Note: Sorry. This is a short one. But it says all its needs to say.

CHAPTER 5

Aramis' command brought some reason back to Athos' numb mind and he realized he was being selfish. Perhaps he should die for his transgressions, but he had no right to hasten Aramis' demise, which would surely happen if he gave up. For his brother's sake, he had to fight. They had to fight. Together.

Pushing away his sense of helplessness, Athos attempted to study the river around them, trying to formulate a plan to escape this water ride. Perhaps God wasn't quite done with them yet because a solution was presented for their escape. An island came into view and the river forked to either side of the spit of land. Their current trajectory had them heading straight for it, though Athos knew the current would eventually push them to the right or left around it.

"Aramis," he said over his shoulder. "The island. Ahead. We need to get on it." He broke off speaking for a few seconds to catch his breath. "When we get close to the island, the current will pull us one way or the other. We need to fight it. Get on that land. It's that or we die here tonight."

"Perhaps not one of your best motivational speeches, Lieutenant," Aramis replied with small grin and a chattering of teeth. "But yes, I get the idea."

As they approached the island, it looked as if they were going to be skewered by the land. Just as Aramis was starting to believe this wasn't going to be hard, they abruptly swung to the right. The island was no longer dead ahead, but drifting off to the left. Aramis expected to hear the command to swim from Athos any second, but it didn't come. He waited and waited. Just as he was about to say something, he felt the current that had been tugging on them slack off.

"Now!" Athos yelled as he began to force his leaden arms and legs into something that resembled swimming.

With his free hand and legs, Aramis added his strength and slowly they pulled closer to the island. Time seemed to stop as they battled the river. Finally, they entered the gentle eddies that hugged the land and it got easier to swim. Dry earth was a stone's throw away and on a hunch, Aramis stopped kicking and dropped his feet downward. They hit the bottom. He could stand!

He tried to convey this knowledge to Athos who was doggedly flailing along, but the swordsman seemed in a stupor. Working his hand free of Athos' sword sheath he placed both feet on the ground, then grabbed Athos' arm.

"Stop. You can stand," he shouted through chattering teeth.

The word 'stop' made it through to Athos' brain and he halted swimming. But he didn't think to put his feet down so he promptly sank under the water.

"Athos!" Aramis screamed in panic as he plunged both hands into the water and dragged the swordsman to the surface once more. Luckily, the water in the eddies around the island was calm and it was easy to get Athos' head above the surface. "You can stand," he repeated over and over until it sank in and he felt Athos struggle to stand.

The swordsman got his feet under him and stood, the water receding to below his chest. Holding on to each other for support, they slogged their way toward dry land, though dry was a relative term since the island was covered in snow and the edges crusted in ice. Slipping and sliding, they fell twice trying to get up the gentle slope where the water met the land.

Finally clearing the field of ice, they reached land that was only covered in snow. Athos sank to his knees, collapsing in on himself in a pile, head bowed and chest to his knees. Aramis remained standing, for he was afraid if he too gave in to his exhaustion, it might be the last thing he did on this earth. Desperately, he scanned around him for a sign as to what they should do now. Yes, they were on land, but this life and death trial was far from over.