by Marta Perry
The children had been terrified and afraid to move, and she hadn’t been able to reassure them with her voice. Dropping to her knees, she’d gathered them in front of her, in her arms, and then was attempting to push and prod them toward the door and safety when Nate had materialized next to her.
They needed to get these kids out, so they could get to Gracie before it was too late. The raging fire itself wasn’t the only danger. Jessica was already feeling the effects of smoke inhalation despite the handkerchief over her nose and mouth. Granted, the children were smaller and therefore lower to the ground, but the thick, merciless smoke had to be affecting them, as well.
And Gracie...
Panic surged again, painful in its intensity, but she tamped it back, willing herself to focus and concentrate on what needed to be done.
Nate nodded frantically, letting Jessica know he understood what she was trying to tell him. She let go of his wrist, and a moment later, he had a mop-headed little girl in one arm and a young boy in the other. Jerking his head in the direction, he turned, he lurched toward the front door.
Jessica was right on his heels, holding one toddler in her arms and clasping the other two by the hands, dragging them forward with a momentum she hardly believed she possessed, fear and adrenaline making up for whatever strength she might have lacked.
They all burst outside at the same time. The sunshine temporarily blinded her as she choked and coughed and propelled the children forward, toward the teachers and the rest of the waiting children.
“How many?” she choked out, aiming her question at no one teacher in particular.
“Thirteen,” called Miss Cathy, who was in charge when Jessica wasn’t present. The sheer panic on her face, along with the older woman huddled over the children at the tree line, matched the turmoil in Jessica’s own heart.
“We’ve got them all, Jessica, except for Gracie,” Miss Cathy continued hastily. “I’m sorry. The chaos. I couldn’t leave the children to—”
“Keep those children away from the building,” Nate ordered, sternly staring down first one teacher, then the other, looking ominous and almost threatening with swirls of ash lining his powerful face.
He whirled and ran full-force back toward the building. Jessica was right on his heels. After a moment, he became aware she was following him and tossed a stern glare over his shoulder.
“Go back with the children,” he barked in the same no-nonsense voice that had worked so well with the teachers and, Jessica imagined, dozens of marines over his years in the service.
“No way,” she uttered through gritted teeth.
She was determined to continue back into the building, no matter what Nate thought, and she only balked for a moment at his harsh tone before starting forward again, resolve in every step, moving at such a quick pace she soon rushed in front of him.
“Jess,” he roared, reaching out to grab her arm in a viselike grip. “Go back. I don’t have time to argue with you.”
“Then don’t. We have to get Gracie!” Panic edged her voice, but her movements were surprisingly firm.
“I’ll get Gracie,” he said, pulling her backward and stepping in front of her. “You go back. The children need you.”
“Gracie needs me,” she insisted, jerking her arm away from his grip and dashing into the day care, gagging as the smoke pierced her lungs, thicker even than it had been before. She ducked down, trying to avoid the worst of the smoke.
Nate burst through the door moments after Jessica, ducking down just as Jessica had, and gestured for her to go ahead of him. She knew the way better than he did, and she was glad he was no longer fighting for her to leave the scene.
She moved without hesitation into the adjoining area, the nursery, and immediately moved to the left side of the room. Cribs ran the circumference of the room, and she frantically struggled to get her bearings for what felt like hours but was probably only seconds.
The smoke was so thick she hardly knew which way was up. She prayed as she hastened toward what she hoped was the crib where she usually placed Gracie when she was working in the day care, hoping that the other teachers had placed her in the same spot.
A beam right above their heads cracked ominously, and Jessica ducked instinctively, then staggered the last few feet to the crib. She couldn’t see him, but she sensed Nate was right behind her.
Her eyes and her lungs burned with the effort, but as she approached, she thought she saw movement from within the crib, though with the thick smoke, she couldn’t be certain.
Panic surged through her once again.
Gracie!
She had to get to the baby.
Without another thought, she reached for the metal latch that would release the side of the crib.
* * *
“Jess, no!” he tried to scream, but the heavy smoke billowed into his lungs and he gagged instead.
His warning, even if he’d been able to voice it, had come too late. Jess wrapped her bare hand around the metal latch and then jolted and staggered backward, cradling her burned skin close to her chest. Her mouth was open, but no sound emerged.
She would have fallen, but Nate darted forward and swept her against him, one arm wrapped firmly around her waist and the other urging her mouth closed.
More than one beam cracked and whined above them, and the heat was growing more intense by the second. He was feeling woozy again, but he fought the sensation with every fiber of his being.
As from a great distance, he heard the sound of sirens, but he knew he didn’t have time to wait for the firefighters to help with the rescue. He had to get his baby girl and the woman he loved out of this building before the whole thing came down on them.
Pulling Jess with him, he reached over the edge of the crib, relief flooding through him when his hand made contact with the baby’s head. Gracie was sitting up, her arms flapping in distress.
