The rain came pouring down from the sky beating down on their ponchos and splitting into tiny particles of precipitation as it touched down on the elastic. Tina felt a cold chill shiver down her back. She watched as a good looking curly haired man pulled a speed boat along side of her with her father in tow. The curly haired man was a little shorter than Steve but his burly frame made up for his height.
The speed boat pulled in closer. Her father was just 10 feet away,smiling. The same smile a father would show a daughter returning home from the AirForce for the holidays. She looked to her right and saw the flashing lights from the coast guard coming to her rescue as well. The Gadget Man's last words reverberated in the back of her mind." You should've killed me when you had the chance."
Something felt out of kilter. Something just didn't feel right. Maybe there was just one more surprise. The speed boat bumped lightly into the skiff and the judge stretched out his short legs and boarded the boat while almost falling into the water. The first thing he did was give Tina a great big bear hug then he removed the duct tape from her mouth. A loud hissing sound came from the front of the boat and Tina had a terrified look on her face. The judge seemed to have no clue what was going on. Tina quickly identified the hissing sound and tried to push her father into the lake but she was still handcuffed to the boat. All she could do was shout a warning.
" Daddy it's a bo-" But it was too late. A white flash ten times brighter than a camera illuminated the front of the boat while a bang louder than thunder split the boat in half like a piece of firewood. A huge fireball erupted setting the judge on fire and thrusting them both into the water. The blast was so big it caught the speed boat on fire as well.
The time had finally come for Carter to play hero. He yanked his shoes off without even unlacing them and dove into the lake. The judge was nowhere to be found. Apparently he had sunk straight to the bottom of the sea. Carter was on the swim team in his younger days and was quite the avid swimmer. He spotted Tina floating on her back still handcuffed to a piece of the boat. He swam towards Tina with all his might battling the current. He grabbed her and held her head above the water while waving to the coast guard approaching.
The wiry sailor tossed a life preserver out to Carter and Carter tucked it under his shoulder. The speed boat became engulfed in flames and made a crackling sound as the boat slowly tore apart. The sailor pulled on the rope attached to the life preserver like it was a tug of war contest. Another sailor dressed in white and covered in more emblems than a boyscout came out to help pull Tina and Carter onto the boat. Carter was fine but Tina was unconscious and didn't look to be alive. They splayed her out on the deck and Carter removed her handcuffs while they checked for a pulse. Miraculously there was a pulse but it was very weak. Tina's entire body was covered with lacerations and contusions. Carter put his CPR training to good use and began performing mouth to mouth resuscitation blowing deep breaths into her mouth.
At first it seemed she was not responding but with sudden amazement she ruptured a cough and water began spewing out of her mouth. She coughed once more and more water spewed from her mouth. The three men hovered over her with great anticipation like watching a newborn baby. They leaned over to hear her whisper " Daddy I love you" then her eyes rolled back behind her head and she passed out.