Page 57 of All He Sees
But one thing was certain.
Nicky wasn't dead.
She didn't have time to thank whoever was looking out for her. There were others here--she needed to save them.
"Ken?" Nicky asked, looking around. In the impact, he'd let go of her hand. Beside her, Ken was limp. Panicking, Nicky slapped him hard in the face--and he woke with a start.
"Lyons!" he shouted.
"I'm right here." Her back hurt--everything hurt--but she was alive. Panic struck her chest. "The pilots!"
In the front of the helicopter, Danny and Rachel were sitting there, limp, their heads low. They needed to save them. But with every passing second, water was rushing into the helicopter, and they were sinking deeper.
Crawling into the front of the helicopter, Nicky tried to undo the seatbelts. Both Danny and Rachel's were done, and Nicky helped them out. Danny was coughing, and Nicky looked him over. He was bleeding from a gash on his head, but it didn't look too bad. He was in pain, but he could probably stand.
Rachel was worse. Nicky felt her pulse--it was weak--and Rachel was unconscious.
"I think she's bleeding internally," Nicky told Ken, who was behind her.
"Why?" Ken asked.
"Why what?"
"What happened to them?"
"I don't know," Nicky said. "A bullet must've hit her in the abdomen. It's too dark to see it."
The water was rushing in. Nicky needed to think fast. If they sank any deeper, they might never reach the surface.
"We need to get them out of here, now!" Nicky said.
"But--but the water--" Ken stammered.
"We don't have time!" Nicky said. "Help me get them out of here."
Ken nodded, swallowed hard, and helped Nicky pull the bodies of Rachel and Danny from their seats.
There was only one way out. They needed to get outside of the helicopter. They needed to open the doors.
But as soon as they did, the helicopter would flood completely. They only had one chance.
Nicky held Rachel. Ken held Danny.
They looked at each other, and wordlessly, they nodded.
"On three," Nicky said.
"On three."
"One," Nicky began. Ken grabbed the door to the helicopter. "Two..." He readied himself to pull. Nicky took a deep breath.
They only had one shot at this.
"Three!"
Ken ripped open the door, and the water rushed in. Nicky took one last gasp of air before she was submerged entirely in water.
She closed her eyes and held Rachel close, before she let the water take her. She didn't open her eyes until she felt herself pull away from the helicopter. She felt herself being pulled down, and she opened her eyes. It was dark. The freezing water pushed them down, down, down. It was like being pushed down by a thousand hands.
