Submerged (12 page)

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."

"
Don't worry about it. You need to stay calm, and if talking helps you, we'll talk."

"
But your son…"

"
Died. With his mother."

"
How?" she whispered.

There was a long pause before he said,
"In a car accident."

"
Oh God…"

"
Rebecca? Don't go there. That's not going to happen to you and your kids."

She glanced over her shoulder at Colton. He
was reading.

"Do you live alone?" As the words left her mouth, she cupped a hand against her lips and tried not to laugh at her inquisitiveness.

"No. I live with Arizona. And a specter called guilt."

"Arizona? Pretty name. Is she your girlfriend?"

Laughter filled the receiver.

"You could say that," Marcus said, chuckling. "Arizona's my dog. A red setter."

His answer made her smile. "What was your wife's name?"

"
Jane."

"Tell me about her. What was she like?"

"She was smart, funny, quirky sometimes."

"How so?"

"She had a thing for numbers. Numerology. It was a hobby of hers. Threes and sevens, her favorite numbers. Jane planned everything around them."

"I don't know much about numerology, but I do know that thirteen is supposed to be a very unlucky number.
Yesterday was the thirteenth, and last night when I realized that, I almost cancelled my trip." She gave a self-derisive laugh. "I guess I should've. Look where I am now."

"At least it wasn't Friday the thirteenth," he offered.

She snickered. "Yeah, because how much worse would
that
have been?"

Marcus was silent.

Talk about something else, Rebecca.
"Was your wife a stay-at-home mom, or did she have a career?"

"
She was a software designer for BioWare."

Rebecca
frowned. "Didn't they make Jade Empire?"

"
Yeah, among others."

"
My son plays that game. Did your wife create it?"

"
No."

Rebecca checked on Colton, then said,
"It's kind of uncanny, don't you think?"

"
What is?"

"
Colton was playing Jade Empire before we left. And now I'm talking to someone whose wife worked for the company. I think that's weird."

She was rambling now. Anything to keep him on the line.

Marcus let out a soft chuckle. "I guess it
is
weird. It's a small world."

"
That it is." Pause. "So you're a 911 operator."

"
That's me."

"
Superhero."

"
Pardon?"

She smiled.
"A 911 superhero."

She heard him laugh, a pleasant sound.

"You're picturing me in tights and a cape right now, aren't you?" he said. "With 911 blazed across my chest?"

"Something like that. Tell me more about your wife. How did you meet?"

"We started dating in high school. Proves that opposites do indeed attract. Jane was an introverted computer geek, a petite elf of a girl, barely five feet tall. I was the rebellious bad boy who towered over her at six feet."

"She must have felt very protected."

"I guess so."

"What did you do after you graduated?"

"We found a small apartment near the University of Alberta and moved in together—to save money for a wedding five years down the road, after I was well underway with my medical career and could support a wife."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"I thought so too. But even the best of plans can hit a detour."

Someone said something to Marcus, but she couldn
't make out the words.

"
I have to hang up now," he said.

Dread seeped into her bones.
"Can't you stay on for a few more minutes?"

"
Sorry. I'll call back in ten minutes this time."

"Marcus, I hear rushing water. Really close by. Do you think we're in
the water?"

"
Is there water on the floor?"

She peered down. "No."

"If you see water on the floor, call me. I have to go now."

"It's going to seem like forever," she said with a moan.

"I know. But I'll call. I promise. Before I go, I have one last question. Does your husband or anyone else you know own a truck like the one that hit you?"

"No."

They disconnected.

It took a minute for Marcus's last question to sink in.
Wesley?

"
Aren't they here yet?" Colton asked.

"
Not quite."

"
Why were you laughing?"

"
The 911 man said something funny."

"
After you called him a superhero."

She smiled
over her shoulder at her son. "He's going to help rescue us. That makes him a superhero in my mind."

"
You're so lame, Mom."

She laughed.
"Maybe. But you still love me."

Colton grinned.
Beside him Ella stirred. "I think she's waking up, Mom."

Rebecca strained to see her.
"Ella? Ella, honey. Time to wake up."

Ella gave a soft moan
.

"
She still feels kinda cold, but she's not wheezing so much now," Colton said.

"
Thank you, honey. You're doing a great job taking care of Ella."

"
Ella-Bella," he said in a sad tone.

She saw him reach out and stroke Ella
's face. Colton was a caring big brother. When he wanted to be. When she
needed
him to be. For all their sibling rivalry, her children loved each other, and Rebecca couldn't ask for more than that.

She
shut her eyes. Total exhaustion was setting in.

"
Mom, you want some water?"

"
Sure."