Chapter 1. The rescue
"Come on we're going to be late!" Dana called even as Ryan Wheeled himself into the Mitchell kitchen.
"I'm right here you don't have to shout!" The blond haired young man shouted back and she rolled her eyes. then she fluffed her blond curls over the collar of her parka, it was nearly Thanksgiving and although the weather was relatively mild there was still a distinct chill to the air.
"I just don't want to miss the movie." She said.
"come on, you've seen it a dozen times.' He shot back.
"So I like it." She retorted even as she held the door open.
"I know." He made a revolted sound as she sent the wheelchair lift descending."
"Shut up, you love it."
"Right, like a root canal."
"Well you don't have to come you know, I can go to the movies by myself."
"Right and then every guy in town will hit on you."
"Ryan I'm not a little girl." She said in weary annoyance. They'd been arguing about her maturity since she was sixteen. Sometimes her big brother could be such a pain.
"So you're still my little sister." He said and she sighed as he secured his chair.
"And you're still a pain." Dana muttered good naturedly. She loved sparring with Ryan, it was one thing both did on a regular basis. As she drove to the multiplex in the center of town her mind touched on the coming Holiday. Thanksgiving like Christmas was a big deal in the Mitchell household. It had been ever since they were kids but lately it was more so. Ever since Dad had gotten the position of fire chief he'd been so busy, they'd rarely see him. Her and Ryan's time at Mariner Bay University didn't help that matter either.
"What's that all about?" Ryan asked and she blushed realizing he'd heard.
"Nothing, I was just thinking." She shrugged.
"Right, sigh is not thinking. You were thinking about a guy." He said and she rolled her eyes.
"Ryan have I told you that your annoying?" She asked and he just smirked.
"And always right. "
"Dream on." She laughed and they rounded another bend.
Dana made to cross the bridge when she saw it, the car going over the side.
"Here, call it in!" She said pulling off to one side. Ryan caught the phone midair.
"Dana you have to wait for help!" He was calling even as she hopped from the van.
Not listening to anything but the resounding crash of the car into the water Dana ran across the bridge in front of the van. She barely spared a second as she looked down at the car where it now had gone into the river.
***
The water was icy as she broke the surface, she didn't notice. She had one thing in mind, save them, save them, the same thought raced through her mind as she reached the car, it was upside down, she could barely make out the figure in the drivers seat.
"No…" She thought and was trying to open the door. It wouldn't budge, she knew she didn't have that much time before she ran out of air, she was a paramedic but she was not a good diver. She'd have to surface.
What Dana saw next sent vile rising into her throat, there were children trapped into the backseat. The little girl was crying and pounding her fists against the door while her brother was slumped on the seat. "No!" She mad up her mind then, it would be difficult with the water giving resistance but she had to break the rest of the windshield. Unthinking she slammed her elbow into the cracked glass with all the strength she had.
It gave a little, she did it again, the cold of the water didn't register, the fact that she was running out of air was forgotten as she slammed her elbow against the window. The pain screamed through her arm but she ignored it as the glass cracked. Using her fist she hit it again and widened the whole until it was the whole window.
*****
Carter Grayson turned the channel to his second favorite country station and slowed before he got to the bridge.
"What's this?" He wondered aloud seeing the van pulled off to the side. There looked to be no one inside but he thought he saw a figure in a wheelchair moving down the side of the bridge, and then he spotted the broken railing. Pulling in behind the van he climbed from the cab.
*****
Pushing into the window she had a second to make a choice, the children or the mother? There was no choice for Dana, not when she'd been that little girl. Moving between the seats, she managed t unlatch first the girls belt then the boys.
Knowing there wasn't much time and that the little girl was scared but more conscious than her brother she made a face, pinching her own nose, the little girl did it too and then Dana grabbed for the little boy. Dana motioned to the little girl to crawl out the window.
Dana was just coming out when the little girl let go of her hand, Panic hit her. Was the child unconscious? Turning her head she found the man taking her from her. She nodded topside and he gave a brief nod before kicking upward.
