Plunge Page 6

  Cade looked down. Water was already bursting through the floor of the car.

  “We have to get out!”

  “I’m stuck!” his mom shouted.

  “Unbuckle your seat belt,” Cade said. He tried to remain calm. He breathed deeply like it was the end of a grueling race.

  “My window won’t open!” Trent shouted, flicking the electric switch.

  “The battery’s dead,” his dad said. “There’s no power.”

  His mom pushed against the side of the car. “My door is jammed!”

  “There’s too much water pressure from the river!” his dad yelled. “We’ll have to break a window!”

  The water was rising. Swirling black liquid was now up to Cade’s waist. It was cold. He started to shiver. They all pounded against the windows with their hands. It was no use.

  “Wait!” Cade cried. “I have an idea.” He pulled the bike tool from his pocket. He opened the screwdriver and held it firmly in his fist. The pointed steel blade poked through his fingers. Then he punched the window with all his strength. A small crack appeared. He punched again and again until the glass broke and water started to pour in.

  “Everyone has to go through this window!” he said, knocking glass out of the way. “Mom, you first!”

  Water had crested their shoulders. Cade’s mom took a deep breath and floated to the backseat. She wriggled through the opening like a fish. Cade’s dad and Trent had wider shoulders. Cade had to push them through, one at a time.

  Cade felt the car hit bottom. The river had almost filled the car. Water coiled around Cade’s neck like a noose. In a few seconds he wouldn’t be able to breathe. He took one last gulp of air and pulled himself through the window. Then he disappeared into the dark chill of the Blindman River.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Which way was up? Cade didn’t know. The car had sunk to the bottom of the dark river. There was no sunlight to guide his way to the surface. He might as well have been blind. He floated limply through the frigid water. His eyes darted around in panic. He could only hold his breath for a few more seconds. Where was his family? Which way was up?

  Then he saw it. The light from the moon filtering down through the blackness. He reached up his arms and swam toward the faint glow.

  His head popped out of the water like a cork. He gasped for air. He looked around desperately.

  “Mom! Dad! Trent!”

  His cries were swallowed up by the sound of the rushing river. But then he heard a faint cry.

  “We’re over here!”

  He swam in the direction of the voice. His wet clothes hugged his body. His shoes were tied tightly on his feet. He couldn’t get rid of them even if he wanted to. He moved slowly through the water, like he was swimming in a straitjacket. He put one arm in front of the other and kept going. A few strokes later he saw them. His mom and dad were clinging to each other in the middle of the river. They had found a rock and were holding on.

  “Your dad can’t make it to the shore,” his mom said.

  “It’s my arm!” Cade’s dad said, wincing.

  Cade saw the huge gash on his father’s arm, just above the elbow. He must have been cut squeezing through the window.

  “Can you make it to shore, Mom?”

  “I think so. But I’m not leaving your father.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll help him. Did you see Trent?”

  “No!” his mom said. Her eyes were wide, terrified. “You know he’s not a strong swimmer.”

  “I’ll find him. But we’ve got to get you safe first.”

  Cade’s mom started to swim to shore while Cade gently pulled his father from the rock and eased him into the water. “Relax, Dad. Just float on your back.” He put one arm across his dad’s chest and used his other arm to swim sidestroke. It’s a good thing I took all those life-saving drills in swimming lessons.

  His dad choked as water washed over his face. “How much farther?”

  “Almost there.”

  A few strokes later Cade was able to stand on the rocky bottom. His father leaned on him as they waded through the shallow water to the riverbank.

  His mom was already there, waiting for them. She had ripped a strip of fabric from her shirt and held it in one hand. “I’ll tie this around his arm to stop the bleeding. You’ve got to find Trent!”

  “I know. I will.”

  Cade looked out over the river and cupped his hands together around his mouth.

  “Treeent! Treeeeeeeeeent!”

  There was no answer.

  His brother was a great football player but a lousy swimmer. He had never wanted to take lessons.

