Past life----------
"Girl, what do you say?" The captain asked Reeya.
"The wall is weak but it can hold an airbag for a few hours. We should lift the beam."
"Okay. Be careful." He believed in her insight more than anyone. If she said it could hold he held no doubts and gave them permission to go forward with the plan.
"Evacuate." Reeya had all her colleagues leave the site.
Since she decided to save his life, she emptied the place. Signaling everyone to leave the whole building, they shot three blasts of air whistle. The safety of the man fell on her shoulders.
The friend made his last attempt to convince the victim. "Sir, your life is at risk. Think again. It"s just a leg. You got your family to live on."
"I won"t burden my family with the disability, " the man grunted in pain. It"s better to die than lose a leg. "Will I die?" He feared the commotion; all emergency personnel got out of the building. He lost hope.
"Don"t worry, the structure looks st.u.r.dy. I let them leave as a precaution," she explained. At this instance, anxiety could make the situation worse. His leg could already be bleeding. If he looses conscious, pulling him out would become harder.
"Won"t you go?" Like a man who stood on the door of death, he accepted whatever the outcome. It had drained his will to live. He left his last words to his wife. Few hours … maybe he will live a few more hours trapped here.
"No."
The support bars held the building. It wasn"t a compromised or partially collapsed structure, thus it made Reeya worth taking the risk.
There was a chance to save him. Her conscience didn"t let a man to be buried alive.
She lifted the beam. Freed the man crawled out of the place.
The next instant a loud thud sounded behind him. The entire floor crumpled into a ma.s.s of dirt and dust. In fact, no one expected the outcome. Reeya was nowhere in sight.
With a minimal chance of a further crash, they went forward with the plan. The concrete trapping his leg supported a large amount of rubble, which no one noticed. When they lifted it, the debris fell on her. They didn"t even find her whole body; she got buried alive.
Structure collapse had been the greatest fear for firefighters, the reason being unpredictability. A building which looked st.u.r.dy may give away the next instant.
The wreckage trapped the man. After some digging they rescued him. He had a lucky escape.
****
Present
"Amputate the leg?" A woman who had been standing silently for some time spoke. Her voice whimpered, she tried to restrain herself from crying.
The radio voiced, "The wall supporting ceiling had collapsed we need an airbag and lift the beam."
"No, Reeya Amputate" Ira yelled. Her response was so loud that all eyes turned to her. The woman"s pale bloodless face, her undulating chest, and her spiritless eyes made them shudder.
"Take her to safety." The captain pointed to the official who kept an eye on her.
"Let me talk to him." Ira evaded his arms and pleaded.
"Ma"am. Please come with me." The official had been observing her, the woman tried to enter the scene but after he stopped her. She made no such attempts. He did not expect she would go forth and intervene in their operation.
"No, let me talk. I can convince him." At this moment her voice had endless fear and horror but also a great deal of resolve.
"Why would you?" The woman knew Reeya, she was trying to get her out. Why would the man listen to this woman?
"He is my husband…."