*****
Dana surfaced first gulping greedily at the air as she kicked her feet, propelling herself towards the bank. She was stunned to find Ryan there, he was out of the chair, on the ground and even as the other man reached the side and handed the little girl off to him she felt her own strength giving. No, she couldn't let it, she had to get the lady… .
"Op…' And she sank below the surface. She lifted the child so his head was above the water.
*****
"Take her!" Carter called lifting the little girl towards the other man. He took her with out question.
Carter turned in time to see the boy's head breaking the surface of the water. He had seen that the child was limp so now he was swimming like mad.
*****
"Just hang on!" Ryan called to the little girl as he eased himself from his chair. Gently he lifted her, stripping out of his own coat to wrap her in it.
"What's going on?" A man asked coming down the hill and the little girl started to cry.
"Robby, Robby…" The child wailed, Daddy…" She sobbed.
"Car accident." Ryan said checking the child for injuries.
"Take him!" Carter shouted even as Chad splashed into the water.
"Anyone else?"
"The driver and… "Where was the woman? She'd brought up the boy, did she go back down? She couldn't have that much air left. Carter turned to dive back in not bothering to complete his sentence.
Having worked around water for years the man knew the boy in his arms was in trouble, he was turning blue. He didn't even bother running him back up the hill, he lay him in the brush and began C.P.R.
*****
Dana reached the car and began to fight with the seat belt still fascine over her. She was still unconscious and Dana knew logically that she'd be lucky if the woman was still alive but she couldn't, wouldn't leave her there. She felt as if the professional mode she'd gone into was falling away. She felt the dizziness kicking in and fought to stave it off, she wasn't finished.
Finally she got it and she began to pull the woman free when she realized she was stuck. Dana felt panic hit again, she didn't have time, and neither of them did. She moved in to try and see where it was caught and would have gasped if she had the air. Her shoe, a snow boot was caught beneath the seat. She levered her hands so she could duck down
Even as she felt her right arm protest. She tried to ignore it but between that and the lack of oxygen she knew she was out of time. Then she felt it…
*****
He watched as the child spit up nearly an ocean and felt only slightly relieved, he was still unconscious. The little girl, Jenny had crawled over, leaving Ryan to look after her.
The blond young man looked from the girl to the water, where was she? Dana couldn't have this much air? It was killing him; she was down there, in the one situation where he couldn't protect her. She'd managed to save one child but what about her? Were there more in the car? No, he'd heard the one man tell the other that there was only a driver left. Sudden images of another crash filled his mind and Ryan tried to fight them back.
"Dad Save me!" His grip was slipping, he was going to die. Glancing up he saw Dana, their dad had her about the middle, and His other hand clung to a tree root.
"Daddy I'm scared!" Dana was crying and Ryan felt himself start to fall.
"Ryan!" His father cried and then nothing…
The arrival of the emergency workers brought Ryan out of the past and he looked to the water, he still didn't see them. But the man who'd been working on the boy was diving into the water.
*****
The sight that greeted him stopped Carter's heart. The woman who'd freed the children was wedged in the front of the car head down. What was going on? He didn't take time to think about it as he managed to push his head through as well. It was bad, she had passed out, he felt as if he couldn't think, the choice before him was one no one should ever have to make, the girl or the driver.
Catching her around the shoulders, he managed to pull her out. He was just emerging fully when he felt something brush against him. Glancing over he saw the man from the top. The man motioned for him to go and Carter didn't even think twice he began kicking towards the surface.
TBC
***
Note: Ok, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter.
Lady Lightspeed: I'm glad there are others out there too thinking along these lines.
cmar: I know that I only mainly focused on Dana's pov in the first part but in the next few chapters you'll see why. And yes I'll cover many of the characters from PLR. AS for the punctuation we're working on it. We're bothe visually impared so we sometimes miss things we'd catch otherwise.