Chapter 3

As she struggled to open her eyes, Hannah had no idea how long she was out. A sharp pain seared through her head, causing her to groan in agony.

What happened? she wondered distantly as she tried to remember.

"Myles?" Hannah moaned, lifting her hand to her aching temple. The stickiness she felt surprised her as she forced her eyes open. Her brow furrowed in confusion when she could only make a hazy, distorted shadow of her hand in front of her face.

What's wrong with me? Hannah could feel the panic building inside her. Why can't I see? she wondered, blinking her eyes several times, trying to clear her vision.

Closing her eyes again, Hannah thought back, hoping to recall what had happened. With a gasp as she remembered the explosion, she sat bolt upright, swaying a bit as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her ribs hurt, but it didn't feel like anything was broken. If only I could see, she thought, holding her head between her hands.

"Myles!" she called out, choking on the lingering dust as it settled around her. Unable to see where she was, she had no idea where Myles might be. Or if he was even alive, Hannah thought before she could stop herself.

"No!" Hannah said aloud, shaking her head slightly as if trying to clear her mind of the negative thoughts. I have to find him, she resolved, pushing herself gingerly to her feet. Her whole body ached from the explosion; her head feeling like a jackhammer was pounding inside.

The explosion happening so close to the mystery man's arrival was too much of a coincidence for her to accept. Hannah knew she was only a few seconds behind Myles, but hadn't found where he'd followed the man to before something, what she suspected was a bomb, rocked the building.

All those people, Hannah shuddered, recalling the crowd that had come to hear her sing, praying they were okay.

"Can anyone hear me?" she cried as she moved forward tentatively before stumbling over unseen debris. Falling, Hannah put her hands out to catch herself, wincing at the pain as she impacted with the concrete floor.

Rubbing her sore arms, Hannah pushed herself back up to a sitting position. Looking around uselessly, she didn't know what she was going to do. Wondering around aimlessly is stupid, she thought, knowing she could hurt herself more not knowing where she was going.

"Can anyone hear me?" Hannah shouted again, hearing her voice echo back to her. "MYLES? ANYONE?" she yelled again. "Please someone answer me!"

The next thing Myles knew he was waking up covered in debris and dust. He tried to look around, but the dust was so think he couldn't see much.

He knew he'd been lucky. The wall of the stairwell had been well built, providing him with some protection from the blast. Myles groaned as he tried to move, but was pinned by some bricks and concrete that had fallen across his legs.

In addition, his left arm lay useless by his side, and Myles knew it was broken even though the pain hadn't hit him yet. He could only hope that someone would find him soon.

What happened? Where am I? Shock was setting in and Myles found he was having trouble thinking clearly. He could remember being at the nightclub, but at first, he couldn't remember why. Then it occurred to him. The bomber!

Myles looked around, expecting to see Hannah somewhere nearby. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Where was that woman? he wondered. His eyes widened in horror when he remembered that he'd left Hannah still singing on the stage upstairs.

"Upstairs," he muttered, looking up at what should have been two floors above him. From what he could tell, most of the upper floors had fallen down around him, missing him only because of the bars of the stairway railing held the shattered concrete away.

"Hannah," Myles mumbled, trying to push away the dreadful thoughts bombarding him. While he hadn't gotten along with the woman, he worried about what had happened to her.

I need to find her, Myles resolved, pushing at the debris trying to dislodge himself. Screaming out in pain as the concrete shifted, he stopped, groaning as the pain radiated through his body.

"Not a good idea," he moaned, his ears ringing from the effort.

When the ringing in his ears stopped, Myles thought he heard something, but all the concrete muffled the sound so he couldn't make it out. Hang in there, Leland, he told himself. Someone will come looking for him. I hope, he thought looking around, hoping the concrete shelter that saved his life wouldn't end up being his tomb.