Submerged (16 page)

Speaking of cold…

She wiggled her toes in her shoes. She could barely feel them, or the cheap leather of her last Payless splurge. But she did feel something. Water on her ankles.

The interior lights flickered on and off like a strobe light. She didn't want to think of what would happen once the lights turned off and they were plunged into complete darkness. The mere thought made her body quake.

Plucking the phone from her bra, she shone the light from it toward the floor. Murky brown water covered her ankles completely.

If she wasn’t found soon, hyp
othermia would set in. If it hadn't already.

She thought about Colton. His leg was trapped, which meant
his foot was sitting in freezing water too.

She shone her phone toward the back seat and angled the mirror so she could see him. He'd managed to find his hockey gear and had a sweatshirt draped across Ella. His leggings and other gear were piled on top of him, not much of a barrier to the cold.

"Oh, Colton…Ella…" she sobbed.

One of Colton's shoulder pads rolled off him and landed
on the floor.

Marcus had made her promise
to call if the water rose.

She pointed the soft light from her cell phone at the windshield, but could see nothing beyond the glass. Just black oblivion.

What if we're already underwater?

Bile rose in
her throat, and she battled to keep it at bay. Her stomach clenched, then lurched. Grabbing the steering wheel for balance with her good hand, she leaned as far as she could toward the passenger seat and threw up. The smell was overwhelming, a combination of sourness and sulfur. Fear and death.

She opened her phone, saw Marcus's phone
number and hit
call
.

Chapter
Nineteen

Near Cadomin, AB – Saturday, June 15, 2013 – 12:03 AM

It had been about twenty minutes since Marcus had left Edson and the rain had finally let up. But still no sign of Rebecca's Hyundai. He hadn't seen any fresh tracks leading to any of the side roads. Had he already passed the area where Rebecca had been forced from the highway?

He was about to turn around when
a shiver slid over his body. All the hairs on his arms stood up. The sensation made him think of the cabin in Cadomin, the one he'd stayed in before Jane and Ryan's accident. The one with the ghostly children in the woods.

The headlights
of his SUV swept over something in the middle of the road.

He slammed on the br
akes.
Jane?

He blinked, but the vision of his dead wife remained. She
stood in the middle of the road, pointing ahead as if telling him to keep driving.

Then she
vanished.

"Keep driving!" he snarled. He'd deal with Jane's ghost later.

The phone rang.

"Everything okay
, Rebecca?"

"Yeah, if you call being trapped in a car in the river 'okay.'" There was a hint of dry humor in her voice
, but worry quickly followed. "The water's rising, Marcus."

Shit! That
was the last thing they needed. "Are you still moving?"

"Yeah
, but not as much."

His bad feeling turned rancid. Rebecca had driven off the highway, into the trees, for God knows how long. There were a few lakes in the area, and the McLeod River with all its tributaries.
The second attack from the mysterious truck driver could have pushed Rebecca's vehicle into the river.

"Are you sure you didn't see anythi
ng before you left the highway?" he asked. "Something in the woods or along the highway, maybe? I need to figure out where you went off the road."

"All I saw were trees.
I'm not even sure I turned down an actual road. It could've been a damned footpath for all I know."

Marcus
gazed out the window as his SUV sped down the highway, his eyes darting from side to side. There were numerous unpaved roads and dirt trails that led into the bushes on either side. This was quad country.

"What about Colton?" he said suddenly.

"He's sleeping." She sounded like she was on the brink of crying.

"Maybe he saw something. You were driving, trying to see the road ahead. Maybe he saw something you missed.
Ask him."

"Colton?" she called, her voice stronger. "Wake up, ho
ney. I have a question for you. Did you see anything when we went off the road?"

Marcus couldn't make out Colton's answer.

Seconds later, Rebecca came back on the line. "He says he saw pigs. Flying pigs." She let out a sob. "Oh God, he's hallucinating. I think Colton's going into shock. I think you're too late."

