Fitz’s lungs burned as he spun in the shallow, murky seawater. Agony tore through his calf muscles, which ripped beneath the powerful reptile’s vice-like jaws. As his brain begged for oxygen, Fitz tried to focus.

In his mind’s eye, Fitz suddenly saw a young woman on a muddy bank. Blood oozed from a dozen puncture marks on her bicep, and he draped a blanket over her other shoulder while the EMTs worked on her injuries. Shock set in, and the victim stared ahead at nothing but repeated the same phrase over and over. “His eyes…his eyes…his eyes.”

Fitz’s attacker slowed its spin, pulling him from his reverie. His eyes. He reached for the alligator, but his fingers only stretched to his thigh. The firefighter squeezed his abdominal muscles and pulled his upper body toward his legs. The pain pushed out a short inaudible scream in bubbles and wasted air. As his fingertips brushed rough, pebbled skin, the gator spun him again. The centrifugal force threw Fitz out of his horizontal crouch, and spots of dim light danced behind his vision.

Last chance. Fitz curled in on himself again and his palms found the creature’s nostrils. He moved his hands up further and felt two larger bumps at the top of his skull. Without hesitation, Fitz jammed both thumbs against the soft globes.

Immediately, the bite pressure disappeared from his limb, and the predator fled in a flurry of turbulent splashing. With no more air in his screaming lungs, Fitz sunk fast. Upon touching the ground, a final burst of energy propelled him upwards.

He broke through the surface and gasped.

“FITZ!”

The older man followed the sound and spotted a pale-faced Marcus beckoning him to the raft. He still held an unconscious Matty in his arms.

Fitz waded their way and clambered onto the kayaks next to Esme, who watched him with glistening eyes.

“What do you need?” she asked.

“To get the hell out of here,” he whispered.

“Alright, how ‘bout it?” Jeanie queried with annoying cheerfulness.

“What?”

“Should we head out?”

“Why now?”

“Sun’s up. And I bet the evac. center is getting busy.”

Sofia shrugged. “Fine.”

A few moments later, the companions climbed out of the broken store window and blinked against the dazzling sunlight.

“Geez,” Sofia said as she cupped a hand against her brow.

“Feast or famine, I guess,” Jeanie joked. “C’mon — this way.”

They walked in silence for several minutes over damp pavement. When they reached the ambulance, Jeanie jumped inside. “Forgot my cigarettes.”

Sofia rubbed her arms and observed her surroundings in the daylight. Debris littered the street and sidewalk and the unboarded shop windows were smashed – either by looters or the storm.

Jeanie exited the cab, grabbing a cigarette and lighter from her pack. “You mind?”

“Whatever. You shouldn’t smoke, though.”

“Yeah, I realize that,” Jeanie said as she touched the flame to the end and lit it.

“Why do you do it, then?”

“Because it makes me happy. And a lot can kill you — not just these.”

Sofia thought for a few moments. “May I try one?”

“Hell, no.”

The teenager chuckled.

“Are you ready?”

Sofia glanced in the stadium’s direction and then locked eyes with the older woman. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I think you are. And I’m not letting you out of my sight until you’re safe with your family. Or I until find that sonofabitch and kick his ass.”

Sofia thought for several seconds, biting her lip. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s go.”

“Hey, ya’ll!”

Marcus jumped and searched for the voice’s source. A slim, tanned man wearing a bright yellow shirt and blue cargo shorts. He stood beside a large maroon Chevy truck with the tailgate down.

“You need help?”

Marcus waved, exhaustion rendering him momentarily mute.

“C’mon Freddy!” Yellow Shirt yelled. A second, larger guy walked around the truck’s hood. A hunter green button-up stuck to his sweaty skin, and a worn Miami Dolphins baseball cap shielded his eyes from the sun.

Their rescuers waded into the flooded street and reached the raft in under a minute. Marcus gripped Matty, who still breathed steadily in his arms. The men pulled the kayaks next to the truck’s bed.

“Can any of you walk?” Dolphins Cap asked.

“Me,” Marcus croaked. “The baby, too, technically.”

