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Valen's extremities were all but numb when he heard Lavena's faint voice echo from behind him over the soft splashing of the waves. ”Valen… How much further?”

A quick glance over the shoulder that the little girl's head wasn't looking over revealed that Lavena's facial expression was quite lethargic, and her face was almost halfway under the water. She was fading fast, giving into the bitter frostbite that was setting in on the entire group. If she was fading fast, that meant there was even less time for the girl.

Valen's voice was low and powerful when he barked a command at the woman behind him with whatever breath he could spare. "Lavena! Wake up!"

If the woman's head slipped under the surface for even a moment, it was unlikely she would be able to bring her head back above water. The cold had a way of making you seem like you were safe and secure as it pulled you under, like the seductive touch of a viper. Once you realized you were in danger, it was too late.

"Hey, come on! Snap out of it! The lighthouse can't be more than a hundred feet, it's just behind some debris," Valen shouted, struggling to stay above the water himself. "We just have to make it to shore, then we can rest, okay? Okay, Lavena?"

Between the biting cold and the child practically strapped to his chest, Valen was losing energy fast. His body was built to take a beating, and he was used to being shut out in the cold, but this was like something he had never experienced before. The cold wasn't just painful or numbing, it was permeating. He could feel his internal organs losing temperature rapidly, constricting and tightening in his abdomen into a compact ball of icy tissue. Breathing in particular was remarkably difficult, as if an cage of ice had constricted around his lungs and prevented them from expanding to suck in the much needed ocean air.

With Lavena in tow, Valen forced on, occasionally stopping to coax the woman beside him along, despite how much it slowed him down. If needed, he would leave her to save the girl and come back; hopefully, Lavena would be able to survive on her own for a few minutes. No matter what, the child was of the utmost-

Valen's hand scraped against something hard, causing him to start as he looked up, realizing he had reached the lighthouse. The structure rose right out of the water, its cold edges blocking any sort of access to the building. The reason for it being built and the person behind it was a mystery to Valen, but that didn't matter; He just had to get the girl onto dry land.

A staircase spiraled around the structure a good ways up, curving off down and to the left, wrapping around the tall stone spire. Mentally imaging where the steps would meet the water, Valen realized that if he swam right around the lighthouse, there was a chance he could be able to get onto them, assuming the water was near the steps end.

Without a word, Valen kicked his legs and swam to the right, quickly making it around the curve of the building until he arrived at the stone steps. The staircase plunged straight into the water, continuing to descend around the outside of the structure deep underwater, as far as Valen could see with no indication of stopping.

Slipping on the wet stones, the frozen pair fell against the cold, hard rock, giving Valen a moment to rest. Keeping the girl close to his body heat was probably a good idea, but it seriously restricted his movement. Maybe Lavena could keep her warm while Valen went to go get help...

Valen sat up as much as he could with the girl on his chest, looking around at the dark, empty waters. "Lavena? I found the steps! Lavena?!"

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A lighthouse? Yes, he remembered something about a lighthouse before. Had he seen it, or had he just heard about it? Rhett’s memory was slipping away faster and faster - his legs giving up long ago in an attempt to help propel the three of them forward. He rested his head down on the seat cushion, pressing his cheek to the fabric and laying his head on the side as to not get any water in his nose. His eyes were forcing to shut but each time they did, his heart panicked and his eyelids shot right back open again.

“..almost-... a-almost there…”

It wasn’t a lie- they were close… so close to what looked like large steps leading up to the lighthouse; but just how much further she could go, she wasn’t sure. Forcing herself to keep her eyes open as wide as she could, Nadia paused, the kicking motion of her legs losing its luster as she once more began to tread water, doing her best to keep her head above the surface as she struggled under the weight of their dog.

“..solo espera… please, Rhett… not much l-longer…” Bringing herself closer against him, she dropped her head, her eyes shutting as she let her forehead come into contact with the cool touch of his skin against her own. They were both cold… so damn cold- not to mention exhausted… She-... She just needed a break… just a small one… then they could keep going… she could get them both to safety…

Spanish. Why was she yelling at him in Spanish? Did he forget to turn off the coffee maker again?

”I’m s-sorry, baby. L-last t-t-time. P-prom...ise…”

Sorry..? Her brows furrowing together in slight confusion, Nadia lifted her head, her body shaking lightly in the water, though she didn’t seem to notice as in a moments notice, all of her attention was once more on her fiance, “..R-R-Rhett… s-stay with me, n-now…”

”You need a hand?” The voice… a stranger… though close, had Rhett’s mind coming back to himself, somewhat.

