I realized within moments what had happened, and I recognized that I had precious little time to waste as I whipped off my jacket, launching it across the room before I dove into the murky water of the lake. With a few strong kicks, I managed to get down The way she thrashed and kicked made it difficult for me to get a proper hold on her, but I managed to wrap my right arm around her waist. I was amazed to feel how heavy she was. No wonder she hadn't come up.

The fabric of her dress weighed at least twice what she did. I cursed myself once more as my lungs burned in my chest, the surface of the water just out of my reach. Kick, damn you! I cursed silently, can't you see I'm not strong enough to do this on my own? You've got to help me help you, Christine!

I could break the surface with my hand, that was how close we were when I felt my body begin to give. Christine seemed to have already given up, her thrashing and kicking slowed drastically. I tore my mask off in a last ditch effort to pull us to the surface, using it like an oar to propel us along.

It worked. The flat of the mask gave me just enough resistance push my face out of the water. I scrambled to fix the mask to my face once again as I kicked for the edge of my home. Christine was dead weight against my arm, I tried to keep her head above water until I could push her up onto the cool stone floor. "Oh Christine," I moaned as I struggled to pull her up, "Why couldn't you just listen to me? Why?"

I scrambled to pull myself up after her, and thought I was coughing and gasping to catch my breath yet, my greatest concern was whether Christine would survive. When I checked her, she was not breathing. I could not bear to touch her lips with my own, but I had no other option to try and save her. With shaking hands I tilted her head back and pinched shut her nose, pressing my lips to her own and blowing.

Please don't let me have gotten to her too late! I silently pleaded as I tried to save her. As my attempts became more frantic, more pleading, she finally showed some signs of life. The first of which was to cough up a lungful of water. This was immediately followed by panicky, pained wails that escaped her lips as she sat bolt upright, clinging to me. I froze, taken aback by the sudden contact. It took me longer than it probably should have to raise my arms and clasp them tightly around Christine's body in a gesture that I hoped was comforting.

"You saved me," she rasped as she calmed down, pulling away from me after a long, tender embrace. I stared at her, eyes wide, as she looked at me with such gratitude. She leaned forward once more, but this time my breath caught in my throat as I realized she was reaching for my mask. I tried to pull away, but she had it in her hand before I could do anything.