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Isabel broke stride, and the two men stumbled into her. She bumped her head on the shoulder of one of the men. Letting out a shriek of pain, she put her hand to her forehead and staggered.
It was a delay of only seconds, but it was enough.
"Please, Lester!" Amy begged. "Go!"
Lester shook his head in bafflement, then edged his way out the door to the restaurant. Moments later, Amy saw him out the window, running through the rain along the beach back toward the excavation hut.
Just then, the elevator doors opened. Natalie and Ian stepped out after their ride up a few floors and back down again.
Isabel shook her head, as if clearing her vision. "Typical!" she yelled. "Where have you two been? Hugo, Anton, you idiots, don't just stand there! Go after the man--he's carrying something--he went that way!" She pointed at the restaurant door.
Dan hurriedly deposited Saladin in his carrier. The hotel bellman standing nearby looked alarmed and gave the cat a respectful berth.
Then Dan followed Amy as she and Nellie dashed toward the door, with Hugo and Anton on their heels.
Hurricane. That was the word that popped into Nellie's head as soon as she set foot in the open-air restaurant. The rain seemed to be coming at her horizontally. Nellie
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had never seen a hurricane before, except on TV. If this wasn't a hurricane, she didn't ever want to be within a thousand miles of a real one.
She ran through the restaurant, where the staff was hurriedly locking things down. At the far end of the terrace were shallow stairs leading to the beach. With Amy and Dan beside her, Nellie took the stairs in a single jump. Within a few strides she was soaking wet.
"This way!" she heard Amy scream into the wind.
They turned to the right. Far down the beach, they could see a blur that was Lester struggling against the storm. The beach was quite wide because the tide was out, or at least it had been before the storm began. But each wave that crashed in was bigger than the one before it.
What was the best way to slow down Isabel's thugs? Nellie risked a quick glance over her shoulder.
"HEY!" she hollered.
Hugo and Anton were no longer behind them.
"They must have gone out the front!" Dan screamed. "They're going to try to head him off!"
"We have to get to him first!" Nellie screamed back.
They had to scream to be heard over the howling wind.
Nellie tried to think. With the rain pummeling down and the wind shrieking, she could hardly hear her own thoughts. They'll be faster, running on the road instead of on the sand. Lester has a good head start. But when he gets
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to the hut, then what? They'll get there before us. ...
They raced down the beach. Lester was almost to the hut now.
"Come on!" Amy shouted, and pulled ahead.
Nellie had thought that she was already running as fast as she could, but seeing Amy's burst of speed made her find one of her own.
Up ahead, Lester stopped abruptly. Nellie knew what that meant: He had spotted either Hugo or Anton.
Sure enough, Lester reversed himself and began running back toward them.
Behind him, Nellie saw one of the thugs. Where was the other one?
A few seconds later, she had her answer. The second man emerged on the beach not far ahead of them. Now Lester was caught between the two men, who were rapidly closing in on him. He moved forward a few more yards and then, to Nellie's astonishment, he turned to his right and started running.
Toward the ocean.
"What's he doing?" Dan yelled.
Hugo and Anton thundered after Lester, the Cahill gang right behind them. Through the pelting rain, Nellie could now see what she hadn't earlier. Lester, still hugging the box to his chest, was running on a narrow spit of sand that rose a little higher than the rest of the seabed and stretched far out into the water. Maybe he was hoping that the thugs wouldn't follow him. Who runs out into the ocean during a hurricane?
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The spit was so narrow that the three of them couldn't run side by side. Amy was in front. Water was splashing around Nellie's ankles, but everything was so wet that she couldn't tell if it was rain or waves.
Beyond Amy's shoulder, Nellie saw Lester make a flying leap. He landed and stumbled forward a few steps. Then he turned and looked behind him.
Hugo and Anton had been running one after the other, barely two paces apart. Suddenly, they both tripped and fell forward.
But what had they tripped on? Nellie couldn't see a rock or a piece of driftwood or anything--just sand, with water roiling and swirling over it. ...
