Brian swam to the floor of the water and saw that Liz's arm was caught in a rope that was tied to a buoy and she could not escape. What should I do? How do I get air to her? Once in a movie he had remembered seeing a rescue where the lifeguard had given the person stuck under water their air. He looked at her and she looked helplessly at him. He pressed his lips against her and gave her the air he had. Brian tried to untangle her arm but the rope had knotted around her upper arm somehow. He quickly swam back to the top. After a huge gasp for air when he reached the surface. "Help!" he shouted. "Nick! Get a knife or scissors or something! Liz's arm is caught on a rope! Hurry!" Everybody on the beach rushed to help. There were no lifeguards around because it was a private beach.
Josh, turning on the lifeguard switch inside of him, dove into the water and swam straight toward Brian.
After shouting for help, Brain went back under to Liz, taking a deep breath before he left. When he arrived by her side, he again gave her air and signaled to her that help was coming. Just then, a small motor boat sailed above them on the water, bumping into the buoy and moving it through the water. The rope connected to the buoy had a weight connected to it. When the buoy moved it swung the weight into Liz's head, knocking her unconscious. He swam back up to the surface to look for Nick.
"Call an ambulance!" he screamed starting to freak out. Josh arrived a few seconds later with Nick swimming close behind him. The three dove down to Liz. She had been under the water for almost a minute and a half. Nick sawed away at the rope while Josh and Brian tried to revive her. Nick broke through the rope and the three swam to the surface with Liz in their arms. When they arrived on the shore Josh did CPR on her, trying to get air into her lungs and water out while all of her friends and a few other people who were at the beach circled around her. Darren had called an ambulance on Juliet's cellular phone.
The CPR finally worked and Liz coughed up the water in her lungs and began to breath, although she was still unconscious. Brian brought a bunch of towels and wrapped her in them. He looked down at his best friend, unconscious in his arms. Laney and Riley were crying on Darren and Zach's shoulders. Josh had ran up to the parking lot to wait for the ambulance since there was nothing else he could do to help Liz.
Megan was the only person missing from the scene. Brian remembered seeing her when he had shouted for help, but now she had disappeared. "Nick," Brian said weakly. "Where did Megan go?"
"Oh, god, I don't know! She was here a few minutes ago. I got the knife from the picnic basket and ran to you and that was the last time I saw her."
"Why don't you go look for her. I'll go in the ambulance with Liz to the hospital. Why don't you and Riley get everything packed up and take everybody home, and then take Meg, Riley and Laney to the hospital. That way they'll all have some time to calm down a little."
"Okay," said Nick. "Laney, did you see where Megan went?" he asked.
Riley sat by Brian's side, crying. "Brain, as much as we have been in these kind of situations, which luckily has been never, you have always been so calm. You are the one who has his head on the straightest this evening."
"I…um…" Brian said. He might have looked calm, but on the inside he was dying. Sitting with his best friend, unconscious in his arms, was tearing his heart out. Liz had been his best friend since they were in ninth grade. He could not stand the fact that she was lying there helplessly. She had always been a strong woman and he loved that about her.
"Brian, look! The ambulance is here!" Laney said, pointing to the parking lot. Brian stood up with and carried Liz toward the parking lot. The paramedics reached him when he was half way towards them. He carefully placed her on the stretcher and let the paramedics take over. Following them to the ambulance, he began to climb in.
"Wait a second, sir. Are you of the immediate family to this young woman?" a young female parametic asked him.
"Oh, um…no. I'm her best friend, though!" He managed to say, holding back tears.
"I'm sorry, sir, but only immediate family can travel in the ambulance," she said staring at him. It was apparent to all of them that she was a fan.
"Oh, please!" Brian begged. "Her sister was here, but she went somewhere and we can't find her! Please let me take her place! I refuse to let Liz out of my sight!" Brian said, almost sobbing, determined to go.
"Well, I'm sorry sir, but…oh…okay. You can come, but I swear if I loose my job because of this…" she mumbled, walking away.
"Thank you!" he shouted hopping into the ambulance so fast it was as if he flew. The parametic closed the door behind him and went into the driver's seat, racing to the hospital.
Lauren M. Elizabeth "Littrell" © 1999
