Chapter 13 - River of Shadows
Julian didn't hesitate. He fired a single shot directly into the commander’s forehead, watching the man collapse backward, before diving headfirst over the railing into the freezing, turbulent waters of the Hudson drainage basin.
The shock of the icy water hit Julian like a wall of concrete. The current was merciless, dragging him under into pitch-black churning rapids. He fought his way to the surface, gasping for air amidst the spray, his eyes desperately scanning the dark waters.
Twenty yards ahead, swept along by the raging surge, Emma was desperately keeping Leo’s head above water with one arm while fighting the current with the other.
""Julian!"" her voice was swallowed by the roar of the water as they were swept toward the drainage outflow pipe leading directly into the open ocean bay.
Julian kicked furiously, ignoring the screaming agony in his muscles. He reached them just as they were pushed out of the pipe into the wider, calmer bay waters. He wrapped his strong arm around both Emma and Leo, pulling them toward an abandoned wooden pier jutting out from the shore.
With the last ounce of his strength, Julian shoved Leo onto the low-hanging wooden planks. Emma, shivering violently, her lips blue, pulled herself up beside the boy, collapsing onto the splintered wood.
Julian hauled himself up, coughing up brackish water, and pulled both of them into his arms. The three of them lay huddled together under the freezing night rain, their ragged breaths synchronizing in the dark.
Leo wrapped his small, soaked arms around Emma's neck, burying his face in her soaked collar. ""Mommy... I was brave. I bit him.""
Emma burst into tears, kissing his freezing forehead over and over again. ""You were so brave, my love. You were so brave.""
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Julian looked at Emma, brushing wet strands of hair from her face, his gaze fierce with an emotion he had buried for four long years. ""It's over. I swear to you, it's over.""
Sirens echoed in the distance, but this time, the flashing blue lights belonged to the coast guard and local rescue boats speeding across the harbor toward their beacon.
