Page 35 of Everybody Needs a Hero

Standing, Bryce wiped some of the muddy debris from her pants as she climbed over the pile to the group crowded around Jerry. He sat on his butt gulping a bottle of water. There was a bloody cut on his forehead, but otherwise he seemed fine. “Hey, thanks,” Jerry said, looking at her. “I owe you.”

Bryce smiled when suddenly she felt a hand on her arm and looked to see Tess standing beside her. “I think you need to come to talk to Linda,” she said without preamble. “She can’t stop coughing.”

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Drew checked the baseball team coach’s blood pressure and wished she had more resources, because his condition worried her. Although she couldn’t be one hundred percent certain without a blood test, she was betting he had a cardiac event, putting him at a high risk of a full-blown heart attack. Of all the people she had helped so far—a few broken bones, even a concussion—he was her most significant concern. “Should we help him lie down?” one of the men who assisted the man to the first aid area asked. “He’s not looking so great.”

Even though the coach’s face had taken on an ashen hue, and he breathed heavily, Drew shook her head. “No, he needs to stay upright,” she answered. “But let’s move him so he can be supported sitting against the side of the building.” She pointed at a spot on a blanket.

“Got it,” the man answered before taking the coach’s arm. “Need you to stand up, big guy.”

The coach grimaced. “Do I have to?” he asked with a groan. “I’m so tired.”

“Just far enough to get to the wall. Then, I’m going to give you some nitroglycerin,” Drew said, thankful she still had a supply in her bag of some essential emergency medications from when she was a working nurse.

With a nod, the man let the others help him up. “Anything to help with the pain,” he said, standing while the others lifted. As they started to move, Drew heard angry shouting from the direction of the rubble.Crap,she thought.A fight is the last thing we need.

“Get him sitting,” she said. “I’ll be right back.” Approaching the source of the noise, Drew was disappointed to see two men pushing and shoving each other.We don’t have time for fighting right now, she thought. One of the men already had blood on his forehead, and the other was in his face.

At any second, someone would throw a punch. “You son of a bitch,” the man who had pushed the other said. “You hit my truck.” Suddenly, Drew recognized the man with blood on his forehead. He was the one who flipped her off as he passed in the black truck—the jerk who rammed people.

Another man wearing a red shirt stepped forward. “Are you kidding me?” he said. “If I’d known it was you, I might not have helped you get out from under that beam.”

“Now wait a minute,” the man with the blood on his forehead said. “I was panicked, and I apologize for what happened.”

“Do you think saying sorry is going to fix what you did?” the man in his face said. “I can’t even drive my truck now.”

Drew could emphasize with him. She was pretty sure her Pathfinder was totaled. Still, the fight needed to break up before tempers escalated any higher. Stepping forward, she raised her hands in the air to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, everybody calm down,” she said. “I know tempers are high with all the stress and that what he did upset a lot of us, but right now we have other things to focus on. There are people hurt.” She pointed at the man in the red shirt. “Is anyone still trapped in the rubble?”

The man in the red shirt looked chagrined. “Yes, there is a woman stuck,” he said. “They sent me to come to get a bottle of water for her.”

“Well then get the water and go back to help her. This is ridiculous,” Drew said, frustration mounting. “And you.” She pointed at the man with blood on his forehead. “I need you to get over to the first aid station and get that cut looked at right now. And then we are going to want your name and insurance information.” The man hung his head but started to walk in the direction she pointed.

“You let him off easy,” the angry man said.

Drew shook her head at him. “Maybe. There’s not much more I can do about it right now,” she said. “So break it up, and everybody get back to what they were doing. Until emergency personnel can get here, we are all that’s left.”

Down on herhands and knees in the muddy gravel, Bryce used a flashlight to look into the narrow gap under the rubble. The woman Linda was trapped there. What she could see of her face was pale, and Bryce hoped it was only because of dust from the concrete but guessed it wasn’t. The fact the woman could not stop coughing was worrisome. “Hey Linda, how are you holding up?” Bryce asked. “We have water on the way, and we will get it in there to you real quick.”

“Thank you,” Linda said, coughing again. “I could really use a drink. Preferably something stronger than water, but beggars can’t be choosers.” Bryce couldn’t help but grin. She respected the woman’s attitude under such circumstances. In Bryce’s experience in the Marine Corps, she learned keeping a positive outlook and a sense of humor was a key to survival. Not only because it kept a person in a healthy frame of mind, but it also maintained people’s morale around them. Teams worked better together when everyone was getting along.

Allen returned with multiple bottles of water. “I brought extra,” he said. “I thought we could all use some.” He started handing the bottles around. “And don’t worry, there is a lot. It’s amazing how many people are stepping up to donate things and help where they can.”

Bryce leaned back on her heels and nodded. “Good thinking with the extra water,” she said. “And I’m glad to hear people are showing their generosity.” She accepted two of the bottles. “Now let’s figure out a way to get a couple of these in to Linda.”

The task wouldn’t be easy. Although wide, the gap between the piece of concrete and the ground couldn’t be much more than a foot high.It will take someone not only slender but brave to crawlin there,she thought. Although they would only have to go in about four feet to the spot where the bottles could be pushed through an even smaller opening, it would be dark, muddy, and tight. Trying to figure out if she would fit, there was a tap on her shoulder. Looking, she saw Tess standing beside her.

“Someone needs to get in there,” she said, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I can do it.” Bryce frowned. The woman was beautiful and an incredibly talented actress, but Bryce had never met anyone less selfish. Not only did she put her daughter first always, but she offered to risk her life for a stranger.

“Are you sure?” Bryce asked. “We could go back and see if there’s another volunteer.”

Tess shook her head. “That would take time,” Tess said. “I mean it. I can do what you need to help Linda.” Scooting out of the way, Bryce held out her hand to help Tess lower herself to the ground. She laid flat on her stomach, and Allen handed her two bottles of water. “I’m ready to go.” Again, Bryce was impressed. Her voice was steady and confident. “But be ready to pull me out the minute I say go. I don’t want to spend an extra second in there if I don’t have to.”

“We will be waiting for you to say the word,” Bryce said, and watching with admiration, she saw Tess start what they called a low crawl in the Marine Corps. With her hands occupied with water bottles, she used her elbows and knees to move flat along the ground. Bryce knew it must hurt like hell, considering all the rubble in the mud underneath her. As Tess disappeared inside, Bryce laid on her stomach to watch the progress and prayed the woman would keep calm as the walls closed in.

While Bryce shinedthe flashlight into the hole, Tess crawled along under the concrete slab inch by inch. “How are you doing, Linda?” Tess asked as much to distract herself as to see how Linda felt. “I’m bringing you some water.”

“Tess? Are you really crawling in here?”

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