After the Storm

A black sedan pulled up to the curb outside the Hogan residence and honked its horn twice. Ed checked out the window and went to put on his coat. "Jeannie! Vic is here, will you be alright until I come back?"

His wife popped her head out from the bedroom. "I'll be fine, dear. Stay safe. Do what you need to do!"

Venturing outside, Ed looked around the sky to make sure that the danger had passed. Rays of sun were already beginning to shine through the clouds, heralding what was sure to be a hot and humid evening. However, Hogan also noticed that there was smoke rising only a few blocks to the North. The twister had spared them both when it tore through town thirty minutes ago but others weren't so lucky. Stepping into the backseat of the car, Ed was quick to shake hands with his newest political ally.

"Mr. Miller! I'm glad you could come out to survey the damage." Hogan said.

"St. Louis needs its mayor in times like these, Mr. Hogan, and you know these streets better than anyone. I hope you don't mind that we're going to be having the press on our heels the whole way."

"Mind? Of course I don't mind, Vic. The twister is going to make national news, and if we're right there in the thick of the destruction it left behind its going to be a boon for both our campaigns."

"My thoughts exactly. Now, where should we start?"

"I saw smoke rising a few blocks from here. Can your driver get us up to Kingsway?"

"It may take a while, but I'm sure it's possible." Miller then rolled down the window separating the driver's seat from their own. "Nigel, do you know how to get to Kingsway?"

"Yes sir, I do."

"Very good. Let's roll, gentlemen."

Having grown tired of standing around a torch for the past half hour, Mitzi insisted that we make our way out. Carefully examining the door to the outside world, I could see sunlight shining through. The storm had passed!

"I think we're in the clear." I called back down the stairs.

"Thank god! I need to survey the damage to the offices." Wick said as he led Mitzi up the steps.

"And get out of this puddle!" Ivy exclaimed, dragging the more cautious Freckle behind her.

With one good shove the door opened and we stepped out into the garage. Besides some busted windows and trash blown about the area, everything at least seemed intact. Cautiously moving out of the garage, the scene on the street seemed… strangely normal. Freckle and Rocky joined me in the vanguard as we looked around from the alley. "Huh, maybe the tornado didn't touch down after all?" Freckle said to himself.

"Don't speak too soon, cousin." Rocky said as he turned Freckle's head. Down the street there seemed to be a line. On our side everything was mostly intact. On the other side the destruction was hard to describe. We pulled back into the alley and met back up with Wick and the ladies.

"Well, how does the street look?" Wick asked.

"Our block looks fine, mostly. But further down…" Rocky tried to explain.

"…Nothing is standing two blocks away. Just piles of rubble."

"Move boys, I want to see!" Ivy demanded, squirming past us and looking around the corner. "There are people moving around over there! We need to go help!"

"Help? Ivy, what can we possibly do?" Freckle asked.

"Surely there's some people there who need help, and I for one am not going to stand around and watch."

"But—" Freckle couldn't finish his rebuttal as Ivy grabbed him by the hand and dragged him toward the destruction, the deep grey sky in the background framing the damage the tornado had just left in its wake.

"Ivy is right, they'll need help." Rocky said as he gave chase.

"Well, if those three are going out there I'm certainly not going to stand around here." Mitzi said as she too left the shelter of our alley to survey the damage.

"Oh sure, let's just walk into a disaster zone. No one listen to the war vet!" I growled as I joined the rest of them. "May as well join us, Mr. Sable."

A Miner Takes Charge

I didn't have to go far before the whole crew stopped dead in their tracks. Surrounding us was a scene that felt so gut-wrenchingly familiar to me. Where proud houses, apartments, and businesses once stood there were now mountains of bricks and splintered timbers. Haze filled the air as small fires smoldered under the rubble. The worst part though was the people. Parents calling for children, injured elderly and young alike limped around seeking safety and shelter. Two cops who must have been on the beat were overwhelmed trying to keep order even though they were outnumbered a thousand-to-one.

