I grab my keys and use them to shatter the window. I don't have time to clear any of the glass away, I need to get her out. I duck down into the water as I feel Wrath grabbing my cut, making sure that he has hold of me. I lean all the way into the car, covering the girl’s body with mine as I try and release the seatbelt, but it doesn't budge. I don't have time for this. I quickly grab my keys and flip the small pen knife open, using it to slice through the belt.
I pull back, grabbing her, pushing her forward and then turning her so her back is to me. I pull her through the window, as Wrath grabs at her, helping me get her out. We drag her through the water and get her to the embankment just as the car sinks deeper into the river.
"NOVA. PLEASE. NOVA," I hear the kid yell as I hook my arms under the girl’s legs, tucking her body into mine. She isn't heavy, but because we're both soaked, she feels like a tonne weight. I struggle to get up the bank, my boots slipping in the wet mud. Wrath crawls up ahead of me, and with the help of him and Blades, we get up and back on to the road.
The kid is sobbing in Nitro's arms, as I lower the girl down. I don't fully let her go though, her head is tucked into my arm, and I brush the hair away from her face. Doc races over, and all I can do is watch as he checks to see if she is breathing or has a pulse.
I'm pretty sure I'm not breathing at this point; I don't think any of us are as we wait for him to tell us if she's okay or not. He looks up at me and gives me a small nod. "She's breathing, but she’s in a bad way," he whispers.
I look at him, then to Wrath who is sat next to me, then over to Nitro who is holding on to the kid, trying to stop him from racing over to us. I let out a breath and give him a small smile, letting him know she’s alive. He drops his head and begins to reassure the kid while I turn back to Doc.
"What do we do?” I ask.
"Nothing. She's breathing, so we wait until the ambulance arrives, we just need to keep them warm," he tells us.
I go to tell them there is a hoody in my saddle bag, but Wrath is already pulling his out. He drops it in Nitro's hand for the kid before heading over to my bike and pulling mine out and bringing it over to me.
I reach up, taking it from him, before laying it over her body. As I look down, I notice the blood on her head. I think it's from the crash at first but then realise its old blood that’s wet simply from the water I just pulled her out of.
I glance down at her bare legs and wonder why she's wearing shorts in this weather. But as I take in her appearance, confusion fills me. She's covered in injuries, bruises and cuts, some of which are from me yanking her through the broken car window. There’s blood everywhere. Most of which is not consistent with the crash. I look up at Nitro who has the kid sat on his bike. He's glaring at the us and the girl. He looks pissed. I furrow my brows, trying to ask him what’s up without saying anything, when he tips his head to the kid. The kid’s holding his arm, and either Nitro is pissed that she crashed the car and hurt him or there's something else going on that we don't understand.
The ambulance and fire service pull up, followed a few seconds later by the cops. This is going to be interesting.
Nitro hands off the kid to Wrath and a paramedic before talking to the cops. He'll tell them what he thinks they need to hear until we have a chance to talk to her and the kid. We don't know what’s going on and we aren't the type of people to share too much with anyone until we know more.
"Sir." I look over as a paramedic kneels next to me. "I need to check her over, can you lay her flat on the ground for me?" he asks, looking down at the girl.
"No. You can get the stretcher and put her in the ambulance, I'm not putting her on the floor," I snap.
"Brother." Doc grabs my attention. "You need to lay her down so he can check her over." I’m about to protest but he shakes his head and continues. "Pulling her out of the car may have caused her further injuries, we need to lay her flat so we can get a collar on and get her on a backboard."
"Oh." I look down at her. Shit, did I do her more damage? "Okay."
"Gently, let me help." Doc and I lay her flat on the ground, as the paramedic does whatever shit he needs to before placing a collar around her neck.
"No. Please. I want to be with her," the kid yells, and we all turn to look at him. They are trying to load him into an ambulance, but it looks like they are separating him from the girl and he isn’t happy about it.
"I got him," Wrath tells us before walking over to the kid. "I'll come with you, okay? She'll be fine without you for a little bit, but we should go."
The kid shakes his head. "No, I can't leave her alone." The kid begins to sob uncontrollably, and Wrath grabs him. "It's okay, one of my brothers will go with her. She won't be alone, and you can see her at the hospital. Need you to trust me kid, okay?" he asks him. The kid looks up at Wrath and nods, letting him lift him into the ambulance and climbing in after him.
Fuck, I suddenly remember we have a van with two hostages in. I look over to where the bikes are parked, but the van isn't there either. Confused, I look around us, trying to get a glimpse behind all the emergency vehicles. The van isn't there. I look over to Nitro who's still talking to the cops. There doesn't seem to be any drama kicking off, so I'm guessing that means the van is safely on its way back to the compound and Prez is spinning whatever tale he needs to in order to keep this as smooth as possible.
"We need to get her to the hospital. Does anyone need to come with us?" one of the paramedics asks as they roll the stretcher to the open doors. I'm about to say I'll go when Doc steps forward. "I'm coming."
I look over at him. "Wait for Nitro. I'll meet you guys there," he tells me, then climbs into the back the ambulance. I stand there in the middle of the road, watching the chaos.
The ambulance drives away, the cops talking to Nitro and the fire brigade looking at the car and the river, working out if they are going to pull it out and when. I take a deep breath and head over to the firemen at the edge of the embankment.
"You guys gonna pull the car tonight?" I ask, pretending to act casual.
One of the firemen looks over at me. "Yeah, the police want it towed to their lot when we do."
I tilt my head forward and look to my left where the cop is standing. "We have a recovery company; we can get it towed back to your lot tonight if you need it," I tell him.
"We have our own company who can do it, but they won't be here for another few hours. Let me call my boss." He pulls his phone out and makes a call as he walks away from us all. I stand at the edge of the river, where her car smashed through the barrier, for several minutes, with the fire crew waiting for the cop to come back.
"Ice." Nitro calls me over as the cop walks past me, giving me a smile as he does.