Fitz raised a finger. “I think I can.”

“My wife’s hurt really bad,” Marcus said. “Let me lift her up with you.”

“Nah, you deal with the kids,” said Yellow Shirt.

After five harrowing minutes punctuated with Esme’s screams of pain, they all sat in the truck, which rumbled to life and moved toward the stadium.

Two ambulances awaited them as the group neared the evacuation center. EMTs rushed over and expertly transferred Esme and Fitz to stretchers. The young mother fell instantly to sleep as the crew administered a hefty dose of morphine into a new IV.

A third medic duo grabbed Matty and Isabella, and suddenly Marcus stood alone on the street. He jogged to Esme’s ambulance and gave them a quick rundown of the damage.

“She has crushed injuries to her bilateral lower extremities — happened the moment the building came down. She has no palpable pulses to either foot. I’ve only been able to determine her pulse and respiration rate, so I’m not sure about her blood pressure.” Marcus rattled off the details in a rush.

The EMT nodded. “Is she your wife?”

Marcus hesitated before saying “Yes.” He answered a few more questions, then went to see his kids.

Matty still lay unconscious, and the paramedics were preparing him for immediate travel to a nearby hospital inland.

“We want to bring your daughter, too,” the female medic said in a calming tone.

“Okay,” Marcus said.

“Are you riding along, or following?”

Marcus bit his lip and glanced at the stadium. “I…I have to locate my other girl. She may be inside.”

The woman nodded. “We’ll take good care of these kids, sir. Come to Holy Name Hospital in Huntsville when you’re ready.”

Marcus climbed up next to his son and planted a kiss on his forehead. He turned to his baby, who looked weary and exhausted. “Daddy will be there soon, my love.” Isabella gave him a small smile, then rested her head beside Matty on the stretcher.

The father shoved away feelings of guilt for leaving them now. I have to find Sofia. Marcus spotted Fitz in the back of another ambulance, caught his eye, and raised a hand. But he couldn’t stop. Marcus strode through the evacuation center’s main entrance, where most of the foot traffic was centered.  A wave of body odor hit him as he walked through the cavernous cement hallways.

He passed through the second archway into the stadium’s center and searched the sea of faces. Marcus moved past dozens of cots and piles of belongings. Families huddled in groups, some laughing and joking, others ashen and grieving. A tall sign with a red cross rose above the crowd, and Marcus pushed through the throng to reach it.

When he did, he saw a young woman in navy blue scrubs. She sat next to a disheveled gentleman and wrapped gauze around a nasty-looking gash on his forearm.

“Excuse me?” Marcus asked.

The nurse looked up and sighed. “Sir, you’ll have to put your name on the list.” She tilted her head toward a table with a pad of paper and a pen beside a haphazard pile of medical supplies. “I’m not hurt. I’m trying to find my daughter, Sofia.”

Blue Scrubs bit off a piece of tape and smoothed it over the dressing. “You’re done,” she said to her patient, who thanked her and wandered off. “Teenage girl?”

“Yes!”

“Yeah, she helped me out earlier, but I haven’t seen her for a while, sorry.”

An hour later, Marcus had studied every face in the arena. She wasn’t here.

“Hey, you lookin’ for Sofia?”

Marcus watched a handsome young man saunter his way.

“I am,” he said, eyes narrowed. “Do you know my daughter? Somehow?”

“We met on the bus. My name’s Jax.” He stretched out a hand, which Marcus shook. “Sweet girl,” Jax added. “She left looking for you, I think.”

“What?”

“She was really worried. I tried to talk her out of it, but…”

Marcus’s stomach churned, and a wave of dizziness threatened to topple him.

“I’ll come if you want to search for her. I’d love to find her,” Jax said.

Sofia’s father regarded Jax for a long moment, then tilted his chin down in agreement. “Thanks. Do they have any food here?”

Jax led him to the canteen, where Marcus grabbed a bottle of water and a protein bar, which he inhaled in three bites.

“Ready?” Marcus asked.

“Let’s do it.”

With that, the two men set off.

Editor: Lucy Cafiero