Pandemic

He ran through the doors and out of the lab. Sprinting down the final ten yards of hallway, he felt the ground rocking and heard a rumbling sound. He lunged out of the open door, landing on top of the dead monkey and rolling over several times, catching his leg painfully on a sharp chunk of wood.

Just as he was pushing himself to stand, he heard and felt a thunderous crash and bits of rock and cement pelted his back. He climbed up to his knees. He looked from side to side, searching frantically, but there as no sign of Gwen.

And the building he had just emerged from was gone.

CHAPTER 36

HARGEYSA, SOMALIA

Gwen couldn't see anything but smoke, dust, and white light. She didn't think she was dead, but she had no idea where she was or what had happened. She remembered seeing Noah dive out the door. Then, just as her own foot reached the doorway, she heard a deafening boom and everything went black.

She felt a weight pressing into her chest, which made breathing next to impossible. She tried to call out, but she choked on the plaster dust in her mouth. The collapse had knocked her mask off, but she still wore her helmet Her left arm was pinned under the same weight that ran across her chest, but her right arm and her legs were free. With her loose hand, she reached up and grabbed hold of the sharp metallic edge of the object crushing her. It felt like a piece of sheet metal. She tried to pull it off her with one hand but couldn't budge it. Patting along the top, she felt the chunks of plaster and wood that pinned the metal down on top of her.

She flailed her legs, attempting to rock herself free of the grip. No use. She noticed with growing panic that even shallow breaths were becoming impossible. She panted through an open mouth, but it didn't lessen her air hunger. Scared and frustrated, she spat out the contents of her mouth and called out hoarsely, but her lungs were too empty to produce much more than a whisper.

Just as she reached up to grab frantically for the metal edge again, something seized her gloved hand. It took her a moment to realize it was another hand.

"Gwen!" Noah yelled and she squeezed his hand. "Help me! Over here! She's alive!" he yelled out. He released her hand, which caused her a shudder of fear. She wondered if she would suffocate before they could clear the debris trapping her.

Gwen stopped moving in an attempt to conserve her oxygen. She continued to pant without relief. Just as she began to feel drowsy, but still awake enough to know what a bad sign the drowsiness was, she heard a loud scratching noise. Then she felt the object move.

"It's okay, Gwen. We've got you." Noah reassured with a yell. "Hang on. A few seconds, tops."

Suddenly the object lifted off her chest. The moment she was freed she took a long desperate gasp followed by several more, before she spat the dirt from her mouth. The glare from a searchlight blinded her. She instinctively brought her left hand up to shield her eyes without even realizing that she could move it again.

Another weight pressed into her chest, but then she realized it was Noah. He wrapped his arm around her, hugging her and lifting her at the same time. "Gwen!"

"It's okay, Noah," she reassured, and then sputtered a cough. "I'm all right, I think."

He held her in his arms, carrying her away from the pile of rubble that had imprisoned her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She wiped the sand and dirt away from her mouth. "You can put me down now, Noah."

He bent forward and gently placed her feet on the ground. Then he pulled off his own mask, revealing bloodshot eyes and a relieved smile. "I thought you were gone," he said with a shake of his head.

She held on to his shoulder as she tested her legs, not entirely trusting them. She was relieved to find that they supported her. She felt the pain of widespread cuts and scrapes along with a residual aching in her chest, especially with deeper breaths, but she was happy to realize that the worst pain came from the throb in her bum ankle. She laughed out of relief.

Noah joined in the laughter. He leaned forward, threw his arms around her, and gave her another hug. "I really thought you were gone," he said.

"Ouch," she said in response to the squeeze.

He broke off the embrace. "Oh, sorry, I didn't—"

She smiled at him and then reached up and touched his cheek. "I think I'm just bruised." She looked back at the pile of debris under which she had been pinned. She realized she must have been trapped under the tin roof's overhang that used to sit above the entrance, which meant technically she had made it out of the building before it collapsed but was caught by a piece of the falling roof. She turned to Noah. "A millisecond earlier…"

"And there would have been a job opening for a qualified Bug Czar," Haldane said.

She laughed again, still giddy with relief.

Another soldier joined the group around her. Paddy reached out and rested a hand on Gwen's shoulder. "Gwen, you okay?"

She nodded.

"Sure?"

"Just scrapes and bruises."