”N-no thank...s. I… I’ve al...ready g-got t-two…” He couldn’t even see the male that spoke out to them, but he gave a weak smile to the opposite direction of his fiance’ figuring that might be somewhat close.

Theodore was more than a little taken aback at the response. Was the guy drunk, or seriously hurt? He was clearly something, but Theo couldn’t tell. ”Well, yes… but… I meant did you need help? I wasn’t going to physically give you a hand” he said, wondering if it had been a mistake to approach them, not even sure what he could do, with Isuara on his back.

”G-good. Cuz… cuz we’d n-need a d-doctor f-for that.” Rhett laid his head back down on the cushion where it was nice and comfortable a fourth of an inch submerged under the frigid salt water. He snickered to himself, finding something rather funny.. ”Heh… g-good thing I… I kn-know one…”

Theo once more hesitated, not particularly sure where to go from there, wondering if he should just… swim away. Still, he continued ”Did… did you want help, or not, ‘cause I can just keep on swimming… “

“..e-espere…” Her eyes panicked slightly as she looked over her fiance, Nadia eventually lifted her head, her soft and slightly blue tinged lips parting ever so slightly as she looked over in the direction of the other man, her legs struggling to keep her head above the water, “..p-please… I-I need h-h-help…”

”Alright… “ he said, ”I’m not sure what i can do… I have Izzy already… but I’ll try” he said, ’we’ll get out of this… it’s not far now… We could get the dog between us?“

As if on cue, Boris had finally had enough of being carted around on Nadia’s shoulder. Claws digging into her skin for a moment as he got his footing, he launched himself off of her shoulder and back into the water, paddling as quickly as he could to the submerged stairs that led up to the lighthouse. Feet finally able to touch, Boris bounded up the stairs and once he was on flat, dry ground, shook his black and brown fur - the tag on his collar jingling in the night air.

“..n-nghh..!” Her face scrunching up as she felt the claws digging into her shoulder, Nadia winced in pain, her body sinking down and under the surface of the water the canine lept from his perch. Her body thrashing slightly as she hurried to bring herself back above the surface, she once more gasped for air, her eyes opening wide as her heart once more began to beat wildly within the confines of her chest.

“..d-damn that d-dog..! H-H-He’s on a d-diet w-when we get b-back h-home..!”

”Sh-shoulda g-got a Schnauzer.”

Theodore watched the dog reach land, ”Well, that makes things easier… “ he said, ”let’s get closer, then I’ll get Izzy out, and help you with him”

Nodding her head up and down as best as she could without swallowing any seawater, Nadia once again let her attention turn to Rhett, her dark gaze still filled with worry before she shook herself out of it, forcing herself to bring her mind back to the most current, and rather hard task ahead of them- she needed to be strong… for him; she needed to be the strong one…

Taking another couple of moments to catch her breath, Nadia shut her eyes, her legs heavy as she kicked them back and forth behind her, doing everything she could to get the both of them moving once more in the direction of the steps, the familiar sound of Boris’ bark letting her know that she was, at least, heading in the right direction.

Committed now, Theodore waited for the woman to begin to move once more, before he followed. Reaching the stairs, Theodore sighed in relief, quickly getting out of the water, and helping Isuara down from his back, checking her over quickly before he returned to the water, to help get the man out.

”I… I don’t th-think I c-can pull m-myself up th-there…” Rhett admitted, taking a look at the steps that Theodore had pulled himself out of the water to reach safety. Boris sat on the edge of the square-like structure, looking down into the water at them, his whine carrying over the water and mixing in with the lingering cries from help from those who hadn’t discovered the lighthouse yet.

”It’s okay, I can help” Theodore said as he flexed his hands to keep the blood moving, and loosen the stiffness the cold had worked into his body, He quickly sought a good place to stand, where he could keep his balance, without immersing himself in the water again, ”Might be a bit rough, but you’ll get out”

“..I have you baby- we’re going to get you out of the water okay..?”

Her foot slipping from the submerged step as she moved forward, Nadia paused for a moment, taking a spell to regain her balance before she began to work once more, doing all that she could to push him as close to the risen steps as she could manage before she crouched down at his side, a flash of worry flickering behind her tired eyes as she let her mind wander over just how they were going to get him up the steps and onto the flat surface above them, “..we just need to get him out… I would do it myself, but-... but I don’t think I can…”

Theodore crouched on the steps, wishing he had something to hold onto. ”I think if i can get my hands under his arms, we can get him out, enough so he’s out the water at least.” He said, trying to figure out just how he could do that before he reached down to try and get the man out the water.