"STOP!" Lester screamed. "DON'T COME ANY FARTHER! IT'S QUICKSAND!"
Amy stopped so fast that Nellie ran into her, and Dan plowed into both of them. Somehow, grabbing on to each other, they managed to remain upright. All three of them gaped at the scene before them.
Hugo and Anton had tripped because their feet had been sucked in by the quicksand that Lester had jumped over. They had already sunk in up to their knees and were struggling violently, trying to pull their legs out of the mire.
"NELLIE!" Lester yelled. "CATCH!"
He tossed the canvas parcel to her, then shouted, "GO BACK! WAIT FOR ME AT THE HUT!"
Yeah, right, Nellie thought, like we're going to leave you out here on your own.
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But she backed up, and so did Dan and Amy.
Lester took a step toward Hugo and Anton.
"Listen to me," he shouted. "I'm going to tell you how to get out. Stop struggling; you'll only get sucked in more. Lie back, like you're floating on your backs--"
Anton and Hugo responded with a string of swear words, some of which Nellie had never heard before. They were still trying to pull themselves out.
One of them had already sunk in as far as his waist, the other to his thighs.
"Lie back!" Lester yelled again. "Spread out your arms and kick your legs like you're swimming! It's your only chance!"
He took another cautious step forward. Nellie could see that he was being careful to avoid the edge of the quicksand pit.
Then Hugo--or maybe it was Anton--gave an enormous bellow, lunged forward, and grabbed Lester's leg. If he was trying to use Lester to pull himself out, his strategy failed miserably.
Instead, he pulled Lester in.
"LESTER!"
Dan, Amy, and Nellie all screamed his name at once.
The two thugs were both yelling and grappling with Lester, one grabbing his arm, the other clutching at his belt. Lester almost fell face-first into the quicksand but
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grabbed on to Anton--or maybe it was Hugo--and straightened himself out. Then he used his elbow to whack one thug squarely in the nose. The thug howled and clapped both hands to his face.
"If you idiots don't want to die, you better listen!" Lester shouted.
Dan felt a surge of admiration. Lester was shouting so he could be heard over the thug's howls, but there was no panic in his voice. Dan wondered if he could ever be that cool under fire.
Hugo and Anton looked at each other, then at Lester. Both of them stopped struggling. Dan noticed that the storm had eased up a little. It was still pouring, but the wind wasn't howling anymore.
"That's better," Lester said. "Now. No one ever really sinks completely into quicksand--that's a Hollywood myth. As long as you keep your arms out, you'll only sink in as far as your armpits. The real danger now is the tide coming in. If we don't get out soon, we could drown."
Dan saw both thugs' eyes widen in fear.
"You." Lester pointed up to the thug who had fallen in first and was now mired to his chest. "What's your name?"
"Anton," the thug replied.
"Okay, Anton. Start wiggling your feet and legs. DON'T PANIC. Little motions, like kicking. Don't try to pull them out. What you want to do is get your body as horizontal as possible."
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On hearing t
his, Hugo, who had fallen in after Anton and was therefore only up to his waist, immediately began moving, too.
"NO," Lester said to him sternly. "One at a time. Too much movement will destabilize the sand and we'll sink even faster. Anton goes first, he's in deepest--"
"Screw that!" Hugo yelled. Although, of course, Dan couldn't see what Hugo's legs were doing; they must have been moving like crazy because just as Lester had predicted, all three of them began to sink faster.
"CUT IT OUT!" Anton screamed. "You heard him, I go first!" He reared back and punched Hugo in the nose--the same nose that Lester had elbowed earlier. Hugo roared out a curse and grabbed his nose again.
Dan took a step closer, then squatted down. "Lester," he said urgently, "what can we do?"
"Go find a pole or a flat piece of wood or something," Lester said. "If they listen to what I'm saying, we shouldn't need it, but just in case--" He was now up to his waist in the quicksand himself; even so, he gave Dan a cheerful wink.
Dan looked at Amy and Nellie. "You go," he said. "I'll stay here. Hurry!"
Amy and Nellie started running toward the beach.
