The water was cold, so cold. Her legs and arms were weak, the muscles worn out from swimming. With every stroke she took, the raft seemed to get further away. The daylight was fading around her, closer and closer night came. She tried to call out for Nick or Cassie, but her voice only echoed in the silence, broken only by the water lapping around her. She looked back, but the dock and shoreline had disappeared. Alone she swam, alone in the darkness. Tired. So tired. She rolled onto her back, floating, giving her body a slight break. Then she was sliding under the water, but she didn't panic. She let the water take her, knowing that the darkness that would come would take her away from the pain, isolation and cold. Deeper she sank until she could no longer see the surface of the water. Clara could feel her mind letting go, and she didn't fight it.
The sudden rapid beeping of the heart monitor jolted Nick from his trance. Something was wrong. Before he could even get up, a doctor and nurse came tearing into the room followed closely by Catherine. They ran to Clara's side, looking at the machines and pressing buttons.
"Get a crash cart in here!" the doctor yelled as another nurse appeared at the door.
"Pressure is dropping!" the nurse called out.
"What's going on?" Nick cried out, frantically looking between the doctor and nurse.
"Her heart rate is dropping, she might be heading into cardiac arrest. Sir, you need to move back," the doctor answered quickly, "Pushing 50cc's of adrenaline," he said to the nurse as he jammed a needle into Clara's IV.
Two more doctors and another nurse came running into the room, a crash cart being pushed with them as the first doctor listened to Clara's chest, listening to the screaming heart monitor. He yelled out a bunch of medical terms before being handed another needle, which he injected Clara with. The other doctor stood ready, paddles in his hand to shock her if needed.
Nick stood by her side, helpless to do anything. He was vaguely aware of Catherine beside him.
"Clara please come back! Please…Clara you need to hold on…please Clara…" he pleaded with her over the shrill beeps and the doctor's orders. He moved closer, grabbing her hand, saying her name over and over, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"…hold on…please Clara…" a distorted voice echoed through the water.
Her eyes shot open, and suddenly she was aware that her lungs were burning. She swam up, higher and higher until she broke the surface, gasping for breath. Then she saw it. The raft was in front of her, and with her last ounce of strength she pulled herself up on it, collapsing on the cold wood.
"Heart rate is climbing."
The doctor checked one of the machines, "She's starting to breathe over the ventilator. Let's get that tube out of her throat and get an air mask on instead."
"Is she…is she ok?" Nick asked quietly.
"I think she's coming back to us."
He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, and fell into Catherine's arms beside him. His colleague held him in a hug, as he listened to the heart monitor return to its normal steady beeps.
To be continued…
The papers are done, but exams are coming. I will try to post a little more, hopefully this tides everyone over. Thanks for sticking with the story. And I promise, as soon as it hits Christmas break, there will be a ton more to come, and maybe I'll even finish it!
Happy Holidays and to anyone else with exams, best of luck! -L