Chapter 116

Myles POV

The river closed over my head with a hard slap, and cold water rushed into my ears and mouth. Bullets tore into the surface above me with sharp cracks mixed with splashes, and I stayed under, forcing myself not to rise. My lungs burned, but I kicked hard with strong strokes through the dark water of the river.

I had not swum like that since college, when I won medals and trophies, but now it was life or death, so I kept moving until the noise behind me faded, and only then did I let myself drift up.

I broke the surface with a gasp, dragging in huge gulps of air. The night sky was black and empty with no unwanted lights, no shouts and no gunfire, with just the soft push of the current. I turned, scanning both banks, but there was nothing.

I swam quietly toward the forest side of the river, and my body screamed from the cold and from burns on my arms. My jacket hung heavily and half burned, dragging me down, so I stripped it off and let it sink