Jillian Chantal

Tuesday Tales this week is a picture prompt. Remember, all the snippets are under 300 words. Check out the other folks’ work with this link.

This is a new story I’ve started that takes place in my hometown. Hope you enjoy!

She hit the water running, splatting hard on her belly. No time to give in to the pain. Stroking out past the breakers, Renee finally made it out to the person she’d seen from the porch.

There was no way to tell if it was a man or a woman, but that didn’t matter. Renee moved the long hair out of the way and flipped the body over, hoping to help clear the airways.

Thanking God for her parents who insisted she learn water safety and that she’d put that training to work in her teen years working as a lifeguard, she swam strongly toward shore. The beaches of Pensacola were always beautiful but the undertows  and riptides could be treacherous. With the wind as kicked up as it was today, she bet the main public beaches were flying the yellow warning flags.

Why people ignored them, she’d never know.

Holding the swimmer under the sternum, Renee made it to the shallows where Margie waited.

“Let me help you.” Margie reached down and dragged the swimmer closer to shore while Renee caught her breath.

Now that they were out of the deep water, Renee realized the person was a young man.

Her training kicked in harder. “Come on. Help me get him on the sand. We need to get him on his back.

Several people had gathered around and she could swear some of them were actually making video with their phones. Good Grief, this guy could be dying and grown men and women were filming it.

Pushing her anger aside, Renee started CPR. Between thrusts, she said, “One of you call 911.”