“Grab the rope” I scream as I’m hanging off of the old worn-out wooden bridge. There’s so many terrifying creatures out here in this overgrown forest. Who would’ve thought the thing to bring us to our knees would be an outdated bridge? An inanimate object with no actual will to try and kill us. Alexia has always been interested in Architecture. She was even going to go to school for it before everything went down.

Since she knows more about stability and if it would be safe to cross. So we all decided that she would be the one to check old bridge out. She was walking around on it just fine, until she turned around to give the all clear and walked one too many steps onto a rotten slab. In one moment, as we stood there looking at the empty space where she was just at, she fell into the icy cold water. Now it was already extremely cold outside since it was winter, yet oddly no snow. The flowing river would be even colder, near freezing temperature.

As I heard the splashing of water, I snapped out of the moment. I threw off my hiking pack and ran onto the bridge, midway between the start of the bridge and the just recently created whole. “Doug, grab the rope out of your bag” I yelled back at the couple that was just dumbfounded at what had just happened. He immediately snapped out of it too and went into action. Putting his bag on the ground, he unwrapped the climbing rope that was hanging around his hiking bag.

We all have our own hiking bags filled up with what our specialties are. Doug’s is focused mainly on outdoors type of things, since he was a forest ranger before civilization fell. His wife, Helen, she generalized in quite a few things but mostly helped her husband with his job. Alexia carried things around, I’m not actually sure about what half of the stuff she has. Since I was never really into Architecture in the first place. And I carry around a lot of medical related things, though I’m wasn’t a medical student or anything close. I still know a lot about the subject and other subjects at that. We all carry around a bit of everything. Since if we were to lose one bag, it would mean death in this world if all one area was lost.

As Doug uncoiled the rope while running to me, he hurried “Where is she?”. I pointed to a log sticking out of the water about 5 feet from us downstream. Alexia was grabbing onto the log trying to stay above water. It’s not that she can’t swim nor that the current is that strong. It’s that fact that the water is just so cold if you’re not prepared for it you can lose your strength easily.

Doug lassos the rope in hopes for her to wrap it around herself, and proceeds to throw it towards her. The lasso hits the log a few inches in front of her, “Grab the rope” I yell, she looks up to see it in front of her.

She slowly let’s go of the log with one hand and goes to reach for it. When she just about touches it she loses strength of the other arm and dunks into the icy river. She resurfaces coughing and sputtering out the water she had just inhaled while grabbing ahold of the log again for dear life.

“Hold on” I yell, “This isn’t good” I mutter while staring at her. Her face is white and her lips blue.

It’s a little hard to notice with her blonde hair sticking all over her face, but her eyes are half closed and her body is beginning to stop shivering. “What? Should I try throwing it again and get it on her?” Doug asks.

“Hang on for just a few more moment” I yell to Alexia. I grab the rope and start pulling it back towards us, “there’s not enough time to try doing that. We’re going to have to get her ourselves, or more precisely, you are” I turn to Doug as I retrieve the lasso part of the rope.

“What? Wait, why me?” he asks, now to clarify Doug isn’t a selfish person not wanting to help people, this question was more a sudden curiosity towards my last comment.

“Because you are the strongest swimmer out of the three of us. Other than your wife, I can’t swim for 5 minutes without feeling extremely tired. And it would be even worse in cold water plus carrying someone. Now strip into your underwear” I say as I start to fiddle with the rope, I’m just making the whole slightly bigger.

“K” he says fast, and with that he turns and hurries towards his pack, taking over his coat and shirt as he goes. Helen is standing by the 4 packs on the ground, probably not wanting to get in the way. Which is the best thing to do in severe situations. Yes, helping with these situations shows a good character of person. But knowing that you aren’t capable in the situation and staying out of the way shows a good judgment. Both characters I like.

I steady myself as Doug gets off the bridge and it calms down a little. I start to hurry towards the end of the bridge, and in the process search for the other end of the rope in the coil. Helen, seeing Doug going to his bag while undressing, crouches down to her bag and starts unzipping it. I reach one of the posts at the end of the bridge and beginning wrapping the end of the rope around it. I finish off with one of the slipknots that won’t come undone without you undoing it. I learned these from Doug at one of our free fun times of relaxation and kicking it off.

I get done with the rope and look over to the packs. Doug’s shoving his clothes into his and Helen is digging around in hers, (I’m pretty sure I know what she’s doing). I look at Alexia’s pack (glad she took it off or else we would’ve had a lot less time). I look back at the rope to make sure it was in good position, (there’s no way I’m not having this secured nor am I going to hold it while he jumps in). I stand up and start towards Doug with the lasso end of the rope.

“Helen, could you prepare 2 blankets or sleeping bags?” I ask as I look towards her, “Already on it” she says as she pulls out a blanket from her pack with half a grin on her face.

“Man do I love intuitive people” I think as I flash a smile. As I reach the almost naked Doug, he reaches out his left arm as he faces me. I hold open the lasso and throw it over his arm and head, then I pull it tight “ends already tied so go NOW” I say with an emphasis.

Without hesitation Doug runs to the edge of the river and dives in. But as he dives in I watch as Alexia loses the last of her strength and slips into the icy cold water. “Please hurry” I say under my breathe, times like these can seem like an eternity as time slows down. But in actuality it’s only been a few minutes.

I reach the edge of the river as Doug surfaces from the water. So not to waste time I say loud enough so he can hear “she’s already under”. He swims close to the log then dives under, I check the rope to make sure it hasn’t tangled in on itself. Then I check my watch to make the time, (I have a feeling I’m going to need the exact time frame of this). I feel a hand on my shoulder, Helen letting me know that she was right behind me. It’s daytime and this spot is pretty open for light, so there’s really not too much worry for any of the monsters out here to attack. More to the point, they would literally burn if they tried to.

In a few moments later Doug resurfaces with Alexia in his arms, lifeless and inanimate. “Ready” I say as I grab the rope on the ground. Helen grabs it a few feet behind me and we begin to drag Doug and Alexia back to shore. As they reach the edge, I let go of the rope and grab onto Alexia and pull her completely out of the water. Okay, half pull half drag. I shouldn’t have to give you this description as you should already figure it out, she’s cold to the touch and non-responsive.

I look up at Doug to see if he needs any help, he’s halfway out of the water when he sees my glance at him with questioning eyes. “Do your thing” he says tiredly moving his head as if to shu me away. I check my watch, “2 minutes” I mumble.

I grab her wrist and put my thumb on the vain, then I lower my ear to her chest, right on top of wear the heart is located. No pulse, no heartbeat sound “no pulse” I say out loud. Not to let everyone know she’s dead but just a sound mental note. I lower her arm and reach for her chin. I tilt her head back and open her mouth, lower my left ear so I can see her chest and wait for a couple of seconds.

"Breathe, no touch, sound, or sight” I say as another mental note. I raise my head, I pinch her nose and lean down. This is to say the first time I’ve ever locked lips with a girl. Though in saying that it’s actually the first time I've ever kissed anyone. I don’t actually count CPR as kissing, kissing is a different sense than what I’m doing right now. Kissing has a warm, unexplainable sensation to it. It’s a flood of endorphins that make your whole body buss with excitement, or at least that’s what people have told me it’s like. This, on the other hand, was not out of this world, amazing, warming sensation. This was a cold, void of taste experience.

I mean not to offend her or anything, it just wasn’t the most eye-opening experience for me.