  Cade was so cold now he was having trouble moving. But he had to find his brother. He left his parents sitting together in the shadow of the bridge. He launched himself back into the deep darkness like he was diving from the starting blocks. The race to save his brother was on.

  He swam toward the middle of the river. His arms pulled strongly by his sides. His legs kicked smoothly behind him. Every few strokes he would look up, trying to catch sight of Trent. The same way he searched for the buoy in the triathlon.

  He let the current carry him downstream, hoping that was what had happened to Trent. At least his brother could float. The moonlight reflected off the water. An eerie glow spread across the river. Long branches cast spooky shadows across the water. He called again.

  Nothing. And then, very faintly, he heard it.

  “Cade!”

  Trent’s voice sounded like it was coming from the edge. Cade spotted some old trees that had fallen into the water along the riverbank.

  “I’m stuck in the trees!”

  Cade swam faster than he had in any race. The current was strong and tried to sweep him away, but he kept swimming. His arms powered through the water until he was at his brother’s side.

  “I never thought you’d find me,” Trent said weakly. He was hanging on to a big log. Only his head and hands were above the water. He had been in the water a long time. Cade knew his body temperature must be getting dangerously low.

  “We have to get you to shore. You have to get warm.”

  “Okay,” Trent whispered. He was too tired to say any more.

  “Hold on to me.”

  Trent reached out his arm. His big football frame floated beside his smaller brother. Cade pulled him toward the riverbank like a tugboat guiding a ship safely into port.

  Trent lay on the shore, too worn out to move. “Where are mom and dad?”

  “They’re upriver. We have to get back to them.”

  “I don’t know if I can make it,” he said, trying to stand.

  “Lean on me. You can do it.”

  Trent hung one arm over Cade’s shoulder. The two brothers stumbled through the woods along the riverbank. Their clothes were dripping wet, their shoes soggy from the water. Prickly plants and bushes scratched their arms and legs. But they trudged on through the moonlit trees.

  “I’m done,” Trent gasped, falling to the ground.

  “There’s the bridge!” Cade said, picking him up. “We’re almost there.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Trent!”

  Cade’s mom leaped to her feet and hugged Trent. “We thought we had lost you,” she said, wiping tears away.

  “Cade saved me,” Trent said, still leaning against his brother.

  “He rescued us too,” his mom said, sitting back down beside their dad. “We were clinging to a rock. We’d be washed away by now if it wasn’t for him.”

  Cade eased Trent to the ground beside his parents. “Dad doesn’t look so good,” he said.

  “He needs a doctor,” his mom said.

  “We can’t call for help,” Trent said. “Our cell phones are at the bottom of the river. There are no cars driving by. No one is going to find us this late at night.”

  “I never should have taken that shortcut,” his dad groaned.

  “How could you have known a deer would be on the bridge?” Cade said
, shaking his head. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Looks like we’ll have to wait until the sun comes up,” Trent said, staring up at the moon.

  “I don’t know if your dad will make it until morning,” his mom said. She held his injured arm in her lap. “He’s losing a lot of blood.”

  “We’re not waiting until morning,” Cade said, standing up.

  “What do you mean?” his mom asked.

  “I’m going to get help.”

  “How?”

  “My bike fell off the back of the car as we crashed through the railing. I’ll go find it and ride into town. I remember we passed a hospital.”

  “That must be twenty kilometers back!” his mom cried.

  “Yeah, but we need help now,” Cade said, glancing around the forest. “You three need to stay as warm as you can. Maybe Trent can build a shelter with some branches. Then all three of you can huddle together inside. But don’t worry—I’ll be back.”

  He made his way up the side of the steep bank, grasping the rocks and small trees as he climbed. Streetlights shone down on the bridge high above him. The rest of the road stretched out into darkness.

