Ant opened his eyes for a brief moment.
Where was he?
His weak state meant he was confused and scared and he thought he heard voices in the distance,or was that just his mind playing tricks on him?
He had a vague recollection of thinking he was coming to the end of his life...had he passed over to the other side during the night?
Had his body finally given up after all the wear and tear of the last few weeks?Had it succumbed to hypothermia?He knew that was coming after all.
Ant didn't have the answers to any of those questions and quietly slipped back to sleep,drifting in and out of consciousness,waiting for the inevitable.
"Alright mate,we've got you"
Ant just about managed to open his eyes very slightly and was baffled by the shadow of a man leaning over him.
"You're going to be ok" the man said.
Ant stared back at him,not sure if he was real or a figment of his imagination.
"Am...am I dead?" Ant croaked through his incredibly dry throat "are you God?"
"No" the man smiled "I'm Bernie,I'm the skipper of that ship over there"
He pointed to a cargo ship nearby.
"And this here is Daniel" Bernie said,nodding towards his companion.
Bernie and Daniel were stood in a small lifeboat,that was gently bumping into the pedalo.
"Do you think you can get up?" Bernie asked "we need to get you back to the ship"
"I'm alive?" Ant asked,feeling slightly bewildered "You're here to save us?"
"Yes,you're alive" Bernie nodded "I know you must be feeling very confused at the moment,that'll be a mixture of the sun,then the cold and a lack of food and water by the look of you both,but you'll be alright,we're going to get you home"
"Dec?" Ant asked suddenly.
"Is that your buddy here?" Bernie looked in Decs direction.
"Yeah" Ant whispered "is he...?"
"He's alive too" Bernie assured him "but not for much longer if we don't get him back to the ship and warmed up"
"What's happening?" Ant asked.
Ants physical and mental condition was making it hard for him to piece events together,he still wasn't sure what had happened previously or where he was,until memories of the last few weeks gradually started returning and it all made sense.
"Let's get you both back first shall we?" Bernie smiled warmly "get a hot drink inside you,then we can have a chat"
Bernie and Dan helped Ant into the lifeboat,before precariously climbing onto the pedalo to retrieve Dec
As they did so,Dec began to stir.
"Dec,Dec" Ant muttered "wake up"
Dec gently fluttered his eyelids open as he was being carefully laid down in the lifeboat.
"Ant?" He mumbled.
"I'm here pal" Ant smiled "we're being rescued"
"Huh?" Dec whispered.
"Don't worry son" Dan smiled concerned "you're going to be fine"
Soon Ant and Dec were being helped on board the ship by Bernie,Dan and other crew members,who were standing by with medical supplies.