Nate reached for her, but Jess was faster.
Ignoring her own injury, Jess plucked Gracie from the crib and tucked her as far beneath her jacket as the material would allow, trying to protect the baby from additional smoke inhalation. The action left Jess’s own lungs unprotected from the smoke, and put her at the very great risk of losing consciousness.
He had to get them out now.
He reached out and grabbed the collar of Jess’s coat, dragging her with him to the nearest window. His head was swimming from the lack of oxygen, but his mind was amazingly focused on this single task.
Get them out alive.
There was no time to work their way back to the front door, and Nate suspected the fire had made the route impassable, in any case.
Sending up a silent prayer for his actions to work, he turned sideways to the window, bent his elbow and slammed into the glass.
Pain shot through his shoulder as the glass splintered but did not break. Knowing there was no time to waste, he ignored the pain, gritted his teeth and threw his shoulder into the window again.
This time, the glass shattered under the full force of his weight. Nate gasped as oxygen poured through the window, but his relief was short-lived as the fire all around them flared to a new intensity, being fed by the burst of air.
The blaze was growing worse by the second, and Nate didn’t hesitate as he pulled the sleeve of his bomber jacket over his right hand and thrust his arm around all four sides of the windowpane, jarring loose jagged edges of glass so the three of them could crawl through to safety.
Two firefighters, dressed in full regalia and face masks, reached for Nate’s arms, gesturing for him to crawl through the window.
Nate balked and jerked away from their grasp. He wasn’t about to go through that window until Jess and Gracie were safe.
Jess nudged Nate’s side with her shoulder, then shoved the now-limp baby into his arms, gesturing wildly toward the window.
; Nate wanted Jess to exit with Gracie, but he knew she wouldn’t budge until the baby was safe.
He stepped forward, thrusting Gracie at the two firefighters. The baby had clearly lost consciousness, and terror such as Nate had never known coursed through him. He prayed with all his might that they had not arrived too late to save her.
If he lost Gracie...
No.
He couldn’t think of that now. Jess was still standing behind him, and she was still in very great danger from the flames around them.
He spun on his heels and reached his arms to her, intending to catapult her through the window and into the waiting arms of the firefighters.
But this nightmare was far from over. He didn’t even know for sure that they hadn’t missed any little children when they had evacuated the building. He prayed the teacher’s head count had been right.
He could only react to the moment and pray for the best.
Only seconds had passed, but it felt like hours. He stepped toward Jess, his arms outstretched. Jess reached back to him.
Their fingers met. Their eyes met through the smoky haze. Fear masked her face, but Nate read determination there, as well. He would have sighed in relief if he could have breathed at all.
Most people, Nate thought, would have let fear take advantage of them, freezing them immobile.
But not Jess.
Not his Jess.
They both heard the hiss and crack of the beam directly overhead before they saw it. As if in slow motion, Jess looked up, and Nate followed her gaze.
Sparks rained down on them, the only warning they had before the beam came loose and pitched downward.
Jess let go of Nate’s hand and instinctively sheltered her head, but it was too late.
The heavy beam of flaming wood crashed down on top of her. She jerked, her eyes wide in surprise, and reached out for Nate. Then she fell lifeless as the beam slammed into her shoulder and crushed her beneath its weight.
“Jess!” Nate screamed, scrambling forward. He fell to his knees as a wave of dizziness overtook him, but he continued to crawl forward, fighting the looming blackness with all his might.
A dry sob racked his body as he reached Jess’s unmoving form, covered horizontally by the fallen beam of wood.
He wanted to cry.
He wanted to pray.
But one thought obscured all the rest. He didn’t know nor did he care whether it was just in his head, or whether he was screaming out loud.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not Jess. Not Jess. Not Jess.
“No-o-o-o-o!”
Chapter 15
Nate lunged forward, his arms outstretched toward Jess, and then slammed to his hands and knees on the floor when his forward momentum was crushed by someone suddenly clasping his ankle in a firm grip.
Groaning, he glanced behind him. The two firemen who had been at the window had now entered the building. The first one, clutching Nate’s ankle in a viselike grip, was now pulling him backward. The second firefighter was gesturing at Nate and pointing toward the broken window and their only means of escape.
Nate’s gaze swung back to Jess. She wasn’t moving. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing.
He knew what the firefighters wanted him to do.
Exit. Immediately.
Leave the rescuing to the experts, the men who were well-versed in what flames and smoke could do.
They might be heroes. And they might be right. Nate could hinder them as much as he could help them, especially if they became more focused on getting him out alive than in rescuing Jess.
His heart and his mind tugged in two different directions, but only for a split second. He relaxed his leg for a moment and then yanked hard, surprising the man who was gripping his ankle and breaking away.
He scrambled forward, his heart slamming into his chest. His lungs felt as if they were going to explode, but he ignored the sensation and plunged ahead through the billowing smoke.
