Chapter Four: Going Under
When the flood surge lurched the car forward, Don lost his grip on the seatbelt's buckle and was slung into the back of the vehicle. He heard a sickening thud as Charlie's head hit the edge the door frame. But he could only watch in horror as his brother toppled into the raging water, still holding tightly to the little girl.
"NO! CHARLIE!"
Before Don could even try to get back into the front seat, another swell grabbed the car. It was forcefully torn from the branches that had kept it above the water. As the current carried it quickly downstream, the river began to fill the car. Unable to get back into an semi-upright position, Don quickly found himself submerged in the rising water that filled the interior of the vehicle.
Pulling his head back out of the water, Don could hear the branches of the surrounding trees scraping against the sides of the car. The river was in a terrific battle to push the car through the thick boughs of the trees and Don hoped that the trees were going to win. If they could get caught up among the branches again, he would have a chance of getting them out of this car.
The wooded area in the middle of this portion of the L.A. River was only several hundred yards long and assuming they didn't slam into the pillars of the Highway Five Bridge, it was going to be a long ride to the city with nothing to slow them down. And there would be nothing to stop the car from sinking like a stone in the flood waters.
The water began to rotate the car, tossing Don back into the seat as the car flipped again. When the vehicle came to an abrupt halt, he was slung forward, slamming into the dashboard.
The ride had only lasted a few seconds, but to Don it had felt like an eternity. With stars swimming in front of his eyes from his collision with the dash, Don fought to remain conscious.
In those moments, a myriad of thoughts gallivanted through his mind.
This was his fault.
Whoever had been driving those trucks had intentionally pushed their car off the bridge. They must have been following him since he picked Charlie up at the Magnolia Park Lecture Hall…maybe even before. Why didn't they try to get him before he had picked up Charlie? The other car had just gotten in the way.
And now Charlie was gone and at least one of the children with him.
And there was nothing he could do about it.
The young driver of the other car was still unconscious; with her seatbelt still fastened. He had to get her out of this car….out of this river. This was because of him….…..so he had to try.
Fighting off the haze that was clouding his vision, Don quickly unfastened the girl's seat belt. The car was now right side up, so kneeling in the passenger seat; Don was able to pull her out from under the steering wheel. At this point the water was already reaching her shoulders and it would only be seconds before they would be completely submerged.
The passenger door had closed when the car had executed one of its flips. Using Charlie's logic, Don realized the windows were manual and rather than try to open the door again, Don rolled the window down the old fashioned way. He knew he had a better chance of getting them both out of this if they were free floating in the raging water than if they were trapped inside the submerging vehicle. Pulling his upper body out of the open window, Don climbed out onto the roof of the car. Twisting around on the slippery surface, he reached back into the automobile. Using his legs as an anchor, he hoisted the young woman up next to him.
Looking around, Don could not believe that they were still above the water. He was amazed to find that the car was resting against the trunk of a tree.
The last tree.
As Charlie had said, this was the only portion of the channel that had a natural bottom.
And now his life….this girl's life…..was balanced against the trunk of the very last tree.
Even in this instant of pumping adrenaline, overwhelming grief and sheer panic, Don's mind; in an almost Charlie-like fashion, grasped the unlikelihood of such an occurrence.
If only Charlie could have been so fortunate.
Shifting his eyes downriver Don was shocked at the ferocity of the current.
Although the interior was now submerged, the car remained in its unlikely position. Knowing it would not stay there for long, Don moved them across the car to the trunk of the tree.
He hoisted the young woman up over a tree branch and had one arm wrapped around another branch when the tremendous force of the current shifted the vehicle. With his feet still resting on the metal roof of the car, Don pushed upwards trying to clear his legs, but it was too slippery. As the car slid around the tree trunk, Don lost his footing. His left leg slipped between the car and the trunk and before he could attempt to pull his feet up, the raging water pushed the car into the trunk of the tree crushing his ankle between them.
Fighting to maintain his hold on the branch, Don released the air from his lungs in a harsh scream. The pain was excruciating, but the vocalization extended far beyond physical anguish. He felt as it his soul was being crushed along with his ankle. As the car tore itself loose from the trees, Don was almost certain it had taken his foot with it.