  He scanned the bridge. The deer lay lifeless on the black pavement. A trickle of blood oozed from its mouth. It must have died instantly. He felt sorry for the animal and wondered briefly whether other members of its family were nearby. But then he spotted his bike. It was scratched up pretty bad. The chain was off. He picked up the wreckage and inspected the damage. The wheels and pedals were in good shape, but the handlebars and seat were badly twisted. Nothing that a handy bike tool couldn’t fix, he thought. He pulled the tool from his pocket, glad he had kept it after smashing the window.

  A short time later Cade hopped on, anxious to get moving. He pushed a few times on the pedals, but his legs felt heavy and sore. He had no power. All that swimming in the cold river had tired him out. But then he realized it was just like finishing a triathlon swim and shifting to the bike stage of the race. It would take a while for his leg muscles to loosen up. Mr. Grimsby had taught him to expect that. He relaxed, knowing his strength would return. It had to. His dad’s life depended on it.

  Cade stepped down hard on the pedals. Now he was grateful his running shoes hadn’t fallen off in the river. Riding in bare feet would have been painful. And slow.

  He shot forward into the night. Past the tall oaks casting moonlit shadows across the road. Past the crickets chirping in the fields. Past the raccoons staring glassy-eyed from the woods. Past the sign that said Red Deer 10 km. His wheels spun silently beneath him. There were no other competitors to worry about. No spectators to cheer him on. He was alone.

  He was making good time. But he needed to go faster. Every minute counted.

  Now he was on the edge of town. There were streetlights to guide his way. He sped by a gas station and a 7-Eleven. His throat was dry. He swallowed hard and imagined how good a Big Gulp would taste right now.

  Soon there were more signs of life. Houses. Buildings. Restaurants. And another sign. The one he had been hoping to see—Hospital 5 km. He was closing in on his goal. He shifted into a higher gear and put his head down. He was almost there.

  There was a sharp bend in the road ahead. He wouldn’t let that slow him down. He pedaled hard and leaned into the corner. But something was wrong. He felt his wheels starting to slip. He looked down. There was oil on the road! His wheels slid out from beneath him. Cade sailed through the air and slammed onto the blacktop. Hard. He skidded along the rough pavement, over what felt like broken glass or sharp stones. He could feel the skin ripping off his arms and legs. He cried out in pain. After a couple of somersaults he tumbled into a ditch.

  He lay there dazed. His head was woozy from the crash, his body crumpled in a ball. He slowly unwound, one arm, one leg at a time. He sat up. He knew his body was hurt, but that wasn’t what he checked first. That wasn’t what was important right then.

  He could see his bike lying in the middle of the road. Some spokes looked bent. The seat and handlebars were twisted again. But maybe he could fix it one more time. Just enough to get to the hospital.

  That’s when he saw it. A huge semitrailer! A big rig barreling down the road, headed straight for the bike. He waved his arms weakly from the ditch, but it was too late. The driver never saw him. Eighteen wheels flattened his bike. Any hope of Cade riding again that night had been crushed.

  Chapter Twenty

  Cade held out his hands. Puncture marks crisscrossed his arms like vampire bites. Blood dripped down from his elbows to his palms. He rubbed the gory red smear across his ripped shirt. His legs were just as gruesome. Large patches of skin were missing. His knees were ketchup-red.

  He tried standing, but felt faint. Dizzy. He could feel a large, egg-sized lump growing over his right eye. His head must have hit the asphalt when he slammed to the ground. He slumped back down on the pavement to recover. He counted to ten, then took a deep breath and tried again. He was shaky. But he was on his feet. He had to keep going. Just like Mr. Grimsby had said, You don’t quit a race unless they put you in an ambulance.

  The hospital was less than five kilometers away. Straight ahead. He didn’t know if he could make it. But he had to try. His dad lay bleeding by the river. His mother and brother were exhausted, getting colder by the minute.

  He felt too weak to run. He began to walk with a limp. His legs throbbed with each step. Slowly the ache went away. His legs became dead to the pain. He was able to start hobbling a little faster.

