Searing pain attacked Esme from all sides. She tried to stay silent, but with each movement and jostle, her agony broke free and pushed from her lungs into the dank air.

Sweat drenched Marcus as he grunted and swore. He and Fitz held Esme’s stretcher between them. They had kept their gait smooth down the hall, but the slow descent down the stairs forced sharp shrieks from Esme, who now breathed in shallow, quick gasps.

Each second ticked like a gong in Marcus’s mind, assaulting him with the reminder that Matty and Bella sat alone upstairs. Including them in their mother’s transport made little sense, but he hated the anxious distance.

Another clipped yelp snapped him back to his wife, and he craned his neck to choose his next step.

“Almost there,” he gasped.

As they approached the kayak raft, Fitz slowed. “You want her in the middle?”

“I think we’ll need to—for weight displacement,” Marcus answered.

Fitz nodded his agreement. “Let’s set her on the end and slide her.”

Marcus swallowed his uncertainty and glanced down at Esme, whose pale skin shone with perspiration.

“This part may get a little rough,” he said.

Esme let out a short, quiet sob.

Fitz eased into the water, walking backward. As he stepped down, he raised the stretcher to keep Esme dry. Marcus followed suit as he waded in, though his shoulder muscles already trembled with the effort.

They inched closer to the raft as Marcus continued to descend. Two steps left. One step. Then Marcus slipped.

Esme’s scream reverberated against the glass as the pallet hit the water’s surface, and her entire body jostled from side to side.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry!” Marcus yelled as he regained his footing and lifted her again. His wife pulled in her cries like a vacuum sucking up dust, but silent sobs still wracked her frame.

Fitz regarded her in grim silence. “Ready?” he asked Marcus, who nodded, blinking away tears.

“At the count of three, we’ll lift her onto the boat. Another three to slide.”

“Got it.”

“One…two…three.”

The men heaved the stretcher and set it on the raft’s end as gently as possible. Esme’s chest rose and fell deeper and slower as she regained control.

Fitz started counting again, and they slid the cumbersome apparatus in a smooth movement.

“I’ll tie her down. You get the kids.”

Marcus hurried toward the stairs and dripped a wet trail to the condo’s front door.

Screams he knew to be his daughter’s grew in volume as he burst in. Bella spun slowly in place by the kitchen counter as she cried in confusion.

“Bella!”

His toddler whirled to face him, and her cries turned fiercer as she ran into his arms.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m here.” He nuzzled her small neck with his nose, and she gripped his shirt with two tight fists. He carried his still-weeping girl past the kitchen and noticed Matty had fallen asleep again next to his Doritos.

Marcus shook his son’s shoulder. “Wake up, bud. Time to leave.”

Matty stirred but didn’t open his eyes. Fear stabbed at Marcus’s gut, and he pulled on his boy’s chest and tried to move him to a sitting position. When Matty’s back hit the chair, he jumped, arms akimbo.

“What happened?” he yelled.

Marcus let out his held breath and replied, “Time to go.”

“Okay,” he answered sluggishly. “Where’s the car?”

“Well…we’re…not taking the van.”

“Tell me about your loved ones, hon.” Jeanie rested a gentle hand on Sofia’s shoulder as she sat beside her.

Sofia gulped, tears already threatening.

“Should I start?” Jeanie asked.

She nodded, thankful.

“They aren’t my family by blood or anything,” Jeanie started. “But I sure did–do love ‘em.”

Sofia watched moisture pool in her eyes.

“My neighbor, Lexi, works at the Paradise. She’d been havin’ a tough time. And when news of the collapse reached me… I had a feeling she brought her boy, Simon, with her to work. I immediately jumped right in my car to get there. But when I found her, she wasn’t right.”

“She was injured?” asked Mike.

Jeanie frowned. “Not physically. But her brain had checked out. She could’a been in shock…I don’t know. Out of nowhere, she just leaped up and ran straight to the wreckage. I chased her, but she was too fast.”

“She went inside?” Sofia questioned.

Jeanie moved her head up and down. “I saw her climb in. And they started pulling people out.”

“What?” Sofia asked in shock.

“Yeah, they got Carol here and Mike. A few people who weren’t moving. They made me leave.”

“Can you describe the ones who were…who were…”

Compassion blanketed Jeanie’s expression. “They carried away a young man with caramel skin. And a few older folks. Nobody your parents’ ages and no kids.”

Sofia dropped her face into her hands and wept. Jeanie had given her no guarantee, but she had more information than she’d had a few minutes ago.

“What are the names of your family, miss?” Mike queried.

“My dad’s Marcus, mom is Esme, and my little siblings are Matthias–Matty, and Bella.”

“Well, ain’t that something?” Mike breathed. “We were stuck near them. I talked a lot with your mama.”

Sofia’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “She’s alive? What about Dad? The babies?”

“Your Dad found us and pointed the rescuers our way. Last I saw, they were getting your mom out. I wouldn’t give up hope yet.”

“Did you talk to a Lexi or Simon?” Jeanie asked.

“I’m not sure…there was a boy near Sofia’s brother–seemed like he couldn’t really talk. I think I remember the name Simon, though.”

Jeanie laughed and pressed her palms to each cheek. “My God. She might’ve found him.”

Tears poured over Sofia’s lips and teeth as she smiled and cried. Hope bloomed in her chest, and dread receded in its path.

A shrill alarm cut through the burgeoning joy and relief. Carol’s heart had stopped.

Editor: Lucy Cafiero