While swimming toward the shore with great difficulty, she also had to keep an eye on the chubby kid. Because of the massive physical exertion, her swimming speed had slowed down significantly.
What happened next was exactly what Zoe Sawyer and the others had witnessed. If the door hadn't been able to shift over to them, Heath Hale might still have been able to swim out and save the boy in time—but Sean Hughes would have inevitably sunk and swallowed a dangerous amount of water.
Zoe wanted to say something more, but she noticed the exhaustion on Sean's face and the constant trembling of her arms. She swallowed her words. Forget it, the ordeal was over, and Sean was safe. A few words of concern were enough; saying more would just seem nagging.
Since they weren't far from the hospital, the wail of an ambulance grew loud within minutes. A few doctors and nurses rushed over to examine the mother and son.