“..here; take a hold of my wrists, we can lift him together…” Her attention focused on her fiance, Nadia carefully slid her arms under the surface of the water, slipping them slowly between his back and the seat cushions that she had been using to help keep him as afloat as she had, her hands open as she waited for the guy who was helping her.

Theo nodded, and quickly reached for her wrists, gripping them, he shifted slightly, trying to make sure he wouldn’t slip, and that they weren’t going to drop him. ”Alright, I’m good, are you ready?” he asked, ready to begin getting the guy out the water.

Hesitating a moment to adjust her grip over his wrists, Nadia tightened her hold, chewing softly upon her lower lip before finally, she nodded her head, “..yeah… yeah, I’m ready…”

”Just… watch the b-back… and the front… Feeling the two somewhat sandwiching him, specifically Nadia at his back, the once numbed nerves of the entry and exit wounds began to flare up, reminding Rhett that he had a large piece of shrapnel piercing through his torso. ”I’ll n-need to be p-put on my side…”

”Right… “ Theodore wasn’t sure if it would be possible to get the man out while watching his injuries, but if they didn’t, he’d die in the water. So, he slowly began to rise, being careful not to slip, making his movements slow, knowing that one wrong move could be more than dangerous.

Her heart beating wildly against her rib cage with both the pressure and the adrenaline coursing through her body, Nadia’s gaze continuously moved, flicking back and forth between Rhett and the stairs as she took up the rear of the small cluster, ignoring the searing pain coursing through her arms at the sudden weight falling against her as she took it one step at a time.

Theodore could hate the water, and wish for the weightlessness it gave at the same time, as they began to get the man out the water, the task becoming harder the more they succeeded as the man’s weight was no longer supported by the water. Theo began to struggle, but he knew if they stopped now that would probably be it. He glanced down, grimacing slightly, making sure he wasn’t about to trip up the steps, focusing on when to rise up each step, until the man was out the water. His muscles, previously aching from cold, were burning with fire as they rapidly warmed up with the exertion, and breathing hard, Theodore looked for somewhere that the man could rest, without falling back into the water, knowing he’d have to put him down, or risk dropping him.

Finally, Theodore figured they were far enough on land to set the man down, and he began to carefully lower the man, remembering what he said about wounds, he shifted to be able to lay him down on his side, relief flooding through him when he was finally able to set him down, stepping back, he stood, shaking somewhat, looking back to Isuara before going over to make sure she was okay.

Reaching out towards him as he began to move away, Nadia took a gentle hold of his hand, her soft lips parting ever so slightly from one another as she lifted her gaze up to meet with his, “..t-thank you…”

Her grip dropping, she turned her attention back down to Rhett, her hand instead moving to gently brush the wet strands of hair of of his face so that she was able to see him better, her heart pounding against her chest while her stomach twisted nervously, her body shaking as she held him gently in her arms, “..don’t leave me, Rhett… please… please, you can’t leave me…”

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”Easy for you to say” Lavena muttered to herself, shaking her head as if that would help wake her, but all it did was splash water into her eyes, and grumbling, she rubbed at them with her free hand, a small sound escaping her. She was so tired… so very tired and cold, although she felt like the water was slowing warming, becoming something almost like a blanket, and she just wanted to fall into its embrace, and not worry anymore. Yet Valen seemed not to want to give her that, and she groaned, opening her eyes. ”Alright, alright, stop nagging, your worse then a mother hen!” she said, starting to move once more, although it was a monumental task, one that she wished she didn’t have to do.

Would it be so bad, to just… float away? Never to be seen from again? But Valen would, it seem, kill himself to get them all out, and the girl came first… with another groan, Lavena continued on, wishing she was anywhere else by there. Or maybe with someone that would just let her sink into the abyss.

”I take it back. I don’t wanna fuck you now. I wanna punch you in the face” she said, as she continued to swim, which was rapidly becoming the hardest thing she had ever done, her body was just so cold, so heavy… could you get waterlogged, weighed down? She had no idea. She continued to struggle, to struggle with swimming, to struggle with keeping her eyes open, to just struggle with the need to keep going. How much further? The water wanted to claim her, and it was doing a damn good job of it. Each stroke was a little weaker, a little slower than the last…. Eventually she wouldn’t even be moving.

