Chapter 78
Nick
Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I cry, scrambling back from the ragged edge of the floor, which in a quick and terrible moment became a cliff.
An entire half of the building sheared away, torn down by the neighboring structure, which has also collapsed.
And Captain Hyun is gone.
Captain Hyun—one of my closest friends.
Captain Hyun—a wife and a mother.
Captain Hyun—our fearless leader.
Gone.
I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Steeling myself, I glance over the edge, down at the broken floors, the torn rebar, the rough edges of concrete. It’s impossible to see through the clouds of dust below. If Captain Hyun is alive, it’s a miracle.
I can’t breathe.
I can hardly think.
Captain Hyun is probably dead. My crew is god knows where. My daughter. Tristan.
I have no idea if any of them are okay.
Breathe, Nicolas, breathe, I tell myself. You’ve trained for moments like this. You can do this.
“What happened to her? Is she dead?” Callum cries from behind me.
Right. Him.
Just like that, I snap back to the present.
I have a job to do. I’m a first responder. I might not know if my family, my loved ones, are okay, but right now, that’s not my main concern. My main concern is making sure that Callum gets to safety.
“She’s gone,” I say. “I don’t know if she’s alive or not. Don’t worry about her. We gotta get you out of here.”
The poor intern is wide-eyed and panicked. I feel like I’m in shock as I brace myself against the desk on top of him, strain, and manage to lift it enough for him to slide out from under it.
“Jesus fuck,” he gasps. “Thank you.”
“Can you stand?”
“I can try.”
“Good. I’m getting you out of here.”