"Don't say that. I'm still here, still looking."

"If you're too late, I want you to promise me something."

"Hey," he said, trying to sound jovial, "we're not doing this right now. None of this kind of talk."

"Marcus, listen to me. Please." He heard her inhale. "If we don't make it, I'd hate it if you blamed yourself. You've done everything anyone could ask for and more. Fate, remember?"

"Fate's a mean bastard," he said between gritted teeth.

"I agree. So promise me, no blame."

Marcus cursed under his breath and
slammed a fist on the wheel. Then he took a deep breath. "I promise. No blame."

"My feet are so numb I can't feel my toes."

He could almost taste her fear. "Hold on, Rebecca. Hold on."

"I'm afraid to hang up. This might be my last call to you."

He barely heard her words as something flashed up ahead. A sign! One he'd forgotten about. And carved into wood was a picture of two robust pigs with wings.

"Oh my god," he
said, elated. "Flying pigs."

"
What?"

"I found the pigs, Rebecca.
Colton wasn't hallucinating. It's a sign on the side of the road for a pig farm. It closed down a few years ago. I'm close."

A second later, Rebecca said, "
Colton says he saw the pigs in the sky, above the trees. But that makes no sense if it's a sign on the side of the road." She was sobbing uncontrollably now.

"I think there's a sign on the building. That must be what he saw. Hold on."

A few yards ahead, Marcus spotted the dirt road that led to the pig farm. He'd been down that road before. With Jane. They used to buy meat here. If his recollection was accurate, the road wove down to the river and circled back to meet the highway about a mile south.

"I know where you left the highway
," he said. "I can see the road."

"Hurry, Marcus
! The water's up to my knees."

"Mom!" he heard Colton
shout. "The car's filling up with water! We have to get out!"

"I know, honey, help's on the way," Rebecca cried. "Marcus! Help us!"

Deep ruts were carved into the mud ahead of him. Two sets of vehicle tracks—Rebecca's and a wide-based truck tire with heavy treads.

Marcus
stomped on the gas pedal and sped down the road. He swerved, barely missing an uprooted tree that had fallen across the road. "I'm almost at the farm. I see your tire tracks. I'm almost there."

The SUV
bumped and jerked as he whipped down the road at breakneck speed. "I see the farm!"

Above the building was a silver weathervane that was lit by a soft light. The flying pigs again.

"Flying pigs in the sky," he murmured. That's what Colton had seen.

"Can you see us?
" Rebecca pleaded. "The water's halfway up my calves."

"I'm almost to the river."

On the other end he heard Colton crying. "Try to stay calm."

Rebecca's voice was thick with terror. "The water's
coming in faster, Marcus."

The tree line broke
, and the river appeared to his left, swirling and churning. But no car. He followed the road alongside the river as fast as he could, his tires bouncing in and out of mud-filled ruts.
Don't let me get stuck in the mud now!

Though he wasn't sure he really believed in a God, he found himself praying desperately to a higher being.
Please let me get there in time. Please, God.

He pressed
the Bluetooth tightly to his ear. "Rebecca, I'm nearly there."

"I have to get out. I have to get my children out."

As Marcus rounded another corner, the headlights of his car swept along the side of the road, illuminating the river. Still nothing.

"
Rebecca, honk your horn."

He rolled down the window and leaned out. In the distance he
heard something. "Honk again!"

Then he heard it
, clear as a bell. "You're up ahead."

"Really?" Rebecca cried.
"Can you see us?"

The first things he saw were
two pairs of muddy tracks that led toward the river. He slowed the SUV and noticed a small but sharp ridge of ground that lined the riverbank. A burly tree had a gouge on one side and what could only be red paint was scraped into the bark.

It only took him a second to put the pieces together.
This was the spot where Rebecca's car had gotten hung up. It had been pushed up to the top of the ridge, where it had teetered, while rubbing against the tree that had blocked her door.

