He didn't see any road signs. It was almost as dark as night out there, and he had his headlights on, but they seemed to make no difference. He could see only a few yards ahead through the rain.
He looked over at Sarah, but she was just staring forward. Not moving, not speaking. He wondered if she was all right.
Looking in the rearview mirror, he could sometimes see the lights of the pickup truck following him, and sometimes not. There was that much rain.
"I think we're almost to the park," he said. "But I can't be sure."
The interior of the windshield was starting to fog up. He rubbed it with the back of his arm and his elbow, making a squeaking sound on the glass. Now he could see a little better. They were at the top of a gentle hill, heading down toward--
"Oh shit."
"What?" Sarah said.
"Look."
At the bottom of the hill was a fifteen-foot culvert, the road passing over a series of large pipes carrying water from a small stream. Earlier, the stream had been little more than a silvery trickle in a rocky bed. But it had broadened and risen so that it now flowed over the surface of the road, the water moving swiftly.
Evans couldn't tell how deep it was. Probably not very deep.
"Peter," Sarah said. "You've stopped the car."
"I know."
"You can't stop."
"I don't know if I can go through this," he said. "I don't know how deep--"
Six inches of water is enough to carry away a car.
"You've got no choice."
In his rearview mirror, he saw the lights of the pickup truck. He headed down the hill, toward the culvert. He kept his eyes on the mirror, waiting to see what the truck did. It had slowed as well, but it was still following as he drove the SUV down the hill.
"Keep your fingers crossed," Evans said.
"I've got everything crossed."
He entered the water. It was whooshing up on the sides of the car, spraying up as high as the windows, and gurgling under the floorboards. He was terrified that he would lose the ignition, but so far, so good.
He gave a sigh. He was approaching the middle now, and it wasn't that deep. No more than two, two and a half feet. He would make it okay.
"Peter..." Sarah pointed ahead.
There was a large eighteen-wheeler coming down the road toward them. Its lights were flaring. It wasn't slowing down at all.
"He's an idiot," Evans said.
Moving slowly in the water, he turned right, moving farther toward his side of the road, to make room.
In response, the truck moved directly into his lane.
It did not slow down.
Then he saw the logo above the cab.
It said in red letters, "A&P."
"Peter,do something! "
"Likewhat? "
"Do something!"
Several tons of roaring steel were coming right at him. He glanced in the rearview mirror. The blue pickup truck was still behind him, closing in.
They had him front and back.
They were going to drive him off the road.
The semi was in deeper water now, roaring forward. The water plumed high on both sides.
"Peterrrrr!"
There wasn't any choice.
He spun the wheel and drove off the road, plunging into the water of the rushing stream.
The SUV nosed down, and water came over the hood, up to the windshield, and for a moment he thought they were going to sink right there. Then the bumper crunched against the rocks of the streambed, and the wheels gained purchase, and the car straightened.
For a thrilling moment he thought he was going to be able to drive the car along the streambed--the river wasn't that deep, not really--but almost at once, the engine died, and he felt the rear end pull loose and spin around.
And they were carried helplessly along in the river.
Evans turned the ignition, trying to start the engine again, but it wasn't working. The SUV moved gently, rocking and bumping against rocks. Occasionally it would stop, and he considered getting out, but then it would begin to float downstream again.
He looked over his shoulder. The road was surprisingly far back. Now that the engine was out, the car was fogging up quickly. He had to rub all the windows, to see out.
Sarah was silent. Gripping the arms of her seat.
The car came to a stop again, against a rock. "Should we get out?" she said.
"I don't think so," he said. He could feel the car shuddering in the moving water.
"I think we should," she said.
The car started to move again. He tried the ignition, but it would not start up. The alternator whirred and sputtered. Then he remembered.
"Sarah," he said. "Open your window."
"What?"
"Open your window."
"Oh." She flicked the switch. "It doesn't work."
Evans tried his own window on the driver's side. It didn't work, either. The electrical systems were shot.
On a chance, he tried the rear windows. The left window opened smoothly.
"Hey! Success."
Sarah said nothing. She was looking forward. The stream was moving faster, the car picking up speed.
He kept rubbing the fogged windows, trying to see, but it was difficult and suddenly the car gave a sharp jolt, and afterward the movement was different. It went swiftly ahead, turning slowly in circles. The wheels no longer touched rock.
"Where are we? What happened?" Together, they rubbed the windshield frantically to get it clean.