Chapter 2- Fight
An annoying high pitch ring blared in my head as I opened my eyes.
The safe was wrapped around me, but something bent it so I could see the outside.
Everything was smoky, and a hazy orange colour.
"Mommy?" I tried to say, but I couldn't hear myself over the ringing sound. Something wet was running from my head, but I couldn't tell what it was.
I twisted my body so my legs were at the opening. I tried to kick it open, but it wouldn't budge.
I felt the blackness pull over me again, and I couldn't fight as my eyelids slid to a close.
It was cold when I woke up again. The ringing had stopped, but I felt strangely alone.
It took me a few minutes to remember what had happened, and that's when I started screaming.
Where were my parents? How could I get out of this thing? Did anyone know I was here? Was I dead?
I thought about being dead for a few minutes. Mom said being dead did not hurt, and that I would go to a place called heaven where everyone was happy. I didn't think this was heaven because I was alone and my arm and head hurt.
But maybe I was bad. Maybe it was all my fault.
We wouldn't have gone to see dad if I did not want to feed the birds outside. We would have stayed inside the hotel room and waited for dad to get home.
I shivered.
Maybe I couldn't have saved dad. But I could have saved mom.
I started to cry, and then sob.
They were both dead, weren't they?
"Hello?" A soft voice said. "I'm Alice, and I'm 3 years old, and I can't find my mommy. Can you help me?"
"Alice!" I screamed
Her voice was closer, "Edward?"
"I'm in here! I can't get out!" I screamed
Her eyes were suddenly peering at me through the crack
"Hang on! I'll try and find something to get you out with"
It took what felt like forever, but eventually I pushed as hard as I could against the door and Alice pulled on a metal rod between the door and the crack. The crack became big enough that I could crawl out.
I immediately threw up once I was out of the safe. Alice patted my back.
"Your arm is bent funny, and you have red stuff coming out of your head…."
"And your leg looks funny…"
Alice's dress was torn, and her face was covered in dirt. She skimmed her knee, and her left leg was bent in a strange way. It looked big compared to her other leg.
She looked up at me as if I was broken. She almost looked scared.
I looked to where the light was
"I can't stand and pull myself out…."
I tried to stand up, but I immediately fell back down. I tried again. And again.
"I don't think you can either… look at your foot"
I looked at the lump where my foot should have been. But it looked wrong. It was in the wrong direction and it was…. Huge. Like Alice's leg.
"Lay down. You don't look very… good"
My head fell into her lap, and she took off the shorts she was wearing under her dress and put it on my head.
"What are you doing?" I asked
"In my mommy's favourite show all the doctors put sweaters to people's heads when they are bleeding"
"I'm bleeding?"
"Yeah"
We began to scream, hoping there was someone looking for us. But then our throats got tired, and my eyelids made me go to sleep. Alice looked at me with more concern as time went on, but I couldn't figure out why. She tried climbing through the debris, but her leg was too sore.
Sometimes we cried. Sometimes we screamed. Sometimes we sat in silence. Alice wouldn't let me move, and she always kept my head on her leg.
I closed my eyes. I could hear my mom calling me. I could hear her laugh
"Mom, what do I do?" I said to her.
Her face grew angry, "You fight baby. You fight as hard as you can. Stay with Alice. Don't come to me."
"But it hurts to stay"
"No, Edward" My father said, but I couldn't see him, "Keep fighting. You can do it. Keep fighting. Stay with Alice"
My consciousness shifted to Alice.
"Rock a bye Ali in the rebel. One day this will be over. You and Eddie will get out of here. And everything will be okay". She repeated her song and looked at me.
I sank back into my other reality.
"NO EDWARD" My mom said between sobs, "You have to fight. You must do what you can. Stay with Alice"
I heard my mom scream, and another voice who didn't belong to Alice or my Dad.
"Oh. My. God"
I looked up to see an angel look at me. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and he looked younger than my parents. He moved the ceiling away from us.
"Oh My God" he screamed again, "Get a gurney here now. There are two children under here"
Alice sobbed and lifted up her arms. The angel picked her up and then began to move the debris to get to me.
His eyes opened wide as he looked at me. He carefully picked me up with his other arm, letting me lay down.
He looked at both of us with concern. I tried to look away from him but I couldn't"
"Good job kiddo" I heard my mom say, "You did it"
My eyelids slid closed again.