Chapter 2

Derek and I both sprinted towards the exit. I felt something big and heavy fall on my leg, and I face-planted.

Before I knew it, I was covered. I hurt everywhere. I heard Derek scream, "Mel" before I passed out. My last incoherent thought was, 'I'm dead.'

I opened my eyes a slit. It was still dark. Which meant I was still buried underneath rubble. My breathing was labored, so as to not breathe in dirt and dust.

I felt a strong hand grab my own. I squeezed it to let them know I was alive.

"Mel, hang on, okay? We're going to get you out of there." I heard Derek tell me. "Squeeze once for yes and twice for no. The doctor is gonna ask you some questions."

"Can you feel your legs?" I heard a female voice ask.

I squeezed once. "Alright. Arms?" Again, I squeezed once. "Are you in pain?" Once. "In your legs?" Once. "Arms?" Twice. "Chest?" Twice. "Head?" Once. "Does it hurt to breath?" Twice. "Is it hard to breathe?" Once. "Thank you, Mel, I promise you, I'm going to get you out of here as soon as possible."

I squeezed once to let her know, 'Okay.' I felt her hand let go and I felt Derek's hand grip mine once more.

"Alright, she's gonna get the search and rescue and get you out of here. We're all here. You'll be okay."

I managed to worm my other hand to my chest. I pulled my shirt over my mouth so I could talk.

"Derek." I said.

"Mel?" He asked in confusion.

"Derek, if I die, call Bobby. His full name is Robert Singer. Make sure to tell him I'm sorry." I said.

"Mel, you're going to be fine."

"Promise me. Just in case."

"Fine. I promise."

"Thank you."

Hands switched. "Alright, men. There's at least four layers of ceiling on her. Let's move one at a time. Mel, let us know if something starts hurting."

"Okay." I said.

I heard men grunting and felt some of the weight and pressure leave my chest and body. I felt a sort of ache in my chest from having the pressure there.

The pressure continued to be relieved as more layers of ceiling was lifted off me. Finally, a man spoke.

"This is the last layer. Once we pull this off, don't move. At all. We have a paramedic team right here to get you into the ambulance as soon as it's off. Okay?"

"Okay." I managed to say. The piece of ceiling that had conformed to my body was slowly being peeled away from me. I hoped that my shirt was still on.

I coughed a little when some dust made it's way to my throat. I could finally see again.

Hands grabbed me and lifted me. I was then on a soft, padded gurney and something was placed over my mouth. I started breathing normally.

I saw a few paramedics before I passed out again.

When I woke up, my first thought was, 'Man, that doctor's hot'. My second was, 'Holy crap, I'm not dead.'

"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked that was standing by my bed.

"Okay." I said.

"Okay? You were trapped under a pile of rubble for an hour. It's fine to tell the truth about how you're feeling." He said.

"I am. Trust me, I've had it worse than simply being trapped under a pile of rubble." I said. I thought back to the time I was kidnapped by a demon. I shuddered.

"Well, if you insist. Anyways, does anything hurt at the moment?" He asked.

I wiggled a little bit to see if anything pained me. "My leg kinda hurts." I said.

The doctor looked down.

"What?" I asked, my heart racing.

"Your leg…it was severed from your body. It was a clean cut, but we're still trying to locate the rest of it so we can reattach it." He said.

"Oh god." I said. I could hear my heart racing from the monitor.

"Don't worry, though, it can't be that hard to find." He said.

"Okay." I said.

He gave me a sympathetic look. "Let me examine you to make sure everything else is okay." He said. I nodded.

He lifted the blanket and gently ran his hands across my body.

"You know, I usually get a guy's name first before I let him this close to me." I joked. He chuckled.

"My name is James Connor." He said.

"Well, you probably already know my name, but for the sake of introductions, I'm Mel." I said.

"Don't get me wrong, Mel, it's wonderful to meet you, I'm just really sorry it was under these circumstances." James said.

"It's okay, I suppose."

"So, what were you doing in that school?" James asked.

"Investigating the fire."

"You a fed?"

I nodded. He then checked something with the machine. I heard something beeping strangely. Then it resumed.

"What was that?" I asked. All of a sudden, I didn't feel too well.

"That was the sound of your death. The machine will keep beeping as if you're alive, but your heart is actually slowing as we speak. By the way, I'm the arsonist. Have a nice death." James said, smiling wickedly.

My vision started getting blurry. I tried speaking but couldn't. Yet again, I was on death row. But this time, I wasn't sure if I'd live.