A/N: Okay, people, thank you for all the reviews for Chapter 6, I'm sorry
it took me so long. Oh and dramanerd13 (hey, I'm a drama nerd, too) it was
more than 10 words long. It had to be at least 11. ( Anyway, congrats to
bright8 and dramanerd13 for guessing correctly the identity of the "angel".
Half the points to sister of the moon and luvcarter for guessing the
identity of the angel but adding a few more choices. All of you
win...drumroll, please...an exciting trip to the bottom of page were you
will get an all-expense paid button that you can click on to leave a
generous review. Thanks to all my reviewers, even those who didn't guess,
please enjoy the chapter, the next chapter will be better, and the one
after that is the best one I've written so far, if I do say so myself. I
keep myself 2 chapters ahead of my postings so I still have to write 2 more
before you get to see the good chapter, so keep watching. Thanks, review,
bye.
Chapter 7: Missing Emotions, Getting Help, and Losing Hope
"Colin."
Amy sat on the cold ground trying desperately to pull her arms away from her boyfriend.
"What are you doing here?" she questioned the boy.
"Your mom called my mom. She said that you were trapped in the burning diner so, of course, I wanted to come and make sure you were okay." Colin said worriedly, smoothing her hair with one hand while the other continued to hold her arm in an almost painful grip.
Amy knew she should feel comforted by his soothing caresses but she was surprised to find that she felt nothing but continued worry and fear for Ephram's safety. Since Colin had come through his second surgery and regained his memory, Amy had been walking around in a protective bubble of joy and happiness. She had been ecstatic as they had began to date again and he returned to the Colin she knew before the accident. Every time she caught a glimpse of his face she had been renewed with gratitude but right now, there was no wave of jubilation crashing over her and all she could see when she looked at him was a roadblock, keeping her from helping Ephram.
Amy reached up and grasped Colin's arm, breaking his grip on her own limb. His eyes looked startled and confused as she forcibly pulled herself away from him and stood up.
"Amy, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to get help."
"Help? Amy you're out. You're okay. Let's just get your dad to look at your hand and then we can go home." Colin said, gripping her shoulder and trying to steer her toward her family who stood at the edge of the parking lot.
"No, Colin. I'm not leaving until Ephram is out of that building and I can't believe you would want to. He saved my life and you're willing to just go home and leave him here to suffer alone. No, I'm not leaving." Amy said, slowly and steadily, her voice struggling to hide her disgust at even the thought of leaving. Wrenching herself from his side, Amy strode over to the Nina who was talking to a police officer, leaving Colin standing alone, dumbstruck and confused.
When Amy drew nearer to Nina and the cop, they noticed her coming and Nina ran to meet her, hugging her tightly when she reached the young girl.
"Oh, Amy, I'm so sorry. I never should have left you guys here alone. I'm so glad you're all right. Oh, God, if Ephram's hurt, it's all my fault." Nina mumbled tearfully.
Amy pulled back from the older woman and grabbed her hand tightly, new tears sprung in her eyes but her jaw was set hard. "Nina, don't even say that. You had no idea this was going to happen. If something does happen to Ephram, which it won't, you will not be responsible in any way. In fact, it's probably better that we were there together than if you were here alone. At least we had you to get help. You would have had no one. So please, Nina, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault." Amy said resolutely, pulling Nina in for a brief, fierce hug.
Once Nina had nodded in agreement, Amy felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to the officer who had been standing there silently.
"Ma'am, I would like to ask you a few questions if I may?"
"Sure, but first I would like for you to answer a few for me."
"Ok, what do you need to know?"
"First of all, you have sent for help, haven't you?" At the officer's nod, Amy continued, "Ok then, how long until the firefighters get her? Is an ambulance on its way? And when will someone get Ephram out of that diner?"
"Well, as you may know the only fire dispatchers in the area are the forest fire rangers, so we have to wait for them to get here, which should be sometime in the next ten or fifteen minutes. We didn't know how severe any injuries might be so we had the hospital in Denver send a Medi-Copter, which is already here, sitting in the field down the block and we will have your friend out as soon as possible. We would have had him out already but we got here just as you were coming out and as you can see, there is no way that anyone but the professionals can handle it now." He said, pointing in the direction of the diner.
Amy slowly turned around and got her first outside look of the burning restaurant. What she saw instantly filled her heart with fear. The fire looked almost worse from the outside than it had from the inside. Flames licked every surface she set her eyes on. Fire crawled up the walls. Windows had busted from the terrible heat and the exposed curtains blew in the wind, making the fire that covered them dance and writhe in the air. The back door she had escaped from only minutes before was now just a solid block of flame. As she watched, she could see part of the roof fall in, praying with all she had in her that Ephram wasn't sitting under that particular portion of covering. Tears streamed heavily down her face and her chest heaved with hard, quaking sobs. She shoved her hands deep into her jacket pockets, trying to find warmth that wasn't there. Feeling something hard nestled within the pouch, she pulled out the object and her jaw dropped. All hope went fleeing from her mind as she recognized the white tubular inhaler, Ephram's only chance to survive inside that smoky building, outside with her.
