Page 118 of Haze of Obedience
18
Zoe
Pain keepsme up all night. Dirk stays up with me, trying to take my mind off it, or adding more cream, but it seems to get worse. I stay cocooned in his arms and finally fall asleep.
I'm woken by the house violently shaking, and the wall of the bedroom crumbling. Penelope screams.
I jump out of bed, toss on Dirk's shirt that I threw on the floor the prior night, and jump through the dust. I yell for Dirk, trying to figure out where she is in the heap of drywall as the earthquake continues to terrorize the house.
"Help! Oh, God! Please help!"
"Penelope! Where are you?"
"On the bed."
"Dirk!" I toss several pieces of rubble away to get to her. "I'm here. Hang on!"
There's a loud crash, and Penelope and I continue to scream. Within minutes, Dirk and Axel run into the room.
"Get under the desk, Zoe!" Dirk yells.
I obey and watch in horror as the house continues to vibrate, and Dirk and Axel quickly throw pieces of the wall out of the way to get to Penelope. The shaking stops, but Penelope is still trapped.
"Andre! Tinker!" Axel hollers.
I move to help, but Dirk barks, "Stay under the desk, Zoe!"
I crawl back under, feeling useless but not wanting to cause more trouble by not listening.
It feels like forever before Andre and Tinker come racing in, and the four men continue to dig through the rubble to get to her.
"Dirk, grab a towel," Axel says.
Dirk goes into their bathroom and comes out with a yellow one. He hands it to Axel. "Turn around, everyone."
The men all turn, and he pulls Penelope out of the rubbage and wraps a towel around her. She's trembling, and tears stain her cheeks.
Dirks races over and crouches down then pulls me into his chest. "Zoe, you okay?"
"Yeah."
"You're not hurt?"
"No."
He palms my head and kisses it.
"I've gotta get back to Naomi," Andre's voice booms.
"Where is she?" I ask in a panic.
"Under the table in the kitchen," he replies as he trots out of the room.
"Penelope, are you hurt?" I ask.
"I...I'm okay."
Dirk sits and tugs me into his chest. His heart is beating fast. He kisses my head several times.
