“Not trying to be negative, Dani,” Chad said, puffing out the words. “I’m actually having trouble breathing. The pressure on my chest is insane.”
There was no snark left in my neighbor. His life was hanging in the balance, and he knew it. I had to get to him.
“Just focus on my voice. I’m on my way. I can’t get out the driver side door, so I need to climb over the mountain of concrete in front of my car. It’ll just take me a minute, and then I’ll start digging you out.”
He didn’t respond, his silence an ominous predictor of his decline.
“Chad, don’t fall asleep.”
“I’m sorry, Dani.”
His voice sounded defeated—done. I had to keep him talking.
“For what—stealing my parking spot?”
“No, I stand by that. Parking’s a bitch in this garage.”
I smiled to myself. He needed to work on his apologies. “Are you sorry for accusing me of stealing your package?”
“Yes, I am actually sorry for that.”
“Oh, well, that’s a start.”
“Apparently it was delivered to the wrong floor. The neighbor lady below us brought the package up this afternoon.”
I stopped, a frown forming. “You’re a piece of work, dude.”
“Don’t I know it. Look, I’m going to be honest with you—and please don’t get used to it—but I’ve been going through a rough time the last few months, feeling sorry for myself. I took it out on you, and that was a crappy thing to do. I wanted to say I’m sorry now, just in case, you know, I don’t make it.”
“Stop it, Chad. I don’t want your apology. Don’t assume you’re the only player in this dysfunctional relationship of ours. You realize I sometimes make stuff up just to start a fight with you, right?”
“I knew it,” he chuckled, his voice cutting out toward the end. I could hear him weakening with every passing second.
I squeezed around the toppled beam and got my first close-up look at what Chad was dealing with…what I was about to deal with. And it wasn’t good. Chad wasn’t just buried in crumbled concrete and dust; he had actual cinder blocks holding him down.
“I’m here,” I said, crouching down to eye level.
“Can you please not make that face?” he said, wincing. “I’m already freaked out.”
“Sorry,” I replied, heaving the smallest solid chunks of concrete off of him as I fought back a sudden onset of tears. Not here. Not now. My sorrow was the last thing he needed, so I swallowed the emotion and adopted a grimace. “Got my game face on now.”
“Much better.”
“Let’s start over,” I said, forcing a smile. “Hi, I’m Dani, and I’ll be your hero for the day.”
Chad managed a half-cocked smile. “Not that I’m dissing your superpowers, but you wouldn’t by chance have a phone handy to call 9-1-1, would you?”
I shook my head. “I wish. You?”
“No. My best guess is it’s somewhere near the earth’s core by now.”
I followed his eyes downward. Yeah, there was no phone. This was going to be a one-woman operation… and there was no time to waste. I continued with the rescue proceedings by creating a small pocket of wiggle room behind him, an area for him to lean away from the weight of the concrete boulders that were too heavy for me to move with one arm. With some of the pressure relieved, Chad dragged in deep, life-saving breaths, his first ones since the walls came crashing down.
Before we could celebrate that small step forward, an angry fault line conspired to take us two steps back. The ground rumbled.
Aftershock.
Chad and I locked eyes, and I knew before he spoke what he was going to say.
“Go!” he insisted. “Get out of here!”
He was right. I should go. This was my life we were talking about. But what about Chad? I couldn’t just leave him to face his fate alone. With the earth quivering ruthlessly below us, I flung myself over him and together we rode out the lingering remnants of the half-hearted quake.
When it was over, I lifted my head and cautiously looked around. Everything had pretty much remained where it had fallen in the previous quake, even the assembly of concrete stacked pick-up-stick-style in front of him.
“Okay, well…that earthquake was a bit of a pussy, wouldn’t you say?”
He shook his head, not appreciating my workplace humor. “You never listen, do you?”
“Seems like we established that fact long ago. Besides, I could say the same thing about you.”
“I’m serious, Dani,” he said. “If you don’t go now, you’re going to die in here…right beside me.”
Like I didn’t understand the risks. I knew what I was doing, and no one got to decide my fate but me…and maybe that bitch Mother Nature. “Sure, Chad. I’m going to die. You’re going to die. But neither one of us is going to die today.”
That silenced my quake date.
“Let me hear you say it, Chad. ‘Dani is my hero.’”
Never had he repeated back one of my lines correctly, and I didn’t expect it of him today either.
“Dani is my hero,” he said without an ounce of mockery.
Well, I’ll be damned. Miracles did happen. I smiled, liking the sound of his submission. Victory at last.
Chad clenched his eyes shut as he let out a slow breath.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked.
“Uh… it hurts to breathe. A lot of pain in my chest.”
Not what I wanted to hear, but it did motivate me to dig faster, and not long after amplifying my efforts, I touched skin, making us both jump. “Is that what I think it is?”
“No,” he answered, straight-faced. “Just my arm.”
“Oh.” I laughed. “Making funnies now, I see.”
He smiled, his face registering the first real signs of hope. I doubled down then, wanting to see more of that faith in his eyes. Unfortunately, the excavation wasn’t nearly as agreeable to the shard of glass still wedged inside my arm. With every movement, excruciating pain shot all the way to my fingertips. But the discomfort was all worth it when Chad’s arm finally emerged from the earth… and he used it to hug me.
Both stunned and flattered, I slung my good arm around one of his broad shoulders and hung on tight. I half expected him to squirm away like a skittish cat, but Chad seemed to be in no hurry to let go. Although, to be fair, he was trapped in a hole in the earth. It wasn’t like he could get away from my public display of affection. He turned his head, his soft breath whispering into my ear, “You’re my hero, Dani.”
Okay, I was in love. No, seriously. If we both survived, I’d be stalking the shit out of his ass.
When we finally broke apart, things were different between us. We were no longer warring neighbors. Now we were full-fledged colleagues. And working as a team, things moved faster, with his added arm strength helping to topple the concrete holding him in place. Within minutes, we not only had his other arm free but we’d also dug Chad out to his waist. And then to his thighs and to his knees. We were so close now. Just a little bit more and he would be free.
“Hey,” he said, his voice cutting through the silence. I looked up to find his long-lashed blue eyes ringed in red. His words splintered as he spoke. “Just so you know, I’m not going to forget this. What you did for me…”