The bus succumbed quickly to the weight of the water. Its windows were now only inches above the surface.

“Please, Logan!” O’Dell cried. He yanked on Cole’s arm with both hands. “Help me! Help me!”

Cole drove his shoulder against the current, planting his feet on the side of the bus for leverage. He pulled with everything he had, but the effort was futile.

“Your pads!” Cole screamed.

“Help me, please . . .”

“Your shoulder pads! You have to get out of your pads!”

O’Dell just shook his head in panic. “Help me, Cole! Help!”

The windows fell below the surface. A wave of water rushed into the vehicle. O’Dell fought to keep his head above the waterline, but the bus sank too quickly. The tailback went under. Still, his grip held firmly on Cole’s arm.

Within seconds the roof was submerged.

Cole squirmed to break free but couldn’t. He was pulled under. The bus sank deeper as Cole thrashed feverishly at its side. A gurgling scream depleted his lungs of his last breath.

Total darkness had surrounded him by the time O’Dell’s hands finally went limp and fell away.

Now free, Cole clawed for the surface, sucking in water with every stroke. Seconds passed. When he was sure he couldn’t go any farther, lightning flashed, revealing the surface only a few feet above him. Complete panic spurred his limbs into a single final stroke.

He broke the surface.

Fighting to stay conscious, he rolled onto his back. His lungs burned. His strangled coughs purged water from his chest.

He gave himself over to the river, floating listlessly at its mercy.

The rapids eventually subsided where the river peeled into a gradual bend. Minutes later the drift steered Cole toward the bank. When he felt earth beneath him, he turned onto his stomach and crawled the rest of the way onto the flat sandbar.

The last thing he saw before blacking out was a lone figure rushing toward him along the bank.

CHAPTER 14

WE’RE all gonna get the chair for this!” Tommy Larkin said, squeezing a fistful of his hair in each hand.

Booker put a finger to his lips. “Shh. No, we’re not! Not if we play our cards right. And keep your voice down, you dumb shit. Act cool!”

“Act cool? We just murdered an entire goddamn football team! I thought Manny said the bridge was sound … remember, Carnegie and all that shit!”

“Kiss my ass, Tommy,” Manny said. “I knew exactly what I was doing. It wasn’t my fault that bus driver had no control over his vehicle. He must have been a damn maniac.”

“Manny’s right,” Booker said. “That fucker must have been crazy.”

Tommy was hearing none of it. “They drowned, you idiots! We just drowned forty people!”