1953 - The Sucker Punch
Page 20
The car jumped forward.
The car door swung to, hitting Chad violently on his shoulder. He rolled over, desperately swinging his legs clear as the car wheels passed him.
He saw the car vanish, then he felt his legs suddenly drop into space.
He was going over the edge! He hooked his fingers into the thick grass with a gasp of alarm. He felt the rest of his body slide over the edge and he swung in space. His fingers dug into the soft soil, and he anchored himself.
He hung there, his heart pounding, the strain on his arms bringing him out into a cold sweat.
His toes groped for a foothold but found nothing. He tried to pull himself up, but the angle at which he was hanging was too steep, and he hadn't the strength to raise his own weight over the bulge of the clip.
He heard the violent crashing of rocks and boulders as the car smashed down the cliff head, and he shuddered. A moment later the sky was lit by an orange-red glow as the car began to burn.
He felt the strength going out of his fingers. His mind was gripped by blind, desperate terror.
He made one great effort to raise himself. He managed to get his knee against the cliff face when the clump of grass he was clinging to came slowly away, and he began his swift, terrifying journey to death.