Page 73 of Desperate Creed

As he turned away he tapped his cell phone, looking and hoping to see a new message from Maggie. What he did see was three bars. Instead of attempting another text, he hit the call button.

It was ringing on the other end. That was more than he’d gotten earlier. Still, he expected the call to get dropped when someone answered.

“Maggie?”

“Yes, yes! Ryder? I can’t believe you got through.”

“One of the carriers brought in a mobile unit, so it might be easier until it overloads. How are you doing?”

“Hot,” she said and laughed.

It was good to hear her laugh even if he also heard the tension in it.

“Listen, Maggie, is Frankie down there with you.”

“Yes.”

Relief swept over him. Hannah would have been inconsolable if Frankie had been one of the three bodies they pulled from the debris. But his relief was short lived.

“She’s hurt,” Maggie said, her voice lower and quieter. “She’s hurt bad. One of the support beams came down on her legs. We were able to pull her free.”

“Is Frankie conscious?”

“Yes, but she’s in a lot of pain, Ryder. How soon do they think they can get the door open for us?”

His eyes trailed back to the mountain of rubble that used to be the restaurant and the 18-wheeler sealing that door she was talking about. Then he looked at the sky, again. It was the middle of the afternoon, and it was getting so dark that headlights on the vehicles traveling the side roads had automatically come on.

How much could he tell her? How much should he tell her?

“Ryder?” she asked when he took too long. “It must be bad.”

“There’s a lot of stuff they have to remove before they can get to the door. How many people are down there with you?”

“Let me think.” She started naming them off out loud, “Me, Frankie, Clara and Adele, Ronald, Val, a woman and her son, Beth, Max, Hank, Loverboy and Gus. How many is that?” He heard someone else answer her then she said, “Thirteen. Ronald has a chunk of glass in his shoulder. I think the bleeding’s stopped.”

“Anyone else hurt?”

“Cuts and scrapes.”

“How about you?”

“I’m fine.”

She answered too quickly like she was trying to convince herself as much as convince him.

“Listen Ryder, there’s a gas leak. I think we turned off the valve down here, but someone mentioned the crews might be able to turn it off at the main.”

“I’ll check that out.”

“And water’s coming in.”

“How high is it?”

“Not high. Almost to my ankle. Do you have any idea how long it’ll take to get us out? Give it to me straight. I’m a big girl.” Before he could answer, she added, “A big girl with claustrophobia.”

Creed remembered too well what it felt like to be buried underground. He’d gotten caught in a mudslide once. It didn’t take much to conjure up that feeling of panic. Just the thought of layers of dirt on top of him could still break him out in a sweat. Someone with claustrophobia didn’t need to imagine an 18-wheeler capsized on top of them, threatening not only a possible exit, but adding to the risk of caving in.

“They’re bringing in some equipment to help move off the debris. But Maggie, more storms are coming, so they may need to back off for a short time.” Even as he told her this, he watched some of the first responders waving at each other. They were loading up their equipment.