Page 4 of Blood Lust

I feel the side of my head connect with something hard, and then there is nothing.

No pain.

No sound.

Empty.

The sounds of scuffling and scrambling make my ears itch. A tingling in my brain as my mind fights to return to the surface of consciousness. I am swaying, moving with the car as it shifts. Are we still falling?

My fingertips are going numb. They are cold.

I am cold.

I am ice cold.

I can hear the sounds of water rushing at me.

Suddenly, my eyes flash open. I must’ve blacked out at the end. The car isn't moving anymore, but I am freezing. My arms hang above me, and I realize I am upside down. Tilting my head, I see water covering my hands. I flex my legs, thanking the cosmos that I can feel my toes, despite how much pain I am in. A coppery taste fills my mouth as I cough, trying to take a breath. It hurts.

Something warm is dripping up my face. An odd sensation, blood flowing from my nose leaking toward my eyes and forehead. I try to wipe it from my eyes, a sharp pain in my right arm causing me to cry out. Is it broken? Dislocated?

FUCK!

“Spencer…” I groan, looking at the driver’s seat. He is gone. All I see is water pouring through his window. Where is he? “Spencer!” I call again, more desperate. Nothing, not a sound.

A pang of grief haunts me.

Had he been thrown from the car?

Is he dead?

This is my fault, all my fault.

My head is pounding, and my whole body hurts.

I need to get the fuck out of here.

I use my left hand to fumble for the button to release myself from my seat. This is going to be very painful. I fall into the shallow water, hitting the roof of the car. Searing red hot spikes tear through my shoulder and arm, and darkness clouds the edges of my vision, threatening to take me back into the world of unconsciousness. I lift my head out of the water, coughing, and sputtering.

“HELP!” I cry as loud as I can, wondering if anyone was nearby as we crashed. My voice is raw. Blood comes out when I cough, hopefully from my nosebleed and not something else. I look around. Water is coming in quickly from the window on the driver’s side, and a leak in the windshield.

My window on the passenger’s side has a crack in it. Bits of blood and hair stuck to it, but it didn’t shatter completely. Water is lapping against the glass, almost covering the window. I try to push on it, but I am weak. The door itself is so crumpled and bent it won’t open, and if I can’t break the glass, there is only one other way out.

I eye the driver’s side window and steel my resolve.

I am going to get out of here.

Water is filling the car fast, covering my legs. I feel woozy as I shift to turn my back to the driver’s side window. Pushing against the frame of the car with my feet, I inch closer to my freedom. Ducking my head to avoid the center console, I brace my feet against the roof of the car and push again, fighting the force of the water steadily pouring in. Panic fills me when I see the level has risen to my navel. One more push and my back is right up against the window.

Cold and pummeled by the lake hell-bent on joining me in the car, I take my good arm and force it into the sheet of water. I clamp hold of the window from the outside, wincing as glass cuts into my palm. I gasp in pain but don’t release my grip. Instead, I pull with all the force I can muster. The roof of the car isn’t the best foothold, but I use my legs to push regardless.

Water barrels against my hurt arm, and I scream out, “HELP ME, PLEASE!”

Pressure and force from the lake are too much for my weak body to fight against, and it pushes me back into the car.

No use.

Through the windows all around me, I can see the darkness of the lake thickening as I sink further and further below the surface.

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