Buck started calling outwe’re in herewhile she shifted and contorted her body. First she got one leg free and then the other. As she moved her side ached and it confirmed her suspicion she may have injured her ribs.
After what seemed like forever, but was only about five minutes she was standing. Her head spun and pounded and she closed her eyes, gripping the pieces of shelving as if they could keep her upright.
“You’re not going to fall at my feet, are you?” Buck asked with a hint of humor. “I’d be honored but I’m taken.”
Nadia chuckled. “Well darn, here I thought I might have a chance with you.”
“Sorry darlin, my Marlene is the light of my life and I’m grateful she’s in San Antonio visiting our daughter and not here. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her.” His voice broke and Nadia carefully placed the boards down so they didn’t disturb anyone. She reached over and laid her hand over his where they rested on the debris.
“I promise I’m going to get help and get us all out of here.” She stood and looked around at who she could see, especially at Cerise who still had her eyes shut. “I promise.”
“I know you will,” Cerise said as she opened her eyes, the pain she was experiencing plain to see.
Nadia squatted back down and carefully reached through the small gap between the wood and cans piled on her friend. She prodded Cerise’s belly. It was firm a big indicator that her roommate was suffering some internal injuries.
How was it that she was able to stand?
How come she didn’t have any broken bones or internal injuries, but the rest of the people in the room were seriously injured?
It was a question she couldn’t answer and wasn’t meant to.
“I’ll be back as fast as I can. I just have to work out a way to get out of here.”
Nadia shone her flashlight around. Did it seem dimmer than it was only a moment ago? God, how could she see if her battery died.
“Hunt Volunteer Fire Department, anyone in the vicinity?” Nadia recognized that voice. It was the sweetest sound she’d heard in the last hour.
“Mitch! Oh thank God, we’re in here.” She picked her way carefully to where the door used to be, but a collapsed ceiling and doorframe now stood. She banged on the pile, coughing when some dust floated in her face.
“Nadia, is that you? Are you okay? Keep talking so I can get a good handle on where you are? How many people are with you?”
“Yes, it’s me. We’re in the pantry, well what’s left of the pantry. There’s five, including me. I’ve got badly injured people here.” She banged on the wood again and received an answering one. “Mitch?”
“Yeah, Boston, it’s me. I need you to move away from where you’re standing, I know you’re close to me. I’m going to try and get some of this rubble away from you.”
The sound of his voice was a welcome relief and the adrenaline that had been keeping her going began to subside. A shiver rippled through and she wrapped her arms around herself as she willed her body to get itself under control.
They were in the middle of a disaster and although her head and sides ached, she was an able-bodied physician. She would be needed to help and assess everyone. Even treat patients. The first ones she’d assist would be the people in this room.
“Nadia, you still there? Have you moved a safe distance away?” Mitch’s voice sounded so confident and sure, as if she had nothing to worry about.
She shuffled back until she was sitting on the boards that had been on her, keeping hold of her phone tightly in her hand. The light was still working but she didn’t know for how much longer. In the confined space it was comforting. “Yeah, I’m safe.”
“Okay, I’m going to start removing some of the debris. It’s like a game of Jenga, but I’ll let you know that I was good at the game so you’re in safe hands.”
Again, his confidence rang through every word he spoke. Nadia imagined this was how he sounded when he addressed a patient, before he’d become affected by the sights he’d seen. The fact Mitch seemed so in control was at odds with how she’d seen him that first day. Then again, if he couldn’t do his job competently enough, he wouldn’t be a member of the volunteer fire department.
The walls groaned and little bits of plaster and dust sprinkled down on them. “Mitch, be careful we’re getting some stuff drifting down on us.”
“Roger that. I’m almost through.” A second later a large opening appeared and she saw the familiar shape of a firefighters hat poking through the gap. Mitch raised his flashlight and waved it around. The beam was brighter than the small one on her phone and she winced when it hit her.
He breathed in deep and she worried that seeing her and the others may trigger an attack. God, she had to stop thinking that anything would set him off. She had to have faith that in this situation Mitch’s training would kick in and override anything bad. To expect anything he came across would trigger an attack was doing an injustice to him. He didn’t deserve that. What he deserved was her trust and belief in him.
“How does my bar look, Mitch?” Buck’s voice seemed weaker than it had not long ago. She could imagine the pain level was becoming more than he could deal with.
“Honestly?” Mitch asked and when Buck nodded he continued. “It doesn’t look good.”
“I thought as much. What about everyone else that was here, we were full because of trivia night.”
