“I know it all looks different now, but do you think you can find the door to the tunnel?”

“I’ll try.” I help her off the floor. Her arm wraps around my waist, hitting my ribs. I gasp out in pain and move her hand further down. “I’m sorry, Aedon.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt half as bad as your leg.” We shift some debris around and a cold, white arm falls out next to Bia’s feet. I try to cover her eyes before she can see it, but it’s too late. Luckily the rest of the body and the corpse’s face remain covered and out of sight. She lets out a gasp and jumps against me. Tears start rolling down her cheeks, but she keeps moving.

“I think it’s over there.” She points into an area with a metal door. I turn on the flash light and shine it in that direction. It looks intact. The only thing blocking it is a fallen beam, which we’ll have to move.

As we move closer, I see a little box for ID entry outside the door. “Damn it, I should have thought about that.”

“What is it?”

“I very seriously doubt my ID will let me open that door.” I lean her against the wall while I take the lanyard from around my neck. There is no sense moving the beam if we can’t get in. At this point, it would be wasted energy. I’m able to get close enough to swipe my badge. The light beam doesn’t even come on. I try one more time with no luck.

“Can we push it open?” she asks.

I beat my fist on it to get a feel for what it’s made of. Solid steel, and based on the dull thuds that ring out beneath my hand, it is at least half a foot thick. “It’s too heavy.”

“Now what are we going to do?” Fear is rising in her voice.

“I don’t know yet. I’ll figure out something.” Putting my fingers in the crack of the door, I try to push it open. It doesn’t budge. Shining the flash light around, I see a piece of rebar that is bent in half. I might be able to use it to pry the door open.

As I reach for it, the remaining fragile bones of the building begin to shift. Bia lets out a scream as a piece of concrete falls, barely missing her. I run back over to her. “Get on the ground!” She does and I shield her with my body. We stay still until there is no more noise. Dust fills the air, filling both of our lungs and setting off a tandem coughing fit. The pain in my side is sharp enough to bring tears to my eyes.

“Are you okay?!” Her little hands are holding my face, brushing the hair out of my eyes.

“I’m okay.” I cough a few more times. The rebar is within my reach. I get off the floor and pick it up. The movement caused the beam to fall away from the metal door. I wedge the rebar in place and use the beam to push against with my feet. Nothing at first. I throw all my weight into it, straining every muscle in my body, and the gap begins to widen. Slowly, ever so slowly, the door begins to groan its way open.

“You’re doing it, Aedon!” Bia pushes off the floor and hobbles over to help me. The two of us push with all our might, but the door’s movement stops abruptly as it catches on a concrete block much too large for the two of us to budge. A gap no more than eight inches wide is open before us.

She starts to cry. “Bia, you can get through that. You can get out of here.” I cradle her in my arms.

“Not without you,” she sniffs. “My leg, I can’t do it.”

“Yes, you can. You can put one hand on the wall to help you walk.”

“I don’t want to leave you.” She looks up at me.

“You can get help. They don’t know we’re alive down here. If you can get out, you can send them back.”

“What if the tunnel is blocked?”

“If it’s completely blocked, then you come back here. But, try real hard first to move or go around whatever’s in your way. You can do this, Bia. You’re Wonder Woman, remember?”

She wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “You know Wonder Woman isn’t real, right?”

I laugh. “No, she’s not, but I believe in you.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Good girl.” I help her back off the floor. She tentatively pushes her arm through the opening first. It’s a tight fit with her leg in a splint, but she manages to make it through.

“I’ll send my daddy back for you.” She says through the opening in the door.

“All right, Bia. I hand her the flashlight. “Now go, get out of here.”

I listen as she takes the steps down into the underground tunnel. My own tears start to fall when I can no longer hear her. I hope like hell that she can make it out and find her father. A little girl needs her daddy.

I let my body slide down the wall to the floor. I rest my arms on my knees and let my head fall. My body hurts and I’m so tired. I want to shut my eyes for a moment. As soon as my eyelids close, I see Ashe.

His hands glide up my body, taking my silk nightgown with them. His eyes take me in, admiring me. I hear his sharp inhale as the back of his hands skim over my nipples. “Mmmm… I love these. I want to taste them.” He wets his lips and leans forward, sucking me into his mouth.

Suddenly, I see him with Wren. They’re in a dark place, but I see him clearly. He’s in an outrage. One like I’ve never seen before. He’s tipping over a desk, shattering picture frames on the floor. He’s screaming something. I step closer so that I can hear him. I call his name, but he doesn’t even see me. Wren is trying to calm him. He walks toward him and he pushes Wren across the room. “I couldn’t get to her! I couldn’t save her! This is my job, for fuck’s sake!”

“Help me, please!” A cry for help drags me out of my daze and up on my feet. I hear a woman’s voice coming from underneath a wooden ceiling tile. Riding a wave of adrenaline, I furiously toss all the debris out of the way. Her feet barely protrude out from the gap I created in the rubble.

“Help me,” she feebly cries again.

“I’m coming.” I lift the tile to find a woman in a uniform, about thirty years of age. She has a large hematoma on the front of her head and one of her eyes is swollen shut. I get down on my hands and knees. “What’s your name?” I’m already scanning her body for other injuries.

“Traci.” Her head lifts off the ground.

“I’m Aedon. I’m a doctor. Let me check you out before I try to move you.”

She nods.

“Try not to move your head.” I gently feel the back of her neck and shoulders, working my way down. “I don’t want to move you. You may have a fracture in your neck. Let me see if I can find anything to support your head.”

She grabs my hand. “Please don’t leave me,” she cries.

“I’m not leaving you. I promise I’ll come back.” She releases my hand and closes her eye.

I don’t see anything in this area that I can use and it’s getting darker by the moment. I duck my head and stay low. There is an opening I can crawl through, but it will be tight. I get low to the ground, moving things out of my way as I body-crawl through it. I move slowly and deliberately - an arm, then a knee, an arm, then a knee. My ribcage hits the broken concrete beneath me with every move. The pain roars throughout my body, burning so badly I have to stop to force myself to breathe. I have to keep moving, I can see an opening about fifty feet ahead. I suck it up and keep crawling.

I drag myself out of the tunnel formed by the explosion. There’s not much left of this area. From the looks of it, it was a breakroom. A fridge is toppled over and lockers are piled on top of it. There has to be something in here I can use.

I pick up a bottle of water laying between the fridge and what looks to have been a chair, pausing for a moment to gulp it down. There are smashed lunch boxes laying on the floor with their contents surrounding them. I grab what I can and find a bag to put the few items in to take back with me. The few lockers that I can reach are full of useless items: magazines, books, a few pictures. An old grey hoodie is jammed in one of them which I might be able to use to support Traci’s neck. I find a couple more bottles of water and add them to my bag. Putting the hoodie on, I zip it up and tuck the bag of food and water inside. An open first-aid kit is laying on the floor at the end of the row of lockers. I remove several items, including a small pen light, and stuff them into my pocket.

When I get back over to Traci, she doesn’t respond when I call her name. I check her pupils and one is blown. God what I’d give for Ashe to be here right now. I check her pulse and it’s still running strong. I lay down beside her and succumb to my emotions, embracing the tears that fall. I don’t want to be alone right now. “Bia, you have to make it,” I cry out and curl up into a ball.