Cheryl Tardif - Submerged

Please, God, don’t let me faint now.

But God wasn’t listening.

With his mask in place, Marcus dove down alongside the car. He could see brownish light coming from the headlight. The interior lights were flicking on and off. Reaching the driver’s side, he gripped the slim flashlight in one hand and waved it over the window.

Rebecca wasn’t moving. She had passed out, her mouth an inch from the water.

He had to move fast.

He shone the light into the back seat and waved at Colton. The boy moved to the window and pounded on the glass. That’s when Marcus noticed Colton was no longer trapped in the back. He was free.

Thank God for that!

Colton pointed at his sister, grinned back at Marcus and gave the thumbs-up. The kid was ready.

Now came the difficult part.

Marcus returned to the driver’s window and pulled the ResQMe tool from his pocket. Holding it in one hand, he positioned the cutter in the middle of the window. He pushed down, feeling the hard spring within the device. A web of cracks appeared and water seeped inside the car.

A second later the window caved in from the pressure. He pushed the fragments of glass aside and shoved a tank through the hole. Securing the mask over Rebecca’s mouth, he flushed the water from it, all the while trying to ignore the flailing movements in the back of the car and Colton’s shrieks.

Hold on, Colton! I’m coming!

Marcus glanced toward the back seat and saw the children pressed up against the rear window where there was a small pocket of air. It would last maybe thirty seconds.

He moved to the back door. Okay, here’s where timing is everything.

One quick snap of the ResQMe and the rear side window was shattered. He wedged his body inside the window to slow the water flow and so he could reach the children. With his added weight, the car slid further into the river. He took a deep breath, held it and removed his mask. With no time to waste, he slipped it over Ella’s face and flushed it. Seconds later, river water filled the interior of the car and it sank, landing on the river floor with a soft thud.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Colton take one last breath of air. The boy grabbed his arm and pointed at his mouth, his eyes widening with alarm. Marcus fastened the secondary mask around the boy’s head, pushed the flush button. A second later, Colton nodded and held up a thumb.

Brave boy.

In seconds he had the tank strapped to the boy’s back. But now Marcus needed air. Moving to the front of the car, he wedged his body between the driver and passenger seat, then secured the secondary mask from Rebecca’s tank over his face. Gulping in a few breaths of air, he examined Rebecca. She was still unconscious, her hair drifting like strands of seaweed around her face. He felt her chest. Her breathing was spasmodic. Not a good sign.

He looked over his shoulder at her children. They were sitting in the back seat. Colton had strapped them in, to keep them from floating up against the ceiling of the car. The boy didn’t realize how dangerous his actions were. The seat belt could jam.

Marcus felt for the ResQMe tool in his pocket. He still had it. Worst-case scenario, he’d cut the belt from the kids.

Evaluating the situation, he realized there was only one thing he could do. He had to get the kids to safety and come back for Rebecca afterward. What alarmed him was the possibility that Rebecca would regain consciousness and discover her kids were gone. If she panicked, she could do serious damage to herself, especially if a broken rib had pierced her lung, as he suspected.

He took a deep breath, held it, then removed the mask and moved to the kids. The seat belt released easily, and he pulled Colton and Ella toward him. He pointed out the door and started outside, but Colton tugged on his hand and pointed to his mother.

Marcus shook his head and pointed up. Then he dragged both kids out the door and started swimming to the surface. With Ella tucked under his arm, he held on to Colton and used the opposite hand to pull them upward.

It took a few strokes and they broke the surface.

Colton ripped off his mask. Panting, he cried out, “You have to go back for my mom.”

Marcus removed his mask. “I will. As soon as I get you to shore.”

“I can take Ella back.”

Marcus shook his head. “Sorry, son, but I’m taking you to shore first. Your mom would never forgive me. Now swim!”

It seemed to take forever before they reached the shallows. Colton removed the tank, handed it to Marcus and raced for the shore. Marcus followed closely behind, swinging Ella into his arms. When they reached the car, he set her down in the back seat and removed her mask. He felt for her pulse. It was faint but regular.

“Get in,” he said to Colton.

The boy climbed in beside his sister. He was shivering violently, and Marcus turned on the engine and cranked up the heat. Retrieving two emergency blankets from the kit, he draped them around both children.

“Colton, stay here with your sister. Do not move! Got it?”

“Got it.” The boy’s teeth were chattering.

Marcus reached for his cell phone on the dash. “Here’s my phone. Call 911 and ask for Leo. Tell him you and Ella are safe, but we need an ambulance.”

Colton nodded.

Marcus ruffled the boy’s wet hair. “I’m going back for your mom now.”

Tears flowed down the boy’s cheeks. “She said you would save us.”

As he ran toward the river, Marcus hoped to God he wasn’t too late.

Rebecca felt an unusual pressure on her face. Fighting waves of dizziness, she opened her eyes and blinked twice. Her surroundings were hazy.

Where am I?

She reached up to wipe her eyes, but her hand floated in slow motion, then connected with something hard. Her fingers grazed the object, tracing its outline.

A mask.

That’s when her memories came rushing back. I’m in the car. We’re in the river, underwater. Oh God… Ella and Colton.

She blew out a breath and twisted in her seat. The back of the car was empty. Fear slithered up her throat, and her heart thudded in her chest. She tamped down her horror when she noticed the back car door was open.

And you have an oxygen mask on. Marcus! He has the kids.

The interior light dimmed and was extinguished. Blackness swallowed her.

She felt the cold tank beside her. Marcus had jammed it between the seats. She ran her fingers over the straps and discovered something long and sleek attached to it. A flashlight.

Carefully, she pulled it toward her and turned it on. She groaned with relief. That transitory gloom of darkness had made her feel she’d been buried alive.

Stay calm. He’s coming back for you.

All she could do was listen to the sound of her breathing, as erratic as it was.

She’d never been so cold in all her life—not even the time Wesley had taken her skiing in Whistler, BC, and she’d landed in a snow bank at the bottom of the bunny hill. She’d told him she couldn’t ski, but he’d made it sound so damned easy. She recalled how they’d gone back to the resort afterward and she’d soaked in the hot tub for over an hour to get the chill out of her bones.

I’ll need more than an hour in a hot tub now.

She coughed and cried out in misery. Where was Marcus?

She aimed the flashlight out the broken window. Nothing moved.

It was getting harder to breathe. Is the tank out of oxygen?