Page 26 of The First Hunt (The Final Hunt)
HOLLY
W ater sloshed against the windshield as the headlights sunk beneath the surface, illuminating the dark, murky water. Not seeing the river bottom, her muscles tensed with fear.
Frigid water rushed over her feet, soaking through her sneakers. She fumbled to unlock the seatbelt, but when she pressed a thumb against the release button, it wouldn’t budge. Water rose to her shins as she frantically pushed on the release mechanism.
“Shit.”
It released with a click as water crept over the base of the windshield. She tossed the seatbelt to the side. Thank God. She was free. Now, she just had to swim out. Before she could move, her headlights shut off, leaving her in darkness as more water filled the car.
Holly hyperventilated, more from terror than the cold, as water spilled over the seat.
Her frantic mind latched onto an article she’d written once for the Tribune , a tragic story of a minivan containing a mother and two children that had accidentally driven into Puget Sound while attempting to drive onto a ferry.
At the end of the article, she’d given some safety tips on how to escape a submerged vehicle.
She’d learned not to open the car door, as it would flood the vehicle with water and cause it to sink faster.
Holly pressed the button on the door to open the window. Nothing happened. She swore. Water rose to her waist. The river’s surface lapped against the top of the driver’s side window. Her lungs seized with panic.
She felt the car being dragged backward and downward from the river’s torrent. Only this wasn’t a ride. It was certain death if she didn’t get out soon.
How deep is this river? But her mind was too panicked to think.
Screw it. The car was already flooding with water. She just needed to escape. She reached for the door handle and pushed. But it didn’t budge. She frantically jiggled the door handle while pushing her shoulder against the window.
She’d locked it for safety after climbing inside at the Major Crimes Unit. She felt the door for the power locks and pulled the lever up with her finger. She tried the handle again. Nothing. The water must’ve short-circuited all the electrical power.
“Ahh!” She slammed a hand against the side window in panic.
Her breathing quickened as water rose over her chest. Calm down , her mind screamed. You have to focus. Think.
She leaned over and felt for the glove compartment, now submerged. She pulled it open and swept a hand inside for something she could use to break a window. But all she felt were soggy registration papers, a notebook, a couple of cassette tapes, and a pack of gum.
Then she remembered. My umbrella. She cursed herself for not thinking of it earlier. She always kept one on the floor of the backseat. She twisted and reached behind her as water encircled her neck.
She sucked in a breath and lowered her face underwater as she skimmed the backseat floor with a hand. Her lungs burned as her fingers swept the carpeted mat, not finding it. She turned and got to her knees on the seat, taking a gulp of air from the few inches remaining at the top of the car.
She leaned forward, submerging her head again to feel beneath her seat until her hand closed around the umbrella. She sat tall, taking as deep a breath as her freezing lungs would allow from the shrinking pocket of air beneath the roof.
She turned and thrust the umbrella’s metal handle into the driver’s side window with all her might. It splintered with a crack but didn’t break. She swung it against the window again, hearing another crack. Then a third time.
Water rushed in, filling the top of the car after the umbrella broke through the glass.
Holding her breath, Holly used both hands to bust a larger hole in the glass with the umbrella.
As soon as the hole felt big enough, she swam through the opening, ignoring the pain from a shard slicing her wrist.
She was halfway through when she was pulled backward by her sweatshirt. Air escaped her mouth as she frantically tugged at the fabric. It was stuck.
Holly felt for the zipper and unzipped her hoodie, sliding her arms out one at a time.
Now free, she propelled her arms through the water, kicking her legs once they were out of the car.
Her lungs screamed for air as she swam through the dark, freezing water.
She broke the surface and gasped for air.
Now on the opposite side of the bridge from where her car had gone into the water, she used the light from a nearby streetlamp and swam for the shore.
Numb from the cold, her body was slow to respond to her commands when she reached the overgrown riverbank.
Her teeth chattered and her whole body shivered as she trudged up the hillside, thick with foliage, and looked back at the river.
It struck her how close she’d come to never making it out.
It would’ve taken only a few more minutes.
I’m lucky to be alive, she thought as she continued up the hill.
She thought of the young women who’d been dumped in these waters by the Green River Killer, who were beyond having a chance to escape.
When she reached the top of the hillside, a wild blackberry bush pricked her bare arm, but her skin was too cold to feel any pain.
She trudged toward the road, exhaling with relief to see the dark sedan was nowhere in sight. It had to have been Jared inside that car.
Less than a block away, a white pickup pulled out of an industrial building’s parking area and turned toward her.
Holly stepped into the road, blocking its path and waving her numb arms over her head.
She recalled a witness statement from one of the early Green River Killer victims who had seen the prostitute get into a man’s white pickup the last time she’d been seen alive.
She lowered her hands as the truck slowed. What if she’d escaped Jared only to walk right into the hands of the Green River Killer? Wouldn’t that be ironic. Then, with a shudder, she thought back to what Andy told her earlier: that Jared and the Green River Killer could be one and the same.
The truck’s headlights blurred in her vision as a man stepped out. Holly was vaguely aware that she was swaying on her feet as the man came toward her.
“You okay, Miss?”
The world seemed to spin, like the road was moving beneath her. She stuck out her arms to steady herself before collapsing on the pavement.