Chapter 7: Missing Emotions, Getting Help, and Losing Hope
"Colin."
Amy sat on the cold ground trying desperately to pull her arms away from her boyfriend.
"What are you doing here?" she questioned the boy.
"Your mom called my mom. She said that you were trapped in the burning diner so, of course, I wanted to come and make sure you were okay." Colin said worriedly, smoothing her hair with one hand while the other continued to hold her arm in an almost painful grip.
Amy knew she should feel comforted by his soothing caresses but she was surprised to find that she felt nothing but continued worry and fear for Ephram's safety. Since Colin had come through his second surgery and regained his memory, Amy had been walking around in a protective bubble of joy and happiness. She had been ecstatic as they had began to date again and he returned to the Colin she knew before the accident. Every time she caught a glimpse of his face she had been renewed with gratitude but right now, there was no wave of jubilation crashing over her and all she could see when she looked at him was a roadblock, keeping her from helping Ephram.
Amy reached up and grasped Colin's arm, breaking his grip on her own limb. His eyes looked startled and confused as she forcibly pulled herself away from him and stood up.
"Amy, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to get help."
"Help? Amy you're out. You're okay. Let's just get your dad to look at your hand and then we can go home." Colin said, gripping her shoulder and trying to steer her toward her family who stood at the edge of the parking lot.
"No, Colin. I'm not leaving until Ephram is out of that building and I can't believe you would want to. He saved my life and you're willing to just go home and leave him here to suffer alone. No, I'm not leaving." Amy said, slowly and steadily, her voice struggling to hide her disgust at even the thought of leaving. Wrenching herself from his side, Amy strode over to the Nina who was talking to a police officer, leaving Colin standing alone, dumbstruck and confused.
When Amy drew nearer to Nina and the cop, they noticed her coming and Nina ran to meet her, hugging her tightly when she reached the young girl.
"Oh, Amy, I'm so sorry. I never should have left you guys here alone. I'm so glad you're all right. Oh, God, if Ephram's hurt, it's all my fault." Nina mumbled tearfully.
Amy pulled back from the older woman and grabbed her hand tightly, new tears sprung in her eyes but her jaw was set hard. "Nina, don't even say that. You had no idea this was going to happen. If something does happen to Ephram, which it won't, you will not be responsible in any way. In fact, it's probably better that we were there together than if you were here alone. At least we had you to get help. You would have had no one. So please, Nina, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault." Amy said resolutely, pulling Nina in for a brief, fierce hug.
Once Nina had nodded in agreement, Amy felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to the officer who had been standing there silently.
"Ma'am, I would like to ask you a few questions if I may?"
"Sure, but first I would like for you to answer a few for me."
"Ok, what do you need to know?"
"First of all, you have sent for help, haven't you?" At the officer's nod, Amy continued, "Ok then, how long until the firefighters get her? Is an ambulance on its way? And when will someone get Ephram out of that diner?"
"Well, as you may know the only fire dispatchers in the area are the forest fire rangers, so we have to wait for them to get here, which should be sometime in the next ten or fifteen minutes. We didn't know how severe any injuries might be so we had the hospital in Denver send a Medi-Copter, which is already here, sitting in the field down the block and we will have your friend out as soon as possible. We would have had him out already but we got here just as you were coming out and as you can see, there is no way that anyone but the professionals can handle it now." He said, pointing in the direction of the diner.
Amy slowly turned around and got her first outside look of the burning restaurant. What she saw instantly filled her heart with fear. The fire looked almost worse from the outside than it had from the inside. Flames licked every surface she set her eyes on. Fire crawled up the walls. Windows had busted from the terrible heat and the exposed curtains blew in the wind, making the fire that covered them dance and writhe in the air. The back door she had escaped from only minutes before was now just a solid block of flame. As she watched, she could see part of the roof fall in, praying with all she had in her that Ephram wasn't sitting under that particular portion of covering. Tears streamed heavily down her face and her chest heaved with hard, quaking sobs. She shoved her hands deep into her jacket pockets, trying to find warmth that wasn't there. Feeling something hard nestled within the pouch, she pulled out the object and her jaw dropped. All hope went fleeing from her mind as she recognized the white tubular inhaler, Ephram's only chance to survive inside that smoky building, outside with her.
