Chapter Thirty-Two
Olivia’s world tumbled. The seat belt yanked her hard into the headrest. She held the dog against her chest in a death grip.
Disoriented, she pressed back into it until the vehicle stabilized.
It felt as if they were floating. Water sluiced off the cracked windshield.
They were in the river. The SUV bobbed. Water was halfway up the doors already.
They had to get out of the vehicle before it sank. Panic clouded her brain and choked off her air. She couldn’t breathe. She gasped and wheezed.
“Liv?” Lincoln said.
She couldn’t answer. Couldn’t force a word out of her throat. Fear was an ever-tightening noose, cutting off her voice and her air.
“Breathe,” he said. “I need you. Zoe needs you. I think my collarbone is broken.”
Lincoln was hurt! The dog barked.
Olivia held her breath, then let it out slowly until her vision cleared. She turned to him. His face was white, and she could see the effort he was putting into remaining calm.
“Stay calm,” he said through clenched teeth.
She forced an answer out. “Too late.” She clenched her hands into fists, driving her nails into her palms and using the small pain to center her. Cold water rose onto her feet. “The car is filling up!”
“I know. Are you hurt?” he asked.
She looked down but saw just a few lacerations, no obvious serious injuries. “I don’t think so.”
“I can’t see Zoe,” he said. “Is she OK?”
Olivia scanned him. He was turned at an odd angle, hanging awkwardly from the seat belt. She looked over the seat. Zoe wasn’t conscious. The only thing holding her up was the seat belt. Olivia tried to unclip her own belt, but the latch was stuck. Panic and cold made her fingers numb.
“If you don’t have your tool in your pocket, there’s one in the glove compartment,” Lincoln said, his voice strained now. “Hurry.”
She felt disconnected, the situation surreal.
They were going to die. She was sure of it.
She felt her pockets and was almost surprised to find the multi-tool in one.
She had no memory of pocketing it. She pulled it out.
Her hands shook so hard that it took three tries to cut her own belt.
Lincoln released his strap. He slumped in the seat, pain tightening his features.
“We’re not going to be able to open the doors. The water is too high.”
Water sloshed over Olivia’s knees. Claustrophobia threatened to paralyze her.
“Olivia!” Lincoln shouted. “I need you.” The dog barked to echo his urgency.
Right.
She set the dog on his lap, crawled over the seat, and cut Zoe’s belt. OK. They were all free, now what? “How do we get out?” She pressed the window button, but nothing happened.
“The windows are all cracked. Try to kick out the glass.”
But the water was already halfway up the windshield. The water inside was catching up. Cold waves lapped over her thighs. She leaned back and stomped both feet on her window. Nothing happened.
She looked up. The sunroof was also cracked, and it already had a hole it in. She pulled a big metal flashlight from the glove compartment and used it to clear the glass. The water had risen to her ribs. Her legs were going numb. She trembled with cold and fear.
“Good job.” Lincoln held the dog out of the water. “Don’t worry about me. I can pull myself out. See if you can get Zoe out through the sunroof.”
Olivia floated over the back seat. Without the seat belt holding her in place, Zoe slumped down, her face disappearing under the water. Olivia hauled her back up.
“I’ll hold her up. You get out and pull her onto the roof.
” Lincoln set the dog on the dashboard, extended his good arm over the seat, and grabbed Zoe’s jacket collar.
He kept Zoe’s head above the surface while Olivia went out the sunroof.
On the top of the vehicle, she saw that they weren’t far from the shore.
But the floodwaters raged, and the current was swift.
The river was sweeping them along at a frantic pace.
Olivia grabbed Zoe by the arms and pulled. When her friend’s shoulders were clear, she hauled her onto the roof from under the armpits. Zoe cried out. Her eyes opened.
Olivia wasted no time explaining. “Hold on.” She put Zoe’s hands on the edges of the sunroof. “I have to go back in.”
She reached in to grab Lincoln, but he shoved the dog at her.
She put it next to Zoe and turned back to the sunroof.
The vehicle was almost entirely full of water.
There was no air bubble left, and Lincoln was still in there.
Visions of being trapped underground—and suffocating—nearly paralyzed her.
You can’t freeze! He’ll die.
Olivia did the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life—she put her head and shoulders through the sunroof.
Lincoln was free and floating toward her.
She guided him out onto the roof just as the vehicle sank.
Their heads broke the surface, and they sputtered.
She didn’t have time to celebrate not being dead.
They had no time to recover. The bank wasn’t far away, but the current was swift. They could still drown.
“I’m OK. Help Zoe.” Lincoln leaned back and half floated and half backstroked with one arm. Barely keeping his head above the surface, he held one arm close to his chest. The dog was practically perched on his face and seemed to be clutching his injured shoulder.
Zoe couldn’t tread water or swim with her injuries.
Olivia’s boots made swimming difficult. A muddy wave crashed over their heads.
She swallowed a mouthful of nasty water.
Zoe floundered. Leaning back, Olivia towed Zoe by the collar while her friend used her hands to help them along.
Thankfully, the riverbank wasn’t far away, and they managed to paddle diagonally across the current to the shore.
When Olivia’s feet hit solid ground, she wanted to cry. She hauled Zoe into knee-deep water. Next to her, on his hands and knees, Lincoln spit mud. The dog ran onto the shore and shook itself.
They’d only been swept a quarter-mile downstream, though it had seemed farther. Olivia saw the red and white swirl of an emergency light approaching. The cop on the other side of the bridge must have seen them get washed into the river.
They were going to survive.
Now that they were safe, her entire body began to tremble. Her stomach churned with river water and the drop of adrenaline. She paused to gasp for air, her lungs heaving. On his knees beside her, Lincoln put a hand on her back, as if to help her.
Gasping for air, she didn’t try to speak, but forced her body to move.
They dragged themselves onto the weedy ground and flopped onto their backs. Rainwater pummeled her face, but Olivia didn’t care. She reached across the wet earth and took Lincoln’s hand. His fingers were as cold as hers, but she felt the squeeze of his fingers and returned his silent I love you.