by Jaclyn Hardy
It hurt too much.
Janie raised a snowball and aimed, then pitched it. Eric smacked it with his bat, spraying snow everywhere. Eric took off running for first base before anyone could hit him with a snowball. It was a mix of baseball and a snowball fight so that Aunt Cassie would let them hit each other with snowballs.
Heather sighed and slammed her anatomy book. It was New Year’s Eve. The last day of their vacation. She stood and changed into some warm clothes and a jacket. The game was too tempting to pass up.
Janie cheered when she saw Heather. “Hey, you finally left your room. It’s a New Year’s miracle.”
“Funny. Can I play?”
Sam handed her the bat. “You know how to play?”
“Yeah, I’ve been watching from my window.” She stepped up to the makeshift home plate and swung a few times to stretch.
Janie pitched the ball, and Heather swung, smacking the snowball. She shrieked as the spray of snow hit her.
“You have to run!” Janie grabbed a handful of snow.
Heather sprinted to first base, laughing as no less than ten snowballs pelted her back. She was out. “I think you went overboard.”
“Not according to the rules. You pitch.” Janie jogged over to home base and picked up the bat.
Heather gathered up snow to make a snowball and waited for Janie to get ready. From the corner of her eye, she saw Sam running for third base. She turned and chucked the snowball at him, getting him in the center of his back.
“That’s not fair!” he yelled as he stood up.
“It totally is.” Heather picked up another snowball. “Don’t steal the base.”
He glared and jogged back to take a turn at bat. Janie gripped her bat and got ready. Heather wound up and pitched the ball. It went wide. Oh boy. She was way out of practice.
This time the ball went straight down the line, and Janie hit it. She dropped the bat and took off running. She made it to first base and then on to second before she was pelted by several snowballs.
Heather raised an eyebrow. “Innings don’t last very long in this game, do they?”
“Nope.” Janie walked past her, wiping the snow off her sleeves. “That’s what makes it so fun.”
Heather kicked at the grass that stuck out from under the snow. “I think you’re running out of ammo.”
“That’s what I said. But no one wanted to go play at the park.” Janie frowned.
“Why not?” Heather asked Sam and Eric.
“It’s too far.”
Heather sighed and pointed at the front yard. “Let’s go. I’ll come too.”
Everyone cheered and ran for the sidewalk. Heather picked up the bat and followed behind them. The park was only two blocks away, in the center of the town. She’d only ever been there in the summer when they had their big celebrations, so it was like a whole different park covered in several inches of snow. Prints of dogs and other animals dotted the park, but otherwise it was untouched.
“See? Plenty of snow to play in.” Heather shoved her hands in her pockets. “Go.”
Janie, Sam, Eric, and the others let out a battle cry and soon the smooth surface was broken by shrieking kids throwing snowballs.
Heather sat on a swing, pumping her feet to go higher. The cool breeze felt good on her face as she moved back and forth. The blue sky welcomed her each time she went forward. Whenever she did settle down and get a house, she needed a swing in her yard. Maybe a tire swing if they had a tree in the yard.
The sound of her ringtone pulled her out of her thoughts. Mom. Heather sighed and stopped the swing.
“Hello?”
“Hey, sweetie. Where’d everyone go? We got back from Burley and everyone was gone.”
Heather grimaced. “Sorry. I should have written a note. We went to the park after the kids ran out of snow in the backyard.”
Mom laughed. “I figured they’d run out sooner or later. Cassie needs her kids home to finish with chores before the party.”
“Okay. We’re on our way.” Heather hung up and whistled loud enough for her siblings to hear. “Time to go. Mom and Cassie need us.”
There were groans, but they came. The promise of the party that night was apparently enough to get them to obey. Heather kept her head down as she walked so she wouldn’t have to see the butcher shop, but it still screamed at her, demanding attention. He had to be there. Without her.