And still the bloody bastard Valen wouldn’t let her stop, stopping and encouraging her to continue on, nagging her and basically making it impossible to stop, or be nagged to death. ”I just want to sleep” she whined, after what seemed like forever, and she was beginning to wonder if Valen had lied about it being close, they seemed to have been swimming for days. Suddenly Valen seemed to turn, and Lavena groaned again. ”More swimming?!” with no other choice, Lavena began to follow Valen once more, the even warming water inviting, to the point where she wasn’t sure if she could resist its pull for much longer.

She thought she could hear voices, but maybe she had gone crazy. Maybe she was in a padded room somewhere, and this was all a dream… Or maybe it was just others calling for help. She looked up, her eyes a big bleary before focusing, although that seemed a hard task. Was there movement, near the lighthouse? Had others made it to safety? She thought she heard a bit of a struggle, and when they neared the steps, she thought she could see people climbing up the stairs…

Stairs!

Even as Lavena neared the stairs, she thought she heard someone cry out ”Juliette!” an oddly familiar voice, although she couldn’t imagine where she had ever heard it, and the sound of running footsteps. She threw her case onto the steps, and for a moment, she thought they might just beat her. ”I’m here, stop yelling at me!” She cried back to Valen, the running steps slowing as she slammed against the stairs, scrambling up, her legs and arms screaming in protest, the brutality of… however long it had been crashing down on her.

”you have my sister! Juliette!”

Ah, now she knew where she had heard the voice before. The guy yelling for his sister in the water… was the girl okay? ”Valen went mama kangaroo mode, she should be okay” Lavena said wearily, the wind biting against her skin, as she sat half submerged on one of the higher steps that was still in the water, shivering violently, and still wanting to sink into blessed sleep.

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Safe on the ground, that held the lighthouse, Theodore made sure that Isuara was alright, looking about to see if they could get a fire started, with anything, but he wasn’t able to see any wood of any sought, nor a way to start a fire even if they had the fuel. He cursed under his breath, wishing he had something, anything to get her warm. He felt like he was failing. He couldn’t do anything for Isuara, and he still didn’t know where Juliette was. He was turning out to be a horrible guardian for her. All he had wanted was to take them away, give them a vacation after everything. And now they were stuck here, and Julie was out there som-

Movement, and noise caught his attention, and he turned, seeing a man and woman, near or on the steps and… was that a child? Theodore tried not to let his hopes rise, tried not to think that it was Juliette, but he was already running towards them, shouting out her name ”Juliette!” They didn’t respond, and Theodore’s heart gave a squeeze, was she dead? Juliette had never ignored him before. His heart beating fast, he ran across the ground, his feet pounding hard across the uneven ground.

She couldn’t be dead. Theodore didn’t think he could live with it, if she was. His little Juliette, so full of life, simply couldn’t be dead. ”Valen went mama kangaroo mode, she should be okay”. The woman’s voice from before… had they saved Juliette, or was it some random girl they’d found? Fear squeezing his heart, Theodore looked around for the man, his gaze landing on the figure in the man’s shirt, his heart squeezing again, ”Julie!” he cried, wanting to tear her out of the man’s shirt, wanting to have her in his arms, and all that was stopping him was knowing that the shirt, the man’s body contact was probably all that was keeping her alive. ”Oh, Julie, julie, Julie” He said softly, and not caring what the man thought, he reached out to run a hand over her head.

”Is she okay?” he asked, almost demanding, needing to know that she was okay. She’d survived. He hadn’t killed her by pushing her into the water. She had to be alive, she had to be. They’d brought her back to him, to him and Isuara. And he’d get them out of this, he would. He wasn’t going to lose either of his girls, not again, the last… what was it? Moments? Hours? He didn’t know, but they’d been hell on earth, not knowing if they’d get to safety, not knowing if Juliette was alive…. Struggling to get to land, and even now, they weren’t out of the woods yet, they were still in danger, danger of dying, the highest problem on their list being exposure. They were all cold, and even though they were out of the water, hypothermia was real.

And yet all Theodore wanted to do was take Juliette, and wrap her in his arms, with Isuara. He wanted to hold his family, and to make them safe. If he could wriggle his nose, and have them far away, he would. For now, he’d settle for just knowing they were both okay.

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Unable to stand it anymore, Theodore reached out for Juliette, gently extracting her from the man’s shirt, whether he let him or not, immediately pressing her to his own chest and hugging her tightly, shifting so he could slip her into his own shirt, stroking her hair. ”I love you, Julie… I have you” he said softly, retreating now that he had one of the two most dear people to him, trotting back to Isuara’s side, hugging his sister to him all the way, before sitting down besides Isuara, and wrapping his arms around her, as well, happy to have them both right where they belonged.

