Love in an Undead Age, A.M. Geever [best contemporary novels txt] 📗

to suck in air. She gasped and coughed, struggling to keep her head above the surface, and pulled on Mario as hard as she could. He broke the surface beside her, his head lolling to the side.

Miranda’s arms and legs were jelly, all strength depleted. She couldn’t stop coughing as she flailed, and she felt Mario slip under the water again. She couldn’t keep him up, didn’t have the strength, and felt herself going down.

Doug shoved the life ring at her and pulled her arm through. She clutched it feebly, wrapping her other arm around the opposite direction, violent coughs still racking her body, throat and lungs raw. Through the dark water splashing in her face, she saw Doug pull Mario to him. Mario coughed, then retched up water as Doug slipped his arm through the life ring. Miranda clung to the life ring, unable to do anything but let Doug do the work for all of them.

Miranda’s whole body shook by the time they reached the yacht, her body heat wicked away by the frigid water. Doug heaved himself over the edge of the swim platform, then reached back for her. She kicked her legs feebly, trying to help him get her out of the water, only now noticing how much her knee hurt.

“You’re in my way,” Doug said, pushing her aside when she tried to help him get Mario on board.

Delilah barked from the cabin below deck. Miranda’s teeth chattered, in counterpoint to her shaking body, as Doug heaved Mario onto the swim platform. She could see he was shielding his shoulder, holding his arm tight to his body. They all lay gasping, muscles depleted from the cold and the sudden subsidence of adrenaline. Mario reached out and caught her hand.

“Th-thanks,” he said.

“Y-you two o-okay?”

Doug pushed himself upright, squirmed out of his backpack, and pulled himself up the guardrail to his feet. “Never b-better.”

Mario pushed himself up to sitting and started to speak to her, but Miranda cut him off.

“I already k-know, babe,” she managed through her chattering teeth. “S-Seattle’s gone.”