He maneuvered the SUV
as close as possible so the headlights lit up the edge of the bank. This was where the truck had rammed her once more, sending her car shooting through the air toward the water.

"I should see you a
ny minute now, Rebecca."

He parked and jumped out of his vehicle
. With the cell phone tucked in his pocket and Bluetooth activated, he approached the edge. His flashlight swept over the area. There was about an eight-foot drop to the water, and to his right, concrete steps led down to a rugged wood dock that extended twenty feet into the river directly in front of him. Something at the end of the dock glowed with a soft light.

And there it was—Rebecca's car.

While attempting to escape the truck, she had driven toward the river, and the final impact of the truck had propelled her vehicle into the air. After a short flight, the Hyundai had landed midway on the dock, splintering some of the thick planks. It was now almost a quarter submerged, the front end lower than the back.

Damn it all to hell.

It wouldn't be long before the dock collapsed entirely and the car slid beneath the water. He was running out of time—and so were Rebecca and her kids.

"I see your car," he said, his heart sinking.

"You're here?"

"You should be able to see
the light from my flashlight. Behind you." He waved.

"I see the light.
Marcus, please hurry."

Lightning rippled in the night sky. Thunder boomed about ten seconds later.

"What was that?" she shouted.

"
Another storm is moving in."

Last thing they needed was another downpour of rain.
Water was now almost halfway up the driver's window on the outside.

He
quickly explained where she was and how the dock was the only thing keeping them from going under. "The next part is going to be hard. You have to be extremely brave and do everything I tell you."

"
I will. What do you need me to do?"

Opening the
hatch of the SUV, he grabbed the rebreathers and the kit. "Tell Colton to move Ella into his lap. He has to keep her head up above the water."

He heard her repeat his words to Colton. "Good. Now listen carefully. The water pressure on the outside of your car makes it impossible to open the doors.
So you're all going to have to escape through the windows."

"
But the power isn't working. We can't roll them down."

"
I'm going to break them.  One at a time. Yours first."

"But won't that just make the car sink faster?"

He closed his eyes. "Yes, but you're already sinking, Rebecca."

"Oh God…"

"How high is the water on the inside?" he asked, checking the oxygen levels on the tanks. They were both full.

"Up to my waist."
She said something to Colton. "Colton says the water's up to his knees. He has Ella, thank God. Colton, you have to prop Ella up. Keep her head above the water."

"I have to hang up," he said, "and when I do, I want you to call Leo at 911 and tell him we're at Angelo's Pork Farm. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

Marcus
ensured the emergency flashlights were secured to the straps of the rebreathers. "I'm going to swim out to the car in a second."

"Hurry.
"

He dug around in t
he kit until he found a bright blue ResQMe keychain. The rescue tool was used by numerous emergency organizations for quick vehicle rescues, and even the public could buy them. One push on vehicle glass would release a spring-loaded spike that would shatter a side window. There was also a seat belt cutter concealed beneath the plastic clip.

He shoved the
ResQMe into his jeans pocket. "Tell Leo I'm going in after you."

"How will you rescue all of us by yourself?"

"Can you all swim?"

"Yes. I made the kids take lessons."

"What about you?"

"I was a life guard when I was sixteen. But I'm
wedged in pretty good."

Then he asked the one question that made his gut wrench. "How long can you hold your breath?"

"I don't know. A minute, maybe more. I've never timed myself." There was dread in her voice.

"What about Colton?"
he asked.

"He can pick up a half-
dozen weights from the bottom of the pool in one passing. That's probably more than a minute, right?"

"Probably
." He strode to the edge of the river. "Okay…you're not far from shore. Maybe six yards. All you have to do is keep your mouths above the water until I get there."

"
We'll do that."

"I have two rebreathers—
small oxygen tanks. Each one is set up for two people, so we have enough air for everyone. Now listen. The water will submerge you first because of the angle of the car, so I'll give you the first tank. Then I'll move to the kids."

"What about Ella? She's still unconscious.
"