repost!
Warning: language is a little touchy here.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot. And Diane. :)
(Nick's POV)
I uncover my eyes, nose, and mouth, and try to recall what just happened. I remember seeing the plane come barreling towards my office before throwing myself on the floor and under my desk, my arms over my eyes, mouth, and nose. A bright flash of light, an explosion, and the crashing of walls against one another is what came next. I get out from under my desk and grab an old cloth that I used to clean the silver in my office. Ignoring the stench of polish, I hold it up to my face; it's better than breathing all the smoke and dust that now surrounds me. I make my way from behind the wreckage that used to be my office. There is smoke everywhere, every now and then a wire sparks. It is eerily silent, and that heightens my sense of fear.
I look around for any sign of movement, my ears tuned for any sound. I start calling out names. I hear a faint voice, and make my way to the corner of the office. Looking closer through the smoke, I see our secretary Diane crouched in the corner, coughing. I hold out my hand, which she takes gratefully, her eyes are wide with horror and fear.
"We're going to get out of here, alright?" I tell her, and she nods. We make our way towards what used to be the door, linking hands. Thankfully, there is a set of stairs right outside my office, and they are not blocked.
"Only 76 more floors to go," I think to myself, praying to God Diane and I make it out alive.
(Miley's POV) 8:30 a.m.
I open my eyes and stretch. I throw the blankets off my body and set my feet on the hardwood floor. I walk down the stairs from the loft to the main level of out apartment. When Nick and I moved in together last year, we converted the attic/loft into our bedroom, so the kitchen, living room, and office are on the main level.
I start making myself breakfast, wondering what I should do today. Living in an apartment 15 minutes away from NYC is a great thing when you're bored. I decide to head to 5th avenue to do some shopping for Nick's birthday coming up. I sit down in the love seat and turn the t.v. on. I watch a Ditech commercial for no more than a minute when CNN cuts in. It's 8:49.
Carol Lin, the news anchor, says, "Yeah....this just in. You are obviously looking at a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. CNN Center right now is just beginning to work on this story, obviously calling our sources and trying to figure out exactly what happened, but clearly something relatively devastating happening this morning there on the south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again, a picture of one of the towers of the World Trade Center."
My brain tries to register what I just watched on the t.v. A burning question runs through my mind. "Who would dare attack the World Trade Center?"
At that moment, my phone rings. I turn the t.v. off.
"Hello?"
"Miley, it's Joe. A plane just hit the south tower." I can't believe what I'm hearing, or rather I don't want to.
"Wh....what?"
"The World Trade Center has been attacked." I drop the phone and fall to my knees, crying. I hear his brothers voice through the phone, frantically calling my name.
"Is...is Nick alright?" I stutter out, picking the phone back up.
"I don't know.....I was talking to him then the line went dead." This confirms my worst fear, and I start sobbing.
I hang up the phone, and slowly get up off the floor, only to throw myself onto the couch. The door to my apartment slams open, rebounding against the wall behind it, revealing my best friend, her fiancee, and his older brother.
Lilly immediately runs over, engulfing me in a much needed hug. She lets go, then turns the t.v. on. Joe and Kevin sandwich my body in between them, Joe stroking my hair, Kev rubbing my back. I can't help it. I break down completely, sobbing into Joe's chest. Being with them reminds me of Nick, and how he could possibly be dead or trapped in the South Tower. I pull away and wipe away my tears before joining Lilly on the couch. Joe sits in between Lilly and I, one arm around her waist, a hand on my knee, and Kevin sits next to me, his arm around my shoulder.
I play with the engagement ring Nick bought for me when he proposed on July 4. I let the memories of that night flood my head, hoping to block out reality.
Meanwhile, With Nick and Diane (Nick's POV)
Diane and I make it down to the 70th floor when I tug on her hand, motioning for her to stop. I glance at my watch and tell her it's 9:20. We make our way onto the landing, looking for anybody. Not a soul in sight. I breathe a sigh of relief that people have enough sense to evacuate the tower. Going back towards the stairs, Diane and I are face to face with smoke. It curls behind us as we pound down the stairs. Diane stops me for a moment while she takes off her heels and leaves them there. The smoke combined with the darkness makes it difficult to see and very eerie. The smoke stings my eyes, causing them to water. Every 10 floors, Diane and I look for survivors. She is starting to slow down, and her coughing has resumed. I myself am feeling tired, my whole body aches. But the one thing that keeps me going is seeing Miley.
