Free HeroAdrift_PRC by Desconhecido(a) Page B

off a couple of lead ropes as well, making sure the Comfort would help keep the Belle steady.
    "Man overboard!"
    The shout sent a chill down Oliver's back and he looked all around the Belle. He saw the flash of orange of a P.F.D., a personal floatation device, off the port side. God, it was a child.
    Oliver knew the average water temperature of the Niagara River in the middle of May was 45.2 degrees. An adult would be exhausted swimming in that temperature in around thirty to forty minutes. Then there was the speed of the current and the real possibility the victim was injured and would drown even with the P.F.D.
    But this was a child. That ratcheted things up quite a bit. He wouldn't have a child drown. Not on his watch.
    In the time it took him to pull his protective waterproof headgear into place, another call rang overboard. "Man overboard times two!"
    Damn. This simple rescue had gone to shit in an instant he thought as he flipped over the rail and headed for the first flash of orange he saw.

    * * * *
    "Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen," Abby counted the children lined up. "Oh, God, who's missing?"
    Frantically she looked at the faces of her children. ""Where's Billy?" she asked John.
    "I don't know," he replied. "He was just there a minute ago. I saw you talking to him."
    "He was worried about us getting rammed by the Coast Guard," Abby said. She was turning to her right and left, praying she'd find the little boy soon. The man overboard call came just as her gaze ricocheted out the boat and she saw the flash of orange over the left railing.
    The Coast Guardsman was at the other end of the Belle . There was an Erie County sheriff's patrol boat on the left side and the students were standing on the right. She could see another boat racing to them from the Canadian coastline, but she wasn't certain if they'd reach them or if they could see Billy's orange life jacket and body. Abby knew Billy had only one chance. She bit back her fear at the thought of the cold, dark water coming over her head, but closed her eyes and jumped in. Billy was her responsibility. She didn't take that lightly.
    For a second she was afraid she'd be pulled to the bottom--the bottom she couldn't see and certainly couldn't feel under her feet. But the life jacket she was wearing did its job and popped her to the surface. The water was cold--much, much colder than she'd expected for this time of the year. Abby's teeth begin chattering within seconds of being in the river. She couldn't imagine what Billy, who weighed maybe forty-five pounds versus her one hundred and twenty-five, was feeling. Abby put the cold out of her mind, however. She had only one thought--reaching Billy. Although the thick jacket made movement awkward and Abby wasn't the strongest swimmer in the world, she started kicking and stroking her way to where Billy was bobbing away from the Belle at an alarming rate.
    Abby felt the combination of the strong current and the cold begin sapping her strength almost immediately. She had to reach Billy. She kept her eyes on him and yelled, "I'm coming, son."
    Her words ended on a cough as the wind whipped what felt like a gallon of water into her open mouth, down her windpipe and into her lungs.
    Abby heard shouts behind her and knew there were others coming to help. But she also saw the panic in Billy's eyes as she got closer to him. Although the life jacket was keeping his head above water, she could tell he was quickly losing the ability to stay afloat.
    She finally reached him and wrapped him in her arms. "I'm here, darling. I'm here. Put your arms around my neck, okay?"
    Billy nodded. She could see the tinge of blue around his lips from the cold and exhaustion and heard the rasp as he gasped for breath. Billy was asthmatic and she knew he was having an attack.
    At that moment one rescuer reached them.
    "Hurry," she said to the man. "He's having an asthma attack."
    Their rescuer nodded and took Billy from her arms, then turned and swam to the