“You were ordered to assassinate us, weren't you?!” Ohme roared at the driver, who merely let out a soft chuckle, slamming his foot down on the accelerator and rocketing the vehicle toward the river bend devoid of safety barriers.
The engine shrieked in protest before the driver suddenly hurled himself out of the front door, tumbling and rolling along the asphalt.
The pickup truck surged forward, careening through mid-air before plunging straight down toward the dark, churning waters.
Whoosh……
CRASH!
The violent impact transformed the cabin into a state of total weightlessness, sending Ohme and Phueak floating haphazardly through the suffocating gloom.
The truck sank slowly toward the riverbed.
Ohme, recovering from his brief blackout, snapped awake driven by raw survival instinct. His eyes flew open underwater to find Phueak gasping uselessly, blowing a stream of bubbles from his mouth like a floundering bullfrog.
Fumbling frantically, Ohme grabbed the straps of his tactical backpack, wrestling with the zipper against the oppressive underwater pressure that rendered every movement agonizingly sluggish. If he didn't hurry, they would both end up as watery specters guarding the depths of the Huangpu River.
Ohme mustered every ounce of strength, hauling out the emergency vehicle-breaching tool Chatchawin had provided. Channeling all his muscle power to combat the crushing hydrostatic pressure, he jammed the metal pry bar into the gap of the side window and shoved downward with all his might.
Crank... CRACK!
The glass shattered outward, and the door sprang open. Ohme propelled himself out of the vehicle into the current. But when he spun around, Phueak was still thrashing wildly in a blind panic. Without hesitation, Ohme swam back inside, hooking his arm firmly around the chubby kid's collar.
Just as Phueak was about to slip free from the wreckage, the lace of his sneaker snagged tightly onto a seatbelt strap.
“Ah, shit...”
Phueak’s lips formed the silent words, his eyes rolling back in terror as a final burst of air escaped his mouth before his eyelids fluttered shut and consciousness slipped away.
Realizing the grave danger, Ohme dove back into the vehicle to untangle the laces, but the braided fabric was wedged impossibly tight. Every second ticked away as the precious oxygen in his lungs dwindled to nothing.
Why the hell am I wasting time trying to untangle a shoe?! What an absolute moron!
Realizing the futility, he yanked the sneaker right off Phueak’s foot, gripped the kid’s collar, hauled the travel backpack against his chest, and kicked hard toward freedom.
Pull the emergency release cord on the backpack if disaster strikes...
Chatchawin’s prior warning echoed sharply in his mind.
With his last remaining sliver of consciousness, Ohme ripped downward on the deployment toggle with all his might.
WHOOSH!
An emergency buoyancy airbag inflated instantly, rocketing Ohme and Phueak upward toward the surface like a torpedo.
“Gasp!”
Ohme breached the surface, coughing violently and gasping in huge, frantic lunges of air.
The glittering skyline of the metropolis spun wildly around him, tilting and swirling like a lost paper lantern.
Wiping the stinging water from his eyes, Ohme spotted Phueak floating face-down a short distance away.
“Phueak! Phueak!”
Ohme shrieked in panic, but there was no response. The violent, rushing currents of the Huangpu River were threatening to sweep them apart. Gritting his teeth, Ohme fought against the ferocious chop, swimming furiously to haul Phueak’s limp body into a tight hold.
Through the watery blur of the dark night, he caught sight of a concrete embankment looming nearby.
“Phueak! Don't you dare drop dead on me, you bastard! If you do, your mother will hunt me down and murder me!”
He babbled frantically, his heart hammering against his ribs, before dragging Phueak’s unresponsive body through the heavy surf toward the wall.
Reaching the concrete edge, Ohme slammed his hand onto the stone ledge and heaved his exhausted frame up onto the bank. The distant lights of the Pudong skyscrapers cast a cold glow over his drenched, shivering body as he lay gasping for air, so utterly drained he could barely twitch a finger.
Yet Phueak’s life hung by a thread. Gritting his teeth against total exhaustion, Ome forced himself onto his knees, cupping Phueak’s forehead and tilting his chin upward. He took a massive breath and pressed his lips against Phueak’s, forcing air deep into his lungs.
“Wake up, you idiot! Don't you dare check out on me here!”
Ohme locked his hands over Phueak’s chest, alternating frantic chest compressions with rescue breaths. Sweat streamed down his face, mixing with river water, while his hands trembled with fatigue. Yet his eyes remained fixed on his friend's pale face in desperate hope.
“Wake up... damn you, wake up!”
Ohme sobbed, tears mingling with the bitter water. A moment later, Phueak convulsed violently, spewing a jet of water from his mouth.
Ohme’s eyes went wide as saucers as Phueak’s eyelids fluttered open, before Ohme collapsed backward onto the pavement, completely spent.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Phueak sputtered, while Ohme stared blankly up at the towering skyscrapers, expelling a long, rattling exhale.
“Goddamn it! You maniacal old bastard! Fuck you, you psycho!”
he cursed aloud, his vision blurring rapidly until the world faded completely into a blanket of absolute blackness.
Slowly, his blurry vision adjusted to a glaring, fluorescent light. Ohme blinked rapidly, taking in the harsh white tubes overhead while an icy, bone-chilling cold bit into his skin. A sharp, stinging ache radiated deep within his chest.
The man lifted a hand to his head, feeling a dizzy sensation as though he were still floating helplessly in the currents of the Huangpu River.
Where... where the hell am I?
His gaze swept across his surroundings. It was a square room resembling a giant steel container, its walls lined with metallic silver sheeting, radiating a sub-zero chill that cut straight to the bone.
Ohme wrapped both arms tightly around his torso to ward off the violent shivers, only to realize with a shock that his skin was entirely bare.
He bolted upright, staring at the cold, unforgiving stainless-steel slab beneath him. In that exact instant, his eyes darted sideways to find Phueak staring back at him with wide-open, unblinking eyes.
Both of their noses were stuffed with cotton plugs, their lips ghastly and pale, their skin stark white like corpses fresh from a cryogenic freezer.
Ohme locked eyes with his friend, trembling uncontrollably before his jaw dropped open and he unleashed a blood-curdling shriek at the top of his lungs.
“Gho... gho... GHOST! AAAARGHHHHHHH!”
Ohme shrieked in sheer terror, instantly matched by Phueak, who bolted upright and pointed a shaking finger right at Ohme’s cotton-plugged face, wailing in a deafening duet.
“What a terrifying, hideous ghost! AAAARGHHHHHHH!”
Their panicked screams echoed wildly through the sterile room just as the heavy metal door slid open.