Ryan gave her a small smile, tight and trembling. "Good. That is my brave madam."
He looked around again, eyes sharp, assessing the angle, the cracked fra, the pieces of torn tal keeping them suspended. They were hanging by a miracle. One wrong move could break it.
"Madam," Ryan finally said, voice low, "look to your right. The door... it is close to the ground. If we open it, we might be able to crawl out."
Evelyn blinked at the door. It was wedged against the slope, only a few feet from the dirt and leaves below. Close enough to reach. Close enough to escape.
"Can you open it?" Ryan asked.
Her hands shook violently. "I can try."
She reached out, fingers slipping on the blood sared across the handle. She inhaled, pushed, but nothing happened.
Panic clawed at her chest.
However, she didn’t let it incapacitate her. She tried again, grunting through clenched teeth.
"Co on, Eve..." she whimpered. "Please..."
Ryan shifted, slow, careful. "You can do it, Ma’am. One more ti. Harder."
Evelyn shut her eyes, gathered every ounce of strength she had left, and shoved.
The door swung open with a harsh tallic groan. Fresh, cold air rushed in. The car shook once, hard, but settled again.
"Damn it!" Evelyn cursed while trying not to make a move.
Ryan’s voice dropped. "Good. Now slowly unbuckle your seatbelt."
Evelyn stared at the buckle. Her hand hovered, fear making her fingers numb.
If she moved, the car might shift. But if she stayed, the vehicle would fall with her in it. And the result would be a certain death.
No. She can’t die now. She needs to return ho to et her son and husband. She can’t die!
She could sense her breath catching as blood dripped into her eye. She pressed her trembling thumb down.
Click.
The belt snapped free. She gasped as gravity pulled her forward, catching herself on the seat with her good arm. Pain exploded down her side.
"Easy," Ryan soothed. "Do not rush. One step at a ti."
Evelyn tried to move her legs. They would not respond. A bolt of pain shot up from her hip, making her curse under her breath. "Damn it. Move. Move!"
She sucked in a breath and tried again, dragging her leg inch by excruciating inch. She whimpered, tears spilling down her cheeks, frustrated and terrified.
"Madam—"
"I can do it," she snapped, voice shaking. "I have to."
The car creaked again. The tree groaned beneath them. The sound of splintering wood echoed like a countdown.
"Madam Evelyn," Ryan said firmly, "this is your chance. If we do not move now, the car will fall. And if it does, we hit those rocks. There will be no second chance."
Evelyn’s chest clenched.
Images flashed through her mind: Oliver’s smile, Axel’s arms around her, the family she just found, the tiny heartbeat inside her belly.
She inhaled, trying to center herself, rembering every martial arts drill she had trained since childhood...Calm the breath. Protect the core. Move with purpose.
Evelyn braced her hands, pulled, and forced her body to shift.
Every joint scread, but she moved. Slowly, painfully, she positioned herself by the open door, her feet bracing against the dirt of the slope outside.
Before she left, she turned back to Ryan, eyes wide and wet.
"You follow . Do you hear ? You are not dying here. You walk out with ."
Ryan stared at her, sothing like grief and pride mingling in his eyes. He nodded. "I will follow. I swear."
Evelyn gathered what remained of her courage and pushed herself out of the car.
She landed on the slope outside, slipping on wet leaves, her hands digging into dirt. She crawled a foot away, collapsed onto her back, chest heaving.
A sob tore from her throat.
She was out of the car.
She’s alive.
But Ryan still wasn’t.
He was already moving, inch by inch, toward the open door.
The car shook harder now, the tal fra shrieking. The tree supporting them groaned, splinters cracking as roots strained.
"Ryan, hurry!" Evelyn cried, dragging herself backward to make room for him.
"I am coming," he breathed, reaching the door. He hooked his hand onto the fra and pulled.
CRACK.
The tree lurched. The car dipped forward.
"Ryan!" Evelyn scread, reaching her hand forward.
He lunged, gripping the edge of the door, pushing off with his legs. He dove out just as the roots snapped.
The car dropped.
Evelyn watched, frozen, as the vehicle plumted down the ravine, slamming against rocks, rolling like a toy hit by a giant hand.
A spark.
Then flas.
Then—
BOOM.
The explosion roared up like the breath of hell, the fire illuminating the grey sky.
The world went quiet.
Ryan lay on the ground beside her, chest heaving, eyes wide. Their faces reflected the burning wreckage below. The fire crackled, embers floating upward like twisted snow.
They were silent for a long ti.
Evelyn blinked slowly. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Her skin felt cold. Too cold. Ryan finally turned to her and froze.
Blood was trickling down her thighs.
"Madam—" His voice broke. "Your legs..."
Evelyn looked down. Through the torn stocking, she saw it... blood, far too much. And lower, under her palm, her lower abdon throbbed with sharp, unimaginable pain.
Her heart stopped.
"No," she whispered, breath cracking. "No no no no—"
Evelyn pressed a hand to her belly, fingers trembling violently. "Ryan... my baby..."
She shook her head, sobs ripping through her. "Ryan, please. Please. Do sothing. Call for help. Please—"
She curled forward, arms wrapped protectively around her stomach, as if she could shield the life inside.
"I do not want to lose my baby," she cried, voice strangled. "Please..."
"Ma’am, I’ll carry you to the flat area first," he said softly, bending down to lift her gently. Evelyn didn’t refuse.
After placing her top in the flattened area, Ryan took off his jacket to cushion her.
"Please wait here. I need to check sothing..." Ryan said and left her, scanning the hill for any sign of a signal or passing cars.
His hands shook as he realized they had fallen too deep. He couldn’t even see the street above.
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