RDAU_2026-ISSUE0809_DIGITAL MAGAZINE

A third ringing shot cemented in his mind the other possibility: These were distress shots. “Hello?” he called out. From the river, he heard a faint “hello” in reply. “Are you good or not good?” he yelled. “Not good,” came the answer. Reinhardt ran toward the riverbank. Things had gone from bad to worse for Bennett. When he’d fallen into the river, the frigid water had taken his breath away, jangling every nerve. Sur- facing, he saw the kayak drifting beside him, belly-up. He tried to swim for it, but his clothing had become instantly waterlogged, and his rubber boots had filled with water. His life jacket, buoyed by the water, jammed up against his throat, choking off his breath. Swallowing back panic, he kicked off his boots and swam toward the boat. If I can climb back up in there … Kicking hard, he threw his arms over the hull and clutched at the submerged decking on the other side. Then he leaned back to flip the kayak—it didn’t budge. He tried a few times, but the boat seemed impossible to turn over. Bennett knewhe was wasting his time and energy while the current tugged him inexorably along. He needed to get back to land, but he’d never be able to climb up the steep banks of the near shore. His only hope was the boat ramp, some 145 feet back across the river. When he looked at his target, he realized with a jolt that he didn’t have much time—the current had already brought him dangerously far down- stream. If it swept him past the ramp, there wasn’t another place to come ashore for miles, and he’d be overcome with exhaustion and hypothermia long before he got there. He bid his kayak and gear farewell and began swimming furiously toward the boat ramp. The ill-fitting life jacket continued to choke him, hindering his breathing and his ability to swim. He unzipped it and tore it off, and the cur- rent snatched it from his grasp. Unen- cumbered but now in more danger than ever, he kept swimming. Eddies from the currents washed over him and filled his mouth with water. Already, the cold was stiffening his limbs. Bennett looked up. There was no way he was going to make it to the ramp. But there in the water, some 25 feet from shore, was an overhanging branch from a large poplar tree grow- ing right beside the ramp. If he could catch it, maybe he could pull himself to shore. His hope renewed, he swam with everything he had. If I don’t make it to that branch, I could die here , he thought. Without a second to spare, he reached up and caught the branch just before the current swept him out of reach. It was so slender—perhaps an inch in diameter—that he wondered whether it would snap. With his weight pulling on it, the end of the branch now lay in the 108 August/september 2026 reader ’ s digest Drama in Real Life water. Bennett pulled his elbows over it and found that he could rest with his legs trailing behind him in the current. But now what? Let go, and swim the remaining 25 feet to shore?The current would carry him downriver away from the ramp. Climb up the branch? That, he realized, had been a wild fantasy, given his weakened state. Then Bennett remembered: My phone! But when he reached into his pocket, he found that the phone was gone. As he checked his other pocket, his hand brushed against the Glock 21 pistol he always wore on his hip when he fished, in case of snakes or coyotes. Maybe he could signal for help. He drew the pistol from its holster and held it in front of him. He had 13 rounds in the magazine. Shivering, he watched the bridge, waiting for a vehicle to show itself. At last a car came into sight, and he fired three shots toward the opposite shore. The car didn’t stop. Minutes went by. Then another car, another three shots. No luck. Bennett’s situation was growing des- perate. He could scarcely feel his legs, and he could tell that his cognition was slowing. At last another vehicle passed over the bridge. He fired once, twice— and then nothing. He ejected the dud round and fired a third shot. The car kept going. Three rounds left. Another car droned by on the bridge. Bennett fired his final three shots and readersdigest.com.au 109