by BJ Bourg
Cade began squirming and yelling that his ribs were hurting.
“Shut up and stop moving!” I yelled. “If I drop you, you’re going to die—”
A brilliant flash of lightning suddenly lit up the path before me. I grunted and tried to stop in my tracks, but my boot slipped against the wet ground and my feet went airborne. Cade screamed as he went down with me, but his cries were cut short by the dark water that enveloped us and shut off our air supply.
I sank deep and fast into the canal as Cade’s dead weight pushed me rapidly toward the bottom. Because his hands were cuffed to his waist, he was unable to do anything to save himself and he wriggled violently about. Before I could push him off of me, my back made contact with the bottom of the canal. I reached out and tried to push off, but my left arm sank to the elbow in the soft mud.
In that instant, I knew the danger I was in. I was going to die if I didn’t do something immediately. I became very calm and everything seemed to slow to a crawl. Cade was still struggling and his movements were pushing me deeper into the deathtrap. I felt the mud embracing my shoulders and legs, threatening to bury me alive. My lungs were screaming for air and I had to resist the urge to attempt a breath, knowing it would accelerate my demise.
Still struggling to free my left arm, I wrapped my right arm around Cade and pushed him toward my left. He resisted and I had to use my legs to sweep him over. Once he was off of me, I pushed against his chest with my right hand and jerked my left hand free from the mud. It worked, but it shoved him deeper into the slop. I clutched on to the chain around his waist and jerked on it, but it was no use. He was stuck. I tried several more times, but the suction was too strong to break.
Unable to hold my breath any longer, and knowing his only chance of surviving was if I did, I pushed off of him with my boot and shot to the surface of the canal.
As soon as my head broke free from the water, I sucked in a lungful of air and then another. I took a third breath and held it, then plunged back under, heading straight for Cade’s location. When I got to him, I immediately realized he wasn’t moving. I grabbed the chain around his waist and gave it another jerk, but it only served to pull me into him.
Careful not to bury my foot, I began pressing against the bottom of the canal with my sole, feeling for solid ground. After what seemed like entirely too long, I located a thick tree branch stuck in the mud. My lungs were screaming again and I scrambled to get both feet positioned solidly on the branch. Once they were, I grabbed the chain and jerked as hard as I could. Cade’s body broke free from the mud and I pulled him around until his back was against my chest. Wrapping my left arm around his neck in a rear-naked choke, I shoved off of the branch, propelling us upward. Kicking with my legs and paddling with my right arm, I fought desperately to get him to the surface. I knew every second counted. If he was deprived of air for too long, there would be no resuscitating him.
When I thought I could no longer hold my own breath, I finally broke the surface of the water. I was disoriented and began staring around, searching desperately for the nearest shore.
“London! Where the hell are you?”
The voice, which sounded a lot like Dawn, broke through the fog in my brain and I realized it was coming from behind me. The rain was still falling in sheets, but the lightning was flashing less frequently. I spun around in the water, trying to see through the darkness.
“I’m here!” I lunged forward, swimming toward the shore and dragging Cade along with me.
“Kevin, grab a branch and get over here,” Dawn called. “Keep coming toward my voice, London. You’re almost here.”
“I don’t see any branches,” Kevin said.
“To hell with it…” I heard a splash of water and within seconds Dawn was beside me. She wrapped an arm around Cade. “I’ve got him. Get to the shore and help me pull him out.”
I released my hold on Cade and swam toward the bank, careful not to put my feet down in the sloppy bottom when I reached the shallows. When I was close enough, I reached for the bank and tried to pull myself up, but I slipped and fell back into the water.
“Here, take my hand,” Kevin called from somewhere in the darkness directly in front of me. Lightning flashed and I finally saw him kneeling just to my left. I grabbed his hand with one of mine and clawed at the bank as he pulled me to the shore.
As soon as I was on solid ground, I spun around and reached for Dawn, who had made it to the bank. I hollered at Kevin to grab Cade, and he did. Once we were all on the shore, I rolled Cade to his back and began pumping his chest.
Kevin stabilized his neck and tilted his head back, waiting for his turn to give rescue breaths. Once I gave him the signal, he went to work. Cade’s chest rose with every breath he gave and I was encouraged. When he was done, I performed more chest compressions, and then leaned back so he could deliver more rescue breaths. We continued taking turns and performed CPR for what seemed like an hour, stopping every now and then to check for a pulse. The rain had stopped and the clouds parted, allowing the moon to coat the area in a dim glow. It offered us just enough light to see what we were doing. During one of my breaks, I stole a glance at Cade’s face. It looked pale and lifeless.
CHAPTER 33
“He’s gone, London.” Dawn grabbed my shoulders and pulled on me. “It’s over.”
“No! We’ve got to keep going. We have to revive him.” I leaned back over Cade and began pushing against his chest. “Come on, Kevin, give him some more breaths.”
In the pale glow from the moon, I could see Kevin frown. “She’s right, London. He’s dead.”
I sank to a seated position and stared down at his lifeless body. I felt a sense of disappointment that was mixed with anger and frustration. The fact that he was dead wasn’t the real issue. I’d responded to countless death scenes throughout my career, but those deaths had taken place before my arrival and were out of my control. I’d also taken a few lives in the line of duty, but those killings had been intentional—and necessary.