Freckle noticed that Ivy was fixated on one small pile of debris. Though he reached for her hand, Ivy slipped out of his grasp and carefully walked over to the pile. Rocky, Freckle, and I moved in behind her as she bent down and moved a brick. Ivy recoiled in an instant and flew into Freckle's arms. I moved them to the side so I could get a better look while Rocky tried to divert everyone's attention elsewhere, grabbing Riley by the hand and leading her back to Mitzi. "I don't think you want to see anything else here, kid."

What she thought was a piece of jewelry turned out to still be attached to its owner. The hand was bloody, broken, and cold to the touch. Instincts kicking in, I began to move the bricks trying to see if the poor woman was still alive. She wasn't. In fact, she hardly looked like a cat. Freckle caught a glimpse over my shoulder and lost his lunch a few feet away. My head started spinning and the scenery changed in a matter of seconds.

The German cannons roared as shells rained hellfire down upon us. I remembered this place; it was the first hour of action. My baptism of fire. I saw Derrick hit the deck as I too found a small enclave to withstand the oncoming blast. The shockwave echoed through the earth as dirt, mut, and what I hoped was just water rained down around us. I opened my eyes just in time to see a face fall in front of me still carrying a grimaced look. I reached out to close the soldier's eyes, but the head rolled down into the hole with me. I panicked as the dismembered remains of the soldier slid down on top of me, coating my fresh uniform in another's crimson blood.

The scene shifted once more as I lay there with a dying Derrick in my lap. As he took his last breath, the sky around me glowed red. Derrick was gone in an instant while I cried out for him in vain. The ground shook beneath my feet as a blood-red symbol formed around me. It was the same as my little box kept stashed in the closet. Diamonds and stars surrounded me as I found myself in the center of Ogun's symbol. He had come to take the dead, but he wanted me as well. I could feel it. I calmed down in that moment, resigning myself to my fate. Though I didn't want to admit it, that loa had protected me and now the bill was due.

Just then a light appeared above me. A figure cloaked in light reached down and a familiar voice called my name. "Ethan. Ethan! I'm here!" The blinding light dimmed enough that I could see the face of my savior. It was Isabella! Like as scared child I found shelter in her embrace. Calming down, my heart beat returned to normal. When I opened my eyes, the scene around us was still terrible, but at least this was real. I would much rather deal with reality than go back to whatever that apocalyptic hallucination was.

"Bella, you're here… You're here? Why are you here?"

"Shh, it's okay Ethan. I drove down here as soon as I could. I wanted to make sure you all were safe."

"I'm so glad you're here!"

"You're okay now, right? What was going on with you?"

"I'm fine now, thanks to you. It's... hard to explain, but I will try later."

"Good." Bella then looked around. "Say, it looks like you all got lucky. These people need help."

Taking my hand and helping me to my feet, I was able to take in the destruction surrounding us with fresh eyes. I wasn't in France. I was in St. Louis. And this wasn't some shelled-out abandoned village in no-man's land, it was the neighborhood just down the street from our establishment. Everything was in chaos.

"Rocky, don't turn the valve that way—"

"No, this is how we used to do it as kids! Just let me get the nut loose and we can get—"

"We need a hose first, Rocky! We can't put out a fire without a hose!"

Screams of terror echoed down the street as a woman found her husband's body in the middle of a pile of bricks. The two cops were still barking orders at people who ignored them. Wick, still slack-jawed from the damage, commented to Mitzi. "We need someone who can take charge and organize this mess. Where are the police and firefighters?"

"Wick, hon, the city will need the national guard for this."

While I shied away from cops for obvious reasons, this was a more pressing matter. I turned around and kissed Isabella passionately before asking for yet another favor. "Bella, could you take Riley back to your house?"

"I can help here, Ethan."

"I know you can, but I'll do my job better if I know you and Riley are out of harm's way. She shouldn't see any of this."

"What job?"

"Wick's right, someone needs to take charge. If we can't dig people out quick enough then the death toll is going to be huge."

"Okay, good luck. Come back to my house when this is over."

"I will, Bella. And thank you."

Bella let me go and walked over to Mitzi who had Riley by the hand. "Miss M, I'm going to take Riley back to my house."

"Good idea. I'm glad you showed up when you did. I'm sure whatever was going through Ethan's mind wasn't pleasant."

"I'm glad I did too. I was worried for him."