Heather suddenly stopped. That was strange. She took a few steps backward and breathed in deeply. The smell of gas permeated the air. She turned to Janie. “Get everyone back to Cassie’s. Now.”
“What are you going to do?”
Heather grabbed Janie by the shoulders. “Take a deep breath. What do you smell?”
Janie sniffed, then shrugged. “Nothing. Dirt. Trees. Someone’s barbecuing.”
“Janie, look around. There’s no one outside barbecuing. That’s gas. You need to get them out of here. Now.”
Heather looked back to see Stuart and his friends laughing and heading for the butcher shop.
“Stuart!” She called out.
Stuart turned and froze. They hadn’t talked in three days, so she could imagine the thoughts going through his head right then. He shook his head and walked inside the building. Fear spiked as she darted out into the road.
A horn honked, and Heather had to jump out of the way of a pickup. She waved a sorry but kept running.
A low rumble shook the ground, throwing Heather backward into the road. Debris and smoke filled the air, darkening the blue sky. Heather scrambled out of the road so she wouldn’t get hit. Sounds were muted after the sound of the explosion.
Everything seemed to be in slow motion. People screaming. Debris falling. Smoke billowing out of what used to be the butcher shop. Heather grabbed her phone and called 911, then handed it to an older man who stood there staring.
“Talk to them for me. Tell them the building exploded from a possible gas leak and we don’t know how many people have been injured yet.”
“But—”
Heather pointed at the phone. “Talk to them.”
The glass in the butcher shop was mostly gone, and the ceiling had collapsed in parts. Heather scanned the building, looking for any survivors. There had to be survivors.
“Hello?”
“Over here.” A low voice came from the direction of the freezer. She ran over and pried at the door, but there was too much rubble on the ground.
“I’ll get you out. How many people are in there?” Heather picked up bricks and drywall and tossed it behind her.
There was a pause. “There are three of us. You need to find the others. We’ll be okay for a while longer.”
“Are you sure?” Heather paused. She recognized Stuart’s dad’s voice.
“Yes. We were getting the freezer turned back on when the explosion happened.”
Heather kicked more debris out of the way. “Is there air in there?”
“We’re fine.”
“Any idea what happened? I need to know if I need to evacuate.”
“It was the generator. Go help them. We’ll be fine.”
Heather nodded even though he couldn’t see her and went back outside now that she knew there was no chance of another explosion. “I need help. Come on.”
Several people came running while others stood there, unsure of what to do. Not that she could blame them. If there was one explosion, there could be more.
“You need to find any survivors. Pull out anyone you find and lay them here in the center. I’ll be right back.” Heather ran back out and pointed at two of the spectators. “You two go to the department store and figure out if anyone was hurt there. Then you two go to the other side. Go!”
Heather ran back inside. A few people had been moved. She dropped to her knees and assessed their injuries. One man coughed and rolled over, groaning.
“Hey, don’t move. I need to make sure you’re okay.” Heather pulled out her keys and used the small flashlight to check
his eyes. “Oh, hey, Thomas. I didn’t recognize you. Where’s Stuart and everyone else?”
He coughed. “Some are in the freezer. Hopefully they’re still fine. Stuart was with me in the back. He might still be back there.”
“Thanks. The ambulance should be here soon.”
He coughed again. “I’m fine. Just sore. Go help the others.”
“Okay. Stay here. Keep an eye on these people, and I’ll be back.”
Thomas nodded and rolled over to sit up. When Heather was sure he was okay, she picked her way over to the back of the shop.
“Stuart?” She took a step and jumped back. She’d stepped on something soft. A person. Whoever it was didn’t move. “Come and help!”
One of the other guys helping came over, grabbed one end of a large part of the ceiling, and moved it. Heather set it down and knelt next to the body. She cradled his head and carefully rolled him over. Lance. She checked his pulse and sighed in relief when she felt it. There were no other injuries that she could see, but she didn’t want to move him in case he’d done something to his spine. He could wait for the ambulance.
