That scream chilled him enough to rival that of the freezing water. He could see in her expression that she was so close to giving up, and yet still clinging so desperately to life, to his hand. Elliot felt tears stinging his eyes and he quickly blinked them away. The last thing Rae needed to see right now was worry and sadness in her rescuer's eyes.
Sometimes, in hopeless instances such as these, all that's really needed to succeed is something to rekindle the flame, something to renew the fight in someone. In Rae's eyes, he saw when it clicked. In spite of the voices (he was listening to them now) shouting for him to let her go, there were just as many people lending their hands and their eyes to the cause of helping. Elliot knew Rae needed that. People were her motivation. People, like her father and — dare he say it? — him, Elliot, were what kept her going.
Rae's leg jerked again, but this time something loosened. Just for a second. Long enough to strengthen his grip. It was enough. That and the second scream, more painful than the first, drew extra strength from his muscles. Like Popeye and his spinach. Hardly an appropriate metaphor for the moment, but Elliot felt assured now. If his mind was subconsciously making jokes? It meant they were doing something right.
Fucking great. Not only did they have to fear zombies on land, but now there were zombies who could thrive under water? No wonder Liberty Island had been quarantined.
With Rae fighting back, managing to loosen the zombie's grip, it came down to the task of pulling her back on board, which he did with the help of Aaron and Rae herself. Her whole body was trembling and pale, but thankfully she hadn't been in that water long enough to turn blue. The echo of the gun going off behind him was deafening, but he chose to take heart that Andreas was dealing with their undead assailants.
While Rae clung to him, Elliot shrugged off his EMT jacket and draped it around her, using its residual warmth and his body heat to try keep her warm. "How much farther?" He asked aloud.
"Not far, but it'll take a little longer with only two oars," replied the other immune, who'd recovered quickly from the attack and had resumed rowing.
The longer Rae was exposed to the cold, the worse it would be. Worried eyes watched Rae as she thanked him, and he responded by pulling her closer to him. "It's what I do," he muttered into her ear.
"We should get you into some dry clothes," he suggested aloud.