9:45 a.m. Diane and I have 15 floors to go, both of us fading fast. I'm now supporting Diane with one arm around her waist, and she is using the cloth I grabbed from my office to cover her nose and mouth. We make it to the 10th floor, and I stop to catch my breath. Without warning, my knees buckle beneath me and I collapse on the ground, Diane next to me. I lift up the sleeve of my shirt and check my Omnipod. It's way below normal, and I'm starting to feel the effects. I look at my watch one last time. 9:59. All of a sudden, the tower starts to tremble. A deafening roar can be heard above us, and I pray to God I make it out alive. A cloud of smoke and dust engulf the two of us, and as Diane and I hold onto each other, the South Tower of the World Trade Center crumbles to the ground.
With Miley, Lilly, Joe and Kevin.
(Lilly's POV)
I'm sitting here with Miley, Joe, and Kevin on what has got to be the longest day of my life. Miley is a complete mess. For the past half hour, the news has been the same. All of our cell phones have rung about 20 times each, but we refuse to answer them. I actually turned mine off. Joe is sitting next to me, one arm around my waist, one hand stroking Miley's arm. Even though he doesn't show it, Joe is falling apart on the inside. Him and Kevin both. They don't have any news on their little brother, and no way of contacting him. I look at the t.v., which has switched to a live camera shot of the Towers. It's now 9:59. A trembling sound can be heard coming from the t.v., and immediately 8 pairs of eyes are glued to the set. In a cloud of dust, smoke, and debris, we watch, horror-struck, as what looks like another explosion has hit. The South Tower is completely obscured from vision. Once the wind clears everything away, it is clear that the South Tower has collapsed. I immediately put my arms around my best friend as she breaks down completely for the second time today. Sobs shake her body, and Joe and Kevin instantly place their arms around her as well. Joe's phone rings, and I see the caller I.D. It's his mother. He puts it on speaker.
"Hello?"
"Joseph, thank goodness you're alright! Is Kevin there?"
"Hey mom, I'm right here?" Kevin replies, but you can hear the fear in his voice.
"Where's Nick?" Joe's face pales, as does Kevin's. I whisper to him, "Tell her the truth. It's better than her finding out from some other source." He takes a deep breath and nods.
"Mom, Nick went into work today. He called me when the first plane hit, but the line went dead. I'm with Miley and Lilly at Miley's apartment." I hear Denise start to cry on the other line, but she manages to stutter out, "Tell her to stay strong. Nicholas is strong, he'll make it through this."
Kevin gets up and says he's bringing Denise here. "I don't want her to be alone," he says, as he picks his keys up and walks to the door. Miley is still crying, but at Denise's words she calmed down somewhat.
(Miley's POV)
No, no, no! This cannot be happening right now! My fiancee is somewhere in that tower which is now a heap of twisted metal on the ground. My life was going great, until today. Kevin walks back into my apartment, Denise right behind him. I slowly get up off the couch, and make my way towards his mom. She folds me in her arms, and I start crying again. She rubs my back, and whispers encouraging words in my ear. I will myself to believe that what she is saying is true, and that I will see the love of my life again. I pray to God that Nick will make it out alive.
In the wreckage (Nick's POV)
I open my eyes and try to move. No luck. My legs are pinned underneath a scrap of metal, and I can barely feel them. Thankfully, my arms and chest are free. If my chest wasn't free, I would have no chance of getting out alive. I hear someone about 5 feet to my right trying to move. Looking over through the darkness, I see the outline of Diane pinned underneath a chunk of concrete, one arm and part of her chest free. She's trying to hold back tears.
"Diane, I know you want to move, but don't. It'll make things worse. I'm here for you. We're gonna make it out of here."
As much as I wanted to believe what I just told Diane, my hope is fading. I begin to doubt whether someone could physically climb down here, without crushing us. I look at my watch, which is gratefully still working. 10:28. I can hardly believe that just 2 hours ago I was sitting in my office, checking my email. A great rumbling is heard, and I hear Diane gasp in fear.
"You don't think....." she trails off, and I am thinking the same thought.
Dust settles around us, and thankfully no pieces of concrete or metal come crashing down on us. It sounds like an earthquake is shaking Manhattan, and once the sound dies away, I can't believe that the Twin Towers are gone, and more less I'm buried beneath one of them.
With Miley, Lilly, Denise, Kevin, and Joe.
(Miley's POV)
There's a knock on my apartment door. Kevin gets up and pulls open the door. I hear him gasp, then say, "Demi?" then I hear disbelief in his voice when he exclaims, "Selena?!"
