As soon as Gabe had a decent enough hold, he pushed off. To get out, he needed to head straight into the current. Doing so reminded him of a winter trip to Chicago a couple years back, being at the intersection of Michigan and Oak and walking into the wind and moving absolutely nowhere. The dog whined in his ear but held still. Thankfully. Considering the effort he was spending just to move through the water, Gabe would have a hard time keeping the hound in his arms if he didn’t.

“Easy, boy. Gonna get you out of here in no time.” He kept his voice low and soft and kept talking, certain the dog was listening. “Get you to solid ground and then maybe swing by a drive-through and pick you up a nice, juicy burger. Something tells me you may not have had the luxury of a decent burger that many times.”

The solid weight of the dog combined with the head-on rush of the floodwater had Gabe’s muscles burning by the time he cleared the pen door. Relief swept over him once he turned toward the house and was able to walk perpendicular to the current again. The ax and cutters were no longer digging into his back, and Gabe suspected he’d lost them in the water.

Ahead, on the bank of the yard, Olivia had waded in as deep as her knees and was watching him with hands clamped over her mouth. He was too focused on moving through the water to take much notice of the teens hovering behind her at the water’s edge.

“I’ve got it. Just stay put.” He yelled but wasn’t sure if she could hear him. Out here, he certainly couldn’t hear her.

Aside from shivering in fear, the dog was quiet in his arms. The frightened animal was frozen in place and curled toward his chest, one paw over his shoulder and his long snout wrapped around his neck in a pseudo embrace.

When Gabe was halfway between the pen and the edge of the water, Olivia bolted forward, screaming and pointing ahead in the current. Gabe craned his head over top of the dog to spy a massive branch tumbling his way. Without a doubt, it was sizable enough to take him out. And in water this deep, he didn’t have time to outrun it.