Sweat beaded on his forehead as he slowly repositioned his leg. By the time he put his foot flat on the ground, it felt like hours had passed.
Breathing heavily, sucking in more dust with every gasp, Killian considered his options.
With the slab balanced precariously on his metal leg, he had enough room to slide his right leg so it was tucked under the stronger left. Some protection, not a lot.
The slab wobbled and tilted to the other side. “Shit!” he yelled.
If he couldn’t control where the slab went, he’d fuck up his other leg. And maybe the rest of him.
This was the tricky part. His escape might mean someone else’s death.
No. He couldn’t worry about anyone else. Not right now. He and Portia and Tommy had to come first, no matter what.
Ignoring the strain on his right shoulder, he wiggled and tried to scoot his hips closer to his feet. The closer he got, the better this would work. In theory.
Rolling his back over the loose rubble was excruciating. With every painful centimeter, he wanted to stop. When he couldn’t go any farther, he pulled his left knee close to his chest while still trying to keep the concrete from falling.
He braced the sole of his foot on the underside of the concrete and took a last deep breath. “Please let me survive this,” he said out loud.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three!” Expelling the air from his lungs, he focused all his energy into thrusting his leg up.
The chunk of concrete flew backward nearly a yard, landing with a clatter somewhere past his feet. It set off a mini rock slide and flung more particles into the air.
Killian lowered his shaking leg to the ground. Until that moment, he hadn’t truly believed it would work.
“What the hell?” The noise must have caught the attention of the rescue workers wherever they were.
Good. Maybe they’d be drawn back this way.
With the block removed, the only remaining impediments to movement were the beam, which he could work around, and Portia, who still pinned his right arm down.
She was still unconscious.
Killian rolled to his right side.
“Portia? Hey, are you okay?” No response. He pressed his fingers to her neck, not daring to breathe until her pulse fluttered against his fingertips. Relief surged through him. She wasn’t dead.
Careful not to jostle her, after several long minutes he was able to slide his arm out from beneath Portia’s torso. Arms and legs now free, he slid his body under the beam to reach her side. Every muscle in his body protesting, he sat up.
Killian shifted closer to Portia and took one of her hands in his. It was so cold. He squeezed it, trying to impart warmth.
He didn’t pull her into his lap, not wanting to risk injuring her more. Medical science could fix a lot of things these days, but she and Tommy both took pride in being unaugmented. Of course, they’d never truly faced that choice like he had. Losing his leg had been nothing compared to the loss of his parents.
Now, where was Tommy?
He could be anywhere, buried under the rubble like Killian and Portia had been. Or maybe he’d escaped in the crush of people. Deep down, though, he feared Tommy’s luck hadn’t been that good. Bile surged up his throat at the thought of Tommy entombed alone under the collapsed roof.
Killian studied the area around him. The room was brighter. He might be able to stand now. Should he go look for Tommy or stay with Portia?
Lights bobbed around him, getting closer, and voices were just barely audible over the rush of his pulse.
“Over here!” he croaked.Dammit!Hacking up something unpleasant, he spit to the side and tried again.
“Over here!” He raised his free hand, waving into the dim light.
