The Few, The Proud, The Undead

VIII

Both soldiers were swept up in the rushing current. The water roared around them. They jostled down the river like dirty socks in the laundry. There were jagged rocks all along the shores, ready to quickly end a military career.

The Sergeant struggled to keep track of his fellow soldier. He saw Vicman's head bob up and down in the water, let out a final doleful scream, and then drop down below the surface.

Torrence took a deep breath, and then dove underwater to save him.

Beneath the surface, the water was dark and murky. He searched around frantically, but could barely see his own hand in front of his face.

A stream of air bubbles shot up past him. He looked, and faintly saw a formless shape in the distance. It was Evil Buff's arm, dragging Vicman down to the bottom of the river.

Torrence swam faster, chasing after it. His muscles surged as he dove deeper into the cloudy depths.

Evil Buff's arm seemed to sense that the Sergeant was closing in behind it. The thing squirmed harder, trying to move faster. It didn't really work. Luckily for the Sergeant, a severed appendage can't swim very well, even when possessed by an evil supernatural force.

Torrence kicked his legs with every bit of strength he could muster. His movements were clunky and agonizingly slow. He was an excellent swimmer, but his Army-issued boots were weighing him down.

He pushed himself deeper into the water until he found himself right beside a flailing Vicman.

Torrence grabbed his leg and tried to pull the Private back to the surface, but Evil Buff's resilient arm kept dragging them down deeper.

He took ahold of Evil Buff's arm with both hands and tried to pry it off Vicman. He pulled and twisted, but that heinous thing wouldn't release its grip.

Torrence panicked. He didn't know what else to do.

Vicman tried to scream, and his lungs filled with water.

They were out of time.

The Sergeant moved without thinking. He reached down and seized the muscles and tendons trailing out from behind Evil Buff's severed arm.

He tugged on them tightly, which caused Evil Buff's fingers to be pulled backwards. The arm lost its grip on Vicman.

Torrence flung it aside, grabbed the Private and swam upwards.

It seemed twice as far as did when they were sinking. His body was desperate for air. His chest felt like it was about to cave in.

When they breached the surface, both soldiers were gagging and gasping. As they strained for air, they were powerfully knocked about in the river's turbulent current.

Torrence could barely keep his head above water, let alone keep his arm wrapped around Vicman. The Private was barely conscious, coughing up water loudly and painfully.

Worse, he'd lost track of Evil Buff's arm. He looked around frantically, but saw no sign of it. He couldn't see anything in this vicious whirling river.

They both suddenly smashed into the side of a log stretching out from the bank of the river. The crashing waves almost swept them back under the water, but Torrence threw his free arm up and wrapped it around the driftwood.

He took a second to ensure his grip was tight, then lifted Vicman onto the log, like draping a quilt on a clothesline.

It took a moment for them to regain their senses. In that time, the Sergeant realized he could use this dead piece of timber as support to pull himself and the Private back to the shore.