Walking across the street, I flagged down the two cops. "Officers! When can we expect assistance?"

"Damned if I know, kid! We were lucky to get off the street when that monster came through."

"You mean to tell me no help is coming?"

"Son, we got on a roof to look around. There are neighborhoods like this in a line from east to west, horizon to horizon. That twister must have been tearing up town for ten miles or more!" the older, rather rotund cop explained.

"Okay, are you at least able to get back to the station for help?"

The younger cop pointed a thumb at their wrecked car. A large piece of concrete from the adjacent building had flattened it. "You may as well get your family out of here. There's no helping these people until someone can restore order."

"Yes… yes, we need some order, don't we? Stay here."

"What?" The older cop said as I climbed on top of the concrete slab that crushed their police car. Unholstering my pistol, I fired three shots into the air, startling everyone within earshot.

All eyes were on me now, and I had only a brief window to plead my case before everything would descend into pandemonium again. "Listen up! You don't know me, but that's not important. There are people still trapped in these buildings and we've got injured folks who need medical attention. No one is coming to help us anytime soon, so we had better pull together."

"What do you mean no one is coming? So we're stuck out here?!" One man called back.

"We can't wait around, sir! If we sit on our haunches and wait for help then lives will be lost."

"What are you suggesting?" the younger cop asked.

"We need to organize into teams, like squads within a company. If we act quickly, we can keep fires from spreading and pull people out before they die."

One particularly proud man dressed in a business suit scoffed. "And why should we listen to you?"

I hoped off the concrete I was standing on and got in his face. "Because I was in the Argonne and we didn't survive by bickering with each other. Also, I don't see anyone else volunteering to take charge."

I then turned around to the gathering crowd. "Besides the army, I was a copper miner. I've seen many accidents before and I can tell you right now that if we don't act quickly, there's going to be a lot more dead people in the next few hours. Each of these buildings is like a collapsed mine shaft. Unstable, dangerous, and suffocating. We need to stabilize the debris and dig people out as quickly as we can. Now are you with me, or not?"

Silence filled the air. Freckle, Rocky, and Ivy flanked either side of me. I could at least count on them. "We're with you, lad. What do we need to do?" The older cop asked.

"Who here knows medicine?" I asked. Some strangers raised their hands. "We're going to need a field hospital. Gather as many supplies as you can and set up shop in the freight depot down the block. Officers?"

"Yes, lad?" The older cop asked.

"I need you two to find as many buckets as you can. Take some people with you. We don't have hoses so we're going to need to make a bucket line to put out each fire. If you can get more police to our location, start setting up a perimeter to keep out looters. Send any injured folks you find to the field hospital. That will be our evacuation point."

"And what do the rest of us do?" The businessman asked, having stepped back in with the crowd.

"Glad you asked. We're lucky to have Wick Sable here with us. Wick!"

Wick turned his attention to the crowd that was now looking at him.

"Wick, I need you to take a few others and go back to the office. Any mining tools and equipment you can muster would be appreciated."

"Very well…"

"And everyone else… split into teams of three or four. Everybody pick a ruined building and start combing through the debris. Anyone you find dead, pull them out and place them somewhere out of the way. Anyone you find alive, get them down to medical."

No one moved, expecting new orders. "What are you waiting for? Go, now! Go, go, go! We're losing daylight!"

Walking over to Mitzi and Ivy, I gave them special orders. "Do you two know anything about medicine?"

"No." They both replied.

"That's alright. Those who can apply first aid are going to need people to find and distribute bandages and medicine to the wounded. Recruit whoever you can find, especially teenagers. They'll be able to pull useful things from this mess."

Immortalized

Moving brick and mortar by hand was difficult so it was a sweet relief to see cats emerging through the smoky haze with hand tools and other mining equipment courtesy of Wick. "Where do you want these men, Ethan?" Wick asked, several shovels slung over his shoulders. He had traded his suit and top hat for working clothes. His old geology hat now sat atop his head, shielding his face from the afternoon sun.

"We need jacks if you got 'em. Two buildings further down are unstable and there's people who need digging out in the back. Otherwise, I want a couple of shovels and a pickaxe for each digging team."

