Some Are Sicker Than Others by Andrew Seaward Read Free Book Online

around Vicky’s waist. “Here. I want you to put your arms around me. Okay?”
    Vicky nodded and wrapped her arms around him, locking her hands tightly around his neck.
    “Alright, now, I’m going to count to three and I want you to hold on to me as tight as you can, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “Alright. You ready?”
    “Yeah.”
    “One…”
    “Two…”
    “Three!”
    Monty snapped as hard as he could backward, shifting all his weight towards the driver’s seat. But, as he pulled, the car shuddered and began to slide forward, angling into the crevice, first the front then the back. It floated there for a moment, bobbing up and down in the water, until the last shelf of ice cracked and the car began to sink. The water poured in through the pockets in the floorboard, flooding first the engine block then the air conditioning vents. It was so cold that it felt like a wall of concrete crashing down on him, stealing the air right from his chest. He gasped as the water overtook him, pouring over his legs and filling up to his neck. He turned toward Vicky. Her head was already submerged under water, filling up fast past her shoulders and her chest. He took a deep breath then put his head under the water and grabbed hold of the metal that was trapping her legs. He tugged and pulled, trying to pry away the wreckage, but the metal was too slick and he couldn’t get a good grip. So, he picked up his foot and brought it down against it, over and over, trying to weaken the forge. But, he couldn’t do it. He’d become too exhausted and he had to go up for another breath. But there was nowhere to go. The car was now completely filled with water, plummeting towards the bottom like a cinderblock.
    Monty panicked and turned back towards the wreckage and started tugging and pulling as hard as he could. Vicky stopped him and grabbed him by the collar and pulled his face up towards her lips. Her face was a blur in the watery darkness, a small trickle of light coming from the dome lamp overhead. She looked in his eyes and mouthed the words, “I love you,” then brought his hand against her chest. As she opened her mouth, her grip became tighter, her nails digging deeper and deeper into his flesh. Then she stopped struggling and her mouth dropped open. Her head fell limp against his chest. Monty screamed out in a distorted murmur, as a frenzy of bubbles dispersed from his lips. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head upward and emptied his lungs into her mouth. But, it was too late. Her lungs were flooded. There was no room for air left in her lungs.
    In a last ditch effort, he grabbed a hold of the twisted metal and pulled and pulled until his hands became bloodied and raw. But it was useless. The metal was fixed like dried cement. He couldn’t do it. He had to leave her. He was about to run out of breath.
    He turned and took one last look at Vicky then rolled down the window and swam through the small slit. He kicked and pulled his way towards the surface, the beams from the headlights guiding his path. One last thrust and he breached the surface, punching his way through the glassy ice. He reached his hands out for something to grab onto, but there was nothing there so he just floated in the dark, his eyes turned up towards the starless atmosphere, his breath like smoke signals spiraling from his lungs.

 
     
    Chapter 4
     
    Coach Dave
     
     
    DAVE was awakened by the sound of dishes clanging against the steel of the kitchen sink. He opened his right eye first, painfully and slowly, peering around the room like a one-eyed snake. It was only partially light out—the sun was just rising, trickling through the windows and creeping across the lower half of the house. It took him a few moments to recognize his surroundings. It seemed he was downstairs on the living room couch. What was he doing down here? Did Cheryl kick him out of the bedroom last night?
    He took a deep breath and turned himself over, peeling his face from the sticky