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“Mommy!”
“I’m here, sweetie.”
“For the love of Christ!”
Again they were rolling rapidly forward. Faster and faster.
“Damn it, stop the car!”
“I can’t!”
She saw the creek. Silver water slicing through the canyon, “Oh, my God—”
The wheels hit water. Bam! Every bone in Tiffany’s body jarred. Ice-cold water ripped through the shattered windshield.
“Get out!” Tiffany yelled.
She scrambled for her seat-belt buckle.
“Mom! Dad!” Stephen’s voice was strangled by terror. He was flailing in the back seat. Christina cried. Philip was cursing. Wild, raging water flooded the interior.
“Get out. Everyone get out!” Philip yelled.
Christina was crying, and Stephen, too, was screaming.
“Tiffany, for God’s sake, get to the shore.” Philip was opening his door as she fumbled with her seat belt. The latch refused to give. “I’ll get the kids.”
“I can’t get out!” Stephen’s voice was filled with panic. It was black and dark and so damned cold. Water gurgled and swirled, splashing and rushing around them in an icy current.
Tiffany’s fingers fumbled with the safety-belt latch.
“Get out! Get out!” Philip was outside the car, attempting to open the back door. “Christina, hang in there! Stephen, try to get out of the car!”
Tiffany was shaking, her fingers numb, but the latch finally gave way, and she shouldered open the door only to fall into waist-deep water. Her feet slipped on the rocks, but she clung to the car, fighting the current, praying that they would all get out of this alive. So cold she could barely move, she found the back door and tried to pull it open. It wouldn’t budge.
“I can’t get out!” Stephen yelled.
“The safety locks!” Philip shouted. Tiffany couldn’t see him but heard him splashing in the icy water. Christina was crying weakly.
“Get out the front!” she yelled to her son as the car filled with water. “Hurry!” She felt, rather than saw, Stephen crawl over the front seat to hurtle through the open door. Miraculously she caught his arm.
Sputtering and shivering, he clung to her.
“Christina!” she cried.
“Got her.” Philip’s voice sounded so far away.
“Okay, hang on to me. Let’s try to get to shore,” she yelled into Stephen’s ear, though she had no idea how wide or deep the creek was. It could be a river, for all she knew.
“This way.” Stephen stepped around the car only to be half dragged underwater.
“Philip!” she cried, but there wasn’t an answer. “Philip!” Oh, God, had he drowned? Did he have the baby? “Philip!” Where was he? She strained to listen but heard only the wild rush of the river. “Philip!”
“Dad!”
Her heart stopped. “He’s got Christina, don’t worry,” she said to her son though she was dying inside. Her husband. Her baby. Where were they? Dear God, keep them safe! Oh, please!
“Mom?” Stephen’s voice was faint, his teeth chattering, and she realized that she was numb all over. Not a good sign.
