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“Luke.” His airbag had deployed and was covering half of him. “Luke.” I crawled to him and put my hand on his throat. A pulse. I pushed the air bag out of the way and undid his seatbelt. His body slumped forward onto the steering wheel.
“Damn it, Luke. I need your help.” I smacked his face and it wasn’t gentle. “We have to get out. Wake up.” He moaned and I saw his eyes move behind his lids.
A low moan again, but this time, it was the car as it started to slide. The river was going to push us downstream. The car had to be stuck on something; that was why we weren’t completely submerged.
Every crackle and sound of metal crinkling made my heart jump, knowing that any second, we could all drown in a flooded car. I looked back at Kite. He was on his side on the backseat, a fountain of muddy water leaking at a fast rate through the back window onto his face. .
“No.” I scrambled back to him and pulled him forward between the seats so his head rested on my thighs. “Come on, damn it.” I put my arms beneath his shoulders and started pulling him to the front. The roof was caved in, making the process more difficult, but I slid back inch by inch, the water sloshing all around us.
I heard a loud cracking sound and water that had been splashing up onto the hood of the car now filtered in through the front windshield faster. I pulled harder on Kite. It wasn’t good enough.
Water hit my face as I managed to get his shoulders past the two front seats. I spit and shook my head, trying to see through the constant spray.
“What happ . . .” Luke’s eyes flicked open.
“Luke.” I was crouched on the seat with Kite’s upper body at an angle laying on my lap, my arm around his chest as I used my other hand to pull us closer to the front.
“Shit.” He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, water sprinkling from his wet hair. “Where the fuck?” I saw the moment all of it came flooding back to him and he reacted. He pushed the airbag out of the way, and did a quick assessment of the car and the situation.
“Car is perched on a rock. Only reason the front isn’t under water. The moment we let the water in, it will throw the weight off and we’re going under.”
I nodded, knowing what that meant. We had seconds.
“We get onto the hood of the car and jump clear of it. I got Kite. Don’t stop. You hear me. Swim to shore. We’ll be right behind you.”
I heard sirens in the distance, but it would take them too long to get down the ravine to reach us. Luke heard them, too, as he raised his head, and our eyes met. We both knew we didn’t have time to wait for a rescue. We got out ourselves, or died trying.
“I can’t swim.”
He paused a second then nodded. “Okay.” He looked down at himself then undid his belt and yanked it through the loops. “Hold onto this. You climb out first, I’ll follow then grab Kite. Don’t let go of the belt. Ready?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I had to be. We had no choice and I wasn’t dying in a filthy river. I wasn’t dying, period. None of us were.
I slipped out from under Kite and Luke wrapped the opposite end of the belt around his hand. “On three,” Luke said and braced his foot against the windshield. I glanced at Kite then lifted so my feet reached the front windshield.
Luke gave an abrupt nod. “Two. Three.”
We both kicked and the windshield crumpled. I felt the car’s weight shifting as the spray of water rushed in and began to pool at the back of the car.
I climbed out onto the hood, having to let go of the belt for a second as it wasn’t long enough. I turned around on my stomach and grabbed the belt again.
Luke climbed out then reached back inside for Kite. I did the same and we both pulled Kite onto the hood with us.
The car began to slide down the rock.
“Whatever you do, don’t let go of the belt.”
The car creaked and groaned, the sound a screeching as metal scraped rock. We crawled off the side of the car into the freezing cold water and the pressure of the river tried to pull me away from Luke and I started to sink.
Just before my head went beneath the surface, I saw the car slide the rest of the way off the rock then disappear beneath the surface.
I flailed my arms as I slipped into the darkness of the water. My grasp on the belt was slipping as I tried to keep from going under. My hand hit something and I let go of the belt to make a grab for it, thinking it was Luke’s shirt, but whatever it was sank with me.
I realized it wasn’t Luke, it was my bag. Fingers latched onto my arm and with a hard yank, I was pulled like a slingshot to the surface, the strap of my bag around the crook of my arm.
“I told you. Don’t let go of the fuckin’ belt,” Luke shouted. “Hold onto my neck.”
I did.
Then on his side and using one arm, he swam us to shore.
There were shouts and sirens, and people traversing down the ravine toward us. A fireman lifted me out and another went for Kite. Luke got out himself then made the few steps toward me. The fireman took his coat off and placed it over the top of my shoulders as I sat on the back of my heels shivering and breathing hard.
“Kite.” I tried to get up but the fireman put his hand on my shoulder.
“Miss. You need to stay still. Paramedics are on their way.”
Luke brushed my soaking wet hair back from my face and looked at the graze on my temple. After his gentle assessment, his eyes hardened. “Next time, I tell you to do something, you need to do it. No matter what.”
