Panic turned to desperation and Davey turned that into effort. He was cranking out more effort than he ever had. Swimming had been a mistake -- this whole thing had been a mistake. But here he was, and swimming was all he had now. He just needed to try harder, to get back to where his feet could touch. But desperation is a fast-burning fuel. His muscles ached as he threw them forward. His lungs screamed for more oxygen.

His rhythm fell apart. He turned his head to the side to breathe, but he got greedy. He was still sucking in air as his head turned back down. He sucked in bitter saltwater and coughed face down in the sea. More water slipped in. He spit out as much as he could and kept going. He was no quitter. He never had been.

He could read an entire book in one sitting. A lot of people have probably done that, but for Davey, the book might be 400 pages and the sitting six hours. He'd won races in gym by being kind of fast for longer than his classmates could be really fast. And then there was this: Davey was pretty sure that if he stopped trying now, he would die. Keep trying or die.