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Chapter Thirty Four - Do You Believe in Miracles?

I was tempted to army crawl right in through the front, but Joshua nodded around towards the back. He seemed more at peace now that I had given him the right to be as reckless as I was.

"There isn't anyway to get past where I was," he explained. "Just staring at the building all this time makes me think that we'll get in easier if we try to get in closer to the kitchen."

He had a point that I couldn't argue with. The structure was almost as flat as a pancake in front. The back looked like a very poorly constructed teepee. It was only about five feet from ground level, if that.

We both made our way around and I realized that not only were we going to have to use our hands to worm our way in, but we were going to make a lot of racket in the process. Fortunately, we were also out of view from the real rescue workers.

The door was gone, but the jumble of wood made it seem impossible that anything was still living inside. But, I knew, alive or dead, I wasn't going to leave Rosie in there.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to use as much strength as you can," I said. Joshua nodded. I reached for a board and pressed my foot up against the others to steady myself. After a second of watching me, Joshua mimicked my movements.

"On three," I commanded. "One. Two. THREE!"

We both let out grunts as we propelled our bodies backwards, our fingers gripping the board. It took almost ten forceful tug before the heavy two by four came out. We both toppled backwards onto the ground. I gasped, feeling exhausted. I could only imagine the skinny boy felt the same.

"One down," I said.

"A million more to go," he added.

We worked steadily, neither of us talking much. After an hour, we had amassed a small collection of boards and kitchen equipment. The solid blockage made it seem more and more likely that Joshua's term 'squashed' was accurate.

"Do you believe in miracles?" I asked aloud about an hour and a half into our process. we had taken only one break when a couple of Red Cross workers had drawn to near.

Joshua was sweating just as bad, if not worse than I was. He ran his arm across his forehead and I saw beads of sweat fall from his chin.

"Yeah," he said. "Rosie always talked about miracles. After awhile, I guess it was kinda nice to start believing too."

It sounded like the kind of thing she would say. It was just the little tidbit I needed to start working like a bat out of hell. Joshua's arms had grown weak even as mine grew stronger yet. As the young teen fell back one more time, I forged ahead, a scream erupting from my lungs at the same time. I pulled back my foot and gave an almighty kick.

"Show me, GOD!" I yelled.

I'm not sure exactly what I meant by that. I had already felt his wrath. I had already experienced the fragility of life. But I had never experienced a miracle.

Until then.

My foot connected with the wreckage and the pieces fell away, finally revealing an actual gap that a person could crawl through. It seemed to lead to the part of the building that wasn't totally flattened. For a second I just stared in utter surprise.

"What are we waiting for?" Joshua said. "Let's go."

I knelt down, sticking my head in. The heat and smell was indescribable. I pulled back and ran my right palm over the knuckles of my left hand.

"Here's the plan," I said slowly. "I'm going to go in. I want you to wait right here by the entrance."

Joshua opened his mouth to argue, but I shook my head forcefully.

"How will it help if both of us get stuck in there? If you're right here and I need help, I can call back to you. I'm assuming you'd go and get me help right?"

I was almost prepared for a scowling, reluctant, teenaged 'yeah.' Instead, he nodded just as forcefully as I had.

"Right."

"Good," I said. I stuck my head back in. If ever I had wondered what death and Hell would feel and smell like, I need wonder no more. I grabbed onto a board, gently testing it's stability. When it didn't give, I pulled myself all the way in. I pulled my t-shirt from my back pocket and used it as a glove for my hand.

"You okay?" a wobbly voice called out. I closed my eyes and remembered my purpose. Rosie.

"I'm fine, kid!" I called back. "I'm gonna keep going."

In perfect condition, the restaurant hadn't been big. In this condition, it was even smaller. Even so, it felt like I was literally crawling through a tunnel to China as I made my way in the darkness. Only the smallest sliver of light peeked in every now and then through the Jenga of boards. I used the light to scan as much area as I could.

It didn't take me long in my journey to realize two of the most overwhelming scents I was inhaling was that of kitchen grease and dead bodies. I had never smelled a dead body before, but it seemed like it was the only way to describe what lingered in the air. I shuddered, suppressing another round of vomit. The little path curved not far up ahead and I had a feeling my journey was almost over.

Indeed, as soon as I maneuvered my body around the corner, my t-shirt wrapped hand connected with something soft. A sliver of light reflected off of a large, shiny object and I glanced down...

Right into a pair of green eyes. The little bit of spark I saw through the shock told me she wasn't dead.

"Rosie," I whispered. My hand touched her forehead. "Rosie, sweetheart, it's going to be okay."

She didn't answer me verbally, but her body began to shake. My eyes were getting used to the darkness and I used the little bit of light to access the situation. Her face looked fine except for a large cut over her lip. Her right arm was burned, but not horrifically. Her tank top had three large red stains that I chose to ignore lest I start to panic and scare her even more. She had on a little pair of short shorts which gave way to her bare legs. I stifled a scream.

I wasn't an expert, but it looked as if the quake had toppled the stove onto her as she tried to move. Her left leg was free, but her right leg was trapped under the stove.

A stove which was being weighed down with hundreds of pounds of boards and other wreckage. The smell of blood hit me hard as my hand pressed even harder into her forehead. Her eyes began to close and my lips fell to her face, kissing her ashen cheek.

"Don't you give up now damnit," I whispered. "I love you and I'm not gonna to lose you now."

"I'm going to get you out."