The Assignment

Chapter 6

                   

Time slowed to a crawl. The unfamiliar feeling of going airborne once the car tore through the guardrail was almost like an out-of-body experience. We were floating - gliding - at a toxic speed. It felt like we were being catapulted to our death.

As soon as the car went off the bridge, the airbags deployed. It felt like I'd been hit in the face with a basketball. Joey grimaced at the impact of the airbags. He kept a steady grip on the steering wheel as we went down.

"Joey!" I screamed, watching the river we were about to land in get closer and closer.

I couldn't stay calm like he was. We were nosediving into deep water. I wished I had a steering wheel to hold onto, too.

I saw a flash of regret in Joey's eyes when he looked over at me.

"Try not to panic," he said in the calmest voice he could muster. "Just focus on getting out."

Try not to panic? What planet was he orbiting?

I attempted to steady my breathing, holding onto the door handle for support as we hit the water. The impact felt like being hit head-on in traffic. Part of me had hoped we'd get lucky and just float until a rescue crew found us, but that was unrealistic thinking and I realized a little too quickly how fast a car actually sinks.

Water begun flooding in, engulfing our feet in the floorboard. I tried to push the airbag out of my way, looking to Joey for help. He'd told me what to do but in my panicked state, common sense wasn't registering.

"Unbuckle your seatbelt," he instructed while fighting to undo his own. "Roll the window down and get out."

I did as he said, freeing myself of the restraint and pressing the button for my window to open. To my horror, it only went down halfway. I yanked the door handle several times but the force of the water wouldn't let it open.

"Joey, what do I do?"

The water, already up to our waists, started pouring through my partially open window, filling the vehicle faster.

Joey struggled to turn his body in his seat, still held by his seatbelt. He reached in the backseat, jerking his bag toward us. I tried to help by unzipping it and watched as he retrieved his ka-bar. The water level had risen to our chests and I was about to hyperventilate. Joey raised the knife to the cloth top of the convertible and slashed the material open faster than I could blink.

"Go!" he shouted, water up to our necks now. "Get out! Now!"

I hesitated. I couldn't leave him behind. He'd told me not to wait for him, but I was terrified of the possibility of him not following after me. He shoved me and I reluctantly did as he said, fighting the water to climb out of the car through the tear Joey had created. I took a deep breath, glancing back once to see him struggling to cut through his seatbelt, but the pain in my lungs told me I didn't have time to help him. I was going to quickly run out of air. I swam toward the surface as fast as I could, gasping for air once my face was clear from the water.

The muscles in my arms begun to give out while I powered toward land. Finally reaching the muddy riverbank, I pulled myself to safety, flinching when the rocks tore holes in my jeans. My sopping wet clothing made me feel a hundred pounds heavier. I laid back against a wall of dirt and rock, panting and trying to calm myself to no avail.

Looking back to the river, I saw bubbles rising to the surface. My first thought was that Joey hadn't been able to get out of the car. Facing my fear of deep water and the possibility of drowning, I mustered up all the strength I had left and pushed myself to reenter the water, fighting against the flow of the river to get back to the car. Halfway to my destination, I recognized Joey swimming toward me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and brought both of us to the water's edge, coughing and breathing hard.