A Flash of Red

Chapter Thirty-Three

Harry

I had my jacket on in seven seconds.

"SHE'S STILL ON THE SHORE?" I yelled at Deanna. "We need to move."

I began walking towards the door and saw Noah, who also had his coat on.

"I need to move." He corrected.

"Are you out of your fucking mind? I'm going."

"I'm going!"

I lunged for him, adrenaline pumping through me. Mr. Andrews grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me back.

"Neither of you are going!"

"But-."

"I don't need you two at each other's throats while we try to save Tara's life."

I turned around to look at him.

"Mr. Andrews." I whispered, my shoulders sagging as I gave into the emotion. My eyes filled slightly with tears and I felt fear rise in my throat.

"We're bringing her back, Harry. Mrs. Hain is coming as well because she has nursing experience. We'll tend to her as much as we can on the spot. No doubt she has hypothermia and/or pneumonia. Get together all the blankets and pillows you can. We need to move quickly." He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "We'll bring her back for you."

I found myself speechless as I felt the air leave my lungs. I felt a hand touch my back and felt Scarlett hug me from behind. I watched as Mr. Andrews, Mr. Ventris, Jackson, and Mrs. Hain walked out the door. Jackson turned to look at me and nodded his head before leaving. 

All I could do was wait.

...

The group stayed close together, careful to avoid ice. The older man, the leader of the group, looked around the corner. He signaled for the others to quickly move.

"We need to run if we're going to get to her in time. We can't take longer than five minutes. We'd be cutting it too close."

The group nodded, quickening their pace. Kelly Hain held three blankets in her arms for the girl. She silently said a prayer. 

The next few minutes were silent. Joseph Ventris ran ahead, looking down at the shoreline but not seeing anything stand out. He looked back at the group. 

"We need to get down there to look."

They jogged down the hill, Jackson nearly slipping on a patch of ice. The group spread out, looking around.

"She said she hid her on the shore but I don't see where." Kelly was beginning to panic. She saw the girl as her daughter and her maternal instincts were kicking in. 

"HERE!" They turned at the sound of Clark's voice. They ran. The girl was tucked under an overturned row boat, a jacket wrapped around her. Her lips were blue and her eyes were closed.

Kelly put her ear to her chest. 

"She's breathing, but there's water in her lungs. We need to perform CPR to push it out." Without another thought, she held Tara's nose and blew into her mouth. She repeated the action four times before the girl began coughing. Jackson rolled her onto her side as she coughed up the water. 

She still remained unconscious. Clark looked around.

"It's too dangerous to do anything more out here. Wrap her up. We need to carry her back." Joseph and Kelly wasted no time, wrapping her several times over in the heavy blankets. Clark leaned down to Tara's ear. "I don't know if you can hear me, sweetheart, but don't quit on us yet." He scooped her up in his arms and looked to the group. "Joseph, take the lead. Jackson, cover the rear. Kelly, stick with me. Let's move."