More like ...someonewas. “I’d like to know more about the Miracle Five.”
Eli wiped his fingers on his napkin. “What would you like to know?”
Sam speared green beans with his fork. “How long were they trapped underground?”
“Eight days.”
Five middle school kids, one of whom had been Gen.Eight daysunderground. “It really is a miracle that they were able to survive down there for eight days.”
Eli sat back. “It’s impressive that they survived. But that’s not what’s miraculous about them.”
Surprise caused Sam to still. “No?”
“They were in the basement when the earthquake hit. Hugesections of a three-story building collapsed around them, trapping them in a space around the size of a living room.” Eli took a few more bites. “Luke had his cell phone with him, so he called his parents and told them what happened.”
Sam set his utensils down and rested his hands on his thighs.
“The kids’ parents immediately contacted reporters,” Eli continued. “They were smart enough to understand that media coverage would lead to public concern and that public concern might help their kids.”
Sam waited.
“The best engineers and architects and emergency specialists in the world gathered in El Salvador and raced against time to save them. But the building was in terrible shape. Slabs of concrete were resting against each other like so.” Eli demonstrated the supporting angles with his palms. “Some experts predicted that the structure would collapse at any moment. Others said that if they tried to move one of the slabs in order to get the kids out, the other slab would fall and crush the children.”
“So how did they do it?”
“Well, remember.” Eli’s hands remained propped against each other. “When all of this was going on, global attention was focused on those five kids, trapped in one building in the middle of one devastated Central American city. The kids’ parents told the media that they were trusting God to protect their children. And literally all over the world, people prayed for God to rescue them.”
“And?”
“And miraculously, He did.”
Sam searched Eli’s face and found calm truth there.
“A team finally went in and began taking the building apart piece by piece because it was that or let the kids die from dehydration or starvation. Their initial plan was to reach the kids from the side and leave the two main slabs of concrete in place. But as they were digging, some of the building’s support collapsed. Aslab fell in.” One of Eli’s palms met the table. The other remained up at a diagonal. “As it happened, the kids were all sitting under this other slab at the time. By all accounts, this slab should have fallen as soon as the other one did. But it didn’t. It remained at this angle, almost as if it were protecting the kids.”
“Until they got the kids out?”
“Justuntil. Within minutes after they’d evacuated the kids by air, the last slab fell.” His remaining palm gave the table a soft slap.
“And that’s why they’re called the Miracle Five,” Sam said.
“That’s why. After the fact, architects could not explain why the concrete didn’t come down on them. All the experts agreed. It should have killed them.” Eli adjusted his drink on its coaster. “If you ask anyone in this town what happened, they’ll tell you that God intervened and saved those kids.”
A shiver tingled down the back of Sam’s neck. “I’m assuming they took the kids to the hospital?”
“Yeah. A few had minor injuries. Once the government cleared them to leave, most of them spent the rest of the summer traveling with their families, telling their story. When it came time for school to start back up, their parents brought them home so they could return to their normal lives. But according to the locals who were here at that time, nobody considered them normal after that. How could they? The kids were international celebrities.” Eli inclined his chin toward the front door. “Speaking of...”
Sam glanced in the direction he’d indicated to see Gen shrugging out of her coat. A woman with curly black hair slid into a booth and Genevieve took the seat across from her.
His throat tightened. Was there anywhere he could go in Misty River where she wasn’t?
He feared there wasn’t anywhere in America or Australia—or the entire planet—he could go to get away from her. She changed the air he breathed.
She picked up a menu and cast a relaxed look around the interior. Their eyes met with the force of metal striking metal.
Her face blanked for a full second. Then she put on a smile and lifted a hand in greeting. He lifted his hand in response.
She faced her menu.
