He reached over the seat and pulled back the door handle, pushed and whimpered when the door didn't budge.
The car wobbled as if it were balanced on a stick.
He sniffed and wiped a sleeve under his nose.
He wished the tiny back windows could be rolled down so he could slip out.
He tried the door again, and knew he couldn't do it from the angle he was using. Gingerly, then, sucking in air loudly, he climbed into the front, crying out softly when his mother slipped sideways and her right hand fell onto Colin's bloodied hair. He tried not to look at them, tried not to compare them to the way he had seen Tess Mayfair.
He put his shoulder to the door and pushed with all his might, filling his cheeks, tightening his stomach; he felt the door give.
Another shove and a kick, and a spattering of dust covered his head.
Again, and again, until there was just enough space for him to slide out of the car.
"Hang on, Mom," he said, swallowing and wanting desperately to give her a hug. "Hang on. I'll be back. Hang on, please. Please!"
Still crying and not caring, he squirmed out and made his way on hands and knees to the rear bumper. He could see the outside. There was a large gap between two sections of flooring, and he hurried as fast as he dared through it, fell over a length of railing and landed down on the wet grass.
He sobbed, and scrambled to his feet. The pain was still there but he put it away in a mind place that let him stagger to the gap where the car had gone through the fence. He couldn't see over the deadfall, but he could see the cruiser's lights shining into the woods on the other side.
There was nothing to hear no matter how hard he tried.
A deep breath for courage, and he took a step forward, reined in when he saw Amy Fox walking into the light with her brother.
He started to call them, and then he remembered.
He looked down at his shoes and saw earthworms swarming over the sidewalk and the curb, driven out of the ground by the influx of water.
Amy's head began to swivel in his direction.