Chapter 88
Tristan
Idon’t know how many hours pass as Mathilde and I search for an exit from the parking garage.
All of the stairs we find have caved in. Eventually, through a different route over different debris, we find our way back to the very mound of rubble where I woke up.
This time, I see a corner of my ambulance, almost fully buried in slabs of concrete, broken pavement, and dirt.
“Do you think there’s any out?” Mathilde whispers.
She has lost much of her spirit over the last several hours. Her face is white with pain.
I used my tactical shirt to bind her leg in the closest approximation of a splint that I could manage, but I know that she must still be in an unimaginable amount of pain.
“I think this area is our best bet,” I say as I lower her to the ground so that we can both rest. “This is where I fell in, and it’s pretty close to the entrance of the building. My team will be nearby, up there.”
I blink, a sickening realization washing over me. “If they’re alive.”
“They’re alive,” Mathilde says in a weak voice. “You have to believe that. You’re going to get out of here, and you will see them.”
I look at her with worry. The flashlight is off to save battery, but my eyes have mostly adjusted to the darkness, and I can see the weary, resigned look on her face.
“You mean we’re going to get out of here,” I say. “I promised you that you’re going to be okay, Mathilde. Don’t make me a dishonest man.”
She shakes her head gently. “You know how I said I thought it was a lie you were saying, to make me feel better?”
“Yeah.”
Her voice is so soft that I have to lean a bit closer to hear her. “Maybe it wasn’t a lie. Maybe it’s just hope. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
I blink back tears. “It’s not a bad thing, Mathilde. Hope is a very good thing. I have hope that we’re going to get out of this. Both of us.”
Again, she shakes her head. “There’s no more hope for me, Tristan.”
“No,” I insist. “There is hope. Your leg might be broken, but we will get you out of here. You will see your mother again.”
Battery be damned, I turn the flashlight back on so that she can fully see me. We both blink in the sudden brightness.
“We’ll get out of here,” I repeat. “Do you understand?”
She attempts a smile, but it becomes a wince. “Okay, Tristan.”
I take a deep, steadying breath. “Okay. I’m going to see if I can dig through that rubble around my ambulance.”
She grabs my wrist. “You need to rest, too.”
I am exhausted. “Okay.” I let myself sink back to the ground, leaning against a cracked concrete pillar. “Just for a few minutes.”