Free From Manhattan With Revenge Boxed Set by Christopher Smith Page B

away, but swimming so
hard, they were quickly closing the distance between them.   In their hands were harpoon guns.   When she saw one of the men turn to the
other and point at them, she knew they had been spotted.
    She
lifted her head.   “Two men.   To your right.   Harpoons.   Coming straight at us.   Get over here.   We paddle from the left-side of the
boat.”
    He
looked down, saw them and swam closer to her, lifting himself so his mouth was
just above the surface.   “They’re
either going to shoot us or the boat.   The harpoons will sink the boat.   We need to get in it now and get out of here.   There’s no choice.”
    She knew
he was right.   Together, they
scrambled low into the boat and when they did, another harpoon crashed through
the hut and soared over their heads.  
    Carmen
rushed to the front.   This boat was
no ordinary boat.   It was
sophisticated and cost her a fortune.   A turn of a key would start the engine.   But the moment she turned it, the dual
engines were so powerful, all would hear them.   She looked at Alex, who was leaning low
against the side of the boat.   “Hurry,” he said.
    Hunching
down as low as she could, she turned the key, the engines roared to life and
suddenly the air behind them became alive with harpoons and gunfire.  
    She sped
away.
    Tried to
speed away.
    Below
them, one of the men shot a harpoon.   It smashed through the right side of the boat, but instead of shooting
clear through to the other side, the harpoon sank into Alex’s thigh and pinned
him to the boat.   She looked over at
him in horror and saw his face twisted in pain while scores of harpoons rained
down on them, some glancing off the boat, most plunging into the water.   “Go!” he said through gritted
teeth.   “Move before they shoot
again!”
    Without
thinking of the consequences or what might happen to Alex given the dire
situation of his wound, she forced herself to focus and roared away as the
onslaught continued.  
    It was a
nightmare.   She could hear glass
breaking behind her and then an explosion as one of the harpoons connected with
the propane tank in the kitchen area.  
    She
looked over her shoulder and saw her beloved hut alive and thrashing with
flames.   She’d spent so many years
here and now it was gone.   She
pressed harder on the throttle and moved faster until they presumably were out
of reach.   She sped left and rounded
into an inlet, while warm water leached around her feet.   Her boat was going to sink.   She pressed the throttle harder and
moved into the inlet, which was miles from her hut and where some of the locals
lived.   She knew one of the families
here.   They could help them.
    “Are you
alright?” she asked.
    He
didn’t answer.
    “Can you
see them?”
    Silence.
    She
looked over her shoulder and saw that Alex’s eyes were closed and that he was
oddly pale.   She looked down at the
bottom of the boat and saw that the warm water she thought she was standing in
actually was his blood.   The harpoon
and his leg had created something of a plug, sealing off the water from the
boat but not the blood from Alex’s leg.   The harpoon had struck an artery.   He was bleeding out.
    Quickly,
she removed her bikini bottom and tied it tight just above the wound.   She patted his face and asked him to
speak to her.   Nothing.   She gently shook him and asked him to
say something.   Nothing.   She checked for a pulse.   Nothing.  
    Panic
rose within her.   He had come to
mean everything to her.   She
couldn’t lose him.   It wasn’t right.   She was in love with him.   “Don’t leave me,” she said, shaking him
harder.   “Please don’t leave me.   Please stay.”
    She
needed to administer CPR, but she couldn’t move him onto his back because of
how the harpoon had pinned him to the boat.   She’d need to improvise.  
    She
pressed her ear to his chest and heard nothing.   She checked to see if he was breathing,
but he