“Noooooo!!”

Travis was aware of the scream before he realized that it was him doing the screaming. He instinctively yanked his helmet free and started running, only to find he was going nowhere; someone had hold of him.

“YOU’LL GO THROUGH, TOO!” Rachel was shouting at him.

It was all too much for Travis. The screaming. The cold wind whipping in off the bay into his face. And a great dark hole where a moment before had been his best friend.

Travis panicked. He started to cry. He could feel tears burning. He looked at Liz. She was screaming.

Something bobbed in the water! Something surfacing. A head. An arm, flailing!

It was Nish!

Travis tried to move forward again, but Rachel was still holding him tight. He tried to shake her off, but Jesse grabbed him too.

“Cool it, okay?” Jesse shouted. “We panic, we’re all going down with him. We do this right, okay? We do it right!”

Travis had never heard Jesse like this. He was so sure of himself. He stopped struggling.

Nish’s helmet must have come off when the machine broke through the ice, because his head was bare–and he was swimming. Or at least trying to swim. With his heavy jacket and mitts, he could hardly move. But he managed to reach the unbroken ice and clung on.

“HELLLLLP MEEEE!!” he screamed.

Travis could feel his tears hardening on his cheek. They were freezing! It was that cold–and the wind was stronger now.

“Spread out!” Jesse ordered. “Spread out and walk slowly toward him! If we go in a single line we’ll break through!”

Jesse got them into position, and they began walking in a wedge, Jesse in the lead, toward Nish, who was desperately hanging on.

“PULL ME OUT! PULLL MEEE OUTTT!!”

Rachel broke away and ran back. Travis couldn’t look at her. She must have been afraid. He couldn’t blame her–so was he. But before they were halfway to where Nish was still scrambling, she was back. She was carrying hockey sticks and skates. What the heck’s with her? Travis wondered. Nish is drowning and she wants to play hockey?

“Good idea, Rach,” Jesse said.

Travis couldn’t believe the calm in Jesse’s voice. What “good idea”?

“HELLLLLP MEEEE!!” Nish called again.

They were close enough to see his face when Jesse held up his hand for them all to stop. Travis could see the terror in Nish’s eyes. He knew just from looking that Nish believed he was going to die, drown before their eyes while they stood there, watching helplessly.

There was desperation and anger in Nish’s voice. “HELP MEEEE!!”

Nish tried to scramble onto the ice, but it shattered in front of him, plunging him down in a splash of ice-water. He bobbed back up, his hair plastered to his head. “PLEASE, HELP ME, TRAVIS!!”

“Hang on, Nish!” Jesse called. “We’re gonna get you outta there! Just hold on and don’t try to pull yourself up! You’re breaking the ice!”

“HELLLLLP MEEEE!! I’M GONNA DIE!”

Signalling them to stay back, Jesse tested the ice by stepping ahead gently, then pressing down, waiting, and bringing the other foot forward and setting it down in the same careful way far to one side. He was slowly working his way as close to the hole as he dared get.

Travis looked around, desperate for something to do to help. Rachel was sitting on the ice with the hockey sticks placed together. She was unlacing one of the skates as quickly as possible.

She looked up, her face calm but determined. “Do the other ones,” she commanded.

“Huh?”

“The other skates. We need the laces.”

Travis and Liz began furiously unlacing the other skates. By the time they handed the laces to Rachel, she had already tied two hockey sticks together. She took Travis’s lace and began tying another knot higher up for added support. Liz jumped over and began doing the same thing with her lace. Liz knew what to do. Travis could only stare uselessly.

Nish screamed the most terrible, pitiful scream. It was bloodcurdling. Travis shivered. He was still crying. He could feel his cheeks burning. He couldn’t even see straight. His best friend was drowning and he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Hold onto my legs!” Jesse shouted at Travis.

“What?”

“Hold onto my legs!” He repeated. He sounded angry.

Jesse lay down on his stomach and wiggled forward toward Nish. He looked back impatiently. Travis grabbed Jesse’s legs, and when Jesse wiggled ahead again Travis moved with him.

Nish was still trying to pull himself up. He was breaking through and falling back.

“Stay still!” Jesse ordered Nish. “You might break right through to us!”

There was so much command in his voice that, finally, Nish stopped struggling.

Jesse looked back at Rachel, who was ready. She handed the sticks forward to him. Jesse swung them carefully out in front. He was at least one hockey stick short of Nish.

“We’re gonna have to get closer!”

Travis didn’t know if they could. He was afraid of breaking through. His heart was pounding so hard it seemed to be shaking his whole body. He could imagine his parents finding out that they’d all vanished on the bay, with nothing remaining but two snowmobiles and a big black hole. They wouldn’t even know how it had happened, that Nish had been such a dummy.

He felt someone grab his own legs. He looked back. It was Rachel, and behind her Liz was down with her arms around Rachel’s legs.

“Go on!” Rachel shouted ahead to Jesse. “We can hold you!”

Jesse wiggled forward. Travis wriggled. The girls wriggled. They moved ahead like a slow snake, the blade of the farthest stick coming ever closer to Nish.

“Grab it and hold!” Jesse shouted to Nish. “Don’t pull! We’ll do all the pulling! You just hold on and try to slide out, okay?”

Nish was no longer screaming. He was scared. He was placing all his hope in Jesse.

“O-k-kay!” Nish said. He was crying openly. Travis couldn’t blame him. He was crying too.

Jesse wiggled ahead one more time. Nish reached out with one mitt and took hold of the blade. He had a good grip.

“Let go of the ice!” Jesse called.

“I CAN’T!” Nish shouted. There was pure terror in his voice.

“You have to!”

“I’M AFRAID TO LET GO!”

Suddenly, from behind Travis, Rachel shouted, “LET GO, NISH! YOU’LL BE ALL RIGHT!”

There was a brief pause, and then Nish let go of the ice and took the blade with both hands.

“Hang on!” Jesse shouted. Then, to Travis and the others, “Slowly, now. Pull back slowly!”

They began to inch backwards.

Nish pushed at the ice. It cracked loudly and gave under him, sending him back down.

“JUST RIDE RIGHT OVER THE ICE!” JESSE YELLED. “DON’T DO A THING BUT HANG ON AND SLIDE!”

They pulled again, and Nish came out part way. The ice gave a mighty crack and Travis closed his eyes–but nothing happened. It was holding.

They pulled again. Nish came up a bit more. His upper body was out and resting on the ice. His face was twisted into a scream, but no sound was coming out.

“ONE MORE!” Jesse called. “ONE MORE AND HE’S OUT!”

Travis felt a tremendous yank on his legs. He couldn’t believe the strength of the two girls behind him. He pulled as hard as he could. He could feel Jesse pulling.

“HE’S OUT!”

Jesse turned over on his back, gasping for air. Nish was fully out of the water and on the ice. He was wiggling toward them, still holding the stick.

They worked Nish back. As soon as he was able, Jesse reached out, grabbed Nish’s hands, and pulled him quickly to them.

“Spread out again!” Jesse ordered. “We don’t want to break through!”

Travis moved away quickly. Nish tried to get to his feet. He was gasping, choking, and shaking violently. Jesse stayed with him, got him standing, and slowly they all began retreating from the hole.

Nish was bawling. He couldn’t stop. He was sobbing and blubbering and couldn’t seem to get his breath. But he was alive!

Though how long could he last before he froze to death? Travis wondered.