Chapter 11 - The Pull
Copper scrambled out through the shattered window, his claws scratching against the slick roof before he leaped onto the muddy bank above.
Leo lunged after him, hooking his elbows over the rusted edge of the car’s rear window frame. The current was dragging his legs back, sucking his lower body toward the darkness of the pipe beneath the chassis. The three kittens in his jacket were dead weight now, their faint cries barely piercing through the soaked fabric against his chest.
""Leo! Take my hand!""
The old man was lying flat on his belly in the mud at the edge of the ditch, his daughter anchoring his legs from behind. The man reached his arm down, his calloused fingers straining toward the water.
Leo pushed with his feet against the car frame, throwing his right hand upward. Their fingers locked—wet skin slipping against wet skin.
""I've got you, son!"" the old man yelled, his face turning crimson with effort.
Beside him, Copper sank his teeth into the thick collar of Leo's windbreaker, pulling backward with all the muscle in his four legs, growling deep in his throat.
With a coordinated heave, they dragged Leo up the slick embankment just as the sedan broke free with a deafening crack of tearing steel. The current swept the car completely into the concrete culvert, swallowing it into the dark tunnel under the highway.
Leo collapsed onto the wet grass, chest heaving, water pouring from his sleeves and hair.
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The woman wrapped a trembling arm around him. ""You saved me... oh God, you saved me.""
Leo didn't answer immediately. He slowly pulled open the drenched zipper of his windbreaker, peering down at the three motionless shapes pressed against his sodden sweater.