Cade’s death was different. Not only had I not intended for him to die, but I’d tried my damnedest to keep him alive and I’d failed. His life was in my hands and I let him down.
I began second-guessing my actions. What if I’d tried something different? Would the results have been the same, or would he still be alive?
“Damn, I really screwed up,” I said. “I thought I could bring him back.”
“Don’t you say that,” Dawn said. “It was an accident.”
“No, it was a bad plan. I was pinned to the bottom by his weight, so I flipped him off of me and used him as a springboard to get out of the water and get some air to go back after him,” I explained. “While I was getting air, he drowned down there—like I figured he would—but I thought I’d have enough time to get him to shore and revive him. I miscalculated how long it would take to get him out of the canal. I should’ve stayed down there longer before coming up for air. Now he’s dead because of it.”
“You risked your life to get him away from that tornado and then you risked your life again to get him out of the canal. You did everything you could…and more than most would’ve done.”
“It wasn’t enough. He drowned at the bottom of that canal while he was chained up like a wild animal.” I scowled. “No one deserves to go out like that.”
“Stop second-guessing yourself.” She touched my face with her hand. “You did everything you could to save him—and it was a valiant effort. Had you waited any longer to get some air, you’d both be at the bottom of that canal and he would’ve had zero chance of making it out alive. You were his only hope and you gave him a fighting chance.”
I stared into the dark shadows where Dawn’s eyes were and I knew what she was saying was correct. In that moment of truth, I had assessed the situation—viewed it rapidly from a dozen angles—and mapped out the best possible plan of action for both of us to survive. I had then executed it decisively and without hesitation. Had I remained pinned under Ca
de and failed to act, we’d both be dead. Had I waited longer to go up for air, we both would’ve drowned. Had I done anything other than what I did, they’d be dragging the depths of the murky water for two bodies.
I took another deep breath and slowly exhaled, allowing the doubt to flow out of me with the air. I’d done enough mental preparation in my career to know that the self-doubt and second-guessing was normal. I reflected coolly and objectively on the situation, silently talking myself through the entire event, from beginning to end, and worked through every possible scenario and every possible conclusion. I then reassured myself I’d done everything I possibly could have to save Cade’s life. When I was done, I turned to Dawn and nodded. “Like I’ve said before, you’d make an excellent sniper.”
“Like I’ve said before,” Dawn countered, “if you want to go on that date…”
I smiled, but suddenly stopped and cursed out loud.
“What is it?” Dawn asked.
“Cade was supposed to tell us who killed Wilton and that old man.” I slapped my forehead. “Now we may never know who did it. Shit! What are we supposed to do now?”
“We’ll follow up on other leads.”
“What other leads? Cade was our only lead.”
“We’ll dig up more information and we’ll get to the bottom of—”
“Hey, where in the hell is Stella?” Kevin hollered from several yards away. He began walking frantically back and forth along the bank of Dead Man’s Canal. “Stella! Stella! Can you hear me?”
Dawn and I scrambled to our feet.
“When was the last time you saw her?” Dawn asked.
Kevin shrugged. “I thought she was right behind me when the tornado passed.”
I walked to the water’s edge and scanned the area. The moonlight was beaming off of the canal, but there was no sign of movement on the glassy surface. I tilted my head to listen. Everything in the immediate area was ghostly quiet. Off in the far distance, I heard sirens wailing and I figured the tornado had made its way into civilization. I said a silent prayer that there had been no further loss of life.
I snatched the radio from my belt and keyed it up to call for support. Nothing happened. “Shit! I drowned my radio.”
Dawn pulled out her radio and shook her head. “Mine is dead, too.” She looked at Kevin. “What about yours?”
“I left it back by the big tree.”
I pulled out my cell and checked to see if it was still operable. I held my breath, not expecting much. The protective case I’d purchased was water resistant for up to one meter, and I must’ve sunk to a depth of at least eight feet. I pressed the activation button but nothing happened. “Dawn, is your phone working?”
She shook her head and I could see her frowning in the faint glow of the moonlight. “My case broke a month ago and I never replaced it.”
“I have one of those flip-top phones.” Kevin held it up. “I tried turning it on earlier, but it’s no use.”
“We need to find Stella right away,” I said. “She might be in trouble.”
I turned and began walking along the edge of the canal, with Dawn and Kevin following. We called out Stella’s name as we searched, but received nothing in response. We hadn’t gone thirty feet when we came across a downed tree. It was a mid-sized oak tree and it took up a lot of real estate. It was too thick to walk through, so we went around.
As we walked, we had to keep changing course because of downed trees and other debris that had been stacked along the canal. It led us farther and farther from the bank of the canal. Each time we reached a fallen tree or a debris field, we tried to penetrate the shadows with our naked eyes, but couldn’t. It was impossible to complete a thorough search, and I was afraid we’d have to wait until daybreak.
Suddenly, I remembered there were flashlights in my rucksack. I told Dawn I was heading back to the big oak tree to get it.
