His breath was steady and deep, soothing the searing pain in her shattered lungs, constantly, constantly, as though she was standing on a soft marsh, her footing uncertain. She had no control over her equilibrium, but could only let him save her, the fish teetering on the brink of desiccation.
"Don't panic, breathe slowly..."
"Inhale deeply, exhale slowly…"
"Open your mouth."
The timbre of Caleb Baker's voice was somewhat hoarse, like it had been worn down by sandpaper, reminiscent of heavy weighted drops falling into her ears.
Yvonne Finley's chest heaved, her eyes narrowed.
She was greedily sucking the oxygen he was supplying.
Gradually, Yvonne Finley's suffocating sensation was withering away, her vision was beginning to clear up and she was no longer sinking into dark oblivion. It was as if she had been dredged from an abyss, catching a glimpse of the first streak of daylight.