Another sweep of the room confirmed her fears. Stuart wasn’t in here. Panic began to bubble up, beating against the calm she’d been able to keep so far. He couldn’t have just disappeared. And if he’d been right next to the explosion, well, she didn’t want to think about that.
Thomas limped into the back room. “Stuart’s in here. He’s in bad shape, but he’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure?” Heather forced herself to breathe. In, out. Stay calm.
“Yes. They just brought him in. He’d been blown out through the back.” Thomas shook his head. “I can’t believe he’s even alive.”
Heather’s breath caught as she looked at the hole in the brick. “He went out there?”
“Yeah. Crazy, right? Have you seen—whoa. Is that Lance?”
She nodded. “He’s been knocked out and I don’t want to move him until we have a backboard to put him on in case he hurt his spine.”
They passed by each other as she went to check on Stuart. Thomas had been right. Stuart was in bad shape. Blood had clotted on his scalp, and his leg was definitely not supposed to bend that way. Heather took her scarf and wrapped the wound on his head to keep it clean. The abrasions could wait for now, but she needed to do something to support his leg.
She scanned the room to find something she could use, but it was all covered in debris. Her eyes fell on the freezer. It was still closed. She jumped up and moved things out of the way so she could open it. Stuart’s dad, Carl, and two others sat in the corner. “Are all of you okay in here?”
“We’re fine. The freezer door kept out the blast.” His dad pointed up at the ceiling. “And the roof wasn’t covered so we had ventilation.”
“I’m glad. Everyone out here wasn’t quite so lucky. I need something to brace Stuart’s leg. Do you have anything like that?”
His dad grabbed onto a freezer shelf. “Stuart’s injured? I didn’t even know he was here.”
“He showed up seconds before the explosion.” Heather backed out of the freezer and went back to Stuart. He was pale, but he was awake. “Hey, we’re going to do something for your leg, but it’s going to hurt.”
He laughed weakly. “I’m pretty sure it can’t hurt more than it already does.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure.” Heather took his leg on both sides of the break. She hadn’t done this on an actual person yet. But it needed to be done. “Ready? We’re going to count to three.”
“Wait, what are you doing?”
Heather just smiled. “One, two—”
She jerked the bone back into place. The crunch was immediately followed by screams from Stuart. Heather took the boards from Stuart’s dad and set them on each side of the leg, then used saran wrap to keep it set.
“Do you hurt anywhere else?” Heather asked.
“My head is pounding, and I can’t move my shoulder, but nothing hurts worse than my leg.” He gasped. “Do you know what happened?”
She shook her head. “I smelled gas coming from around here. That’s why I tried to get your attention.”
“This is what I get for not listening.” He laughed again. “Oh, ow. Yeah, there’s another pain. My ribs don’t like me either.”
“You went through a wall. You’re lucky you’re alive.” Heather stood. “I’m going to go check on Lance.”
Sirens filled the air, and Heather wanted to cry in relief. She ran out to meet them. “Hey, we have one guy who had the ceiling fall on him. Get to him first. Then there’s another guy who has a broken leg, displaced shoulder, and possibly some broken ribs. Oh, and he has a laceration on his head.”
One of the paramedics looked at her strangely. “Are you a doctor?”
“Med student, but I was the first one on the scene.” Heather bit her lip. Now that she had a chance to stop and think, she ran through all of the scenarios in her mind. She’d done everything correctly as far as she knew. But what if she made a big mistake? Lance probably shouldn’t have been moved . . .
She shook her head and went back inside. Her muscles screamed at her as the adrenaline wore off. She was almost as filthy as those who had been in the building when it exploded. Stuart was being loaded onto one stretcher, and Lance was strapped down to a backboard. Thomas stood talking to another paramedic and nodded toward Heather when he saw her.
“Heather McClain?” A sheriff stood at the doorway.
