A Good Man's Sin

Section from Chapter One:
     He was losing his breath and was fighting the stinging pain of the cold water crushing against his body as he pulled Nikki Gail to the shallow water. He told her she could make it from there and to get to shore, and he went back into the deep water, despite fearing for his own life while still numb from the pain. He had to find Nancy Lou. Nikki Gail shivered and cried as she stood on the bank of the creek and yelled for Jessie to find her best friend.
     Ricky had run up the hill to look for help. Jessie went under and the water was black as night. He could not see his hand in front of his face. It was almost dark outside, yet there was some light, however, under the water it was pitch black. He could not hold his breath much longer, nor endure the pain of the cold water tearing at his skin. The deeper he went, the colder and more painful it became. He felt for the car, and fought to keep the flow of the current from pushing him off course from where he thought the car went down. Luckily, the current took him to the car, and he could feel the window Ricky and Nikki Gail must have gotten through. This seemed like an eternity of time as his lungs were about to explode, and he began swallowing the cold water as he fought to find the feel of a young girl's body. As he swam inside the dark water and felt Nancy Lou trapped to the passenger side seat belt, he fought to pull her free, but did not seem to move her. He felt like giving up, and all of this was happening in seconds, but seemed like a lifetime to him. As thoughts passed through in his mind, he thought he was going to drown while trying to save a girl that was probably already dead, and he was about to let go and give up.
     He heard a voice and felt a pull of his arm. At first he thought Nancy Lou was conscious, but the voice was of a Latin girl with an accent that was soft and pleading with him to "Let go," and to "Save your self," but so softly it almost seemed faint. He spun around and could not feel anyone, but he could feel a gentle and delicate hand of a female with long fingernails on his shoulder. Was he dying? Was he almost dead, and this was a warning by the "after life" to save him? Or was this an angel?
     As he felt he was going unconscious, his limbs numb from the cold, and bubbles blowing out from his lungs giving him a final warning of near death, he envisioned Nancy Lou's sweet smile and gorgeous green eyes, and pulled at the body one last time willing to die before returning to the surface without her, or at least her body. He actually thought he was going to die now whether he brought Nancy up or not, so why give in to the strange voice that seemed to drift in his ear at every tug. Nancy Lou's body slipped free and floated to his grasp. It surprised him, but he really felt he would never make it to the surface alive anyway. He heard the Latin soft voice again, "Let her go, you can't save her, save yourself."
     He began to black out and as he pushed to the top, he would regain his senses for only seconds before blacking out time after time. He was not sure how he got himself and Nancy Lou to the surface, but he felt a giant gasp of air run down his body before blacking out again, and this time waking up on the bank of the Cowhouse Creek. He heard Nikki Gail screaming and crying saying, "She's dead, she's dead!"
     Jessie just laid their numb without response as he looked over to the opposite bank of the creek, and saw the image of a girl rising out of the cold murky waters, but not as if she was struggling to get out, but as she was floating out gently to the surface. She looked back at Jessie, as she seemed to disappear into the wooded area, but without taking any steps on land. It could not be real. It was freezing cold and this girl was naked as she disappeared in seconds from view.