Page 245 of Hidden Tide
John retrieves the pipe.
“We do it again.”
“The support is bending,” Mark warns.
“We only need it to hold for five seconds.”
Piers reaches through the opening.
“Ben, when the beam rises, you pull. Don’t stop if it hurts.”
“It already hurts.”
“Then you won’t notice anything new.”
Ben grips the edge of the broken wall.
Scott, Mark and John push down on the pipe while Piers lifts from beneath the beam.
It moves.
One inch.
Two.
Ben pulls his leg free.
Piers grabs the front of his vest and drags him through the opening as the beam crashes behind him.
Ben rolls onto his back.
For several seconds, he doesn’t move.
“Ben?” I whisper.
Piers examines his leg.
“No obvious fracture. Deep cut along the calf. Possible ligament damage.”
“Can he walk?” Scott asks.
Ben sits up.
“I can walk.”
Piers presses near his knee.
Ben swears.
“You can limp,” Piers corrects.
The man and girl climb through the opening.
The girl immediately turns back toward Ben.
“Don’t leave him.”
Scott takes her arm.
