“We have a windshield scraper and a small broom, a small flashlight, a crank powered radio with flashlight, a quart of water now starting to freeze, a clear bag full of 10 energy bars, five small boxes of raisins and twenty mini candy bars. A plastic film container full of waterproof matches, a short fat candle and a first aid kit with a pocket knife and whistle to attract attention. Two wool blankets, a small sack of road salt, booster cables and a periscoping rod with a small red flag with white block letters of “SOS” permanently attached to it.
“It’s kind of like Christmas!” Alexi excitably says to her twin. Alex nods in agreement and feeling better as the list of items got bigger.
“Mom, we have nothing to worry about. We just need to get some fresh air in to the Jeep and hunker down and weather out this storm till tomorrow. We can put out the flag then and we should be found by the first plow truck.” Alex confidently says.
Alex confidence was actually contagious and I must admit even I began to feel that what was once a dire situation had now been relegated down to a little adventure to be laughed about around the holidays.
Alex took the folded shovel and began to beat on the back window in earnest. When nothing but a crack appeared in the back window, he set the tool down and picked up that jack handle for the spare tire. The car glass on the hatch back door was already cracked and spider webbed from the shovel, but we figured it was the largest window beside the front windshield.
Alex first punched a hole through the back window and then took the shovel and tried to force a larger hole in the cracked windshield with the shovel edge by putting an ever increasing effort into each thrust. Alexi and I cringed with each blow and just when I thought it was a lost cause and that window would never break out, Alex finally got a large hole started. Setting the shovel down, he spun around so both of his feet were resting on the shattered back window.
Laying down on his back, Alex began to kick at the window causing the hole to finally widen till he could actually squeeze through it to the packed ice and snow on the other side of the window.
Bracing his feet on either side of the hole, he was able to take the shovel and began digging into the icy snow drift, pulling the snow up into the luggage portion of the cab and on top of him. Every few minutes he had to push the snow off of him to the sides of the cab to make room for more snow. Because the back of the Jeep was facing downward, window glass was also pointing down. This forced Alex to dig out a man size tunnel initially that was pointed downward, and then in about three feet was able to level off and start digging upward.
“I can’t see a thing out here! How about some light?” Alex complained. Looking over at Alexi, she picked up the small flash light from the pile and scooted down to the end of the Jeep. She now used the flash light to light up the small ice room that Alex had made in the snow bank. Soon he was making great progress with his head and waist already sticking through the broken window with the shovel pulling even more frozen snow down around his legs. Alexi had her gloves on and was pushing and packing the snow on either side of her nephew.
You just got to know that when Fate is fucking with you that it is never over till that final thread is finally cut. Don’t like that fortune cookie? How about “There is always a calm right before the storm”? Or that the bad guy is never dead. I can give you a countless examples of its not really over till it’s over. I know I sound negative, but one man’s pessimism is another man’s reality. But in this case I couldn’t help myself and just suspend my normal outlook in life. I guess it was just easier to swallow that we were going to get out of this alive with nothing more than a scratch and we would go on with our life as if nothing has changed. I can assure you that this was not to be the case. Fate wasn’t close to being finished with us for the night.
“What was that sound?” Alex yelled back to Alexi over his shoulder. Before she could say “What sound?” Alex had started scampering backwards crablike through the back window. As quick as he was, he still wasn’t able to clear the window. That’s when the Jeep dropped down the hill again, but this time with the sound of cracking ice.
In seconds the lower part of the Jeep began to fill up with icy water. The drop also caused Alex to be pulled out of the window again but this time into the wet darkness below us.
“Alex!” Alexi and I screamed. When my little sister and I scrambled towards the back of the vehicle, it caused the Jeep to slip even a little deeper in the ice cold water. I was more terrified now than even the car accident. Being trapped in a snow drift was one thing, but this was water for Christ sake.
Fumbling with the crank on the emergency light, I began to turn the handle and a bright beam of light showed outward from twenty LED’s with an intensity directly proportional to the whirring sound of me turning the crank. My light showed me nothing through the back window but swirling water.
“Where the hell had this water come from?” Alexi asked me. Then began yelling out Alexi’s name over and over.
Where had this water come from? Apparently the Jeep had not just fallen into a deep snow bank, but one that covered a pond. I wouldn’t worry about how deep the water was or even what would I do if the Jeep continued to slip down into the watery depths. All I could think about now was my concern for my beautiful son and that he was trapped underwater.
I think it’s true what they say about time doing funny tricks in an emergency. I swear to God that it truly seems to slow down. All of my thoughts and plans were formulated in just nanoseconds. What people would have seen was with no thought I was sliding towards the back of the Jeep. Ok, so I didn’t have any real plan other than to get my baby back, but movement was action.
Pushing past Alexi, I plunged through the back window hole as if I was diving into our pool. The reality of what I was doing came quickly behind my foolish action. My breadth was stolen right out from my lungs as my head, arms and chest went into the water. Alexi continued to yell out Alex’s name over and over again as if with her pure determination and a prayer she could part the waters. I was so fucking cold, I wish she could have parted the waters.
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Calvin Gifford says
Great story!!