Submerged

Marcus bit his lip and looked over his shoulder at Leo, who gave him a questioning look. It wasn’t usual protocol to give out their names. There were rules the 911 operators had to follow, and one of them was anonymity.

“Please,” she whispered.

To hell with the rules.

“Marcus,” he said. “My name’s Marcus.”

Chapter Fourteen

Near Cadomin, AB – Friday, June 14, 2013 – 11:17 PM

Rebecca gave Detective Zur as much information as she could, then closed the phone and wiped away the tears. “They’re coming to find us, Colton.”

“How’ll they know where we are?”

“They can track my phone call. There’s a cell tower close by, so they know we’re in the area.”

She scrunched her eyes and tried to make out their surroundings. The rain was still coming down, but it had lessened somewhat. Minutes earlier, when she’d tried the engine, it sputtered to life as if it were on its last breath. Only one headlight lit up, and it revealed that they’d crashed into a copse of trees. With the headlights on high and the emergency lights flashing, she kept the interior lights turned on and fiddled with the switches on the dashboard.

Don’t kill the battery.

After the heat inside reached sweat-mode, she turned the engine off and put it back to accessory mode. She’d turn it on again once the air cooled.

She tried to ignore the intense fear that raced through her. She’d never be able to drive out of here. That meant they’d have to sit and wait for someone to find them. What if no one did?

She glanced at the phone. In five minutes Marcus would call back.

“While we’re waiting, I want you to do some exercises, Colton.”

“Exercises?”

“I need to know you’re okay.”

Behind her Colton let out a huff. “I’m fine, Mom. My leg doesn’t even hurt.”

“Do this for me, okay?”

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Raise your arms above your head and tell me if anything hurts.”

He did. “Nothing.”

“Does your head hurt or your neck?”

“Nope.”

“What about your good leg? Can you move it?”

“Yup.” Colton nudged the back of her seat with his uninjured foot in response, oblivious to her quiet gasp of anguish.

“What about your other leg?” she said between breaths. “Is it bleeding?”

“Don’t know. I can’t see much except for my knee.”

“Does your knee hurt?”

“Nope.”

“What about when you touch it?”

Colton let out a sigh. “My knee’s fine, Mom.”

Rebecca held her breath, then blew it out slowly. “Can you wiggle your toes on both feet?”

There was a pause that made her heart stop.

“Yes.”

Relief flooded her. “Okay, good.”

“You want me to do jumping jacks next?”

She laughed. “Very funny, tough guy.”

“And you can do push-ups.”

She grinned. One thing about Colton, he always knew how to make people laugh. And right now she needed anything to distract her from the predicament they were in—even if laughing hurt.

“Now check on your sister,” she said.

“She’s the same.”

“Try to wake her up.”

She heard rustling in the back of the car and Colton’s soft voice urging Ella to open her eyes.

“She’s still asleep,” Colton said in a glum tone.

Frustration and panic made Rebecca push her hands against the steering wheel, praying for even an inch of space so she could slide out. She screamed silently. Let me out of here! I have to help my children!

But she was still stuck.

Two more minutes until Marcus’s call.

She thought about the faceless man who had answered her distress call. It must be difficult to listen to calls like hers every day. She could imagine some of the calls he’d get. Accident victims… battered wives… children. He couldn’t possibly save them all. How did he deal with that?

Her phone rang.

“Marcus?” she said.

“How are you all doing?”

“As good as we can. Colton can wiggle his toes.”

“That’s a good sign.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“We’re still looking for you. Unfortunately we have a few calls we’re handling right now.”

“What does that mean?”

“Means it could take some time to find you.”

“What do we do until then?”

“Keep monitoring Colton and Ella. How’s she doing?”

“The same.”

“How are you doing?”

She took in the blood on her shirt. “Ask me that when we’re out of here.”

“We’ve tried to reach your husband at home, but there’s no one there. Is he at work?”

“He doesn’t live with us.” She hesitated, then added, “We’re separated.”

“Where can we reach him?”

“He went to Fort McMurray for a job interview. Wesley has a cell phone though.” She gave him the number.

“We’ll let you know when we reach him.”

“Thank you.” She closed her eyes and took a long breath. “Marcus, are you married?”

There was an awkward pause.

“I was. Once.”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to pry. I don’t want you to hang up again.”

“I can stay on for a few minutes. Keep checking that bar.”

“I will.” She moistened her dry lips. “Were you married for a long time?”

“Long enough, I guess.”

“Kids?”

She heard muffled sounds before he replied, “I had a son. Ryan.”

Had.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be asking you these things.”