Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
As soon as I’m sucked beneath the cold, muddy water, I freeze. Not just because it’s cold, but because I’m reminded of the stairwell in my building—when I’d nearly drowned.
I thrash, unsure which way is up and unable to see through the filthy water, trying to make my way to the surface. Debris scrapes past me and pounds into me as I tumble through the water, useless to stop myself. My lungs burn with the need for air.
Help!
Panic claws at me faster than I can claw my way to draw a breath. Pain burns in my chest as water rushes down my throat and is sucked into my lungs. I frantically thrash, choking on nasty water. Something smacks me in the head and everything goes completely black.
I come back to because I’m vomiting. I’m no longer being dragged through water and am beached beside the rushing flood. Disgusting floodwater spews out of me as I struggle to catch my breath. When I’ve retched it all out of me, I blink away the stars and start searching for the others.
Tyler!
Tears burn at my eyes as I survey the area around me. It’s still pouring down rain, making it difficult to see three feet past me. I can hear someone moaning in pain close by. Giving my head a shake to clear away my daze, I begin crawling toward the sound.
Hope is on her back, cradling her arm to her chest as she whimpers. I scramble over to her, sick with worry.
“Hope,” I rasp out. “Tell me what hurts.”
She chokes out a sob and looks down at her hand. “I think I broke my arm. God, it hurts, Kellen.” Another sob. “Where’s Aaron?”
The panic in her voice sets off my inner panic. I quickly scan our surroundings, looking for anyone from our group.
“Tyler! Aaron!” I croak out, voice hoarse from throwing up muddy water. “Dan!”
No one responds.
Fuck.
“Come on,” I instruct. “Let’s get you to your feet. We have to find everyone else.”
Hope grimaces as I help her stand. We’re both slightly swaying. She holds her arm to her chest and I absently touch the side of my head that’s throbbing. My fingers come back bloody, but the rain quickly washes it away. No time to inspect our injuries. We have to find the others.
The next thing I hear are Pretzel’s howls. His body is buried halfway in the muck beside the water. I quickly squat down to scoop the mud away from him and free the poor pup. He licks at my face until I bark at him to stop. I tuck him under my left arm and wrap my other around Hope to guide her.
After several minutes of walking, we come to the truck sticking out of the newly made river. I set Pretzel down to inspect the vehicle. The cab of the truck is under the water, which makes my stomach twist with worry.
Please let Aaron and Dan have gotten out of there.
I wade through the rushing water, holding on to the side of the vehicle, and then dip down into the water to try to access the doors. Where the window should be, it’s open space. I feel around the seat and am relieved to discover no one is there. I’m just wondering how to get to the other side without getting swept away when I hear Aaron’s voice.
“Hope!”
“Here,” she cries out. “I’m here.”
Aaron and Dan come staggering into view. Dan’s nose appears to be broken as blood continues to pour from it. Aaron has a huge knot on his forehead.
“Where’s everyone else?” I demand.
“We have to find my daughter,” Dan says in a nasal tone. “Where’s Hailey?”
“Come on,” I instruct, picking up Pretzel to hand to Dan. “Let’s keep walking.”
With each minute that passes where we don’t find the others, my hysteria rises. If something happened to Tyler, I’ll never forgive myself for getting us into this mess.
“Help!”
A voice farther ahead chases away the terror in my bones. I take off running toward the sound. I find Wayne treading water, his leg caught behind him on a tree. Each time the water rushes over his head, my heart stops.
“Hold on,” I call out. “I’m coming!”
Aaron comes up next to me and the two of us wade into the rushing water. We flank Wayne on either side. It takes us both lifting up his massive body out of the water so that he can wriggle his boot free of the tree. Finally, after several minutes of this, we’re able to get him to his feet.
“I heard someone crying that way,” Wayne says, pointing farther down the way. “Sounded like Hailey.”
We get Wayne out of the water and over to Hope and Dan before setting off in the direction he pointed. Hailey, like poor Pretzel, is stuck in the mud under some tree limbs. When she sees us, her wailing grows louder.