The photo tour hadn't quite gone as planned so far since most of the roads were blocked off. However, Nigel the driver persisted in attempting to find a way through. By now there were no less than three cars full of press photographers and reporters trailing behind the mayor's sedan. Inside the two men were in awe of the destruction.

"Dear God Hogan, this is going to be quite the mess to clean up. I'll need to have the Governor get in touch with Coolidge. As soon as I can get a telegram through, I'll get the national guard out here."

Hogan was barely paying attention though. He wanted a photo opportunity just like any other politician, but he felt for the people in these neighborhoods. Many of his crew had come from these streets in an age that felt like a lifetime ago. "I remember most of these neighborhoods. So many of them look unrecognizable now."

"Looks like we will have to call off the press interviews, this is far worse than I originally thought."

Just as Miller said that, Hogan looked down a side street he recognized and saw people actively trying to clean up their neighborhood. A light bulb suddenly came on inside the cat's head. "Say Vic, I think this might be a good spot here…"

Getting out of the car, the two politicians looked over the scene. Teams of regular people were stacking bricks, moving dirt, pulling survivors from the piles of rubble that were once old apartment buildings. Yet all they could find for professionals were a couple of police officers and a handful of volunteer firefighters. Hogan did recognize one face though. "Wick, is this all your doing?"

Wick took a break from moving bricks out of the way to clear a path into a fallen building. Wiping the sweat from his brow he made out the familiar form of Jellyroll Hogan. "Ed, what are you doing out here in this mess?"

"The mayor and I have been looking over the damage. Every other neighborhood is in chaos though. So imagine our surprise to see, well, this!" Hogan gestured to the whole operation going on around them.

"Yes. Well, lending a few hand tools is the least I could do for my favorite neighborhood."

"Do you mind if we quote you, Mr. Sable?" One of the reporters asked. "Any comments on the tornado?"

"Why of course! This disaster is such a tragedy, but it is in times like these that we are reminded of who the good people of St. Louis are. Neighbors helping neighbors. And let it be known that Sable Mining is there to help our community in its hour of need!"

Hogan, shaking Wick's hand, leaned in to speak without the reporters overhearing. "So how did you organize this?"

"Oh, this wasn't me. Our mutual friend Ethan Kelly has been keeping us going like a well-oiled machine. He's right over there." Wick then pointed over in my direction while I was giving orders.

"Get those picks and shovels off your backs, men. I don't want to see an idle tool until all people have been accounted for!"

"Ethan!"

I heard someone call my name. An entire motorcade had materialized down the street and a certain Edward Hogan was waving at me.

"Who is that guy?" Freckle asked as Rocky struggled to move a large piece of concrete.

"It's Ed Hogan." I said, squinting to make out who he was with. "Maybe we finally got reinforcements? Come on boys, let's see what the jolly jellyroll wants."

My hand met his after closing the distance. "Good to see you again, Mr. Hogan."

"Likewise, Ethan. Wick tells me you've been organizing this recovery operation."

"Not without help from my friends and family. We've got wounded being treated down the block and teams combing through the fallen buildings looking for survivors. I don't suppose you've come with supplies and more men?"

"Sadly, no. I've been looking at the damage with the mayor. Ethan, this is our esteemed mayor, Victor J. Miller."

"Happy to meet your acquaintance Mr. Kelly. This is most impressive."

I met the mayor of Butte once too, so while it might have been a pleasant surprise on any other day, right now there were more pressing matters. "If I could make a request, sir. We've got wounded who need transport and treatment to a proper hospital. Wick can show you where they are.

"I will certainly get ambulances here once we can get communications back up. In the meantime, Hogan and I were wondering if you wouldn't mind sparing a few minutes for photos and an interview with the press. We'd like to advertise your—"

"I'm sorry sir, but there are lives at stake and I can't spare a moment. It was a pleasure to meet you though, Mayor Miller. If you really want to impress your constituents, I've got a couple of shovels."

The two were befuddled as I walked away and got back to work.

"Well, so much for that. What now?" Miller asked Hogan.

