Second Chance Love (14 page)

As Elizabeth walked toward the nearest pile of rubble, she realized the immensity of the task before her. Searching for someone sounds relatively easy, until the searcher finds herself facing a sea of rubble with no idea how to investigate it. She didn’t know what the building had been before Mother Nature had lost her temper, but now it was just a tangle of collapsed brick, stone, plaster, broken glass, and electrical wires protruding at odd angles.

She skirted around the edge of the building, avoiding any areas that seemed unstable, shouting “Chona!” then standing dead still and listening for ten seconds, then moving on to a new section. An hour later, when Max alerted her, she realized that she had gone less than a hundred yards from her starting point.

The near-equatorial sun was high in the sky now, beating down with an intensity she had never experienced before. She picked her way back to the meeting spot and found herself alone. She reapplied sunscreen and mosquito repellent, drank a bottle of hot water, and squinted into the sun.

She retrieved her phone and stared at it for a long moment. She was doing her best to conserve the phone’s battery, but the silence was deafening.

“Max, call Steve.”

She put the phone to her ear and listened to a long series of hollow clicks and ghostly noises as the signal found its way to a satellite and back down. It rang four times, then clicked over to voicemail: “Hello, this is Steve Larson of Larson Industries…” She clicked it off and slid the phone back into her pocket.

I’m sure there’s a very good reason why he isn’t here. I’m sure there’s a very good reason why he isn’t answering his phone.
“I just can’t think what it would be,” she said aloud, and started walking in the direction Steve had gone.

Under other circumstances, she would have taken in the wonder of the setting—the ocean serenading her with its gentle song, the palm trees swaying in the breeze, the blue skies dotted with horsetail clouds—but she saw none of it. Her heart was in her throat as she ran along the route she thought he had taken, setting caution aside. Every twenty yards, she would call his name, wait a few seconds, then rush on.

After fifteen panicked minutes, she ran out of beach. A rock wall extended far out into the ocean, marking the southern edge of the bay.
He couldn’t have gone further than this. So he's probably back at the meeting place, waiting on me, worried sick. I can see why
.

This time, she ran straight back in half the time.

She climbed to the top of the black rock and scanned in every direction.

No Steve. No Bayani. Her lip began to tremble and she felt her throat tighten.

No. I will not cry. Steve is somewhere nearby, and he needs me to stay calm and find him.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, climbed down from the rock, and made her way back down the same path she had just walked. This time she walked, shouted, and listened more methodically.

Her heart fell when she looked up and saw the rock wall near again.

Where can he be?

She was about to turn and go over the same route for the fourth time, confirming Einstein’s definition of insanity, when she saw movement at the far edge of her peripheral vision: a dog, a small beagle, just sitting there. She almost rubbed her eyes to see if it was a mirage. The dog whined at her, then turned and trotted down a small path that was virtually hidden by a fallen tree. It led her away from the water, around the edge of a large crumpled building.

She followed the dog as fast as she could, stepping over fallen trees and bushes. Soon she came to another devastated building that sat on a rise, built almost flush with the rock wall. This one seemed to have fallen in on itself, collapsing down into what appeared to be a basement.

The beagle stopped, looked at her and barked. It barked again, looked at her, then at the wrecked building. Elizabeth walked to the edge of the building, calling, “Steve? Steve, are you there?” but heard only silence in return. She walked to a small opening in the rubble and tried to look down into what remained of the building, but none of the bright sunshine reached the lower level. The opening was set back a few feet, and the footing around it felt like it might be unstable, so she climbed back down.

Sighing in frustration, she reached out to pet the dog, but he danced just out of her reach and barked again. Just then, Elizabeth heard a woman’s voice call out: “Tulong! Tulong!
Tulungan nyo kami!
”

Is that Tagalog for "Get me the heck out of here?"

Elizabeth leaped back to the small opening and shouted into it. “Hello? Hello, are you there? Do you speak English? Hello?”

Silence for a moment, then a breathless cry. “English? Oh, please help me. We are trapped.”

“Chona?”

“Yes! I am Chona. Can you help me? We have been trapped here since the storm. A man came to help us, but the building collapsed and now he is trapped, too. Did you bring help?”

Elizabeth’s vision faded a moment.
Steve.

She did her best to keep her voice level, but it jumped an octave. “Yes, we are friends of Bayani. Is the man that fell all right? Why can’t I hear him?"

“He has not made any sound since he fell down here.”

“Can you reach him?”

“No. There is too much in the way. I cannot see him.”

Tears came.
No. No time for emotional self-indulgence.

“Do you have your children with you?”

“Yes, they are here. We are not hurt much.”

