7
“Geugh.”
Subaru managed to latch on to a branch and pull himself in. He grabbed it with his left hand. His three broken fingers cried out in protest, but he ignored them.
“Ugh, bgh.”
All the water he had inhaled came back up as he heaved. And as he did that, he held the weight in his right arm close and pulled her face out of the water. While looking at her unconscious face, he desperately pulled himself up the river’s bank with the help of the branch.
“Geh, ugh.”
Somehow managing to get up the side of the bank, he gave in to the nausea and vomited up more water. Still struggling against the feeling of water sloshing around inside him, he laid the girl down on the ground.
“ ”
He checked to see if she was breathing by putting his ear near her mouth. There was no response. Biting his lip, he pushed on her chest and started doing CPR. But she still wasn’t breathing. He leaned down to see if he needed to do rescue breathing, but just as his face got close to hers, she coughed up water. Tilting her head to the side, he helped her eject the water.
As a fresh wave of exhaustion washed over his body, he undid the whip that lashed the millstone to his back and set her down. Maybe it was thanks to her being unconscious to begin with, but she was still breathing weakly with no apparent problems.
Meaning everyone was safe…
“Safe…”
A sudden wave of dizziness hit him, and he collapsed on the spot.
He felt like they needed to get away from the riverbank and at least hide in the brush line, but his body wouldn’t listen. His stamina was completely spent.
Without managing to move another finger, he started slipping into darkness. As he passed out, he hoped that someone else, not the hunter or the snake, would…
“R…em…”
He prayed that she, at least, would be saved.
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