Chapter 20 - The Rescue

                                    

                                          
Eva noticed a long orange torpedo buoy like lifeguards use hanging from the boat dock and she grabbed it and started running into the ocean. She snapped on her goggles and pushed them hard against her eyes to suction them on.
She was an excellent swimmer and she knew if she could just get to him, maybe she could save his life. A hard wave crashed against her and she jumped up and dove down into the water, swimming as hard as she could towards the area where she had seen the wave crash against him.
She swam out farther, fighting against the strong current and the waves until she finally reached that spot. She took a huge gasp of air before diving down and searching for him under the water. The water was pretty clear but with the dark clouds overhead blocking the sun it made it harder to find him. 
She couldn't see anything but she refused to give up. She came back up to the surface for air and then dove down again scanning under the water for any sign of Paulo. She remembered he had on bright red swim trunks so she searched for any signs of red under the water.
She swam out farther and dove down again, looking around when she caught a slight glimpse of something red off in the distance. She kicked her feet and swam with all her might to get over to it and as she got closer she could see that it was Paulo. She got all the way over to him and saw that he had been knocked unconscious by the wave. 
She pulled on his arm but he was stuck tight to something. She saw that the cord that had been around his ankle attached to the surfboard had gotten tangled in some logs and branches under the water.
She fought her way back up to the surface to take a deep breath and frantically dove back down to Paulo, putting her mouth over his to give him a breath since he had been deprived of oxygen so long. That would buy him a little time. She swam down to his ankle and pulled as hard as she could to loosen the strap that had him caught on the tree. After several hard tugs it finally broke free and she grabbed her arm around his chest and started kicking her feet hard towards the surface but he was heavy.
Adrenaline was rushing through her in that moment giving her strength and all she knew was she couldn't let her husband die. She finally made it up to the surface and gasped with her lungs burning as she took in a deep breath and panted. 
She leaned back with Paulo's back against her front, hooking an arm under his and across his chest. She used her other arm to pull through the water as hard as she could to propel them backwards towards the shore.
She kicked her feet hard and paddled with her free arm, battling against the pull of the strong waves that wanted to carry them both back out to sea. A tall wave crashed really hard over them pushing them back under the water, and her grip on Paulo loosened for a minute but she was able to get it back.
She kept fighting and as she got a little closer to the beach she had a rush of adrenaline that helped her fight the rest of the way and she lifted under his arms and dragged him up onto the sand. His lips were starting to turn blue and she pressed her fingers into his neck and didn't feel a pulse, so she knew she didn't have much time. She leaned his head back, pinched his nose and breathed really hard into his mouth and then started doing chest compressions.
She pinched his nose and breathed into his mouth again and saw his chest rise as it filled with air. She put her hands together and pushed on his chest in hard thrusts to get his heart to start pumping as tears rolled down her face.
"Come on Paulo! Please!" she screamed. "Please come back to me! You can't die!" she pleaded as she did more chest compressions with tears streaming down her cheeks before giving him another breath.
"Paulo! Come back to me! Please!" she sobbed as she did compressions and breathed into his mouth again.
Suddenly he splurted and water came out of his mouth and he coughed and gasped for air. She turned him on his side to help the water come out easier and he coughed and gasped some more.