She got the hold locked in just as the bungee cord ran out of length. The bounce of it was much more violent than Rachel had expected. She lost her grip on Lisa but, at the same time, she locked her legs around Lisas hips in a crude sort of MMA leg lock shed picked up in the gym several years ago. Lisa still slid down a bit and the shock of the bungees rebound had Rachel reeling, but Lisa was caught.

Damn you, Lisa whimpered. She tried fighting against the lock, but it was only a half- hearted attempt. The water was no more than twenty feet beneath them now, definitely not far enough fall to do any real damage.

They bounced up and then drifted down for a second time as the bungee cord continued to sway and rebound. As it came down the second time, there was a brief sense of falling again as the cord was loosened up on the bridge. Rachel had just enough time to picture the carabiner in that oddly shaped opening within the bolt head, wondering if the carabiner had snapped or come loose, before she felt gravity take her again.

It was sudden, and both women yelled out in shock and surprise. They also flailed wildly on the way down, and Rachel caught one of Lisas elbows to the jaw because of it. They splashed down into the water together, a tangle of legs, arms, and bungee cord.

Aside from the fresh pain in her jaw, Rachel was aware of two things: first, the current of the Harlem River was stronger than she had expected; second, her vision was littered with little white specks and the world seemed to be spinning and throbbing all around her. She had to focus an incredible amount just to move her arms and legs, trying to remind herself how to swim. When her mouth was filled with that first taste of the stagnant water of the river, it all came rushing back to her.

She stroked to the surface and did her best to locate Lisa but the world was still tottering, the disorientation made even worse by the rivers current. There was the dark night sky lurking somewhere around her, and then the dark water somewhere else. She was hovering in between it all, her feet unable to find ground and her eyes unable to properly settle on anything. She did her best to make a turning motion but only made it half a circle before Lisas weight fell on top of her. She could feel the womans hands on top of her head, pushing her down. She went back under the water, her mouth filling with water and her vision once again streaked with those little pinpoint flashes of white light.

In the midst of those flashes, she saw Paiges face. She also saw Grandma Tate, so brave in facing down her diagnosis, so determined to enjoy the time she had left.