But the turn had been too much for the car. She felt the wheels leave the surface of the asphalt, felt the whump as the car slammed to the earth again. The old shocks groaned violently with the bounce, a broken trampoline. The cypress trees were less than thirty feet off the highway. Frantically Denise turned the wheel again, but the car rocketed forward as if she'd done nothing. Her eyes went wide and she drew a harsh breath. It seemed as if everything were moving in slow motion, then at full speed, then slow motion again. The outcome, she suddenly realized, was foregone, though the realization lasted only a split second. At that moment she blasted into the tree; heard the twisting of metal and shattering of glass as the front of the car exploded toward her. Because the seat belt was across her lap and not over her shoulder, her head shot forward, slamming into the steering wheel. A sharp, searing pain in her forehead . . .
Then there was nothing.
Chapter 3
"Hey, lady, are you all right?"
With the sound of the stranger's voice, the world came back slowly, vaguely, as if she were swimming toward the surface in a cloudy pool of water. Denise couldn't feel any pain, but on her tongue was the salty-bitter taste of blood. She still didn't realize what had happened, and her hand traveled absently to her forehead as she struggled to force her eyes open.
"Don't move . . . I'm gonna call an ambulance. . . ."
The words barely registered; they meant nothing to her. Everything was blurry, moving in and out of focus, including sound. Slowly, instinctively, she turned her head toward the shaded figure in the corner of her eyes.
A man . . . dark hair . . . yellow raincoat . . . turning away . . .
The side window had shattered, and she felt the rain blowing in the car. A strange hissing sound was coming from the darkness as steam escaped from the radiator. Her vision was returning slowly, starting with the images closest to her. Shards of glass were in her lap, on her pants . . . blood on the steering wheel in front of her . . .
So much blood . . .
Nothing made sense. Her mind was weaving through unfamiliar images, one right after another. . . .
She closed her eyes and felt pain for the first time . . . opened them. Forced herself to concentrate. Steering wheel . . . the car . . . she was in the car . . . dark outside . . .
"Oh God!"
With a rush, it all came back. The curve . . . the deer . . . swerving out of control. She turned in her seat. Squinting through the blood in her eyes, she focused on the backseat--Kyle wasn't in the car. His safety seat was open, as was the back door on his side of the car.
Kyle?
Through the window she shouted for the figure who'd awakened her . . . if there had been a figure. She wasn't quite sure whether he had been just a hallucination.
But he was there, and he turned. Denise blinked . . . he was making his way toward her. A moan escaped her lips.
Later she'd remember that she wasn't frightened right away, not the way she should have been. She knew Kyle was okay; it didn't even register that he might not be. He'd been strapped in--she was sure of it--and there wasn't any damage in the back. The back door was already open . . . even in her bewildered state, she felt certain that the person--whoever he was--had helped Kyle out of the car. By now the figure was at the window.
"Listen, don't try to talk. You're pretty banged up. My name is Taylor McAden, and I'm with the fire department. I've got a radio in my car. I'm gonna get you help."
She rolled her head, focusing on him with blurry eyes. She did her best to concentrate, to make her words as clear as possible.
"You have my son, don't you?"
She knew what the answer would be, what it should be, but strangely, it didn't come. Instead he seemed to need extra time to translate the words in the same way that Kyle did. His mouth contorted just a little, almost sluggishly, then he shook his head.
"No . . . I just got here. . . . Your son?"
It was then--while looking in his eyes and imagining the worst--that the first jolt of fear shot through her. Like a wave, it started crashing and she felt herself sinking inward, as she had when she'd learned of her mother's death.
Lightning flashed again, and thunder followed almost immediately. The rain poured from the sky, and the man wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
"My son was in the back! Have you seen him?" The words came out clearly, forcefully enough to startle the man at the window, to awaken the last of her deadened senses.
"I don't know--" In the sudden downpour, he hadn't understood what she was trying to tell him.
Denise struggled to get out of the car, but the seat belt across her lap held her fast. She unbuckled it quickly, ignoring the pain in her wrist and elbow. The man took an involuntary step backward as Denise forced the door open, using her shoulder because the door had crumpled slightly from the impact. Her knees were swollen from smashing into the console, and she almost lost her balance as she stood.
"I don't think you should be moving--"
Holding on to the car for support, she ignored the man as she moved around the car, toward the opposite side, where Kyle's door stood open.
No, no, no, no . . .
"Kyle!"
In disbelief, she bent inside to look for him. Her eyes scanned the floor, then back to the seat again, as if he might magically reappear. Blood rushed to her head, bringing with it a piercing pain that she ignored.
Where are you? Kyle . . .
"Lady . . ." The man from the fire department followed her around the car, seemingly uncertain of what to do or what was going on or why this lady who was covered in blood was suddenly so agitated.
She cut him off by grabbing his arm, her eyes boring directly into his.
"You haven't seen him? A little boy . . . brown hair?" The words were tinged with genuine panic. "He was in the car with me!"
"No, I--"
"You've got to help me find him! He's only four!"
She whirled around, the rapid movement almost making her lose her balance. She grabbed hold of the car again. The corners of her vision faded to black as she struggled to keep the dizziness at bay. The scream came out despite the spinning in her mind.
"Kyle!"
Pure terror now.
Concentrating . . . closing one eye to help her focus . . . getting clearer again. The storm was in full fury now. Trees not twenty feet away were difficult to see through the rain. It was absolute darkness in that direction . . . only the path to the highway was clear.
Oh God.
The highway . . .
She could feel her feet slipping in the mud-soaked grass, she could hear herself drawing short, rapid gasps as she staggered toward the road. She fell once, got up again, and kept going. Finally understanding, the man ran after her, catching her before she reached the road. His eyes scanned the area around him.
"I don't see him. . . ."
"Kyle!" She screamed it as loud as she could, praying inside as she did it. Despite being nearly drowned out by the storm, the sound prompted Taylor into further action.
They took off in opposite directions, both shouting Kyle's name independently, both stopping occasionally to listen for sound. The rain, however, was deafening. After a couple of minutes Taylor ran back to his car and made a call to the fire station.
The two voices--Denise's and Taylor's--were the only human sounds in the swamp. The rain made it impossible for them to hear each other, let alone a child, but they continued anyway. Denise's voice cut sharply, a mother's scream of despair. Taylor took off at a lope, shouting Kyle's name over and over, running a hundred yards up and down the road, firmly caught up in Denise's fear. Eventually two other firemen arrived, flashlights in hand. At the sight of Denise, her hair matted with clots of blood, her shirt stained red, the older one recoiled for a moment before trying and failing to calm her down.
"You've got to help me find my baby!" Denise sobbed.
More help was requested, more people arrived within minutes. Six people searchin
g now.
Still the storm raged furiously. Lightning, thunder . . . winds gusting strongly, enough to bend the searchers over double.
It was Taylor who found Kyle's blanket, in the swamp about fifty yards from the spot where Denise had crashed, snagged on the underbrush that covered the area.
"Is this his?" he asked.
Denise started to cry as soon as it was handed to her.
But after thirty minutes of searching, Kyle was still nowhere to be seen.