Night.
Under the debris.
Dong Xuebing had used REVERSE to fill the oxygen tank. He opened the valve and moved closer to take a deep breath. Air filled his lungs and eased the suffocating feeling. He exhaled slowly. A few seconds later, he would die from suffocation.
Oxygen slowly fills the small enclosed space.
Dong Xuebing turned the valve smaller and laid on the cold floor, looking into the darkness a while later.
It was too close….
But I managed to survive….
Dong Xuebing slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Next morning.
Dong Xuebing woke up breathing rapidly, and he felt he was suffocating again. The oxygen had run out again. He quickly used REVERSE on the oxygen tank to fill it. After that, he felt hungry, and his throat is parched. He used 1 second of REVERSE on his body, and his hunger and thirst disappeared. His body had recovered from his previous condition.
Dong Xuebing immediately felt better.
He wiped his sweat and laid there, waiting. He has nothing to do.
Anyone without food, water, air, and serious injuries, would not survive more than one minute in this situation. But Dong Xuebing is alive and kicking. He finds it funny when he thinks about it. If the debris above him is not cleared, will he have to spend the rest of his life like this? He would rather die.
Hurry! Come and save me!
Dong Xuebing opened his eyes and shouted a few times.”
“Hey! Can anyone hear me?!”
“I am still alive!”
But the only reply is his echo.
Dong Xuebing sighed and pushed the concrete slab pressing on his side. The large concrete slab did not move, but he did not give up. He pushed it with all his strength and heard a loud rumbling above him. A few kilograms of dust and sand fell on his face, making him cough. Spit…. Spit…. He spat out the sand in his mouth and didn’t dare to try again.
This is a pile of three stories of high debris.
Any slight movement might cause the debris to come crashing down. If Dong Xuebing had pushed the concrete slab supporting the debris above, he will be crushed.
It is impossible to escape by himself.
Dong Xuebing can only wait to be rescued or die.
Dong Xuebing doesn’t need to worry about food, water, and air. The only thing he has now is time.
Dong Xuebing swiped the dust off his hair and waited to be rescued. He doesn’t mind waiting for a while, and he hopes the people outside do not give up on him.
It was as if God heard his prayers. Suddenly, Dong Xuebing heard faint pounding sounds.
Dong…. Dang…. Dang….
It sounded like someone was moving the debris above him.
Dong Xuebing quickly shouts. “Hello! I am over here! Can you all hear me?!” He picks up a rock and hits the ground. Bam…. Bam…. Bam!
But Dong Xuebing was too deep under the debris, and the people above him did not hear him.
Dong Xuebing gave up after ten minutes of trying. He knows it is useless. The rescuers cannot hear him as outside should be very noisy.
The knocking sounds above continue.
Many people are smashing the concrete slabs and moving them away.
Dong Xuebing knows these people are here to rescue him and saw a glimpse of hope. The District Government had not given up on him, and they were here to save him. He got excited and wanted to join them to move the debris. But he can’t and dare not to move anything.
A few hours passed.
Maybe it’s lunchtime, and the knocking sounds stopped.
Dong Xuebing can tell from the sounds that it is not made by machines. The people above use their hands and tools to dig through the debris. Maybe the rescue vehicles and bulldozers still have not arrived. The rescuers might take months to dig through more than ten meters of debris without machinery. He smiled wearily and prepared himself to stay under the debris for a long time.
No matter what, he must hold on.
Dong Xuebing looks at the darkness around him and suddenly remembers the crushed radio he found yesterday. He reached around for a few minutes and found it in a corner. He felt the radio and found it was smashed beyond repair.
But it is OK!
REVERSE 1 second!
The radio in Dong Xuebing’s hand moved slightly, and he could feel the broken parts get repaired quickly. He found the switch and switched it on. ‘Sha…. Sha…. Sha….’
Dong Xuebing has nothing to do and wants to know about the situation outside.
‘Sha…. Sha…. Sha….’
‘Sha…. Sha…. Sha….’
The reception under the debris is not good, and Dong Xuebing can’t hear anything other than static noises.
Dong Xuebing starts to move the radio around, hoping to get better signals.
Finally, Dong Xuebing found a spot in a crack where the radio could receive some weak signals.
“The casualty of the Fen Zhou City earthquake is still increasing, and our Chief Secretary and President have arrived at the disaster site.”
The Chief Secretary and President were here yesterday?!
Dong Xuebing switched to another channel.
This channel’s news is clearer than the previous one. “Director Dong from Nan Shan District has been buried under the debris for 24 hours. Guang Ming Subdistrict Office’s Director Dong was the first person to discover the abnormalities, and he published an earthquake warning article in the papers. He had saved more than a few hundred people after the earthquake. He ordered the evacuation of the District’s First Hospital. He saved others in the hospital when the building collapsed, and no one knows if he is still alive. We received the latest information this morning. The roads are still blocked, and the rescue vehicles can’t reach the hospital site. A few hundred residents had taken it upon themselves and went to clear the debris with their bare hands. We hope Director is safe.”
A few hundred residents?!
The rescue party above me is formed by the residents?!
Dong Xuebing’s eyes became red, and he took a deep breath. He was touched and didn’t have words to describe this feeling.
