Steven took his 7-year-old son Alex and 4-year-old daughter Mia out on his boat for fishing and fun. But in the blink of an eye, things took a terrifying ____1____ when a strong current suddenly swept through, causing Mia to ____2____ her hold on the boat.
While Mia wore a life jacket, Alex did not. But as the current pulled his sister away, Alex wasn’t going to leave her alone. He, too, let go of the ____3____ and swam toward his sister.
Realizing the danger, Steven ____4____ jumped into the water and tried to help his kids. But the strong current made it difficult even for him. So he told Alex to swim to shore while he tried to rescue Mia.
“I told them both I loved them because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen,” Steven recalled. “I tried to ____5____ Mia as long as I could. But finally I wore myself out, and she drifted away（漂走） from me.”
Alex followed his dad’s ____6____ and headed for the shore. But it was no easy task. “The current was going the opposite way,” he explained.
This little boy spent an hour ____7____ his way back to land. He swam more than a mile. Once he finally made it to the shore, the boy ran to the first house he could find and begged for ____8____. From there, Jacksonville authorities ____9____ and rescued Steven and his daughter.
Alex, the brave and ____10____ little boy saved his sister and dad. If not for him, it would have been a different story.