys. It will be faster for me to just take her." Jim said as he picked Pam up and started walking towards the parking lot.
"Thanks for all your help everyone" Jim said shortly "You all were in rare form today" he added under his breath.
"It's a good thing you wore those swim trunks today." Pam whispered, giving him a weak smile.
The ride to the hospital felt like it was never going to end. Jim could hardly pay attention to the road because he was looking at Pam every five seconds. He was still fuming over the fact that the whole damn office had coming running over to see what was going on and not one of them had done anything productive.
"Hey, stay awake for me Pam." he said giving her hand a little squeeze.
"I'm just so tired and sore." Pam moaned.
"I know, but I need you to stay awake till a doctor gives you the ok to sleep."
"What if they tell me I can't sleep? My head hurts so badly and my chest feels like an elephant was sitting on it. I need to sleep."
"I know, I'm so sorry Pam, I…I shouldn't have left you out there. I'm sorry I hurt your chest, I…" Jim couldn't finish his sentence. He knew why Pam's chest hurt so badly but he could not let himself return to those moments. He couldn't picture her laying there lifeless anymore or he really would lose it.
"Jim, please don't apologize." Pam said in a worried tone "You saved my life, and it's not your fault for leaving us out there. Kelly needed me and I mean you did what you had to do."
Jim swallowed hard and gave her a weak smile. He couldn't speak because he knew his voice would break. He wanted to let it out, he wanted to hold her and cry and kiss her and make her feel better. He just needed to get her to the hospital so they could care for her properly. He turned his concentration to getting there as fast as possible.