Rae was… well, she was terrified. She had always hated the idea of being in ice cold water, even before everything went to hell. She didn't really know why; she was half-Swedish after all, and Swedes were naturally better suited for cold than most others, but Rae? Rae had always been hyper sensitive to the elements. Fortunately, the terror of being thrust off the edge of a boat outweighed the fear of swimming in ice-cold water tenfold.
Fortunately for her, despite the force tugging at her from underneath, she felt Eli's hand clasping her from above as well and she clung to it like a life preserver, because well… it was the closest thing she had at the moment.
She had the good sense to let go of the oar as soon as she hit the water, letting it be dragged down into the depths by whatever had been trying to drag her down into the depths. As soon as her head got dragged down below, she started kicking her way back to the surface, but before she broke, she felt another hand, this one from beneath her, grabbing onto her ankle and trying to pull her underneath. She fought against it, but she could barely see in the hazy fog that came with being on the ocean in the morning, so she was at a great disadvantage in her fight. "It's… I think it's a hand!" she screamed, using her free leg to try and kick at the owner of the hand to get them—it?—to let her go. It pulled against Eli's grip, trying to drag her down into the water again and succeeding to pull her in up to the top of her head. But Eli still had her hand, and he wasn't letting her go.
Luckily, she was still in the water so the biting cold hadn't caught up with her yet.
A small part of her wanted to let go of Eli's hand. She refused to drag him into the water with her… refused to be the reason he drowned or froze. She heard a couple of the people who had been quiet the whole ride shouting for Eli to let her go, that she was a goner, and her father stifled them with a loud "Shut the hell up you heartless bastards, that's my fucking daughter!"
But Rae's better judgment told her that so long as she couldn't get this—these? It felt like there were more hands grabbing her now—hands to let her leg go? The most logical thing for Eli to do would be let her go. "E-Eli," another tug from beneath dragged her head under but she fought against it again, "m-maybe you should just—just let me go! For your sake and—and for theirs!" she added between sharp tugs that forced her to take in mouthfuls of ocean water.
She saw her father leaning over the edge of the boat with her AK pointed at the water, trying to get a read on whatever had a hold of her leg. "Don't let her go, son," Andreas spoke, equal parts commanding and pleading.