Page 101 of Red Zone Awakened

The door on the side of the craft opened, and Sandi the Amazon appeared, clinging to the outside of the shuttle.“Damn partition won’t lower because we lost the electrics.It was either this or smash the glass, and I didn’t think that would help Mace.”Her eyes were on her brother, but there was no sign of emotion.“Good job packing the vent.Red’s always been his color.Now help me get him up.We need to bail.”

“I’m glad the bayou’s deeper than it was when we were kids—otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough water to cushion our landing.”Ignacio looked down as he helped lift Mace.“Scratch that.The water’s filthy.I’d rather die from the jump than get a bacterial infection that’ll take me out later.”

“Quit whining.Take more of his weight.”

“You’re serious,” Keiko said.“We’re going to jump into the water with Mace like this?It could kill him.”

“At least this way, he has a chance,” Sandi said coldly.“We’re about to hit Waugh Bridge, and he sure as hell won’t survive that.”

“Waugh Bridge.You mean bat bridge?”She felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach.The bat.She’d forgotten about the bat.“Where’s Mace’s bat?We need to find his bat.He won’t survive without it.”

“You know about Mace’s bat?”Ignacio gaped at her.

“We’ll deal with that later,” Sandi said to him.“You get under his left side.I’ll take the right.We’ll jump together.”

They lifted him to his feet, slid their shoulders under his arms, and wrapped an arm each around Mace’s waist.He hung there between them like a rag doll.

“Hold the tube,” Ignacio said.“Try to stop it from jerking on impact.”

Sandi nodded and turned to her.“If you don’t jump, you die.Your choice.”And then she nodded at her teammate.“On three.One.Two.Three.”

They launched themselves from the shuttle, taking the man she loved with them.Keiko gasped and rushed forward to hold on to the open door.They hit the water with a splash and emerged seconds later, Mace between them.

“Jump,” Sandi shouted.

Keiko stared down at the water.Would she survive?They were level with the bridge now, and people died jumping off bridges all the time.She glanced at the bridge.It was coming up fast.

“Get out of there, now!”

There was no other choice.She took a deep breath and threw herself from the shuttle.Part of her brain told her to keep an eye out for rocks or alligators below.The rest of her brain told her to shut her eyes and hope for the best.So that’s what she did.She couldn’t stop herself from landing on a rock or getting eaten by a stray alligator anyway.

Keiko struck the water feet first, sending jagged shards of pain shooting through her body.One second, she was taking a last breath, and the next, she was trying not to gasp in water.Down she shot, deeper into the brown water, kicking out as she clawed toward the surface.But nothing stopped her momentum as she plunged into the murky depths—straight into the middle of a tree that had sunk to the bottom of the river.

Its branches grasped at her, holding her tight.Keiko kicked hard to free herself, but it was no use.The tree had her, and it didn’t want to let go.