The world became a violent, sickening tumble of metal, glass, and screaming engine noise. I felt my torso slam against the seatbelt, the burn on my back sending electric pulses of agony through me. The vehicle rolled twice, three times, crushing metal like a tin can, before crashing through a final thicket of pines and plunging into the blackness below.
The landing was brutal, a bone-jarring halt in frigid water.
The river rushed in through shattered glass, swallowing us whole.
Cold swallowed me. Black water pouring in.
I clawed free of the seatbelt, choking as icy current shoved against me. Cameron was slumped, barely conscious, blood mixing with the river. I hauled him up, fighting to force the door open. My burns screamed. My head throbbed with blinding pressure.
Then the gunfire continued. Bullets ripping the water surface around us. They weren't letting us drown—they wanted us finished.
