Chapter 8 - The Rising Tide
The roaring torrent of river water roared into the subterranean vault like a tidal wave, instantly filling the room up to waist height in a matter of seconds.
From behind the heavy iron door, screams of terror echoed as the surging water pushed back through the access tunnel, trapping Julian and his security guards in a swirling, high-pressure trap of freezing mud and debris.
"Grant!" Maya screamed from halfway up the ladder, turning back to look down into the dark abyss.
The force of the incoming flood had knocked Grant off his feet. He was being dragged under by the swirling, icy current, his body slamming violently against the iron framing of the sluice gate.
"Dad!" Noah cried out from above, stopping his climb. He reached down through the ladder rungs, stretching his arms into the dark. "Dad! Grab the ladder!"
Grant surfaced, gasping for air, his chest heaving as the freezing water reached his chin. He fought against the fierce current, thrashing his arms, swimming desperately against the tide toward the iron ladder attached to the wall.
He reached out—his fingers missing the bottom rung by inches.
The current pulled him back again.
"Noah, keep climbing!" Maya ordered, but Noah ignored her.
The nine-year-old boy braced his legs against the wall, lowered his chest over the ladder's platform, and extended the heavy, solid plastic frame of his red toy fire truck down into the dark water like a lifeline.
"Dad! Grab it!" Noah yelled at the top of his lungs.
Grant saw the bright red plastic flashing in the beam of light from the upper hatch. With a final, agonizing surge of strength, he launched himself out of the water and gripped the back end of the toy truck with his right hand.
The plastic cracked under his heavy weight, but it held.
Maya reached down past Noah, her strong nurse's grip locking around Grant's wet coat collar. "I've got you! Pull!"
Together, with Maya pulling with all her strength and Noah holding fast, Grant pulled himself up out of the freezing current, his boots finding traction on the bottom rungs of the iron ladder.
They scrambled up the ladder as the icy river water roared beneath them, filling the lower vault to the ceiling in a matter of breathless seconds.
Grant pushed open the heavy iron hatch at the top of the ladder, and they tumbled out onto the wet gravel of the ground-level construction site into the open air of the stormy night.
Kendra was already there, huddled under the shelter of an overturned supply crate, holding the crying baby close to her chest to keep her warm.
They collapsed onto the muddy ground, gasping for breath, the cold rain washing the dark soot, sweat, and river mud from their faces.
Grant pulled Noah into a ferocious, crushing embrace, sobbing against his son's wet shoulder. "You saved me," Grant whispered, his voice broken with emotion. "You saved me, Noah."
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Noah wrapped his arms tight around his father's neck, burying his face in Grant's shoulder.
"I didn't let go," Noah whispered softly into his father's ear. "I didn't let go of the truck."
