Chapter 20

February was always one of the coldest months and tended to be the month with the most accumulation of snow. It wasn't uncommon to see temperatures dip down into the negative twenties or thirties with wind chill. That was just part of living in the far northern suburbs of Chicago. A common joke was that if temperatures reached into the forties or fifties then it would be prime beach weather.

"What time does it start again?" She asked swiping her finger along the surface of her phone to scroll through various screens. Long brown hair with a slight curl covered her head as she glanced up at the road from the passenger side seat.

"Seven thirty I think. Just pull it up on the website." The young man driving the vehicle answered her while turning a knob on the steering wheel to lower the speed of the windshield wipers. Snow had been falling rapidly for the past few hours, but finally had started to relent making it much easier to drive.

"We're going to be late." The woman chided making the driver roll his eyes.

"You want to drive?" His response made her laugh and shake her head.

"I want popcorn!" The sound of an excited high pitched voice called out from the rear seats where a small little blonde haired girl bounced up and down in her car seat.

"When we get there alright? If we get there in time that is." She added the jab at the end for no reason except to irritate the man driving.

"I'm going to make you walk home mom."

"You would make your poor mother walk home in the snow?"

"Make her walk! Make her walk!" The little girl began a chant from the back making the two up front laugh.

"My own daughter turns on me as quickly as my son. A sad day this is." She tapped on the screen of her phone turning it towards the driver seat.

"What's it say? Seven thirty?" He could only steal a quick glance at the phone since he was paying attention to the road so his mother pulled it back and nodded.

"Seven thirty it is."

"Yay! Popcorn!" Tiny arms flew up into the air as his little sister cheered loudly. Her voices pitch rose into a yelp as the car lurched suddenly to one side. The phone in his mother's hand flew from her grasp as she grabbed for the handle above the door.

"Hang on!" The young man yelled cranking the wheel into the slide trying to correct the vehicle that had hit a patch of black ice.

"Oh god!" His mother cried out as the car broke through the guardrail and plummeted over the edge of the bridge. Their stomachs turned from the freefall, the car rotating nose down so they could see the frozen lake rushing up to meet them.

Immense pain mixed with a tingling sensation all over his entire body finally brought him back to his senses. Water was pouring in through various gaps and cracks in the windshield of the car. He was covered in a large amount of white powder from the airbag that had deployed. The internal lights flickered a few times and his hearing began to come back as he heard the sound of his sister crying in the back.

"Mom…" It hurt to speak as he reached down unbuckling his seat belt. Water was nearly up to his knees now and he turned towards the passenger seat. His mother was hunched over blood streaming down her face from where it had impacted into the console. The airbag had failed to deploy and with shaking hands he reached over to push her back into the seat. The cries from his sister grew louder and he was now very much aware of the freezing water sapping the strength from his body.

"Help me! Help!" The cries of his sister echoed in the car as it continued to sink further into the frozen lake.

"Come on mom wake up!" He shouted to try and wake her, but her eyes never opened no matter how much he shook her. It was only when the sound of cracking began that his attention shifted to the windshield. Like a growing spider web, lines raced along the surface from the growing pressure of the water.

"No!" He tried to turn towards the space between the two seats that would allow him to reach the back, but the windshield gave way before he could, sending ice cold water flowing into the car. The sharp sting of the water stabbed into his body numbing him completely and making it impossible to draw breath normally. With a quick gasp he took in as much air as he could before the car filled and pushed in between the seats.

The lights continued to flicker allowing minimal light to see underwater. Coupled with the natural blurriness that came from trying to see underwater and he was hard pressed to find what he was looking for. At last he found the button that held the main latch in place of his sister's car seat and pressed it. Two metal clips came free leaving a final clip that went across her chest needing to be released. Her arms and legs flailed wildly in the water as he ran his hands up the straps until he found where they met in the center.

It was a simple plastic mechanism where one side slid into the other until it locked. He pulled himself closer trying to see better and saw that the inner piece was bent in a way that was making it impossible to release. His heart raced as he heard her screams underwater making him pull on the straps as hard as he could. His own lungs were burning from holding his breath and the water was making his hands unable to open and close properly.

That was when he noticed the silence. Katie was her name. Three years old just last October. He was close enough to see her lifeless eyes staring into his own as her arms floated ahead of her in the water. She was too little to know how to hold her breath very well. Her lungs too small to hold enough oxygen to give him the time he needed to free her. As if mocking him further, the clip opened in his hand freeing her from the car seat.

He pushed backwards clutching the girl in his arms until he swam out the front of the broken windshield. There was nothing he could do for his mother still trapped inside, but if he could get Katie out maybe there was still a chance. His limbs pushed against the water frantically fighting not only against the cold, but the explosion of pain in his lungs. He would be forced to take a breath within seconds and then it would be over. It was too dark to see anything and he prayed that the surface was near and that they would come up where the ice had broken.

His mouth opened gasping for air as he broke the surface near the edge of the ice. He flung his sister over onto the surface before pulling himself up and out of the water. His body shook violently from the cold and he quickly slid next to the girl. Her face was blue and he began performing CPR to try and revive her. He could hear voices high above on the bridge, but ignored them as he continued to press down gently on the little girl's chest. He leaned down covering her mouth with his own breathing oxygen into her lungs.

All he could hear was her voice crying out for help as tears began to fall from his face. He continued pushing her chest, trying to jump her heart. Each breath into her lungs he hoped to see her eyes flutter. Three years old was too young, but as he found out that night. Death does not discriminate.

"I…I couldn't save her. I couldn't save anyone." Jayce was shaking while clutching the blanket. Jemza hopped from the bed and ran over to him not caring that she was in a thin shirt and shorts. None of that mattered to either of them right now. She fell on him wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She could feel her own eyes watering now. This was what he had been holding in. What had been haunting him and why seeing that little girl NPC had affected him so much. It was why he refused to let her hand go regardless the risk it had on himself.

"I killed them…" She shook her head against him denying his words even as he was saying them.

"It's not your fault Jayce. None of it." There was no hiding anything now. She could tell from the way he shook and the sound of his cries that this was years of pent up regret. More than regret, it was a guilt that was immeasurable. Was she wrong for asking him to open up like he had? Had she gone too far?

"I can't save anyone." His voice cracked as she pressed his head against her chest leaning her cheek on the top of his head. No, he needed to face his demons. Just like she would need to, and if he was strong enough to do it beside her then maybe she could be strong enough to do the same. Once he healed from his past, she would make that leap, but for now he needed her.

"You saved me. Twice actually. You didn't have to, but you did. None of it is your fault." She ran her fingers through his hair while he continued to sob, gripping the back of her shirt tightly. Being beside him like this made her realize something that she could not deny. Argo hinted that he would do anything to make sure he never lost someone he loved again. Now, she swore that she would do the same.