“Chona, I must go get Bayani. He's here with us looking for you. He can help me get you out of there. Be careful, because I'm about to throw in a water bottle and I don't want it to hit you, but I can't see you." As gently as she could, she tossed in her half-empty water bottle. “I’ll bring more water and Bayani back here just as soon as I can.” She paused, then said, louder, “Steve. Honey, can you hear me? Chona, did you get the water?”

Only Chona replied. "Yes, thank you. I will try to listen and see if your husband says anything."

"Salamat!"
My husband?

She assumes that we are married.

I refuse to think about that right now. I've got work to do
. Elizabeth turned back up the path and ran toward the clearing where their supplies were.

Just as she arrived at the supply stockpile, she saw Bayani straggling along. He looked and sounded defeated, still trying to shout in a voice so hoarse it was nearly inaudible. Elizabeth's adrenaline took her to him at a run.

“Bayani! I found your family and spoke with Chona! They're alive and not badly hurt, but they're down a ruined basement. Steve tried to help them, and now he's trapped in the rubble with them. Grab some water. Let’s go!”

Hope sprang back into his face. “Show me.”

They grabbed a variety of water and tools, and took off at a run. When they got close, the beagle ran at them, barking and dancing in circles.

“Payaso! You’re alive!” Bayani kneeled down in the path and the little beagle jumped into his arms, rocking him backward. He ruffled the dog's floppy ears and smiled. “If Payaso is here, my children cannot be far away. He never leaves their side.”

“They're right over here.” Elizabeth led the way, pointing Bayani toward the opening. You can talk to them right here.”

“Chona?" He followed it with something else in Tagalog, a concerned voice barely above a hoarse whisper.

“Tatay! Tatay!”
Daddy! Daddy!

The rest was a family conversation in Tagalog. As best Elizabeth could determine, they were talking about how to get everyone out. Bayani tossed three more water bottles in, and happy Tagalog voices from the hole indicated that they would be put to good use. Then Bayani took charge and began to look about for a way to effect a rescue.

That would not be easy. The jumble of concrete and wood was too heavy for one or two people to move, and doing so could cause further collapse, literally burying their loved ones alive. Bayani turned to her. “I am going to have to go get some tools I found when I was searching. I found one of my chainsaws. If I can get it running, I will be able to clear away some of the boards so we can get them out.”

I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do. He’s so far gone, though, I don’t think there’s any way to talk him out of it.

Elizabeth just nodded.

Bayani turned back to the opening. “Mahal na mahal kita.”
I love you so.

“Mahal din kita.”
I love you, too.

Reinvigorated, Bayani ran back toward the clearing with Payaso at his heels.

Elizabeth took stock of the situation.
Four people stuck with tons of debris on top of them. No one else is coming. We have rope, but the hole is too small to pull anyone through, even the little ones. That means it was bigger before he went down it. The man I love is under tons of rubble and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Hello? Are you there?” A man’s voice, barely coming through the rubble. She ran to the opening.

Relief flooded through her. “It’s Lizzie. Honey, are you there?”

“I’m here. I was trying to get to them. Everything shifted…I fell. I hit my head.”

“It’s okay now," she lied. "I’m here.”

“Do you have your phone with you? It will help you see what’s around you.”

“It’s gone. It fell out of my pocket when I fell down here.”

“I’ve got to go get something to help get you out of there.”

“What? We don’t have anything…”

Elizabeth was already gone.

Fifteen long minutes later, she returned with the jack and tire iron from the Honda.

She searched through the rubble until she found two flat pieces of wood, each about a foot across. She looked at the opening into the basement for a long time, thinking and calculating. Finally, she shouted down, “Okay, I am going to try and widen the hole, so we can get you out. Try to move back a little, in case some of the debris falls.”

“Is Bayani there?” Chona asked. “Is he helping you?”

“No, he isn’t back yet. Don’t worry. I’m going to move things slowly.”

She found a strong piece of the foundation at the outer edge of the hole and pushed the piece of wood into it until it was jammed tight. Then she inserted the car jack and second piece of wood into the space and used the tire iron to push it up. When it pushed up against the stone above it, there was a creaking sound. She stopped.

“Everything all right? Steve, can you hear me?”

There was no answer from Steve, but Chona said, “Yes, we are all right.”

She slowly ratcheted the tire iron up and down, expanding the opening a fraction of an inch at a time.

“I see light, now,” Chona said.

Elizabeth saw that the hole was big enough now that she could put her head inside. She could see a small woman, covered with dirt and dust, sheltering two children. A young, dark-haired boy clung to her hip. She held a small girl against her breast. No matter how she turned her head, Elizabeth couldn’t see Steve.

“Chona, can you see Steve?”

“No, I’m sorry. There is too much between us. I hear him coughing sometimes, but I cannot see him.”

Elizabeth’s heart sank.

“All right, step back as far as you can, I’m going to widen the hole a little more.”