Twenty minutes had come and gone and still no word from the officer or from anyone. There had been no announcement or any kind of crowd control from the police at the scene. Everyone that had flown by was ignoring Bette Porter’s tirade on the sidelines demanding answers. But worse than that… her cell phone seem to be on a continuous ringing spree with calls from Bette’s better half, Tina Kennard. ‘*****,’ she thought every time she didn’t answer her phone. ‘She’ll wonder why I haven’t answered her calls. I know I should tell her what has happened but I don’t want to worry her. It’s only be a matter of seconds before I’ll find Evan. She’s probably out here already.’

Bette tried to scan the expansive crowd again but her height wasn’t enough the second time. There had to be at least three to five hundred milling around the parking lot. To many faces not one of them was her daughter’s.

“Alright people, I need you to back up,” said a blonde cropped haired police officer.
“Excuse me, Excuse me,” Bette shouted to her left over the noise.

It took a minute for the officer to locate who the voice belonged to.

“Yes.”
“I’m looking for my daughter-”
“Miss, I can’t really help you at this time. We don’t know how many people are still in the building and we have no way of knowing of the people that are out here were in there.”
“Earlier… an officer said he would help me.”
“I’m sorry Miss but that was premature promise to make.”
“Please… I need to find Officer Marins. He said that he would help me. My daughter may be trapped in there. I just need to know that she is okay,” Bette pleaded taking out a her wallet and handing the young officer the latest picture she had of Evan.

The officer took the picture and briefly glanced at it.

“Please, look at it. Look at her. You may see her in the crowd. Her name is Evan. Evan-Marie Porter-Kennard,” Bette solemnly stated.

The young officer looked at the picture, committing the face to memory.

“If I see her Ma’am, I’ll bring her right over here to you.”
“Thank you.”
“Just promise to stay put.”
“I’ll be right here, I promise.”

Bette and the officer shared a small smile before he was called away.


*****


She wasn’t sure whether it was the metallic taste in her mouth or the piercing pain in her right shoulder that awoke her first. But even in her awake state, she wasn’t sure she was in fact awake. Blackness clouded her mind and her eyes. Her attempts of moving were soon discovered to have been impossible. Something was preventing her from moving at all. Her body was pinned against the concrete floor by a metal display case and slowly it’s chill permeated her skin. With a free hand, Evan-Marie Porter-Kennard tried to reach over her shoulder to get at the annoying pain. A sticky, slick substance coated her fingers. Bringing her hand back to her face, she was unable to see what it was. She unsurely stuck her forefinger in her mouth. The same metallic taste from before wound it’s way around her taste buds. Blood. She had tasted blood.


*****

The phone rang three times before Bette heard her partner’s voice call out a harried hello.

“Tee, baby, I need you to come down to the mall right away.”
“Bette, what’s wrong?”
“Tee, I need you to come down to the mall.”
“Bette, you’re scaring me. What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want you to panic, okay.”
“I’m panicking right now. Just tell me already!” Tina screamed.
“There’s been an accident.”
“Oh God, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. But Tee, it’s Evan. Part of the building has collapsed. And I think she is still in there.”
“Oh god, oh god, oh god.”
“Baby, breathe for me, okay? Breathe.”
“Don’t you know if she is in there?”
“They won’t tell me anything, right now. The firemen are just trying to secure the buildings.”
“I’m…I’m coming right now.”
“Tee, there’s a huge crowd down here.”
“I’ll find you.”
“Tee-”

Before Bette could say anything else to Tina, the line went dead.

*****