"I suppose we'll just have to do what we do best…"

Hogan turned around, and with a smile spread across his face, began to heap praise on the good citizens of St. Louis. "…It's through nothing less than the sheer courage and tenacity of my many good friends that such operations are possible. As you can see, citizens under our leadership are already cleaning up their neighborhood and saving lives."

One photographer didn't take the bait though and, looking past the two local politicians, he saw a golden opportunity. An orange cat and a grey tabby flanked a taller, soot-covered feline wearing an old campaign hat on his head. They were discussing their next actions. Unbeknownst to them, the stars and stripes flew over their heads on a makeshift flagpole anchored into a pile of stacked bricks. It was tattered and torn, but still flying in the dusty air. Steadying his press camera, the photographer captured an image he knew would make the front page of tomorrow's paper.

Run the Risk

Rocky carefully poked around one of the last buildings on the street that had not yet been scoured. Though no one was sure yet if everyone was accounted for, people were still being found alive in the toppled houses and businesses. Happily, far more had been found alive than dead up to this point, but now the sun was setting and with it would go the odds of finding more people trapped or injured.

His ears then picked up a faint sound. Like a mouse under a snowdrift, it was easy to miss for even the best feline ears. Yet, for a brief second, he heard what sounded like someone crying. Turning back, Rocky moved over ground he had previously traveled. Standing perfectly still, he lowered his ear to the ground and listened.

Nothing. Nothing for several seconds. But just when he was about to move on, he heard it clear as day. A young child was stuck deep under the fallen building!

"Ethan! We've got one over here!"

My head snapped to Rocky's location. Shovel in hand, I moved swiftly over the unstable debris to the spot where Rocky stood. The rubble underneath us felt uneasy and I was painfully aware that we may as well be standing on a landmine. "Where?"

He pointed down below us. We both peered into the inky black through a small hole. It was too dark for us to make out where he might be, but another sob and a weak cry for help tugged on our heart strings.

"Hey kid! Can you hear us?" Rocky called out.

The sobbing stopped. "Y-yes. We need help!"

"We?" I called back.

"Mom is hurt, she can't move!"

"Hold on and don't move, we'll find a way down to you!" Rocky said with his usual energetic confidence. Then he stood up, tail twitching with anticipation as he started scanning the area. "Now to just find a hole…"

"Rocky, we're going to need to move all this rubble out of the way, it's going to take all night."

"We don't have time, Ethan. How long have they been down there? Six hours? His mother is injured, we need to act now."

"Rocky, you know I want to help them. But we're going to need more equipment than… a rope… and a flashlight… and—" Rocky threw me the other end. "Don't drop this, I need it to find my way out. The abyss awaits!"

"Rocky!" I yelled as I tried to stop him, but as I moved some of the pile shifted and we both froze. "Ethan, I've got to risk it!"

"This is suicide, Rocky! We're putting them at risk just standing here."

"All the more reason to move quickly. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"You say that about everything!" I exclaimed, exacerbated. But I couldn't physically stop him. Not without risking the integrity of the shifting bricks and blocks of concrete beneath our feet.

Rocky descended into the concrete cave. Bits and pieces of the building stuck out like spikes, poking him as he went. Soon though he found solid ground. It was the floor of the basement, a solid ten feet below the street level and twenty feet from the top of the pile which was now precariously situated above his head. One wrong move and it would all come crashing down.

Yet, something urged Rocky forward. He had always fancied himself as a dashing knight coming to the rescue of those distressed. A leftover from his many childhood fantasies. But this, this was a stronger urge. A child and their mother were down here and losing her was a pain Rocky could understand on a primal level. Ethan was right from a rational viewpoint, but luckily for these two victims Rocky was far from rational. Almost everything about him was emotion, and right now his heart told him that it was now or never. He wasn't coming back up unless he had at least one of them.

No longer able to see, Rocky shook the flashlight and flipped the switch a couple of times until the light flickered on. The scene around him was horrifying. Slivers of light still managed to seep in from the outside, but it was like being inside the mouth of some gigantic, ferocious beast. It threatened to swallow them all at any moment, and now Rocky's fate was the same as the people he was going after.

Shining the light around, two small eyes reflected at him. Their green shimmer blinked in and out as the child wiped his tears away.

