Free Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury

and danced with his friend Ella. Like a cruel vicious kidnapping, the storm had come upon them and taken Holden with it.
    And so, he had walked away, gone off to battle this storm and others like it instead—the ones in Alaska. Because here he could actually fight the wind and waves and with every victory he could at least do one thing for his son: he could pay for therapy. The white water and deadly seas made him feel like he was still in the fight, still capable of doing some good.
    But he was wrong about all of it. The therapy wasn’t helping. The fierce and sudden storm that hit when Holden was three had taken their son for all time.
    And now this fierce and sudden storm would take him too.
    Dan had no idea how much time passed, and for most of it he was in and out of reality. Minutes, maybe, or hours. He wasn’t sure. The first sign he had that he’d survived was the sound of Captain Charlie’s voice.
    “Harris… we thought we lost you.” The guy’s tone was frantic. He slapped Dan’s cheek a couple times. “Get up. We gotta get you warm.”
    “Wh… what?” He tried to open his eyes, but they were swollen shut. “What happened?”
    “You got lucky, that’s what.” Charlie grabbed his arm. “Come on, get up.”
    Dizziness swept over him, and as he lumbered to his feet he jerked to the side and threw up. Two times, then a third. He wiped at his mouth and forced himself to see through the slit inhis thick eyelids. The skies were blue, the storm gone. The captain and another deckhand helped him down below the hatch, walked him to a bunk.
    “Bury him in blankets. Whatever you can find.” The captain stood beside him a minute longer. “You’ll be okay, Harris. You’re strong.”
    Dan felt weak and sick and feverish. But he had survived the storm, so the captain was probably right. He’d drink some bottled water and get warm and he’d be good as new in a day or so. This time, the storm wouldn’t take his life.
    But if it had, then what? Tracy and Holden would miss him, yes. But he was no longer a part of their lives. The truth was something Captain Charlie didn’t understand: it didn’t matter if Dan survived.
    Because in every way that mattered, the storm had already won.

Five
    E LLA WALKED BY HERSELF TO THE DRAMA ROOM . S HE SHOULD’VE been the happiest girl at Fulton High. LaShante and the girls were still celebrating for her. Telling everyone how she had won the role of Belle, and congratulating her because Jake Collins threw three touchdown passes to beat nearby Johns Creek High over the weekend.
    But as Ella walked into her sixth-period drama class, she couldn’t shake the cold feeling in her heart. The football game was fun, but afterward she and Jake had gone with a bunch of kids to the parking lot of Stone Mountain. Almost everyone was drinking, including Jake —which was why Ella insisted on driving home. The whole way, Jake kept tickling her and trying to touch her in places where she didn’t want to be touched.
    She wanted to blame her irritation on Jake’s drinking, but the closer she got to home the more she remembered Jake and his buddies picking on the special-needs kid. Maybe Jake wasn’t the great guy she thought he was. So, yeah, that was a problem.
    Then there was the whole deal with her parents.
    Her mom spent the weekend wearing dark sunglasses and a lightweight turtleneck. “I never like anyone to see the work until it’s healed up,” she told them. All weekend she seemed flighty and distracted, and since she never asked Ella about her news, Ella never told her. And though her dad was in town that weekend he never came home. Even her little brothers figured out something was wrong with that.
    “What’s up with Dad?” Alex literally had to take hold of their mom’s hand and force her to stop long enough to look at him.
    “Yeah.” Andrew walked up, identical in looks and concern with Alex. “He should be home.”
    “He’s busy. Lots of meetings. His