I couldn't believe my ears. Selena Russo, Nick's ex-girlfriend, is standing outside the door, along with Demi Torres, whom I am fairly good friends with. Selena Russo, of all people! I thought she hated me for stealing Nick from her! Apparently I was wrong.
Demi walks over to me as I stand up. "Miley," is all she says, and encloses me in her arms. We stay like that for a moment, before she pulls away, tears in her eyes. She turns to greet everyone else in my apartment as I turn to Selena.
I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off.
"Miley, listen. I know that we aren't on the best of terms, but I was wondering if, you know, we could, start over? Try and be friends? I know I kind of put it out there that I hated you for stealing Nick away from me, but now I see how happy the two of you are. And besides, I'm engaged to David, my co-star." She shows me her left hand, where I see a dazzling diamond. "I have no reason to hate you, I just couldn't bring myself to come and talk to you. I love Nick as a friend, and I know that he will make it out of there alive. I'll be here for you, starting now. You need to stay strong." I see tears start to form in her eyes, and I manage to smile despite my sadness.
I don't say anything, but give Selena a hug. A lot of unsaid things went into that hug, things I wanted to say but didn't have to courage to, and many others. I think she felt them too, cuz she didn't shy away from me.
Pulling away, another thought comes to my mind. "How did you and Demi find out that Nick works in the Towers?" I ask quizzically.
Demi smiled. "Joe texted me. He said you weren't doing too well and he told me what had happened. He said he wanted you to be surrounded by the people who care about you the most."
I immediately went over to Joe and gave him a huge hug. "Thank you," I whispered in his ear,"for watching out for me. I know how hard this is for you and Kevin, and I'm just making it worse." I pulled away, but Joe pulled me towards him again. "Miles, don't say that. You're hurting just as much as we are, if not more. He's our brother, but he's the love of your life." I look up at him, a faint smile playing on my face through a wave of fresh tears. "Nick might not want me to tell you this," Joe says, "but I think you deserve to hear it. Nick loves you with everything that he has. You are the reason he is living. And I know this for sure: he's gonna do whatever it takes to make it out of that tower just to see you."
I pull away again, tears glistening in not only my eyes but everyone else's as well.
A day later. (Nick's POV) 11 p.m.
I've been awake ever since the North Tower fell. That was at 10:28 a.m. yesterday. I can no longer feel my right leg, and have a little feeling in my left. My eyes are itching to sleep, and I know that my blood sugar is at a dangerously low level. I am forcing myself to stay awake though, because I know that if I close my eyes, I might not wake up. There is only one thing that is keeping my feeble hopes alive: my fiancee. She is the only thing that I have thought of this entire time.
Her face swims into my mind, overtaking any sense of fear, sadness, and abandonment that I've been feeling. I feel her soft lips on mine, and smell the scent of her hair. Her arms around me, her head buried in the crook of my neck. I smile at this, my mind drifting to places unimaginable when a harsh cry brings me back to reality. To being pinned underneath a scrap of metal. To being extremely hungry and thirsty. To fighting for my life.
"Nick?" A voice, barely audible. "Are you still there?" It's Diane.
"Diane, what's wrong?"
"I...I can't take it anymore!" she says, her words laced with tears.
"What are you talking about?" I ask her, my mind becoming more alert.
"I want to get out. I don't want to be here anymore."
"No, Diane don't say that. We're gonna get out of here."
"Nick, cut the bullshit. How is someone gonna get down her to save us?'
Her words deal a staggering blow. I am at a loss for anything to say.
"Diane, I -" "Ha! Exactly. You don't know if we're going to get out of here.?
I look up out of desperation, and see a faint light shining through the hole above us. Mustering all the strength I have, I manage to shout, "SOMEONE HELP US!"
My voice echoes throughout the night, and I see the light move.
"HOW MANY OF YOU ARE DOWN THERE?" a male voice shouts.
"JUST TWO, BUT WE'RE PINNED UNDERNEATH METAL." I shout back.
"ABOUT HOW FAR DOWN ARE YOU?"
I look around, then up. "ABOUT 10 FEET."
No response. I hope/pray that whoever I talked to is going to get help.
About an hour later, the same voice shouts down to us.
"WHAT ARE YOUR NAMES?" "NICK GREY AND DIANE SAWYER!"
"ALRIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO ATTEMPT TO GET DOWN TO YOU TWO. JUST HANG ON, OKAY?"
xo