  He tried to take his mind off the pain. He thought about Trent having to miss his game the next day. Not being able to play in the biggest battle of the year. He knew how disappointed he would be. How much it meant to him. And to his dad. His father wanted nothing more than to see Trent on the field. Cheer him on from the stands. Watch him throw a touchdown pass. Boast to the other parents that the quarterback was his boy.

  Cade wished his dad had wanted to watch him at the triathlon. Cheer him on. Be proud of him when he stood on the podium. If he ever did stand on the podium.

  But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was saving his family.

  Soon Cade’s hobble turned into a jog. He leaned forward and stumbled along as quickly as he could. Drops of blood trailed behind him along the sidewalk. He was too tired to even hold his head up. Every so often he raised his eyes to make sure he was still stumbling in the right direction. Then, from a distance, he spotted the big H. The hospital was just a few blocks away. The finish line was dead ahead.

  He started to run. Each step hurt more than the one before. His heart pounded like he was at the end of a race. Nothing could stop him now. He sprinted past the flickering neon sign that said EMERGENCY. The doors slid open automatically as he got near. He dashed into the building. He saw a nurse standing down the hall and rushed toward her. But his legs had given all they had to give. He couldn’t go one step farther. He collapsed on the tile floor.

  “We need a doctor!” the nurse shouted, running to his side.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Cade said.

  “You’re badly hurt,” the nurse said, seeing the blood on his arms and legs.

  “But my family’s worse.”

  “What happened?”

  “Our car crashed off the bridge into the river,” Cade said. “They’re still there.”

  The nurse’s eyes widened. “Blindman River?” Cade grimaced as he nodded.

  “That’s a long way from here.”

  A doctor rushed down the hall, wheeling a stretcher. “Let’s get him on here for treatment,” she said.

  “We don’t just need a stretcher,” the nurse said. “We need an ambulance.”

  “Where was the crash?” the driver asked. He opened the front door of the ambulance ready to climb in.

  “The bridge over the Blindman River,” Cade said from the stretcher.

  “So the other victims are on the bridge?”

  “No, they’re down by the riverbank. It mi
ght be tough to find them.”

  The driver fixed his eyes on Cade. “Then you’re coming with us.”

  Two paramedics dressed in blue lifted Cade into the back of the ambulance. “You’ve got some serious wounds,” the man said. “We’re going to stitch you up as we go. We have to stop the bleeding.”

  “And you’re dehydrated,” the woman said, hooking a line from a bag of fluid to his arm.

  “Let’s roll,” the driver said.

  A siren pierced the night air. The ambulance sped away from the hospital. A second emergency vehicle followed close behind.

  Cade lay in the back of the ambulance as it raced toward the bridge. The siren wailed as the paramedics continued to bandage his wounds. He hurt all over.

  “This will help with the pain,” the woman said, handing him a small cup of water and two white pills. Cade blinked his thanks.

  He was weak. He was tired. All he wanted to do was sleep. But Cade needed to know his family was okay. They have to be okay. It was his last thought before passing out.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Cade opened one eye. Just a slit. Just enough to check his wounds. The gashes on his arms were stitched together like Frankenstein. The scrapes on his legs were wrapped in white bandages like The Mummy. He was like a poster boy for a horror-movie double feature.

  He opened his second eye. Day had replaced night. Sunlight shone through a window. He glanced around. He wasn’t in the ambulance anymore. He was in a hospital room. And he wasn’t alone! His mom, dad and Trent were in beds beside and across from him. His grandma and grandpa had just arrived and were about to sit down.

  “We thought you’d never wake up,” his mom said.

  “But you’re no Sleeping Beauty,” Trent joked. “You look pretty beat up.”

  “I had a small accident,” Cade said, managing a feeble smile.

  His mom nodded. “The nurse said you were in bad shape when they found you.”

  “I didn’t know if you guys were going to make it,” Cade said. “You weren’t doing so well when I left you near the bridge.”