The Soldier's Return

Chapter 18

"Good night! Merry Christmas!" It was after 10 before the family dispersed, the children tired now and the adults ready for their own homes. Jimmy had fallen asleep in the living room, and after a hasty consultation it was agreed that Matt would drive Maggie home and bring her back in the morning after she had had a chance to deal with her car. Matt carried the sleeping boy to the room that he had occupied for the first eight years of his life, and together the parents dressed him in his pajamas and tucked him in without the child waking. As they stood looking down on the miraculous little person they had created, both were aware that this was the first time in his life that both of his parents had put him to bed. Both hoped that it was the first of many.

The rain had stopped, but the roads were slippery and deep puddles dotted the pavement. There was almost no traffic, and as they drove sedately down the empty streets, lit by Christmas lights shining from many of the houses, Maggie felt more content than she could remember feeling since her own childhood. She yawned, and without thinking leaned her head against Matt's shoulder. When he did not object, she snuggled a little closer and her eyes started to drift shut.

She was jarred awake when Matt suddenly slammed on the brakes. "Watch out!" he shouted, throwing out his arm to keep her from jerking forward toward the windshield. She must have been dozing longer than she thought; they were on the west side of the city, traveling down Skyline Boulevard. Although the area was a mere ten minutes from downtown, the road was narrow and winding, more like a country road, and fell off steeply to one side.

Looking up, she saw the reason for Matt's alarm. Another car was coming toward them at a high rate of speed. As she watched in horror, the vehicle skidded off the road and plunged through the guard rail and out of sight.

Maggie pulled out her cell phone as Matt slowed and, with a careful U-turn, made his way back to the spot where the other vehicle had left the road.

"Oh God, there's no cell reception. I haven't got any bars at all." Matt nodded. Both he and Maggie knew that despite the cellular company's claims, service in these hills was intermittent at best; many homeowners had to rely on land lines for their home telephones.

Matt reached behind his seat and pulled out a length of rope and a large flashlight. Opening his door he stepped out as Maggie followed. "Maggie, hold the light!" he called. He swiftly tied the rope to a large tree next to the road as she shone the light for him to work. The embankment was particularly steep here, so steep that there were no houses immediately below. Through the broken trees and foliage it had crushed on the way down, she could see the lights of the vehicle, still shining dimly 150 feet below. The ground around the vehicle seemed to glimmer and shift, and with a stab of alarm she realized it must have come to rest in one of the many branches of the creek that ran throughout these western hills. Swollen with the heavy rain, many of these tributaries were running several feet higher than normal.

"Maggie, look, you need to stay up here," Matt said, pulling on the rope to make sure it would hold his weight.

"But Matt –"

"Turn the truck so that the lights point down hill toward the car. Keep trying your cell phone, watch the rope, and if anybody goes by flag them down and tell them to go for help."

Wordlessly she nodded. By the time she had positioned the truck, Matt had tied the rope loosely around his waist and climbed over the guardrail. He shoved the flashlight into his pocket and prepared to descend. "There's another flashlight behind your seat if you need it." He grinned. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon. At least nobody's shooting at us!"

Using his upper body to hold most of his weight, balancing with his one foot and his prosthesis, Matt began to inch his way down the steep, muddy hillside. It was slippery, and more than once he would have fallen if he had not held to the sturdy rope. After a time he disappeared from sight, but she could see by the uncoiling of the rope that he was continuing to descend. Finally, the movement stopped, and a moment later the flashlight flicked on, and she could see the spot of light moving until it struck the wheels of the SUV, spinning aimlessly as the vehicle lay submerged in several feet of water.