Free Promise Me Forever by Cyndi Raye

think it’s a flare gun.” It occurred to her every boat should have one. She dived for the console and tore it open, her hands searching in the dark until it latched on to a hard object. She pulled it out, her hand shaking.
     
    “A gun! Oh my!” Margie yelled. “Shoot it Abby! Shoot that gun in the air!” She jumped up and down as Abby placed her fingers on the trigger and wrapped her hand around the weapon. She raised her hand in the air and squeezed. A loud pop cracked the air and Abby jumped as the flare went high in the sky. She fell back and bumped Margie who tottered back and forth and then fell overboard.
     
    “Margie! Margie!” Elvin came to life. He leaned over and reached out with his hand as Margie tried to paddle back to the boat.
     
    “I can’t swim!” she yelled to them.
     
    “I can’t either!” Elvin cried out. He turned to find something to throw in the water. He picked up one of the cushions on the bench and threw it overboard. It plunked down beside Margie and she tried to grab on to the pillow but it slid from her grasp.
     
    “Help me Abby! I can’t swim!”
     
    Abby tried to assess the situation before she dived in the water. Oh God, the thought of sharks in the unknown waters terrified her but there was a life at stake here. She closed her eyes, climbed over the side and jumped in the water. Abby latched on to Margie, grabbed the leather cushion and shoved it in her arms. She grabbed Margie’s waist and cried out because the salt in the water was burning her poison wounds. Penny dove in right after her and pulled at the older woman’s top.
     
    She pushed Margie towards the boat as Elvin held out his arm. He got a firm grip on her and pulled her up as Abby pushed as hard as she could from the other end. She heard a motor in the distance and knew her rescuers found them. Penny barked. Abby was desperate to get out of the water but her head got fuzzy. The pain all over her body burned to the core and Abby’s stomach churned. But she still pushed, determined to get Margie out of the water. Then her arms were empty, and she knew the woman was safe. Her body distanced itself from the boat and it became clear to Abby consciousness was fading away. Still she fought the abyss because she wasn’t going down in alleged shark infested waters. She kicked her feet, determined more than ever to win, to get on that boat and live.
     
    Someone wrapped their arms around her and pulled her in the opposite direction. Not down in to the ocean but away from the boat, towards a safe place. “Jon,” she whispered, her mouth filling with salt water. Even in her distress, she knew the feel of his arms. Abby sputtered and spit as he pulled her out of the water, over the side of the boat. Her body shivered at the chilly night air but then he wrapped his arms around her again and she smiled. “I’m safe, thank you.”
     
    “Abigail.” Her mother’s soft voice made Abby smile again. Jon settled beside her and she felt a warmth across her shoulders. Her dad took his button down shirt off and wrapped it over her. He placed a kiss on her cheek and went back to his wife, who drove the boat right before Penny shook off the water. It splattered across them and they all laughed.
     
    She heard someone say they should leave Margie and Elvin out in the water. She cried out. “No, please. Help them.” Abby didn’t realize her words were a whisper until Jon gathered her closer in his arms. Her head flopped on to his chest.
     
    “They’re fine Abby.”
     
    “Where are they?” she asked, wanting to look but her eyelids were drooping, they were so heavy.
     
    “Right behind us. We attached a tow rope and we’re bringing in the boat. We’ll be back on shore in a few minutes.”
     
    “I’m so tired.”
     
    “We’ll soon be home baby.”
     
    Abby stirred in his arms and pushed herself deeper in his embrace. “I am home.”
     
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    Jon’s voice stirred her awake. After spending so long in