Rough Waters (page 2 of 3)

A Riptide Hauls the Boys Out to Sea

Just a few minutes earlier, their family had been packing up to leave the beach. One of the boys, the 10-year-old, had walked down to the water's edge to rinse the sand off his feet. As he stood in knee-deep water, a rogue wave knocked him down and a riptide snared him. In seconds, the current was hauling him out to sea. When his 13-year-old brother rushed to help, the tide swept him up too.

Jason grabbed his board and ran into the crashing waves. Getting a sightline on one of the swimmers, he threw himself onto his board and paddled as hard as he could. He managed to get within about 40 feet, but couldn't get any closer. For every foot Jason paddled, the riptide seemed to carry the kid two feet farther out.

Harder. Paddle harder. Slowly Jason closed the gap. He inched up to a frail-looking boy who was barely keeping himself afloat. Eyes bloodshot from the salt water, his face frozen in terror, he was clearly in bad shape.

Jason jumped off his board and into the chilly water, wishing he was still wearing his wet suit. Scooping up the shivering boy, Jason heaved him onto the surfboard. Between chattering teeth, the kid managed to gasp, "You've got to help my big brother."

That's when Jason realized he'd lost sight of the other swimmer. "Where is he?" Jason asked.

The next words were like a blow. "He went under."

Immediately Jason dove down. But the rough waves had churned up silt and debris from the ocean bottom, so the water was practically opaque. He drove to the surface to catch his breath and rethink his search strategy. If he couldn't see, he decided, he could still feel. He plunged back under, this time reaching out with his hands, kicking out with his legs, straining to touch something, anything.

But Jason wasn't as agile as usual -- his ankle was tethered to his surfboard by a seven-foot leash. He briefly considered taking it off, but worried that if he did, he might lose the one child he had saved. So, with his leg restrained, Jason dove again and again, reaching out into the dark, driven by one thought: That kid could be just a few feet away.

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