He was thankful his mind was military-hardwired for crisis, for otherwise he never would have been able to keep it together.
Kneeling beside Jess, he leaned forward, checking her vital signs and praying all the while.
She wasn’t moving.
But she was breathing. Barely.
And that beam had to weigh a ton. It was crushing her. Thankfully, it didn’t appear to be burning, though it was no doubt smoldering.
He scrambled to the side, where the end of the beam lay at an upward angle, jutting off Jess’s back. He had to get that rafter off her now. Then he could figure out how to move her without harming her more than she already probably was.
It looked bad.
He felt worse.
He didn’t know what was sensible anymore. He only knew he had to do something, and pray it was the right thing. Pulling his jacket sleeves over his hands for protection, he wrapped his arms around the rafter and pulled with all his might.
Nothing.
The beam didn’t so much as budge.
Nate couldn’t see if there was anything covering the other end of the rafter, but he thought it might be lodged tight in some other debris. A lot had fallen from the ceiling when the beam gave way.
He wished he could see better.
He wished he could breath at all.
He had to move that beam.
Praying with all his might, he embraced the adrenaline coursing through him and felt his fear. He knew from experience his terror would either render him useless or give him extra strength.
The first firefighter reached Jess and was assessing her condition. The other man had gone back toward the window. Nate didn’t know why he was backtracking, nor did he care.
He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and pulled, straining every muscle in his back and shoulders and legs. Sweat streamed into his eyes, stinging them with the ash covering his forehead. He coughed and gagged from the smoke and the exertion.
But the rafter moved.
Nate didn’t hesitate for an instant. Bracing himself, he leaned into it, forcing the wood away from Jess’s upper body and hoping the momentum created by his weight and his effort would be enough to make the rafter clear her legs and feet.
The beam came crashing down to the floor again, splintering bits of wood and plaster underneath it, and Nate winced. If he hadn’t moved it far enough, he had just added to Jess’s injuries.
The same firefighter that had grabbed his ankle earlier suddenly appeared at his elbow, thumping him on the shoulder and urging him back toward the window. Ignoring him, Nate dropped to his hands and knees and scuttled forward, desperate to see if he had, in fact, pushed the rafter far enough to clear Jess’s body, or if he’d merely pinned her anew.
It was difficult to see anything through the thick, black smoke, but his hand made contact with Jess’s foot. The smoldering beam lay several inches past the end of her body.
She was free.
But not yet safe.
The firefighter he had repeatedly brushed off was at his elbow again, this time grasping Nate firmly by the shoulders and propelling him toward the window, brooking no argument.
This time Nate didn’t fight back, but allowed himself to be pushed wherever the fireman willed. His lungs were screaming for oxygen. He wasn’t going to be any help to anyone if he passed out, especially if he was still within the building.
It was time to let the firefighters do their jobs, he thought, his whole body suddenly so weak he could barely move. As he crawled through the broken window, he could see they had already placed a collar around Jess’s neck and were rolling her onto a board.
Nate fell to his knees when he hit the ground on the outside of the building. Smoke and flames billowed through the window he’d just dropped from, but close to the ground, he was able to take great, sweeping breaths of
outside air, which sent him into a fit of coughing that racked his aching body.
He had to move.
For Jess. For Gracie.
But he found he couldn’t. His arms and legs felt impossibly heavy, and his mind was clogged and dizzy, almost as if he had been drugged. A persistent, angry headache was slamming at his temples.
He had nothing left to give, he thought miserably. No more strength left to fight with.
And he knew why. He had done everything he could, but his girls might not make it. Grief washed over him in unceasing waves. How would he go on if he lost Jess or Gracie?
Faith.
This was where the rubber met the road. He’d been wrestling with his faith in God. Now was the time to use it.
He reached deep down inside himself, searching for strength, but found none.
And then his soul stretched upward, seeking God’s presence as never before.
To his very great surprise, he found it. Or rather, God found him. Strength, peace and love as Nate had never before experienced replaced his fear and set aside his panic. Though his headache persisted, his mind cleared. And though he continued to hack and cough, his soul breathed the fresh air of God’s presence.
He groaned and tried to roll to his feet, but he was so shaky he couldn’t make it off his hands and knees. He knew he was in the way. Firefighters were pouring out the window, leveraging the board which carried an unconscious Jess. Efficiently and quickly, they passed her through to safety, and the last firefighter crawled through the window after her.
The two paramedics on the scene were already there, rushing to Jess’s side as they jogged her farther away from the building. Someone placed an oxygen mask over her face. Nate couldn’t see anything else, couldn’t tell if she was all right, if anything was broken. Even if he could have seen her, he had no way of knowing if she was going to survive.
Suddenly someone dropped a thick wool blanket over Nate’s shoulders. Strong arms looped under his shoulders and drew him to his feet.