Chapter 7 - The Leap of Faith
Time slowed down.
In that split second, the seven years of pain, the thousands of hours of physical therapy, the sheer agony of retraining my severed nerves—it all converged into one single purpose.
I didn't think. I sprinted.
The speed of my movement was supernatural, fueled by the advanced neural stimulators embedded in my spine and the raw, maternal instinct of a mother protecting her cub. I covered the thirty feet of slick, wet wood in a heartbeat.
Just as Evelyn’s foot slipped over the edge, pulling Maya with her, I lunged.
I grabbed Maya’s jacket with one hand, my fingers locking into the fabric like steel clamps. With my other hand, I grabbed the rusted iron railing of the pier, anchoring us.
Evelyn lost her grip on Maya. With a sharp, terrified gasp, she fell backward into the dark void.
"Mom!" Maya screamed, clinging to my arm.
With a mighty heave, fueled by the strength I had built over seven years of lifting my own useless body, I pulled Maya up and over the railing, slamming her safely onto the wooden planks of the pier.
Below us, a splash echoed through the storm.
May you like
Liam ran to my side, throwing his arms around Maya and me. We clung to each other in the pouring rain, the sound of sirens finally wailing in the distance.
I looked over the edge. The river was dark and empty. Evelyn Vance was gone, swallowed by the very darkness she had tried to drown us in.