”We’re okay… “

His words barely registered in her mind; all she could think about was the fact that he had her… he had Juliette, and she was safe; she was alive- she could see clear as day the gentle rise and fall of the child’s chest with each breath the young girl brought into and expelled from her lungs.

The mere sight had the strain on her own heart easing slightly as a soft sigh of relief fell out through her lips.

“..s-she’s okay… she’s o-... okay…” Muttering, though mostly to herself, Isaura reached out a shaky hand as he sat down at her side, her touch light… full of love and worry as she ran her fingertips gently over the child’s cheek, her dark eyes filling with concern, “..s-she’s freezing… we need-... we need to warm her up… quickly…”

Despite the fact that he had both of them within reach, Theodore still felt helpless. There wasn’t anything that he could do to warm any of them up- no firewood… nothing. Any clothes they had would be wet, and he wasn’t much warmer himself, but he just had to hope that his body heat would be enough to keep her warm, until they could find someway of warming themselves.

”I know… but I don’t know how… everything is wet, and you’re just as cold as she is” He said softly, reaching out to take her in his arms too, being careful of Juliette. To have them both so close, and still know that it was possible to lose them in the next few hours was too much. ”We will figure it out, as long as we are together”

Her heart broke at his words. She was so cold… her body was shaking against his, and she was still having trouble feeling anything but the ice-cold touch of the sea anywhere in her legs; and yet... even after everything, he was still so worried about her.

“..if it comes to it; Theo… you need to forget about me… and you need to do everything to make sure that Julie is safe…” Her gaze tearing away from the girl held close against the both of them, Isaura lifted her head, her blue-tinged lips parting ever so slightly from one another as she met with his eyes, “..she-... she’s just a child… your sister… you need her more than you n-need me…”

”Isuara! It won’t come to that! I’m not losing either of you!” Theodore said, his words rushed. He couldn’t believe she’d suggest that… it would never be something he could do… he wouldn’t lose either of them. Somehow, he’d find a way. ”We both need you, Izzy… so very much. We probably would have been screwed without you this last year, so don’t ever say we don’t need you, please? Because we do” he said softly,

”We’ll find a way, I promise. We’ll survive, all of us” Would that be the same for all of them, who had found their way here? Suddenly the prospect of it just beeing the three of them was daunting, and he had to hope that everyone pulled through. ”When we’ve warmed a bit together, I’ll see if I can find anything for a fire”

He couldn’t promise that… he couldn’t know that all three of them would get through this in one piece; but she knew arguing with him about it would only lead to their hearts breaking more than they already had…

Closing her eyes, Isaura dropped her head, her own breathing quick… shallow as she let it come to a rest over his shoulder, burying down into the nape of his neck. He wasn’t willing to let either of them go… he was so strong, especially when they both knew she couldn’t be; it was one of the many things she loved about him. How he could be so confident in a situation like this… when everything seemed so bleak…

“..I love you…”

Theodore hugged her closer, shifting so Julie was between them- trying to give her as much warmth as possible, while also making sure that Isuara was okay. There had to be a way…

”I love you too” He said, making his voice as strong as he could, although it was still rather raw, ”As long as we stay awake, we will be okay… “ He said, not sure why going to sleep was a bad idea, just knowing that it was.

He cast his gaze about them, looking for any option, but asides from the lighthouse, nothing seemed like it would provide any warmth. He turned his gaze back to Isuara and Juliette, checking on Julie to make sure she was still alright.

“..my-... my eyelids are so heavy…”

”I know… “ how were they going to stay awake until they found warmth? ”Just… lets just keep talking” It was really all they could do, until everyone else was ready to seek out potential warmth.

“..a-about what..?”

Theodore thought a moment, ”How about what we are going to do when we get home?”

What they were going to do..? Forcing her eyes to open, even just a little, Isaura tilted her head slightly, her gaze lifting to try and meet with his own as his words played over in her mind, lingering and causing her mind to focus on that rather than the current situation which fell to the back of her train of thought, “..what-... what are we going to do..?”

Thoughtful a moment, Theodore tried to think how to put everything in words… there was so much, and yet…. There was one thing he knew for certain. He didn’t want to ever lose either of them. ”Well, spend our lives together” That seemed so simple, and yet, there was just about a whole world in there.