Chapter 13 - The Edge of the Abyss
The collision sent both of them crashing hard onto the wet gravel of the overlook. The hunting knife slipped from Elena's grasp, spinning away into the darkness over the edge of the cliff. Elena shrieked in fury, her fingernails clawing viciously at David’s face as they rolled dangerously close to the rear bumper of the teetering sedan.
"Let me go!" she screamed, her voice cracking with pure venom as she tried to knee him in the ribs. "We were supposed to be safe!"
"You're insane, Elena!" David grunted, pinning her wrists to the ground with all his weight while gasping for air against the biting mountain wind. He managed to press her arms down, immobilizing her just as the blue and red flashing lights of police cruisers began to cut through the distant fog along the highway.
Inside the sedan, the sudden shifting of the car caused it to lurch forward another six inches. The rear tires spun freely in the air over the empty canyon, leaving the vehicle balanced precariously on its front nose. Lily began to scream from the backseat, terrified as the car tilted downward at a sickening angle.
"Daddy! Help!" Lily's voice pierced through the howling gale.
David released one of Elena's wrists, lunging toward the rear door of the sedan. He grabbed the handle and yanked it open, throwing his upper body into the tilted vehicle. Without hesitation, he unbuckled Lily and hauled her out into his arms, tumbling backward onto the solid dirt of the overlook just as the car shifted again.
"Chloe!" Elena screamed from the ground, suddenly abandoning her fight as she realized her older daughter was still trapped in the front seat of the teetering vehicle. "Chloe, grab my hand!"
David scrambled to his feet, clutching a sobbing Lily tightly to his chest, and turned his attention to the front passenger door. The sedan was slowly sliding forward now, gravity pulling its heavy engine block over the sheer drop of the cliff. Chloe was sobbing hysterically inside, her small fingers fumbling frantically with the seatbelt release button.
"Dad! Help me!" Chloe cried out, her small face pale with absolute terror.
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David handed Lily off to a pair of local police officers who had just arrived on foot from the highway, and sprinted toward the sliding vehicle. With the front wheels already dangling over empty space, he threw open the passenger door, reaching inside just as the entire car tipped past the point of no return.
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