Chapter 2

Enduring the agonizing pain, I tried to squeeze through a small gap.

Beside me, Helen was awoken by the dust. Coughing violently, she grabbed my arm and began to scream for help with all her might.

"Ethan! You ungrateful bastard! Your wife and your mother are buried in here! Who are you taking to the hospital?"

I froze, listening closely to the sounds outside.

But the footsteps and the scraping of shovels had already faded. Ethan was long gone.

Suddenly, the urgent voice of another rescue worker pierced the silence:

"Captain! Over here! We found an elderly woman trapped under the chassis. She still has a pulse!"

Then, Ethan's cold, irritated voice crackled through the walkie-talkie:

"Leave her for now! Chloe said her mother was in the car earlier, and after the fight with Jane, she probably got out before the crash. She's likely just nearby. Focus all resources on getting Chloe to the hospital first! Her injuries are severe. As for the old woman... let the backup team handle it."

Hearing her own son's heartless words, Helen's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. She gasped for air, suffocated by shock, and blacked out completely.

Above us, a loose boulder crashed down, completely sealing the small gap of light we had just seen.

With trembling hands, I poured the very last drop of water onto Helen's dry lips.

She was unconscious and couldn't swallow.

Time ticked away. Despair settled over me. For a moment, I truly believed we weren't going to make it out alive this time.

The temperature kept dropping, and my limbs began to go numb.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Ryan's voice shouted from above:

"Captain! Wait! This looks like your mother! She's wearing the scarf your mom had on today!"

A flurry of chaotic noises followed, and Ethan's voice, cracking with panic, blasted through the radio: "What?! Look closer!"

But there was no time for explanations. Ryan was already digging furiously with his tools. Soon, a figure cleared the debris, shining a flashlight on us.

Unable to hold on any longer, I finally blacked out.

When I opened my eyes again, Helen and I had been moved to a temporary medical tent by the road. Her face was pale, and she was hooked up to an oxygen mask as EMTs rushed her into an ambulance.

The one who had saved us was Ryan, Ethan's colleague.

Covered in dirt, he looked at me with a complicated, exhausted expression.

"Jane... Ethan... he thought it was your mother under there, so he... he gave that order. I got Helen onto the ambulance first, but the delay..."

He slumped to the ground, completely drained.

The ambulance rushed us to the hospital. Because of the delayed rescue, Helen was in critical condition and was sent straight to the ICU. I was admitted to a general ward for a cracked rib and multiple lacerations.