A RACE AGAINST TIME

Help us please, please!' I nodded to the frantic men and saw the pregnant young woman laying face down, her bump so large that it looked abnormal. I couldn't tell if she was breathing from where I stood. I had to get on to the crowded dingy to ensure she was alive. The oath I gave to save lives when I became a doctor flashed in my mind as men yelled in languages I'd never learnt.
I witnessed the anguish written on their faces and instinctively knew that I had to save these people no matter what. I didn't care about their status. Immigrants were people too.
If there was a trafficker on board. I wouldn't recognize him. My job was to save lives.
The authorities would see to any criminals.
Wasn't it our job to save the vilest of criminals including serial killers? I was getting pissed off waiting to hear news from our side. I had to jump into their dingy now to get to the pregnant woman.
My feet tilted on the edge of our boat until their dingy was touched ours. I barked orders to Joe and bounced off our boat landing in the overcrowded rubber dingy. Hands pulled me to safety. I stood up and searched for her, but all I saw was a blur of terrified men. They parted and sat at the very edge to give me the space I needed to tend to the unconscious pregnant woman who lay collapsed in water that was steadily rising in the dingy.