The first thing Fritz felt was cold.
The second was pain and the grainy texture pressing into his back.
He sucked a sharp breath and rolled onto his side, coughing as seawater spilled from his mouth and nose. His vision swam, blurred by exhaustion, but he forced his eyes open anyway.
They were on shore, somehow.
Fritz pushed himself up on trembling arms and immediately looked around.
"Taylor—Jay—" His voice cracked halfway through the words.
Taylor lay a short distance away, on her side, her chest rising and falling in shallow but steady breaths. Jay was closer, face-down near the waterline, one arm twitching faintly as another wave crept up to his boots.
He moved immediately.
Fritz staggered to Jay first, dropping to his knees and rolling him onto his side just as Jay coughed violently, choking on water. Fritz held him there, one hand braced against his shoulder, counting breaths under his own.
