CHAPTER 352: CHAPTER 352: I’LL CATCH YOU

Nancy Allen felt useless.

But she never thought of telling Godfery Shaw not to care about her, because that was impossible.

She sat on the plank, not daring to move, while Godfery Shaw steadied the board, and they continued to drift downstream.

It was too cold, wet clothes clung to her body, the sun shone down, but it felt as though it was separated by ice, providing no warmth.

Sitting on the plank was already so unbearable for Nancy, she couldn’t imagine what it was like for Godfery, who was soaked in the water. She bit her frozen, purplish lips, silently persevering.

She didn’t know how much time had passed.

Nancy was drowsy, while Godfery’s gaze suddenly sharpened like a wolf’s, looking ahead.

Godfery’s voice remained calm and dependable, "Nancy, sit tight, we’re approaching a relatively narrow shallows area with a bridge. I’ll find an opportunity to land."

By this time, Nancy was already dizzy. Her body condition was terrible. She forced herself to stay alert and said, "Okay, is there anything I can do to help?"

"You don’t need to do anything, just sit tight. I’ll get you to shore. But listen, if you fall in, I can’t get to shore either."

Originally a bit dazed, Nancy felt tense upon hearing that if she fell, Godfery couldn’t reach the shore either. She extended her small hand to grip the edge of the plank.

She trusted Godfery; when Godfery said he would bring her ashore, he surely could.

In a blink of an eye, they drifted to a spot Godfery had aimed for, with his effort they maneuvered beside a pillar beneath the bridge, stopping their downstream slide for the first time.

Godfery glanced around; the bridge was very old, covered in moss in places, clearly abandoned. Waiting for rescue here was not practical.

The main concern was that Nancy couldn’t hold out much longer.

This segment was a shallow area, so they had to find a way to land.

Leaning against the bridge pillar, Godfery rested, flexing his almost stiff wrists. He reached out and touched Nancy’s forehead, and as expected, she had begun to run a fever.

Godfery didn’t rest any longer, taking a deep breath, he pushed off the pillar, propelling the plank with effort to the right.

He strained towards the right, looking for anything to latch onto.

When there was nothing to hold, he swam on his own, seizing the slower current to quickly reach the shore.

With Nancy beside him, he couldn’t die; he had to get Nancy ashore.

They inched closer to the shore, yet there was always a gap they couldn’t breach.

Suddenly, Godfery’s eyes lit up looking ahead.

Due to a recent high tide or storm, a large tree had fallen, lying across the river.

As long as they reached it, they could grab onto the tree and make it ashore.

Godfery pushed the plank, saying to Nancy, "Nancy, we’re about to reach the shore, but I need your help."

Drowsy, Nancy heard that Godfery needed help and instinctively asked, "What do you need me to do?"

Godfery stated seriously, "I need to let go of the plank and swim with all my strength. I’ll carry you, but you need to hold onto me tightly, under no circumstances let go. Can you do it?"

Godfery knew Nancy’s weakness, but this was their chance to land. If they didn’t, Nancy truly couldn’t hold on.

In her drowsy state, Nancy only realized she could help Godfery. She gritted her teeth and said, "I can do it."

Godfery lifted Nancy from the plank with a do-or-die courage and released it.

If they couldn’t make it ashore this time, Nancy wouldn’t survive, and clinging to a rescue plank would be useless. They had no way back.

Nancy fell into the water, the icy river making her shiver.

Godfery’s face pressed against Nancy’s, gently reassured her, "It’s okay, it’ll soon stop being cold."

Godfery carried Nancy on his back, "Nancy, now hold onto my neck."

Nancy obediently wrapped her arms around Godfery’s neck.

Godfery reminded her again, "Nancy, hold tight, I’m letting go now."

"Okay."

Godfery let go of the plank, and Nancy held tightly onto Godfery’s neck.

Nancy shivered, not just from the cold, but from heartache. She saw a large, bloody wound on Godfery’s back, injured in the explosion, yet he never mentioned it.

The wound, soaked in water too long, looked horrifyingly pale.

Nancy’s tears fell one by one onto Godfery’s back. How could he have endured such a severe injury, yet act like nothing was wrong, carrying her so far?

How painful must it be?

The tears mixed with river water on Godfery’s back, and he felt nothing.

Nancy wept silently, clinging tightly to Godfery’s neck.

Godfery had said, if she fell, he couldn’t make it to shore.

She was Godfery’s hope for survival; she couldn’t die.

Never had Nancy felt such a strong desire to live.

No longer relying on the plank, Godfery used all his strength, swimming fiercely towards the fallen tree ahead.

Closer, and closer.

Godfery’s eyes saw only the green of the tree, that patch of green was the hope for Nancy’s survival, the small hands clasped around his neck were Godfery’s driving force.

He successfully grasped part of the trunk!

But at that moment, the hand that held him suddenly slackened in exhaustion.

Nancy had used up all her strength, she wanted to cry out, but could no longer speak, no, not like this!

Godfery always kept a part of his attention on Nancy, and his heart shattered as he yelled, "Nancy!"

Nancy heard Godfery’s pained shout, desperately reaching out towards him.

Godfery turned back, grabbing the hand Nancy stretched out toward him with all her strength.

He held onto Nancy with one hand, the other clutching the trunk.

He forcefully pulled Nancy into his arms, and together they leaned forward, Godfery pressing his back against the tree trunk, clutching Nancy tightly.

The joy of getting her back made Godfery breathe rapidly.

Nancy leaned against Godfery’s chest, silently shedding tears, her voice weak and barely audible, "Godfery, I’m sorry, I... I couldn’t hold onto you."

Godfery was shaking too, not from cold, but fear, he trembled as he said, "It’s okay. You didn’t hold onto me, but I held onto you, and I will keep holding on, never letting go."

Nancy clearly heard Godfery’s words, leaning against him, she fainted.

In that previous moment, had Nancy really been swallowed by the river, even if Godfery had managed to grab the tree, he likely wouldn’t have had the will to make it ashore.

Godfery carried Nancy, traversing the fallen tree to reach the land.

No one knew where they were, it seemed like an uninhabited island, but at least they were ashore.

Godfery carried the unconscious Nancy on the bank, as long as Nancy could hold on, they’d be fine, because he had a locator chip, Basil Smith and the others could find him.

Although Godfery was the one who suffered and was severely injured in the explosion, now he seemed perfectly fine, but Nancy was in a feverish coma, her condition looking dire.

Even though they made it ashore, their circumstances didn’t improve much. Soaked through, the wind in the woods could worsen Nancy’s illness.

If nothing was done, Nancy wouldn’t hold out until Basil Smith and the others arrived.