Cheryl Tardif - Submerged

“Was there a sign for the road you turned down?”

“No. Nothing. It’s a dirt road, gravel maybe.”

Marcus flagged down Leo again. “They turned down a side road.”

“Shit,” Leo said. “There are quite a few turnoffs between the tower and Cadomin, and some before that.”

“Rebecca, do you have a GPS system in your vehicle?”

“No.”

“What about your cell phone?”

“It’s old. No apps, no GPS.”

“Okay.” He paused, thinking hard. “How far down the road did you drive?”

“I’m not sure. I was terrified. I couldn’t see where I was going. Then we got into the trees, and I could barely even see the road. I think I drove a few minutes, maybe ten.”

Marcus let out another curse.

“What?” Leo asked.

Marcus muffled the microphone so Rebecca wouldn’t hear. “Police won’t see her from the highway. She’s ten or fifteen minutes in.”

“Good God, without a helicopter, they’ll have to go down every road to find her.”

Marcus nodded. And by the time they did, it could be too late.

“I’m feeling really dizzy,” Rebecca whispered. “I’m not sure how long I can stay alert.”

“Listen to my voice, and keep taking small, even breaths,” he said. “Rebecca, I need you to check your phone and tell me how strong the charge is.”

“Oh God…” Pause. When she came back, her voice was hoarse. “I have one bar left. Why didn’t I charge it before we left? How stupid could I be?”

“Rebecca—”

“I thought I’d do it when we reached the hotel. I don’t even have the charger on me. It’s in my suitcase. And that’s in the trunk. And the car charger is in the glove box, which I can’t reach.”

“What about your kids? Do either of them have a phone?”

“No.” Sob. “I told Wesley they didn’t need cell phones.”

He knew she was blaming herself. “None of this is your fault, Rebecca. Besides, one bar is good. That’s still a lot.” He hoped to God he was right.

“But what if you can’t find us? What if my phone dies?”

“We’ll find you before that happens.”

“Do you promise?”

Marcus swallowed the lump in his throat as he flashed on Jane’s face. “I promise. We’ll find you. We’re also trying to locate your husband. I’m going to patch you through to Detective John Zur from the Edson Police Department now.”

“I don’t want you to hang up.” Soft sobs drifted in from the other end. “You’re all we have right now.”

“I’ll call you again in five minutes. And then every five to ten minutes after that until you’re found.”

“But what if I can’t answer? What if I pass out?”

“Is Colton alert?”

“Yes.”

“If you feel like you’re going to pass out, give him the phone.”

“Okay.”

“I’m patching you through to John. But I’ll call back in five minutes.”

“Wait! I need to know something.”

“What?”

“Your name.”

Marcus bit his lip and looked over his shoulder at Leo, who gave him a questioning look. It wasn’t usual protocol to give out their names. There were rules the 911 operators had to follow, and one of them was anonymity.

“Please,” she whispered.

To hell with the rules.

“Marcus,” he said. “My name’s Marcus.”

Rebecca gave Detective Zur as much information as she could, then closed the phone and wiped away the tears. “They’re coming to find us, Colton.”

“How’ll they know where we are?”

“They can track my phone call. There’s a cell tower close by, so they know we’re in the area.”

She scrunched her eyes and tried to make out their surroundings. The rain was still coming down, but it had lessened somewhat. Minutes earlier, when she’d tried the engine, it sputtered to life as if it were on its last breath. Only one headlight lit up, and it revealed that they’d crashed into a copse of trees. With the headlights on high and the emergency lights flashing, she kept the interior lights turned on and fiddled with the switches on the dashboard.

Don’t kill the battery.

After the heat inside reached sweat-mode, she turned the engine off and put it back to accessory mode. She’d turn it on again once the air cooled.

She tried to ignore the intense fear that raced through her. She’d never be able to drive out of here. That meant they’d have to sit and wait for someone to find them. What if no one did?

She glanced at the phone. In five minutes Marcus would call back.

“While we’re waiting, I want you to do some exercises, Colton.”

“Exercises?”

“I need to know you’re okay.”

Behind her Colton let out a huff. “I’m fine, Mom. My leg doesn’t even hurt.”

“Do this for me, okay?”

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Raise your arms above your head and tell me if anything hurts.”

He did. “Nothing.”

“Does your head hurt or your neck?”

“Nope.”

“What about your good leg? Can you move it?”

“Yup.” Colton nudged the back of her seat with his uninjured foot in response, oblivious to her quiet gasp of anguish.

“What about your other leg?” she said between breaths. “Is it bleeding?”

“Don’t know. I can’t see much except for my knee.”

“Does your knee hurt?”

“Nope.”

“What about when you touch it?”

Colton let out a sigh. “My knee’s fine, Mom.”

Rebecca held her breath, then blew it out slowly. “Can you wiggle your toes on both feet?”

There was a pause that made her heart stop.

“Yes.”

Relief flooded her. “Okay, good.”

“You want me to do jumping jacks next?”

She laughed. “Very funny, tough guy.”

“And you can do push-ups.”

She grinned. One thing about Colton, he always knew how to make people laugh. And right now she needed anything to distract her from the predicament they were in—even if laughing hurt.

“Now check on your sister,” she said.

“She’s the same.”

“Try to wake her up.”

She heard rustling in the back of the car and Colton’s soft voice urging Ella to open her eyes.

“She’s still asleep,” Colton said in a glum tone.

Frustration and panic made Rebecca push her hands against the steering wheel, praying for even an inch of space so she could slide out. She screamed silently. Let me out of here! I have to help my children!

But she was still stuck.

Two more minutes until Marcus’s call.

She thought about the faceless man who had answered her distress call. It must be difficult to listen to calls like hers every day. She could imagine some of the calls he’d get. Accident victims… battered wives… children. He couldn’t possibly save them all. How did he deal with that?

Her phone rang.

“Marcus?” she said.

“How are you all doing?”

“As good as we can. Colton can wiggle his toes.”

“That’s a good sign.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“We’re still looking for you. Unfortunately we have a few calls we’re handling right now.”

“What does that mean?”

“Means it could take some time to find you.”

“What do we do until then?”

“Keep monitoring Colton and Ella. How’s she doing?”

“The same.”

“How are you doing?”

She took in the blood on her shirt. “Ask me that when we’re out of here.”

“We’ve tried to reach your husband at home, but there’s no one there. Is he at work?”

“He doesn’t live with us.” She hesitated, then added, “We’re separated.”