Page 30 of Rescuing Red

“Lead the way.”

Still wary, Blaide followed the man as he turned around and headed back through the smoke and rubble. They walked about two blocks before the smoke cleared enough for him to see the building the man was leading them to. It was the largest he’d seen yet, and most of the top floor had collapsed on the floor below. People gathered around the end that still partially stood, carrying away piles of rubble or trudging back to repeat the process.

Blaide surveyed the situation, wondering how close they were to getting the people out and how long they had until the wave of troops that were surely coming arrived. Striding past the man who’d led them, Blaide pushed his way through the people gathered at the entrance to the building, wincing at the noise of machinery. Moving deeper into the building, he realized they were trying to remove rubble from a stairwell leading down, but were barely a quarter of the way in.

“This will not work.”

The people nearby stopped and looked at him, stunned expressions on their faces. Many bore tear tracks through the dirt coating their faces, and his heart twisted, knowing these were likely the parents of the children trapped below.

The two men operating the machinery breaking up the pieces of debris too large to move realized everyone else had frozen and shut off their equipment. Blaide didn’t waste any time, knowing they had little if they were going to rescue everyone and get them out of harm’s way.

“That stairwell is going to be packed solid with debris. You do not know if the roof collapsed. If it did, digging through it will bring down more. You’ve barely made it a few feet after a day, and you don’t have the time it’s going to take to reach the bottom.”

Faces turned to stare at each other before turning back to him, the two men with the machines moving closer.

“What else can we do?”

“What do you mean we don’t have time?”

Blaide could scent their fear. Their hopeless desperation. Liz pressed against his back, her trembling firming his resolve.

“Troops are coming. They usually follow about three days behind the ships. That means you only have the rest of today and tomorrow to get them out and get away from the town. Your best bet is going to be putting a hole through the floor and lifting the people below through it.”

Once again, the people glanced around at each other, but this time their gazes settled on the only two with the equipment to do what Blaide suggested. Scrubbing his face, one man sighed before looking back at the stairwell.

“You’re probably right.”

The man didn’t waste any time, turning to pull his machine from the hole and looking around for a clear spot on the floorto dig through. The others moved out of the way, dropping what they’d been carrying against the walls as they watched.

Blaide turned to Liz, taking her into his arms. Tugging on her hair, he made her tip her head back so he could press a kiss to her lips. He wished his unit was with him to help, but she was all he had, and as much as he hated the idea of letting her out of his sight, he needed her help.

“I need you to do something.”

She studied his face in silence before giving him a slow nod. He could already feel her reluctance, but they didn’t have time to do things any other way.

“I need you to talk to the people outside. Gather the women and the ones too weak to help here. Get them to look through the wreckage and find all the water containers and food you can. Any medical supplies, clothing, bags. Bring it all together and start building packs. Get everyone ready to leave.”

Her eyes grew larger with each instruction, breath catching in her throat. Her arms tightened around him, and he could feel the fear growing inside her.

“The enemy will slaughter anyone who stays behind, and our soldiers will not be here in time to help. We must get these people to safety. You know your nana won’t leave them behind.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed hard, but her shoulders straightened, and she gave him a nod. When she released him and took a step back, a woman standing nearby came forward.

“We’ve already checked the other buildings for survivors. No one else is missing except those in the school. We’ve gathered some supplies in a house nearby but lost momentum when this came up. I know where we should be able to find more.”

Liz squeezed his hand before taking another step back and smiling at the woman.

“Thank you.”

Giving him one last look as she turned, Liz sucked in a deep breath and pushed her appreciation through their bond.

“I’ll take care of it,” she assured him.

“I’ll find your nana,” he promised, watching her walk away.

***

It took longer than he’d hoped to get through the floor. The only ones strong enough to handle the machinery, Blaide and the two other alphas worked nonstop until a chunk of flooring finally gave way and fell into the space below.

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