Page 70 of No Going Back

“Yes.”

“How about now?” He moved to her legs.

“Yes.”

Thank God for that. A positive sign her spinal cord was in good shape, but there was still the possibility of internal injuries. She was small, the concrete might have caused some serious damage to her insides.

“Tell me what hurts, Mira?”

“My chest. Breathing.”

“Anywhere else.”

“Everything hurts, and I’m frightened to move.”

“Don’t try to move. Just try and relax.”

Sam squeezed her hand, hoping to reassure her before standing. He needed to go and assess exactly how bad things were.

“Sam?”

“Yes?”

“How are we going to get out of here?” The stark fear on her face cut straight to his heart. “Are you kidding? You know we work with the best teams in the world, right? You can bet your ass they’re up there working the problem right now. You just need to worry about staying still, got it?”

“OK.”

Sam took a step away from her.

“Don’t leave me.”

Mira’s strangled cry stopped him in his tracks. He crouched back down. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise. I’m just going to take a quick look around. See if I can find some water. I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t be long.”

Sam smiled. “I won’t be. Don’t go anywhere.” He winked and she gave him a small smile. He left his phone propped up, not wanting to plunge Mira into darkness.

Treading carefully, he took in his surroundings as his eyes adjusted more and more to the darkness. The hall to the stairs was completely blocked. In the other direction, toward the elevator, the hall was partially blocked, but there was no way the elevator would be working. They were well and truly stuck with no option but to wait. Judging the space, without air pumping in, they had maybe a few hours of oxygen. Without a doubt Nyx would be topside with the rescue squad working to get them out. Raven, too, when they got back.

Kelly! Please, God, let her have got out in time. And Dale, he’d been on his way. Might have been on his way to the basement. Then there was everyone else in the building today. How many were injured, or worse? He hated not knowing, not being able to communicate. How would anyone know they were even alive down here?

Sam spotted the water cooler on its side. Most of the water had spilled out, but there was a little left. Glancing around he found a paper cup. He took a few sips himself then refilled it to bring back to Mira. As he retraced his steps he stumbled on a piece of rebar. He picked it up and brought it with him. He could use that.

“You still with me?” Sam asked gently, kneeling beside her. Mira opened her eyes. “I’m going to lift your head. Sip some water.”

Sam gently put his hand on the back of Mira’s head, lifting it. While he held the cup to her lips, she took a few sips, then laid her head back down.

“How you doing?”

“My chest really hurts. Think I might have broken a rib or two.”

“Definitely a possibility. I need to alert the rescue team that we’re alive down here.”

“How are you going to do that?”

Sam banged the rebar against an exposed metal pipe. “Like that. So it’s going to be noisy. Just try to relax. Focus on breathing, alright?”

“Breathe. Got it.”

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