"Over here." He said quietly.

"I'm almost there, little one. Just stay there, you seem to be in a more stable part of the structure."

The kid coughed a couple of times, his fever threatening to return after spending so many hours in the damp and cold. Rocky maneuvered himself around two large beams. These were now acting like pillars, creating a small crawl space that barely had enough room for two adults. Shining his light into the crawl space, he caught sight of the mother.

"Miss, are you able to speak? Do something, anything at all if you can hear me."

"Huh?" She replied, too exhausted to fully understand what was happening. Then the neurons activated upon recognizing that someone else was here with her and her son. "What's going on?"

"I'm here to rescue you. Your boy's cries for help caught my ear up top."

Now it was coming back to her. Yet she was pinned by the leg. Her right leg had thankfully found a hole, but her left leg had gotten crushed between a large piece of concrete and one of the remaining stair steps.

"I can't move, my leg is trapped."

Rocky adjusted his light, revealing the extent of the damage. Everything below the knee was a total loss. "I can see that... We'll have to get a doctor down here."

"Please, take Joesph with you. At least get him out of this mess."

"With pleasure. Joesph's the name, is it?"

The boy nodded.

"Okay, nice and slow, crawl toward me."

I stood motionless at the surface. Damn his eagerness! I couldn't let this happen again to someone I call "brother". It should be me down there. At least I know how to squeeze out of a tunnel that's about ready to fill in. If we could get some jacks down there, I might even be able to stabilize the pile before it settles. The rope tugged in my hands twice. Rocky then called up from somewhere below me.

"I got the boy! Pull the slack up Ethan!"

Rocky felt the rope get tight. "Okay, very slow now! I can't move fast down here!" He shouted up. Taking a moment to sit down, the boy crawled into Rocky's lap. He looked down and rubbed the kids ears. "Okay, you're doing good! Now, just hold onto me, got it?"

Hugging Rocky's neck, little Joeseph did as he was told. Rocky, one arm supporting his passenger, was left with only one free hand to crawl back up. This would be tough, but all his experiences in the circus had prepared him for this moment. Who knew being an escape artist would have so many applications in the life of a violinist?!

I could feel the pile wanting to give way under my feet. "Tread lightly now, Rocky. Ever so lightly." I muttered, praying he'd have the intuition to know he had to be careful.

Rocky finally got to the bottom of the hole he had crawled down. Above him was the fading light of the evening. "Look up there, kid! You're close to freedom." In a moment of lapsed judgement, Rocky put his free hand on the wrong part of the structure. Before it only held a portion of his weight, but now he was holding an extra forty pounds and all that weight was in one spot. With a groan, the debris shifted and settled. Instinctively, Rocky ducked out of the way and shielded the kid.

I nearly lost my footing as the pile seemed to sink a foot. Freckle was now at the edge of the ruined building. I looked back at him with a look of horror. "Freckle! Stay back!" He immediately retracted his foot. The pile stopped moving and I mustered the courage to call down to where Rocky was. "Rocky! Are you okay?"

Five seconds passed. "Rocky?!" Freckle yelled.

"We're both fine." Was his reply. We both sighed in relief.

Rocky looked back through the small passage he had just come through. It was still there, but the way was almost shut. He would have a hard time squeezing back through.

"Mom!"

"I'm okay, Joesph! Just get out of here before things get worse." She called back.

"You heard your mother; we better leave while we have the chance. Just hold on a bit longer, okay?"

Joesph nodded before burying his head into Rocky's chest. Rocky looked up and focused on finding a path out. His mind processed everything around him and, deciding on a new strategy, he lunged for the nearest solid piece of debris he could find. Using that momentum, Rocky pivoted and grasped a large piece of concrete. Lifting himself up, he was now out of the most dangerous part. Careful as can be, Rocky inched his way up until he squeezed out of the hole and back on the surface.

He rolled onto his back, exhausted from the climb. "I guess I really am crazy!" He said with a laugh.

"I swear to God Rocky, you're going to give me a heart attack or a stroke one of these days. Now who's your new friend?"

"Joesph." The he said. "This is Joeseph."