"BE CAREFUL!" Dan yelled after them.
The Kabras were still onshore somewhere.
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CHAPTER 17
* * *
With Hugo somewhat subdued, Anton must have been able to wiggle his feet and legs the way Lester had told him to, because Dan saw that his head and shoulders were leaning back, as if he were trying to lie on top of the sand. The waves were lapping at his neck and chin.
"Good, you're in position now," Lester said as calmly as if he were giving a tennis lesson. "Pretend like you're floating on your back--move your arms and legs like you're swimming."
Dan watched in amazement as the rest of Anton's body gradually emerged from the quicksand.
"Any minute now, you should be able to roll out," Lester said.
Sure enough, a few moments later, Anton "swam" onto firmer sand and rolled onto his stomach. He pushed himself up on his hands and knees and panted, looking so much like a giant breed of dog that Dan almost laughed.
"Your turn," Lester said to Hugo. "Start wiggling your feet and legs."
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Hugo ignored him. "Get over here and pull me out!" he yelled at Anton.
"He can't pull you out," Lester said. "The suction's too strong. You'll have to do what he did to get out."
"Do like he says," Anton said.
"GIMME YOUR HAND!" Hugo bellowed.
Anton shrugged. Then he lay down on his stomach and put out his hand. Hugo grabbed it and Anton started pulling. Hugo struggled against the muck.
"NO!" Lester yelled. "You're churning up the sand--"
Instead of being pulled out, Hugo sank in further.
"LET GO!" Anton yelled. "You're pulling me in!"
Hugo responded by grabbing on to Anton's arm with both hands. Anton made a fist with his free hand. "Let go or I'll bash your nose again!" he threatened.
The quicksand was moving, sliding around and rippling as if it were a living thing. Now Hugo and Lester were both up to their armpits in the mire. Hugo was much taller than Lester; the waves were lapping at his chin. But they were washing over Lester's mouth.
Just then the crest of a bigger wave broke over them. Lester managed to hold his breath in time, but Hugo emerged coughing and spluttering.
"Okay, okay!" he choked out. "I'll do it your way!" He glared at Lester, then looked up at Anton. "Hold him so he don't get in my way."
Anton grabbed one of Lester's arms, although Dan could see it that it was totally unnecessary. Lester wasn't getting in anyone's way.
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"Go on," Lester said. "Lean back, wiggle your feet." He held his breath as another wave washed over him.
Hugo was mired deeper than Anton had been, so it was taking him longer to get his body into position. Now Lester could only take a breath by stretching his head up between waves.
"Lester!" Dan shouted. "Forget about him--save yourself!"
He looked over his shoulder. Where were the girls? Hugo finally rolled out of the quicksand. "Let's blow," Anton said.
"Wait!" Dan cried out. "You're just gonna leave him? After he helped you?"
Hugo shrugged. "Whatcha want us to do, kid? He said it himself, we can't pull him out."
"That's what he said," Anton agreed.
They began splashing their way toward the beach, leaving Dan at the edge of the quicksand pit with Lester all but fully submerged.
Dan glanced around frantically. No sign of Amy or Nellie. He looked at Lester, who was leaning back, obviously wiggling his legs in the quicksand. Dan knew that Lester could get himself out--if he didn't run out of air.
He thought he'd have enough time. He didn't count on the waves getting bigger so fast.
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Another wave crested, and Dan saw to his horror that Lester could no longer take a breath between waves; his head was completely underwater.
A tube, like a snorkel, Dan thought desperately. Some sort of tube he could stick in Lester's mouth that would clear the top of the waves so he could breathe ...
Dan patted his pockets frantically. Nothing there.
Nothing anywhere except water that was getting deeper by the minute.
Lester was still leaning back, working his legs and feet toward the surface. But as Dan watched, Lester's eyes began bugging out. He was almost out of air.
Dan had never felt so helpless. If he grabbed Lester and tried to pull him out, it would only make things worse. Should he run back to try to find help?
No! I can't leave him here alone--I'm all he's got!
And in that moment, Dan knew what to do.
