Driving drowsy....Chapter four.

   The normal thing to happen was having an accident, and that´s what we had: an unavoidable accident. And considering that we were under such many stupid circumstances, I am still wondering what was the variable which made us survive the crash. Was that a miracle? 
  

   The car slid suddenly out the road and we fell into void just in one second. I did not realized what had happen. Luis question was: "Where´s the bridge?". I did even shout till another second later when, out of a clear sky, I noticed that water was entering the car. Then I yelled in panic, and I called my mother. I just started calling my mother out, absolutely terrified, trying to get out of there, pushing the stuck doors, trembling in terror, fingering  on the jammed handles. And the water kept coming in, filling the inside of the car, as it was a bathtub or something worse as a sunk car on the bottom of a river somewhere.

    _ Are you alive?! Are you alive?_ I asked out to my co-travellers._ Then they whispered_ We´re fine._ It doesn´t matter any more!_ I told them back._  We´re going to die! No! I didn´t want to die!_ I cried, and kept crying_ I can´t open the doors! Joachim! I can´t!

   Then I saw Joachim passing above Luis. His side door was stuck too. He tried to open that door, the driver side door. We were wheels up. Any of the windscreens had been broken. Then he got it! He hit the door, and opening it a cold draft aired into the car.

   The dog got out, and I followed the dog. I could pass behind the driver sit and reach the exit. Joachim was not outside. Luis was caught. The steering wheel against his breastbone kept him against the backrest. 

   As soon as I was out I stood up on the big flat river stones settled down in the middle of the riverbed and I looked at the stream running down both sides and above them, soaking my shoes . I am a good swimmer; but I am not very sure if I would have been able to saved my life just swimming wrapped in a long black skirt overalls made of corduroy, swimming down and against the freezing stream. If we had fallen into a deep river pool we three would have drowned. Thanks goodness , we were not in the bottom. Then I Looked up. I saw the moon glittering through the passing gray clouds. Then I looked back to the car. And I saw poor Luis trapped. The water was reaching his waist. Then I saw Joachim getting out of the car. I could see him very clearly because of his white shirt and his white trousers. He was glowing under the moonlight as a lost glum angel, pacing up and down, wandering among the stones, as he was looking for something. I noticed a weird quirky behaviour in him.

_ What are you doing?_ I asked him.

_ I need a stone to break the steer wheel. We had to break him free from that trap.

   Then he kneed down and took a medium-size stone.

_ That´s impossible. We have to climb the ravine up instead. We have to look for help. We need to go out of here._ I said. He did not listen to me. I saw Luis. He was conscious but likely to be seriously injured. His brown black face was fading. I had got to go. The dog was sniffing around the water to find a safe path to cross out the stream. I followed it so that not to fall into a river pool.

   When I reached the river side I started to climb up clutching bushes and blackberries. I remember that despite the undergrowth prickles and thorns my fingers did not hurt because they were frozen and insensitive.  

   I had to climb the steep rocky wall, a face cliff which holded ice and snow,and at least forty metres up to get out of there. 
   Finally, when I reached the end, and I felt safe, I looked back. Down was pitch dark. I could just listen to the sound of water running peacefully. Then I called out Joachim. No one answered.