Chasing Amy

Chapter Eleven

Amy had no concept of time. The wrath of the tornado seemed to drag on forever and yet was over faster than she anticipated.  Lying on the floor with the weight of the shed bearing down on her didn’t help the wait.  She expected at any moment to be plowed into by a wall of swirling wind but it never came. Instead, the ferocity of the wind began to lessen and the rain slowed, then eventually it all stopped. 

The silence that fell afterwards seemed deafening. 

Amy had no idea how much, if any, of the hotel was left standing.  She had no idea if anyone else from her missions group was alive, injured, or worse.  The only thing she knew for sure was that the tornado had not killed her.

She thanked God profusely for sparing her life.  She hoped the rest of her friends and family had been granted the same mercy.

She could barely move beneath the rubble of the shed, nor could she gain enough leverage to push any of the debris off her body.  She had no idea what had come crashing through the walls but she was willing to guess it had been patio furniture.

She took a moment to assess herself and make sure she didn’t have any new injuries.  Her headache remained as did the pain in her elbows.  She could feel scrapes on her arms and legs and face but other than that no serious damage had been done. 

Once the fear subsided and she knew she was alive and well she began to wonder how long it would take someone to start looking for her and beyond that, find her.

Soon she heard new sirens begin to wail and at first her stomach dropped, nausea washing over her. Then she realized it was the sound of emergency vehicles.  She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.  Then she lay still and kept her ears open, listening for the sound of anyone approaching.

Time meant nothing so she had no idea how long it took before she heard voices, but they seemed to come rather quickly after the emergency vehicles. They started as a low murmur, nothing distinct but definitely people talking.  Eventually the voices grew louder and then finally a familiar voice called her name.

Ryan!

She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.

“I’m in here!  In the shed!” she called, her voice hoarse.  She hoped she was loud enough to be heard.

“Amy?  Is that you?”

“In here Ryan!”

Soon she heard feet hitting the patio and then a flashlight beam cut through the night.  She blinked against it and could see Ryan peering down at her through a hole in the rubble.

“Oh my God!  Amy, are you okay?” he cried, reaching to start pulling the debris off of her.

“Yeah, I’m fine.  Just stuck.”

Ryan looked away for a moment, calling for help.  Soon she heard more voices and more feet and the pile of stuff on top of her slowly began to disappear.  Finally they made a hole big enough for her to wiggle into and Ryan reached down to pull her free.

Amy let out a sob, thankful to be alive and found by a familiar face.  Ryan wrapped his arms around her and she collapsed against him, once again crying.  Glancing over his shoulder she took in the hotel which appeared to be relatively untouched.  There were broken windows but the building itself remained intact.  Patio furniture filled the pool and she saw some of it had been thrown through the glass panes into the lobby.  Looking back at the shed she saw that it had been one of the heavy patio tables that had crashed inside, collapsing it down on her.  She’d been lucky it hadn’t knocked her out or killed her.