window and turning to face the oncoming robots. “Make
sure you aim for the river.”
Taz surfaced, spluttering yellow water and trying
desperately to stay upright in the bobbing current. Wiping
the water from her eyes, she looked around. Up was
spinning down the river as well, and gave her a thumbs up
to indicate that he was okay. But where was Pedro?
After several long moments, she spotted him, face-down
in the water, far too still. “Up!” she screamed over the
sound of rushing water. He looked her way, and she
pointed.
They both started swimming for Pedro, moving with the
current, angling themselves with the river bends. Up
reached him first, and then Taz joined him, both taking an
arm, holding Pedro’s head carefully out of the water. It took
them a long time – Taz was beginning to fear too long – to
reach the shore and haul Pedro’s limp body up the bank.
He started to cough up water as Up shook the
waterlogged radio and tried to reach the ship. Taz breathed
a sigh of relief and thumped Pedro on the back, not sure if
she was really helping – but at least the boy was breathing.
The radio crackled to life. “Cazadora, this is
Commander Up. We’ve got three Rangers here in need of a
pick-up and a medic if you can spare one. Is the other team
accounted for?”
“Taz-” coughed Pedro, spitting out a stream of yellow
water. “Taz, I have to tell you-”
“Shut up,” she said, but not too harshly, sitting back and
wringing out the bottom of her tank top. “You nearly
drowned. You need to rest.”
“No,” he said, grabbing the front of her shirt and pulling
her close to him. “I’m not shutting up this time. I’m crazy
about you, Taz. I always have been. I can’t just sit back and