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sat there, staring back at him as he smoked, waiting.
    Tommy dipped his toe into the water. He swiftly took it back out again as a chill blasted up his spine.
    “I don’t think I...” Tommy protested, before he was pushed in. His body slapped the dirty water.
    “What did you do that for?” he shouted at Jonathan, as he fought to tread water.
    The sight of Tommy’s quivering lips and chattering teeth was too much for Jonathan. He laughed so hard he thought he would wet himself.
    “I was doing you a favour: you looked like you needed a nudge in the right direction. Go on then, get our boat.”
    Coughing and spluttering as he spat out a mouthful of water, Tommy was annoyed. Jonathan knew it was freezing cold in the river. However, he was here now, he may as well get the bloody thing. Swimming towards the boat, Tommy dreaded to think what was on the riverbed. Trying to block out the images that he had seen on the News a while back, about chopped-up torsos in suitcases in the Thames, Tommy swam quickly, the iciness of the water stinging his limbs.
    Jonathan watched from the bank, impressed at how slick Tommy looked as he glided through the water. Jonathan had refused to take swimming lessons as a younger child: the more their mum had insisted, the more he had dug his heels in and said no. Tommy excelled at it and had won numerous badges, coming first in most of the competitions he entered.
    Tommy held the boat above the water with one hand, like a trophy; all that fuss he had made about getting it and it had taken him only seconds to reach it.
    When he saw Tommy’s head dip beneath the water’s surface, Jonathan thought his brother was winding him up. “What are you doing? Stop messing about!”
    Tommy emerged, waving his hands in the air, signalling that he was in trouble. Jonathan didn't believe it: his brother was such a good swimmer; he couldn’t need help.
    But watching as his brother’s head dipped back under the water, Jonathan began to feel unsure. Tommy hadn’t surfaced for about thirty seconds.
    “Tommy, what’s happening?” Jonathan shouted, as his brother’s head broke through the water’s surface.
    “Help, Jonathan! I’ve got cramp,” Tommy screamed, expelling the little air that he had left in his lungs in his panic, before he went under for the third time.
    Jonathan still wasn’t convinced that this wasn’t Tommy’s way of getting him back for pushing him in the water, but he still hadn’t come back up after a few seconds and it wasn’t like him to be a practical joker.
    Seeing only bubbles on the surface of the river, Jonathan realised that Tommy might be in danger. Maybe he hadn’t been winding him up.
    “Tommy?” Jonathan yelled, feeling helpless. He wouldn’t be able to reach Tommy even if he tried. He would only put himself in danger too. Desperate, Jonathan looked around to see if there was anyone nearby. “Help me, someone; help me, please.”
    No-one came. Jonathan looked into the middle of the river again. There was no sign of his brother.
    Tommy had gone.

Chapter Five
    There was a sharp pain in Tommy’s leg. Then, he felt like he was being weighted down. His calf throbbed, making his whole leg seize up and stop working. Panic set in.
    Thrashing about under the water’s surface, Tommy desperately tried to swim back up. The water was dark and murky, just as he’d imagined it would be, and he had never been so scared in his life. In amongst his panicked thoughts was a feeling of disbelief that this was happening to him. He was a good swimmer. He remembered the coach informing the class about muscle spasms but Tommy had only vaguely paid attention, not really believing that the advice would ever apply to him. He remembered the two main instructions that she had taught them: keep calm; try not to panic. But that was easier said than done, he thought now, as he frantically clawed his hands through the water. He was running out of air. His natural instinct was to try and breathe