Dan dropped to his hands and knees in the water. It was getting hard to tell where the edges of the pit were; he just had to trust that the sand would stay firm beneath him.
He took a huge breath and puffed his cheeks out, leaning over so Lester could see him clearly.
Lester jerked his head in a nod. He understood what Dan was doing.
Dan plunged his face into the water. He found Lester's mouth with his own and exhaled all the air
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in his lungs. Then he surfaced and wiped away the water streaming into his eyes.
It worked! Between waves, he could see Lester smiling!
"YES!" Dan pumped his fist once. A few more breaths should give Lester enough time to get out. He inhaled, went under, and gave Lester a second breath.
This time Lester gave him a thumbs-up. Dan was ecstatic. He still couldn't see the lower half of Lester's body, but surely it wouldn't be much longer. ...
Dan took in another lungful of air. He leaned over, ready to go beneath the surface again.
A huge wave crashed into him, sweeping him head over heels toward the beach.
Dan tried to get up and was knocked down by another wave. Finally, he staggered to his feet and whirled around frantically. Where was Lester?
The spit of sand that led to the quicksand was now completely underwater. Dan had no idea if he had been swept straight in or to one side. He didn't know if the wave had carried him five feet or twenty-five.
Where was Lester?
Four minutes. The thought surfaced in Dan's mind, popping up from wherever it was buried. Four minutes without oxygen before brain damage set in. He had to find Lester in the next four minutes.
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"DAN!"
It was Amy, running toward him from the beach, holding a short plank.
"Amy!" He splashed over to her and grabbed the plank.
"Where-"
"I don't know!" he said. "I was right there with him--and then a wave--and he's stuck in the quicksand--we've got to find him!"
Despite that garbled explanation, Amy didn't question him. "Let's go," she said. "You look to the right, I'll look to the left, and we'll both keep checking the middle."
The rain had stopped and the sky was clearing; there was even a sunset now, purple and orange
and oblivious to their distress. They ran out into the waves. As he searched the water desperately, Dan realized that he had no idea what to do with the plank. If Lester was unconscious--if he couldn't get himself out of the pit, and they couldn't pull him out--
Dan shut that thought out of his mind.
How much time had passed? A minute? Two minutes? The water was up to his thighs now. Had it been that deep at the pit? Were they already out too far?
If only Lester would stick his arm up out of the water so they could see where he was. ...
Dan gasped as fear hit his stomach so hard he felt like he'd been punched.
Lester would have thought of that.
If he could raise his arm, he would have done it by now.
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CHAPTER 18
* * *
Dan had heard of people being "in shock" before. He thought it meant like being really stunned so you couldn't talk or even get your breath.
This was different. He was breathing in tiny shallow gasps, trembling all over. His skin was cold and clammy; he felt cold inside, too. He had heard the ambulance attendant say it to Amy and Nellie. "He's in shock. We'll take care of him."
How long had it been? Since Amy had left him in the water to run and call for help; since she'd come back; since he had heard the wail of sirens, and the beach had filled up with people--police and ambulance and rescue, people milling around everywhere, and none of them mattered to Dan. Only one person mattered.
Lester.
They'd had to drag Dan out of the water. He was okay, he kept telling everyone, he was fine, it was Lester who was in trouble, he had to find Lester.
They had brought Lester up onto the beach, and Dan was still okay then; he had knelt next to Lester while
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the EMTs worked on him for what seemed like hours. A police officer wanted to interview him; he refused to budge from Lester's side, but he told the officer what had happened, beginning with Hugo and Anton chasing Lester out into the ocean, and how Lester had helped them escape from the quicksand. The police officer had been very gentle with him, not asking any hard questions, so Dan didn't have to explain why the two thugs had been chasing Lester in the first place.
Finally, they had taken Lester away on a stretcher. And even then Dan might have been okay, but as one of the EMTs closed the ambulance's bay doors, she looked at the police officer standing nearby and shook her head, and Dan could see it in her eyes, could see beyond any doubt, that there was no hope for Lester.
The 39 Clues Book 9: Storm Warning Page 10
