He turned toward the rear door.
The cabin was almost full now.
He waited.
Water climbed higher.
Then he drove his heel into the damaged door.
Once.
Twice.
On the third strike, it moved.
Pressure had nearly equalized.
He pushed.
The door opened.
Water rushed around us.
Tobias grabbed my arm.
“Move.”
We slipped through the opening.
Cold water swallowed me.
I kicked upward.
Tobias yanked me down.
I panicked.
“We’re going to drown!”
He pressed something into my hand.
A small emergency breathing mouthpiece.
It was attached to a compact air cartridge inside a waterproof pouch.
“Use it.”
I stared at him.
“Where did you get this?”
“Later.”
I put it in my mouth.
We stayed beneath the surface.
Above us, Garrett was still watching the sinking SUV.
Tobias pointed toward an old pier.
We swam beneath it.
My lungs burned despite the emergency air.
My clothes dragged against me.
Tobias moved like a man who had never spent a day in a wheelchair.
That terrified me almost as much as Garrett.
We reached a narrow maintenance space between two concrete pillars.
Tobias pulled me into it.
The gap was hidden from the road.
We climbed onto a rusted metal ledge.
I ripped the mouthpiece away.
Air rushed into my lungs.
For several seconds, I could only cough.
Then I turned on him.
I shoved both hands against his chest.
He hit the concrete wall behind him.
