Read Crash III: There's No Place Like Home for Free Online Page A

rooted to the spot.
    The truck stopped.  
    “What are they doing?” Michael asked.
    “I—” But before Lola could reply, the sound of another engine roared in the distance. “They’re waiting for their friends.”  
    The burn of tears stung Michael’s eyes and within seconds they dampened his cheeks. “We’re done for, Lola. They’re going to catch us and take us with them. There’s no way we can get away.”
    While keeping her eyes on the truck, Lola stood up slowly. She kept close to the side of the bridge and peered over the edge. When she dropped back down, she grabbed Michael by his shoulders and spoke in a whisper. “While they’re stopped, this is our chance; we have to climb down.”
    “Huh?”
    Instead of answering him, Lola looked at the men in the truck at the end of the bridge, hopped up onto the barrier, and disappeared over the other side.

Hang On

    “Hang on, Lola,” Michael said, but she’d disappeared from sight already. The loud tick of the engine and the bright lights waited at the entrance to the bridge. If he had any chance of escaping the men, he had to follow Lola over the side.
    The misty air made the truck’s headlights seem blurred. Although, blurred or not, they would be pointing directly at him if he didn’t move.
    With the men on the back of the truck all focused on the approaching vehicle, he had the perfect opportunity to follow Lola.
    Unfortunately, Michael’s leaden legs disagreed with him. Hopefully, his body would respond when he needed it to… three, two, one.
    Michael vaulted up onto the side of the bridge and lay against the cold railing. Visibility may have been low but not so low they wouldn’t see a silhouette on the bridge if he stood up.
    A glance at the river thirty feet below made his stomach lurch. He then looked at Lola. She swung more than the other bodies, despite what looked like her best efforts to remain still. A deep breath did little to calm his shaking limbs.
    Michael found the thickest rope close to him and hung his legs over the bridge. As he eased himself down over it, he gripped onto the railing with cold-weakened hands. The weather had wormed so deeply into them it felt like his fingers would snap as if his joints were made of glass.  
    It was hard doing it blind, his face pointing back onto the bridge, but he tried to scoop the rope in with his dangling legs.
    With the rope between his feet and his legs crossed at the shins, he gripped on tightly and slid slowly down it.  
    Once his head was lower than the side of the bridge, he stopped. He’d gone far enough to be out of sight. He didn’t need to go any farther.

    ***

    The burn in Michael’s knuckles went from discomfort to needles wedged into the joints within just a few minutes.  
    The thick mist surrounding him turned the air moist. The dampness found its way into the fibers of the rope and the cold air turned it to ice. If he gripped any tighter, it felt like his hands would shatter.
    Suddenly, he slipped a little. The cold and coarse rope burned his palms as he held on.
    It didn’t matter how tightly he gripped it, Michael started to slip again. If he fell into the river, he’d freeze to death. If he slipped even a little farther, he’d be touching a dead body.
    Another slip and he snapped his legs up.  
    When he looked across to see Lola staring at him, her eyes wide, Michael shook his head. “I can’t stop it, Lola.Help me, I’m slipping.”
    Lola looked down at his feet and then back up at him. “Stand on it.”
    “What?”
    “You’re going to slide to the bottom anyway, so you may as well stand on it. It’ll stop you falling into the river.”
    Michael shook his head so hard the entire rope shook. “I’m not standing on it. It’s a dead person.”
    “Exactly! It’s dead, so it doesn’t give a fuck.”
    Michael looked down at the limp form. It hung as if everything was trying to drag it toward the river. Its arms limp by its side, and its toes pointed to the