The Slide Down the Embankment
Metal tires lost their grip on the pavement, and the white corrections van slid sideways through the gravel shoulder. The undercarriage scraped violently against the boulders lining the steep incline before crashing down toward the river’s edge.
Water churned against the bumper as the engine stalled. Inside the transport compartment, Caleb braced his palms against the steel bench.
Officer Harris scrambled out of the front seat into the shallow current. He reached for the rear latch, hauling both doors wide open against the rush of water.
Unlocking the Restraints
Harris stepped onto the back step without drawing his sidearm. He slipped his brass key into Caleb’s wrist cuffs, twisting until the ratchet clicked open.
He repeated the motion for the two other men seated opposite, dropping the heavy chains onto the wet diamond-plate floor. “One at a time,” Harris ordered, pointing toward the rocky bank. “Get to the bank.”
Harris turned back toward the cab to retrieve his radio. As his boot hit the driver’s side floorboard, the rear axle slipped off the submerged ledge.
The white chassis pitched backward and vanished into the deep current. A geyser of foam erupted above the windshield as the cab sank toward the riverbed.
Diving into the Murky Water
On the rocky shoreline, two prisoners scrambled up the slope toward the treeline. “Leave him! We’re out!” the larger man shouted, waving his arm toward the forest.
Caleb watched bubbles rise to the surface above the sinking metal. “He came back for us,” he said quietly.
He drew a full breath, pressed his hands together, and plunged headfirst into the gray river. The water grew cold and dim as he kicked his legs toward the river bottom.
The van rested upright against sunken rocks. Inside the cab, Harris was slumped forward over the wheel, eyes closed, surrounded by pocketed air bubbles.
Caleb gripped the exterior door handle and pulled with his full weight. The latch resisted the water pressure before yielding with a sudden jolt.
Reaching inside, Caleb wrapped both arms under Harris’s chest. He dug his sneakers into the bent door frame, hauling the dead weight of the uniform out into open water.
Kicking upward toward the sunlight, Caleb kicked through the surface and gashed air into his lungs. He hooked Harris’s collar with one hand and side-stroked toward the gravel bar.
The Hearing Six Weeks Later
Caleb dragged the officer out until Harris’s knees cleared the shallows. Harris coughed hard, vomiting river water onto the stones before rolling onto his side.
“Why didn’t you run?” Harris asked, clutching his ribs as sirens began wailing in the distance.
“You opened our cuffs,” Caleb replied, sitting flat on the rocks beside him. “You didn’t leave us in there.”
Six weeks later, Caleb sat at a polished oak table in front of the state parole board, wearing clean orange fabric. Officer Harris sat upright directly to his right in full uniform.
The board member read the final line of the official incident file, then lowered the folder flat against the desk. “Parole granted.”
Caleb turned to his right. Harris gave a single, tight nod, his lips curving into a brief smile as Caleb spoke two quiet words across the table.
Send this to someone who knows true character shows up when nobody is watching.