“I’m coming with you,” she said. Before following me, she told Kevin to keep calling for Stella, but to stay in the same spot until we returned. “We don’t need two of y’all going missing.”
“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere.”
Using the stars and moon as a backdrop, I made my way toward where I thought the oak tree to be. I was able to make out shadows from a distance, but it wasn’t until the objects got closer that I was able to identify them. I figured I would readily recognize the broccoli-shaped umbrella of that ancient oak when I saw it.
We came across another downed tree and tried to go around it, but we ran into more roadblocks.
“This must’ve been the direct path of the tornado,” Dawn said.
I nodded and tried to push my way through the branches, but it was no use. I stepped back and began moving toward my left, taking the path of least resistance. We were moving farther from where we needed to be and I knew it would take forever to find the oak in all of that mess. I was about to turn back when I heard a scratching sound from somewhere amidst the trees.
“Do you hear that noise?” I asked.
“Yeah, it sounds like a radio.” Dawn moved beside me and leaned into one of the large branches that stood between us and the radio. “It’s coming from somewhere on the other side of the tree.”
“It’s got to be Kevin’s radio.” I jerked on the tree branch, but it barely budged. I dropped to my knees and tried to crawl under it, but the opening was too small for my frame. “We need it.”
As I felt my way along the tree trunk, I squeezed through a multitude of smaller branches and walked around others, fighting my way ever closer to the radio. The voices became louder and I was able to make out some of the conversations. It seemed that deputies were responding to dozens of calls for service, all of them related to what a shocked patrol officer described as a “big ass tornado that’s heading north”.
“Isn’t it crazy how this whole area was a warzone just minutes ago?” Dawn asked. “And now it’s like any old peaceful night in the south.”
I nodded, craning my head when a new voice came on the radio. It sounded like Ben Baxter and his muffled voice was laced with excitement.
“Headquarters, I’m approaching Lower Seasville in search of the four missing deputies. Be advised, everything’s a mess out here.”
He couldn’t broadcast the names of missing, injured, or dead officers because too many of our citizens had scanners, but I knew he was referring to us.
The dispatcher responded and asked if he could report on the damage.
“Total and complete devastation…it looks like a linear bomb went off. That tornado cut a swath two hundred yards wide through this entire area. It ain’t good for the home team.” His radio clicked off for a second, and when he came back on the air his voice was somber. “I don’t know how they could’ve survived this monster, Headquarters. Advise MS1 that we’re probably looking at a recovery mission rather than a search and rescue.”
I had wriggled my body through an entanglement of branches and was trapped for a moment. I couldn’t get out fast enough to try and see Ben’s helicopter. “Can you see anything?” I asked Dawn.
“I can’t even see the stars from under here.”
Based on the noise from the radio, I knew it had to be within arm’s reach. I pushed against the trunk with my foot and stretched my arm as far as I could. I needed to get to the radio so I could direct Ben to our location, but it was no use. I still couldn’t feel it. “Come on, damn it!”
“Do you want me to try?” Dawn offered. “I’m smaller.”
I sighed, grabbing onto a thin branch to untangle myself from the pretzel position I’d formed. “Sure, I can’t reach it.”
As I pulled on the branch, I heard a cracking sound and the branch gave a little. I hurried and tried to take my weight off of it, but I was too late. The branch snapped in half and I flew backward, crashing through a host of other branches and to the ground below it. After cursing to myself, I felt around in the deep shadows and discovered that I had room to move.
“I found
an opening through the branches,” I said. “I think I’ve got it.”
Just then, I heard the familiar chopping sound of helicopter blades approaching from the north.
“It’s Ben,” I said, as the sound drew nearer. I looked toward the sky and could see his giant spotlight making wide sweeps across the area, searching for the five of us. We needed to let him know where we were before he flew past us. “Can you get his attention?”
“I’ll try to get out in the open.” Dawn began pushing her way through the thick branches, searching for a way out.
I reached around in the darkness, running my hands around on the dirt floor and hoping someone would say something so I could pinpoint the location of the radio. If we didn’t hurry, Ben would fly right over us and be halfway to the Gulf of Mexico before he realized we were down here.
I was still feeling for the radio when Ben’s spotlight hovered directly above us. While I was sure he couldn’t see us buried under all of the thick foliage, we could certainly see his light. It broke through the gaps in the leaves like slivers of lasers and blinded us.
I shielded my eyes and turned away from the brilliant light source to protect my eyes. As I glanced at the ground, I smiled when I saw how it lit up the shadows like the daytime and brought the police radio into view. It was just a few feet from my outstretched hand. I lunged for it and jerked it toward my mouth. My thumb was pressing the talk button just as the beam from Ben’s spotlight shifted. It lit up a different area farther under the fallen tree and something caught my eye. I stopped dead in my tracks. This wasn’t Kevin’s radio after all.
“Oh, shit!”
CHAPTER 34
Thursday, October 4
I watched as Ben landed his helicopter in the field north of the giant oak tree for the second time. When he’d heard me on the police radio six hours earlier, he had circled around until Dawn located a landing zone safe enough to put the chopper down. For Ben, that could’ve been a wine glass—he was that good at landing the metal bird.
