Chapter 3

3.

It was a man's voice I didn't recognize.

My heart leaped. I was about to shout when I heard Cody's voice from a distance.

"Ryan! Forget that for now, Building B is still at risk of aftershocks! Have you gotten the cat out yet?"

I froze.

The rescuer, Ryan, hesitated. "Captain, it sounds like a woman down there, she could be badly hurt…"

"Get the cat first!" Cody's voice was firm. "The cat's location is confirmed. Get it and come right back!"

Because of his order, the footsteps above me reluctantly ran off.

I stared up at that sliver of light and suddenly started laughing.

I laughed until tears streamed down my face.

Wow, Cody. Just wow.

In your eyes, my life isn't even worth a "confirmed location"?

The metal pipe was bent out of shape in my hand.

I stared at it and suddenly remembered something from six months ago.

Cody and I had just started dating. He dislocated his shoulder on a mission, and I drove all night to pick him up.

Tinsley happened to be there.

She was wearing a silk robe, clutching that damn cat, her eyes red-rimmed. "Cody, I think Snowball has a fever…"

Cody immediately pushed away the ice pack I was holding out and turned to feel the cat's forehead.

"Let me see."

I just stood there, feeling like a complete idiot.

Later, he tried to smooth things over. "Tinsley's always been like that, very fragile. That cat is her whole world. Don't take it personally."

I didn't.

But today, you're leaving me to die in the rubble for that cat?!

I wiped my face, my hand coming away covered in blood and grime.

Fine.

Cody, this was your choice.

I grabbed the edge of the crack above me, digging my nails into the concrete, and began to pull myself up, inch by inch.

My left leg felt like it was being sawn in half, but I didn't stop.

My life. I'll fight for it myself.

Just then, I heard Tinsley's cheerful voice drift over.

"Cody! Snowball's okay! I knew you'd come save her!"

Cody murmured something I couldn't hear.

It didn't matter anymore.

I clenched my jaw and, with every last bit of strength―

CRACK!

Rubble tumbled down, and blinding light flooded in.

I squinted, seeing my own bloody fingers clinging to the edge of the debris.

Climb out!

Sierra, you climb out of here, even if it kills you!

Dragging my almost-numb leg behind me, I slowly pulled myself out of the hole I had clawed open.

Blood and sweat dripped onto the ground. I was gasping for air, feeling like I was about to pass out.

But in the end, I made it out.

When the sun hit my face, I collapsed onto the rubble, looking up at the sky.

It was so blue.

Just as blue as the day Cody and I made it official on Malibu Beach.

But the sunlight was so harsh it made my eyes water.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, fighting back tears, when I heard a shocked voice nearby.

"Oh my God! Someone just climbed out over there!"

I didn't move.

Not until footsteps approached and someone knelt to help me.

"Ma'am! Are you okay? Can you talk?"

I turned my head and saw an unfamiliar face―a young rescuer with "RYAN" on his uniform.

Oh, the one who tried to save me but was called away by Cody.

I cracked a smile.

"Tell your captain…"

My voice was hoarse as I spoke, word by word.

"He saved his cat just in time."

Ryan's hand froze mid-air, and his face went pale.

"Sierra… Ms. Jenkins?"

He started to stammer.

"You're… you're the Captain's…"

"Ex-fiancée."

I finished his sentence, grinning, my teeth stained with blood.

"I wouldn't want to get in the way of his epic 'Save the Cat' mission."

Ryan swallowed hard. "Ms. Jenkins, please don't get agitated. Let me treat your wounds…"

He frantically fumbled for his medkit, his fingers shaking.

I pushed his hand away and propped myself up.

My left leg was numb, but I could still move it.

I ripped the filthy bandana from my neck and tied it tightly around the bleeding wound on my thigh.

The other rescuers around me gasped in unison.

A young female rescuer's eyes were already red as she bit her lip.

Just then, there was a commotion in the distance.

I looked up and saw Cody walking towards us, holding that white Persian cat, with Tinsley following behind him.

Tinsley was still dabbing at her tears while Cody murmured something to her, his expression painfully gentle.

"Captain! Over here!"

Ryan immediately stood up, trying to block me from view.

When Cody looked over, I was using a piece of rebar to pull myself to my feet.

The bottom of my T-shirt was torn to shreds, my legs covered in blood.

But I stood up straight, my spine straighter than that cat's in his arms.

When he saw me, his face looked like he'd just been shot in the chest.

"Sierra?!"