Chapter 7 - The Edge of the Abyss
The metallic screech of the SUV sliding across the wet wood cut through the roar of the storm.
Daniel desperately dove away from the vehicle, landing face-first in the thick mud on the riverbank.
Vanessa screamed in panic from the driver’s seat, slamming on the brakes, but it was completely useless.
The heavy car teetered terrifyingly on the jagged, broken edge of the ruined bridge.
I shoved my weapon back into its holster and sprinted onto the collapsing wooden structure.
The unstable boards groaned and buckled beneath my boots with every frantic step.
"Claire, fall back!" Agent Jenkins yelled from the shore, rushing forward with a thick rescue rope.
I ignored her command entirely, throwing myself onto the slippery hood of the hanging vehicle.
The sudden added weight caused the back wheels to lift dangerously off the wooden planks.
I scrambled to the rear passenger door and desperately yanked on the cold metal handle.
It was firmly locked from the inside.
I slammed my elbow brutally against the tempered glass, but it didn't even crack.
Below us, the raging brown river roared like a hungry monster, eager to swallow us whole.
I pulled out my heavy steel flashlight and smashed it against the corner of the window with all my remaining strength.
The glass shattered inward, showering my sedated mother in sparkling, harmless cubes.
I reached through the jagged frame and forcefully unlocked the heavy door.
Mom was completely unresponsive, her head lolling to the side as I grabbed her shoulders.
"Come on, Mom, you have to wake up right now!" I pleaded, struggling to pull her dead weight out of the seat.
Suddenly, the passenger door on the other side of the car flew open violently.
Vanessa climbed over the center console, completely abandoning the steering wheel.
She grabbed my mother’s ankles and viciously yanked her backward into the sinking vehicle.
"If we don't get her money, nobody gets it!" Vanessa screamed like an absolute lunatic over the storm.
She raised a heavy steel wrench and swung it wildly toward my face.
I ducked just in time, feeling the wind of the weapon pass mere inches from my skull.
I grabbed Vanessa’s wrist with both hands and twisted it sharply until she shrieked in pain and dropped the tool.
I used my legs to brutally kick her backward into the front seat.
With one massive, desperate heave, I pulled my mother out through the shattered door.
The sudden shift in weight was the final straw for the doomed vehicle.
The SUV violently slipped off the edge, plunging downward into the dark, churning water below.
Vanessa's terrified screams were instantly cut short as the river swallowed the car entirely.
I collapsed backward onto the wooden bridge, clutching my unconscious mother tightly to my chest.
I breathed a massive sigh of relief as Sarah dragged us safely back onto the muddy shore.
But as the lightning flashed brightly across the sky, illuminating the dark riverbank, I froze in absolute horror.
Daniel was completely gone.
He had used the chaotic distraction to slip away into the dense, flooded forest.
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And a set of deep, muddy footprints showed that he hadn't fled empty-handed.
He had stolen one of the state troopers' loaded assault rifles from an unlocked cruiser.
