Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Still no Kyle.
The water remains hazy with blood when I return to the area I last saw Brian. Rather than swim through it and risk running into the shark, I swim along the wall toward the open stairwell door.
Before I reach it, the dark shadow whizzes in front of me through the door. I stop swimming and tread water, glancing over at Frannie. Her eyes are wide with panic. Before we figure out what to do next, the shark thrashes its way back through the doorway, its tail fin slamming into the doorframe on its way out. It disappears and then charges for me. I raise the broom up and attempt to stab it as it nears. It skirts past me, crashing into the wall and grazing me as it passes.
Groaning and crumbling sounds resound all around me a second before the water goes cloudy gray. Concrete scrapes along my outer arm, causing me to cry out in pain. When I twist around to look for Frannie, I can’t find her.
The wall must’ve come down.
Fuck.
Something touches my leg and I jerk away from it. It touches me again, encircling my ankle. It’s a human hand. I break free and then dive deeper to find the source. When I see Frannie, I nearly sob in relief. But only for a second.
A huge hunk of concrete crushes her leg to the floor. I let go of the broom to try to move the heavy piece off her. It won’t budge.
No!
I start frantically trying to yank it off to no avail. Panic and lack of oxygen have my vision turning dark. We’re so screwed.
Frannie grabs my jaw and forces me to look at her. Then she hands me the first aid kit. I shake my head in vehemence, but she’s already pointing toward the stairwell for me to go.
I can’t leave her.
We already lost Brian. We can’t lose her too.
“Go!” she yells underwater, expelling the last of her breath.
She hits me with her fists in an effort to get me to leave until her arms grow weak and then float around her. Open, lifeless eyes stare back at me.
I consider giving up right now.
Just suck in water and give in to my fate.
We’re never going to survive this shit. Our lives are over. Why keep fighting it?
Kellen will be so upset to have lost two of his employees.
Will he be upset to lose me too?
Yes.
Plus, he still owes me a mega tip.
I attempt one more time to push the concrete off Frannie but fail. With the last of my energy, I swim toward the stairwell. A swell of water surges through the building as I’m going through the doorway. The door slams against my lower back, making everything go black for a moment.
When I come to, I’m disoriented and unsure where I’m at. With no air left and my vision tunneled, I swim in the direction of where I think I can escape the stairs and grab some air.
I almost make it.
So close.
Then I stupidly suck in a breath, but it’s not oxygen.
It’s water and I’m fucked.
Everything goes black for good this time.
Kellen
“What’s taking them so long?” I demand when Kyle slaps a trash bag onto the cement floor beside Barb. “They should be back by now. Hope, how long has it been?”
Kyle, exhausted and heaving with exertion, just groans instead of answering me. Hope frowns at me, telling me my answer.
Too long.
Not long enough for them to survive.
I wince as I make my way down the stairs. The water laps over my dress shoes as I ponder if I need to try to go after them or not. Maybe I can save them.
Hope squeezes my shoulder before sloshing into the water in front of me. “I’m going in.”
“I’m going with you,” I grunt, forcing myself to step into the water that’s been trying its hardest to kill me for nearly twenty-four hours now.
I may not be able to swim, but nothing is going to stop me at this point, not even the fear of drowning.
Upon seeing the determination on my face, she gives me a quick nod and then dips below the surface. I take a deep breath and then also submerge myself. Hope swims quickly away from me, sending bubbles fluttering in front of my face. It takes a second to adjust my eyes and when I do, I freeze.
There’s a body halfway sticking out of the stairwell door.
Tyler.
My heart tightens in my chest as I push off the steps toward the door. Hope pulls Tyler through the opening before handing him to me. Then she disappears through the doorway. I hook my arms around Tyler’s waist, dragging him up the stairwell toward the air. When I finally resurface, lungs burning, I realize he doesn’t take a breath with me.
Fuck!
“No, no, no,” I chant as I heft him up the steps and out of the water. “Stay with me, Tyler.”