The Art of Survival

Chapter 8

The car hit the water engine first. The fall left us weightless in our chairs for a few moments, then the initial impact tossed us forward. My skull would have been dashboard bound if it wasn't for the airbag.

I turned to Dinah Jane licking away the metallic taste of blood on my lips.

"Take off your seat belt, now!" I told her fiercely before the water started flooding in, I could tell the windshield would collapse soon enough.

I turned to Dinah who was struggling with her own, her window already had gallons of sea water pouring through and I could barely focus enough to see blood dripping from a deep gash in my girlfriends' forehead.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!"

As soon as I spoke she coughed but nodded, which told me it was pretty bad. Dinah always had a way with acting, and that included pretending like she was fine when she really wasn't.

"Can't get this damn seatbelt!" Dinah snaps, yanking at it with both hands. I lean over and snap it off for her. Dinah was usually magnificent under pressure. This much incoherence could easily mean that she had a concussion.

Shit.

"Baby we got to swim now. You hear me?"

The water was filling up the car faster than we could handle all while the car was sinking below sea level in a nose dive. I climbed up to the back seat and helped pull up a struggling Dinah.

The back windows were still up and we were quickly becoming trapped in this metallic coffin.

They were full of cracks from the sheer water pressure on the windows but neither of them had collapsed yet.

I could use the pistol to- I felt around on myself for the gun that had been right next to me.

"The gun! Where's the fucking gun!?” I freaked out and reached a hand down into the cold ocean water that filled the front half of the convertible.

A pale faced Dinah held onto my other hand as I searched around, struggling to keep my head above the ever rising waters.

"We are gonna swim through the windows. Do not freak out okay? The more scared you the more likely you are to drown." I could feel water coming up to the back seats and at this point I didn’t know if I was convincing Dinah Jane or myself with my words.

I wanted to scream out, why does this always happen when things are going well?

I felt something hard and cold brush past my fingers and growled in frustration. "Shit!” I garbled as Dinah Jane miserably tries to keep conscious.

"Kick it! Just kick it", she barely managed as she pulled me up. She looked even worse than I remembered.

For the love of God, please don't pass out now.

Dinah adjusted herself and moved from the driver’s seat onto the submerged passenger seat I was kneeling on.

“Haul ass to the surface! We'll figure it out once we get there.” I told her while I dug my nails into her arm, hoping and praying that the stinging from the wounds would keep her stimulated enough to hold on.

Dinah looked at me and then back at the window, she turned from me and then back smashing her lips to mine. "I love you so much," Dinah says and I want to cry.

"Don't talk like that." I say quicker than she could probably understand, because she does she thinks that's the end of this, the end of her life and I wouldn't let that happen.

I kicked the weakened window out and powerful ocean water seasoned with miniature glass shards flooded into the car at the speed of light.

"Push against the water! I'll be out right after you!” I screamed before I regrettably heaved in a deep breathe that I almost immediately coughed out due the excruciating pain in my ribs.