I pulled hard. The door swung open a couple of inches, then slammed into an obstruction and refused to move. There was no room for Karly to escape. I yanked repeatedly, trying to get it loose, but the car was trapped against the riverbank, with a wall of dirt and stone blocking the door from opening farther.

The chassis of the car seesawed as the river assaulted it. A solid shock would set it free. I wedged my foot against the side of the bank and pushed. Again. Again. And again. The car shimmied drunkenly but stayed where it was. I thrust hard with both feet, feeling each effort screaming in my lungs. My chest was on fire, and I was running out of time. My air was almost gone, and I needed to breathe or die. Those were the only two choices.

My whole body coiled into a tight spring. I bent both knees, levered my feet against the mud, and snapped every muscle, every atom of energy I had, into one last ferocious kick. The car lurched in the water. The frame rose up. Something shifted hard, and the entire vehicle floated free. Almost instantly, the current grabbed hold of it and shot the car downstream. Suddenly unobstructed, the door swung wide open, nearly ripped from my hand. I spun wide and felt the car pulling me behind it, like a rider unsaddled by a horse. The wheels hit the riverbed, and as the frame somersaulted, I heard a groan of metal bending, threatening to tear. I reached out for the interior of the car.

Karly reached back to me.

We had one instant together. Just one.

Our hands met. Her fingers laced with mine. I felt the touch of her skin. As I pulled hard, her body spilled out of the car, and then I released her. Like a rocket, she rose upward toward the surface of the river inches away. Somewhere above me, she broke into the night air, rain on her face, sweet oxygen filling her lungs.

I let go, too. I had no time left.

I kicked hard to follow her, but just as my arms broke through the surface, I jerked to a stop and felt my body pulled downward again. I tried to rise, to get free, to float, to swim, but an incredible weight held my leg in its grasp and wouldn’t let go. I pulled hard, but I was caught.

The seat belt.

My ankle was trapped in the seat belt. The vast beast of the car dragged me with it downstream. I bent over, trying to free myself, but as the current spun us around, the knot wrapped itself around my leg. I pulled desperately, but I could feel the car and the river laughing at my efforts.