Page 41 of Nikolai
“Nick?”Parker’s voice quavered and she had to stop, breathe deeply.“Nick, what do we do?”
She saw Nick look carefully around and realized it was the first time he consciously took in what had happened.He didn’t change expression, wasn’t panicking, and she felt her own panic subside a little.He met her eyes, and she saw no fear and her panic dissipated a little more.
“This panel has created a void.We need to move into it.We need to get out from the rubble.”
She blinked.That made sense.They couldn’t do anything as long as they were pinned down.
“How?What do we do?”
Her neck ached from trying to twist to see his face.But his face was what was keeping her sane.An anchor of sanity in a world gone crazy.
“Ok.I’m going to try to lift myself up and you try to slide out from under me.”
Wait.He was talking about her sliding out, not him.Parker saw exactly what he was doing.Sacrificing himself.Making sure she made it by taking the weight of the rubble onto himself.
“No.”
She saw him blink.“No?”He sounded dumbfounded.Clearly trying to wrap his head around someone saying no to him.
“No.We’re both going to get out of this or neither of us will.”
“Parker, if you don’t get out, you will die here.”
“And so will you.So, we’re getting out together.”Parker still felt fuzzy, not quite herself, but she was sure of this.They were in terrible trouble, but they’d face it together.She needed him but he also needed her.“So figure something out, fast.”
Silence.Slowly, Nick’s arms embraced her in a tight hold.His legs encased and held hers.
“Okay, this is what is going to happen.I’m going to see if I can press upward as hard as I can.With luck I can buy us a second or two in which we’ll have more freedom of movement.The rubble is interlocking and if I manage to shift the big pieces, it will take them a little time to settle back.All we need is a second or two.”He tightened his hold on her, using his arms and legs.“The instant we have room for maneuver, I’m going to roll us toward that piece of siding.Got it?”
She envisioned it for a moment, which is something she always did before doing something hard, running it through in her mind’s eye until she could see what was going to happen.
“Got it.We roll fast once you’ve shifted the weight upwards.”
“Yeah.”
Parker didn’t mention the fact that it would be almost impossible for Nick to shift all that weight bearing down on them.She had no way to assess how deep the rubble was, how heavy.Nick was strong but this seemed impossible.Not to mention the fact that he was wounded, had lost blood.
But what choice was there?If they stayed here, pinned down, unable to move, they’d die.If his attempt was unsuccessful and just managed to bring more rubble down on them… God.They were done for.
She couldn’t show her doubts.He was going to try something basically impossible, requiring strength and courage.If he failed, the bricks would fall on him, but he would be shielding her.She owed him her support.
“What can I do to help?”
“Move with me, the instant I tell you to.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to count to three and start pushing up, but don’t move until I say so.Yeah?”
“Yeah.”They might die.They might survive.It all depended on Nick’s strength and the configuration of bricks and shards above them.He could fail.The rubble could bury them even more.But it was the only chance they had.
“One…two…three!”
It was extraordinary.Under him, Parker could feel Nick as he strained against the weight over him.The body above her turned to iron as he pushed up.An immense force, there in the dust, strong as the quake, exerting force upward when the earth itself was bearing down on him.
Nick’s shoulders were shaking with the effort when he suddenly arched up, shaking off some rubble to the right and…
“Now!”he grunted, and Parker threw herself to the left, encased in Nick’s arms.He rolled them out from the pile as it fell to the ground.Dust rose up and Parker started coughing.Nick turned her around, then sat up with her in his arms.He pounded her back until she managed to get most of the dust out.