"Freckle, take the rope." I ordered as I tossed it at him. Don't give Rocky too much slack. If the pile goes completely, you'll have to catch him. Rocky, let's get off this pile while we're still breathing."

Moving first with the child in his hands, Rocky picked is path carefully, eventually landing safely on solid ground. "Aces! Nicely done, cousin. Now it's the turn of our resident copper miner."

Freckle threw me the free end of the rope and I grasped it tightly while I lunged for solid ground. The pile shifted once more, but it didn't fall out from under me. "Now for the love of Christ, don't go back down there like that again. Do you have any idea how close you came to getting us both killed?" I said.

"Are you going to tell him it wasn't worth it?" Rocky said in a rare moment of seriousness. He cradled the boy in his arms protectively. This was yet another side I hadn't seen from him before. September was apparently the month where I got to see Rocky's emotions on full display. Relenting, I shook my head in defeat. We'd have to try to rescue that woman no matter the odds. "Just get him over to a nurse so he can get checked out. Freckle, you and I need to get some jacks if we're going to get that woman out."

"She needs a doctor too." Rocky said as he walked away. "Her leg is pulverized; it needs to be cut off."

"There should be a few doctors with Mitzi, Ivy, and the others at the field hospital."

As Rocky walked away, he shifted the kid's weight to his other arm. "You know, I had a friend once. His name was Victor. He said I had 'noodle arms.' I'd like to see him try to climb out of that hole! Although, on second thought he would probably just lift the whole building and—"

"Is my mom going to be okay?" Joesph asked, resting his head on Rocky's shoulder. He was now seeing the full scope of the destruction he had just lived through.

"Joesph, if I know Ethan, he's going to do everything possible to save your mother. There's no one better to move a mountain floor."

Refrain

If only that were true. With great difficulty, Freckle and I got the jacks down into the lowest level of the building. But everything was ready to give out. Ten times I placed a jack and tried to stabilize the load, and each time the jack either slipped or fell off. Taking a rest, I leaned back against the concrete footing. It was now the only path down to the kid's mother. "I hope you're still alive over there, miss, because there's no other way you could get me into a place like this."

"I'm still here. Keep trying, please! Is Joesph okay?"

"Rocky took him to get checked out by a nurse. He's safer than us right now, I can tell you that much."

"The leg is going to have to come off, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so. I'm trying to clear a path for a doctor to get to you."

"I don't know if I can make it that long. I want you to know… Nobody has ever tried this much to help us. So thank you! All I ask is that my little Joesph is cared for."

"You'll be caring for him once you recover. Just don't panic now or let yourself fall asleep." I advised. It was all I could do until I found a suitable place for a jack. If I could get even one in place it would at least be insurance.

"How can I care for him with one leg? What if—"

"That's just the fear talking. You must have been raising him by yourself, right? Unless your husband is somewhere else down here."

"No, he disappeared years ago."

Just then the pile shifted once more. I curled up into a ball to protect myself as I heard the injured mother shriek in horror. Besides a couple of broken bricks, nothing else fell. Daring to look up again, I finally realized what I saw seeing through the torch light. The wooden ceiling was acting like a massive net, keeping all the concrete and bricks from falling through completely. All I had to do was find the right joint to support.

"I can't take this anymore! I don't want to die, please! I want to see my boy again!" She cried, panic finally taking over.

"You'll be out of here soon!" I replied. "Hey now, what's your name anyway?"

"M-Margaret."

"Margaret, you aren't going to die down here, alone in a hole. You know why?" I asked while grabbing a jack and propping it up in the right place.

"No, why?" She said, terror soaking her words.

"Because I was a Butte copper miner and this isn't my first rodeo. We have a saying for when things seem bleak." I prepped the hydraulic valve and started pumping lightly until it was snuggly in place.

"When you feel the darkness closing in, turn up your carbide flame." The jack caught on the fragile ceiling, pinning tons of debris above us. "Then tell God and the Devil they can try, but today's not going to be the day we die!"

I managed to get three jacks placed in five minutes. The corridor was far from safe, but at least it was passable and the jacks would buy us some time if things started to go south.

"Okay, I think we've got a path to carry you out. Have faith, Margaret. I'll get the doctor down here when Rocky brings him over."