It wasn’t enough to scare her off, though, and Halley lunged at Beth as Ryan began to float away, still not conscious enough to help himself. Beth was aware that the creek meandered for about a quarter mile before a small, but powerful waterfall merged the creek with the lagoon. She couldn’t let him get away from her, but Halley was coming at her again, and this time, Beth was close enough for Halley to scratch her face.
Beth pushed her back as hard as she could, balancing on one leg as she brought her other knee up and made contact with Halley’s gut. The smaller girl groaned, and Beth shoved her backward as hard as she could. Halley stumbled, regained her footing, and came at Beth again, but this time, Beth was out of the way, already moving toward Ryan. She dove into the water, reaching for his outstretched hand when she felt Halley latch on to her ponytail.
Halley wasn’t pulling her up, though, she was pushing her down, trying to end her the same way she had Ryan. Beth hadn’t been drugged though, and she wouldn’t go down so easily. She threw an elbow, connected with Halley’s chin and then spun over so that Halley was beneath her. In the shallow, water, Beth could easily reach the creek bed. She let go of Halley with one hand and found a rock about the size of her fist. As Halley began to kick, Beth brought the rock down as hard as she could, over and over, slamming into Halley’s arm, her shoulder, and finally making contact with her head on the same side that she’d hit her with the branch.
Halley sputtered, but she didn’t scream, and her hands dissolved their grip on Beth’s shirt. Realizing she couldn’t pull both of them from the water at the same time and that Ryan was quickly drifting further away from her, Beth let the other girl go and allowed the current to push her toward Ryan. With a few strokes, Beth was able to catch up to him.
Ryan was deadweight, and since he was at least fifty pounds heavier than her, it took every ounce of strength she had left to pull him to the shore. She had almost made it there when she turned her head to see Halley had somehow managed to regain her footing and was headed at them again. “Son of a bitch,” Beth muttered. She looked down the creek and could see Michael’s flashlight growing closer. “MICHAEL!” she shouted as loud as she could, hoping at the very least, Halley would realize she couldn’t possibly fight both of them off. She could tell he heard her when the intensity of the flashlight beamed increased as he drew nearer, but he was still a long way off.
Only a few feet separated Beth and Ryan from the solace of the shoreline. She turned to see Halley was closing in again, blood gushing from the side of her face. Beth didn’t know how she was even walking, she looked so bad. But that same maniacal grin that had been on her face when Halley had first arrived was back.
“Ryan!” Beth shouted, shaking him as she dragged him toward the shore. “Now would be a great time to wake up, Ryan!” His eyes flickered, so she knew he was still alive, that he could hear her, but she had no idea what shape his heart was in or how much water he might’ve swallowed. She assumed it was a lot, he’d been under so long, and as far as she knew, he’d never had swimming lessons. Not much use for that when you never leave your bedroom.
“Elizabeth!” Halley shouted just as Beth got Ryan’s upper body onto dry land. She turned to see the gap had closed, and Halley was reaching for her again.
The rocks were incredibly slick so close to the shoreline where the sun creeped in just enough to make the moss grow thick. As Halley charged her again, she lost her footing and began to slide back down. Beth took advantage of the other girl’s situation and sprung at her, bowling her head right into Halley’s gut. Beth spread her feet and sat back, letting the water control her landing, but Halley was already off kilter, and the blow sent her flying backward into the steady stream toward the middle of the creek. Her hands shot up, and Beth could see her eyes growing wide with panic. “Beth! Help!” Halley shouted, but the creek was carrying her away now, and despite the fact that Beth could see a flicker of the other girl she’d known, the one that seemed aloof but otherwise normal, there was nothing she could do to help her. Hoping that Halley regained her footing before she hit the waterfall, or that she at least stayed afloat long enough to make it to shore somewhere downstream, Beth returned her attention to Ryan.
He was coughing, which she took to be a good sign, but despite his best attempts, he wasn’t able to drag himself much further up onto the grass. Beth rushed over, slogging out of the water and running around to the other side of him, grabbing him beneath the arms and pulling him so that he was completely out of the water, near the fence. The coughing increased, and she pounded him on the back as he spewed dirty creek water out in what looked like gallons.
Michael’s flashlight continued to grow closer, but Beth wasn’t sure that would be enough to help. Her eyes tore across the park, and off in the distance, she saw the soft glow of red and blue lights. The fact that help was on the way was a bit of a relief, and when she returned her gaze to Ryan she could see he was improving. Hopefully, the sheriff would get here in time.
“Take some deep breaths,” she recommended, helping him roll back over onto his back. She put her hand on his heart and could feel it was beating rapidly, but not in synch. Every once in a while, it would pound and then take a few softer pulses, none of them measured or in any sort of rhythm, sort of like a child playing on a drum set. She thought that couldn’t be good, but at least his heart was beating, he was breathing, and most of the water was out of his lungs. “Help is on the way.”
“Oh, God, Beth!” He was panting, sucking in air, and she tried to quiet him, but he was insistent on speaking. “I’m so sorry.”
“No, Ryan. It’s okay. Don’t talk. It’s fine. I’m sorry, too. I never should’ve….” She stopped. There was no way she could sum up all of the things she never should’ve done. Pretend to be someone she wasn’t; try to fit into a group where she didn’t belong; win the affections of a guy it turned out she didn’t even like. Most importantly, she never should’ve taken Ryan for granted. All those years, she’d just assumed he would always be there for her and never stopped to consider what he wanted, what was best for him. “Just be still and try to breathe.”
He nodded, and for a few seconds, she thought maybe he would do just that, but then he tried to speak again, and she had to insist that he be quiet. She smoothed his hair, brushing his bangs off of his forehead. “It’s all right, Ryan. We’ll talk later. I promise.”
Michael arrived just as the lights from the police car pulled to a stop on the road at the edge of the open area Beth had run through just a few minutes ago, ages ago. “How is he?” Michael asked, breathing hard himself.
“He’s going to be okay,” Beth said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. She had no idea what the drug Halley had slipped him might do or how being submerged for so long might affect his heart. “Did you see Halley?”
“No, I heard her scream, but when I shined my flashlight on the creek, I couldn’t see her.” Michael stood up straight and traced the body of water with the light once more. There was no sign of Halley.