Abby fell to the ground as the wreckage finally stopped moving. Smoke billowed dangerously around them, threatening to shorten their oxygen supply. People were screaming for help; children were crying; the dark encompassed them all...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Get back! Everyone back!" A rescue worker screamed as the wreckage shifted. A small fire erupted near the front of the wreckage and the firemen immediately went to work.

"How much longer is this going to hold up?" " Peter Benton waited impatiently for an answer from the man shouting orders. "How much longer?!" he yelled.

"I don't know!" the rescue worker shouted back. "Minutes...hours....it's touch and go. We need to get everyone out...now!"

Benton shook his head solemnly and glanced back towards the wrecked train. "Okay....okay," he murmured as he took off running towards the train.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blood trickled down the pale skin and into now matted hair. A lump was beginning to form around the purple bruise on his forehead. His head was pounding and he could've sworn his foot was crushed into a thousand different pieces. Carter looked around him for any sign of Abby.

"Abby..." he somewhat moaned into the smoky darkness. John tried to sit up but his efforts were short-lived. His leg was trapped under a steel beam. "Great," he muttered incoherantly. "Just great..."

It was then that the wreckage shifted; it was that one moment that he needed to pull his leg free from the beam. He was panting, gasping for air; the pain shooting through his leg was horrifying. It felt like thousands of needles pricking him endlessly. "Son of a...." he yelled as he punched his fist into the ground.

He gritted his teeth and tried to stand; it was somewhat useless without something to support him, so he sat back down and soaked in his surroundings. He was definitely alone; no one else in sight. And he was outside...."Wait a minute," he murmured looking around again. "How the hell..." he started.

"Carter!"

John jumped at the sound of his name and looked around to see who it was. "Dr. Benton!" he yelled surprisedly.

"Yeah," Benton yelled back. "Are you hurt?"

"My leg; it was crushed under a beam but when the train moved I jerked it free." Carter grinned as Benton made his way over to him dodging fallen beams. Peter got down on one knee and began examining Carter's leg.

"You're lucky man....this whole thing is about to go. Fires are bursting out everywhere," he continued. "Looks like you may have a fracture," Peter said as he began rummaging through the wreckage. "There..."

"What do you mean this thing is about to go..." Carter interrupted shakily.

"That's just what they said man," Peter said as he began to splint Carter's leg. "Let's get you out of here," he murmured as he put an arm around Carter to help him up.

"No..." Carter began as he pushed him away.

Peter looked down at him in confusion. "Carter...man we gotta get out of here before this thing blows," he said as he pulled his friend to his feet.

Carter groaned in frustration and let out a yelp of pain as Benton pulled him up and supported him. "Abby...." he said through gritted teeth. "Abby's in here...."

Peter had been leading Carter through the wreckage; he stopped when Carter mentioned Abby. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Carter said raggedly. "We were on our way to County when all this...." He stopped, short of breath and closed his eyes painfully.

"Don't worry man....we'll find her."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luka jumped out of the helicopter and ran to the nearest rescue worker demanding details. "Luka Kovac....from County," he said introducing himself. "What do we have?" he yelled above the noise. He listened as the rescue worker spoke and then hurried off in the direction he was sent in.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Benton half-carrying Carter away from the wreckage. "Hey!" he yelled in his thick Croatian accent as he ran over to them. "Is he okay?" he asked Benton quickly.

"Yeah...he's going to be," Peter answered as he looked down at John, who was starting to go unconscious. "Fractured leg, a lot of bumps and bruises, possible concussion..."

Peter was interrupted by Carter. "Abby...." he mumbled. "Abby was with me...." he finished before he lost consciousness.

Luka's eyes went wide with fear at Carter's words. Abby. Abby was with him. In there, he thought as he looked at the demolished wreckage. His hands were shaking as he contemplated what condition she might be in.

"Find her!" Benton yelled. "I'll take care of him!"

Luka barely heard Peter's words as he rushed towards the area they had come from. "Abby!" he yelled again and again. "Abby!" He dropped to his knees and began digging the rubble away from the wreckage. He had to find her; he had to.

His thoughts had drifted to that fateful day his wife and children had died. He had dug through the rubble for them too. Tears staining his face, screaming their names, begging for help.... And they had died horrible deaths, to his despair.

Luka was lost in his own world as he worked fast and hard trying to find Abby. His precious Abby whom he had told wasn't pretty enough or wasn't special enough. "Damnit," he cursed himself.

"Luka," a voice interupted from behind.

He turned around, the sweat and grime sticking to his now sore body. "Susan," he said hoarsely as he stared at her.

She smiled and looked down at her jogging pants and t-shirt. "I was jogging....they paged me," she tried to explain. "I'm here to help..."

"Oh right," he murmured as he started to dig again. "Abby's in there," he stated matter-of-factly. "Her and Carter were on their way to work..."

Susan interupted. "Carter...is he okay?" she demanded as she fell to her knees and started to dig.

"He's fine. Peter Benton got him out. He has a fracture and alot of bruises..." he murmured as he tossed more rubble aside.

"We're going to find her," Susan said sighing as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and began moving things. Her mind was wild with thoughts as they worked silently. At least Carter was okay, but Abby.... They had to find her; if they didn't....

The fumes grew stronger as they dug. Susan's head began to swim from the toxicity of them and she leaned back on her heels closing her eyes. "Are you okay," Luka's voice interupted.

She opened her eyes and smiled. "Better than the ones who are trapped in there," she said as she moved another piece of rubble. She stopped and grabbed Luka's arm. "We're in," she said pointing out a small hole revealing a sooty hand. "We're in...."