The pain left him feeling weak, sick and a little light headed and Don was certain that he would lose his grasp on the branch. From where he was hanging, Don could see the car. He watched as the force of the water completely submerged the vehicle as it crossed under the Highway Five Bridge and began its journey down the canal toward the city.
Tightening his grip on the branch and trying to suppress the intense feeling of loss in his heart, Don frantically searched the trees upstream for any sign of his brother.
"CHARLIE!"
The chances of Charlie having been fully conscious and able to pull himself out of this water were almost non existent, and Don knew it. Nevertheless, the thoughts of Charlie being even semi-consciously aware that he was drowning…..that he way dying made the bile rise in Don's throat and he hoped….No, he prayed, that Charlie never knew what had hit him.
Tearing his thoughts from Charlie and trying to focus on the lives for which he had died trying to save, Don took in his surroundings. He could see that even if he could get back up into the tree, there was nowhere for him to go. They were to far away from the other trees for him to try to make it back up to where Charlie had left the other two children.
Looking down in the raging water, Don knew he could not hold on much longer.
He had prepared himself for the possibility of death long ago. But he had expected a gunfight or a horrible accident during a pursuit…something along those lines. In all of the scenarios he had imagined for his own demise drowning had never even entered his mind.
His independent life insurance policy was in his safe deposit box at the Los Angeles National Bank……Of which Charlie was the listed beneficiary. He tried to remember who his lawyer had listed as the secondary beneficiary, but the memory was far too distant. And he had never considered it very important. Everything had been prepared under the assumption that Charlie, at least, would outlive their father….and him too.
The key to the box was in Charlie's safe.
Charlie's safe……….on the floor in his closet. And Charlie was gone.
Don was hanging knee deep in the river and the chill from the cold water had crept up his legs and through his body. He could feel a sensation somewhere in the core of his being that reminded him of something….. Perhaps being exceedingly intoxicated.
But the numbness he felt in his soul made it hard to fight the numbness in his body.
He felt detached from himself and was certain that his nerves would no longer be able to transmit signals from his brain…and if they could, his body would not obey. But he tried anyway. Attempting to pull his legs out of the water proved a useless expenditure of energy, but he did allow himself a glance at his leg.
Much to his surprise his foot was still there.
Right where it should be.
Don's fingers were starting to grow numb and now he recognized the symptoms of shock and hypothermia as his body began to shake.
He couldn't hold on any longer.
The girl was out of the water and he had done all he could.
Maybe it was time to just let go.
A terrified voice above him caught Don off guard and he almost did release his hold on the branch.
"Oh, God. Hold on."
Before he could respond, a hand grabbed a hold of his.
Don lifted his head and his eyes found a tangled mass of blond hair hanging in his face.
"Hang on, mister. I think I can pull you up."
The young woman he had pulled from the car had regained consciousness and although her shoulders were shaking as badly as his, she somehow managed to lean over the tree limb where he had deposited her and get a good grasp on his arm.
She heaved, trying to pull him out of the water and Don was able to reestablish his grip on the tree branch. After finding a foothold with his good leg and with the young woman's help, Don pulled himself into sitting position on another nearby branch.
The teenager stared in shock at the man who had obviously saved her life. Then her lip started to tremble and her eyes filled with tears.
"The girls….where are the girls?"
Don lifted his hand and rubbed his face. He didn't have the heart to tell her that one of 'the girls' was at the bottom of the river bed somewhere downstream with his own brother and that the two little ones were alone in a tree. He had to concentrate to keep his voice from cracking when he answered her.
"We got them out of the car. They got out."
The chill that was causing her shoulders to quiver was quickly replaced with violent shaking sobs.
Without offering any words of comfort, Don put his arm around the tree trunk and squeezed her hand in what he hoped was a reassuring fashion.
He hadn't exactly lied to her.
They had all gotten out of the car. And there was nothing they could do now. Nothing to do but hold on and wait.
Authors Notes: I am sick. I'm running a fever. I'm unpleasant when I run a fever.
Thank God it's Friday! I'm going to watch Numb3rs now and go to bed. One more week till the start of season three...I'd better write faster.
Chapter Five: For Dear Life