“Yeah?” Heather rubbed her forehead, trying to force the headache away. She was exhausted and needed sleep.
“I’m Sheriff Wood. From what I’ve gathered, you were the one in charge here?” The man was a good six inches taller than her, but his eyes were kind as he shook her hand.
“Yes, I smelled gas and ran to try to get people to leave, but it all happened so fast . . .”
The man nodded. “We’re not sure what happened yet, but it’s a good thing you were here to help until we could get here. You did well in there.”
“Thank you, sir.” Heather stopped when Stuart was wheeled past her. “Excuse me. I need to go talk to him.”
“Of course. We may have questions later, but I just wanted to tell you what a good job you did.”
She shook his hand again and jogged out to the ambulance where Stuart was being loaded in. “Is he going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine, Heather. Thank you for your help.” He coughed and grimaced in pain. “If you see my mom, tell her to meet us at the hospital.”
And with that, the doors were closed. The world spun as the exhaustion finally caught up with her. She dropped to the ground and kept her head down to try to stop the nausea.
“Miss, are you okay?”
Heather tried to wave them away, but a paramedic checked her eyes. “I’m fine. I just need a drink of water and some sleep.”
“Heather? Where are you? Oh, there you are, sweetie.” Someone—Mom—wrapped her arms around Heather. “Is she okay? Can I take her home?”
“Yes, ma’am, but we need her information in case we have any questions for later.”
Heather stood and stumbled over to the car. She climbed in and leaned her seat back as far as she could. After what felt like an eternity, her mom finally came back to the car and closed the door.
“When Janie got home and told me that you said something about gas, and then ran for the butcher shop, I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Then she mentioned Stuart ignoring you, and I’d hoped that you’d gone in to talk to him. We heard the explosion but couldn’t figure out what it was until Cassie got a call from one of her friends.” She wiped her eyes. “If anything had happened to you . . .”
“Well, it didn’t. I was lucky, though. I was almost to the building when it happened.” Heather covered her eyes so the sun wouldn’t shine into them. “I could sleep for a few years, though.”
Mom reached over and took Heather’s hand. “We’ll make sure that happens.”
“Thanks.” Heather stumbled out of the car when they got to Aunt Cassie’s. She made it to her bed and collapsed.
Someone helped take off her shoes and socks, then pulled off her coat. Whispers were heard in the background, but she ignored them. And finally silence. She was alone. And for the first time that day, she allowed herself to let go. Sobs shook her as she pictured the whole thing over and over again.
And then darkness as she succumbed to her exhaustion.
Stuart pushed the button to help him sit up. He was bored out of his mind sitting in the hospital, but he wouldn’t be going home any time soon. They’d done surgery on his leg, and he was supposed to have another one on his shoulder soon.
The calendar on the wall told him it was January second, but that couldn’t be right. Heather hadn’t come to see him. His friends were in different rooms here, so they got together as often as the nurses would let them. Which wasn’t often because they were “too loud for the other patients.”
He tried not to let the bitterness sink in. She’d saved his life, saved his leg, and helped his friends as well.
The butcher shop was a total loss. They’d have to rebuild it. But since he was stuck here in his room, he wouldn’t be helping out with that.
“Hey, Stuart.” Mom stood in the doorway with a bouquet of flowers. “These are from the McClain’s. Aren’t they beautiful?”
She set them on the table, then sat in the chair next to him. “Doctor Wilson says you should be able to go home soon.”
“Seriously?” Stuart’s mood lightened a little. “I thought I’d be stuck here for longer. I haven’t been able to put any weight on my leg at all.”
Mom fiddled with the zipper on her purse. “Well, by soon, I mean in two days. But that’s not so bad, right?”
“I should be home helping Dad clean up the shop.”
“He has plenty of help right now. Your job right now is to get better.” Mom pulled out a catalog. “I thought you might want to pick out colors for your walls and cupboards.”
Stuart raised his eyebrows. “Why?”
