take me for granted

“And that’s why Hydra will win. Because while a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is considering right and wrong, Hydra’s already taken the shot.”

Once upon a time

Ward grew up in Massachusetts, in an abusive family where his older brother, Christian, often forced him to hit his younger brother. Grant saved his younger brother from the well their elder threw him in, his “defining moment”. Sent to a military school, he fled and stole a car to come back home where he burned his parents’ home, ignoring his brother was still in. Christian pressed charges for him to be judge as an adult and he was sent to juvie. It’s where his path met Garrett’s, who offered him a choice: to join S.H.I.E.L.D. under his wing or go to jail. Garrett trained him to be a assassin, later revealing to his protégé his true allegiance. Loyal to the one who saved him Ward joined HYDRA and later infiltrated Coulson’s team as a Specialist. During the S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War, he let down his cover and ultimately was made by Skye in the Providence facility where he killed Eric Koenig. Held prisoner in the cells of the Playground after the whole thing settled down, he was supposed to be traded to his brother but he managed to escape, avoiding his trial and let free to follow his own agenda.

What the headlines say

Since he broke out from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s custody, Ward kept himself busy, “reuniting” with his brother before he sided with Whitehall in order to fulfill his promise to Skye’s father to reunite them. That didn’t turned out well for him since Skye shot him but Kara, Agent 33 still having May’s face, helped him to get out of the building and after there was no sign of them. But even if in the time being they remain with a very low-profile, Ward still remains a potential threat because he’s a loose canon. What are his plans ? Will he try to make amends and go back to his former organization since he made it clear he only followed Garrett and not HYDRA ? Nothing is certain at this point. What is certain however, is that  Ward has been active , he has taken a certain Delia Stavros under his wing, the woman now lives with him. He has been one of the tunnel victims of the Hell Kitchen explosions. Nowadays he takes here and there Hydra jobs, and admittedly the commemoration move was bold, but what interests him more is to get to Skye. Little whispers told him that she has left SHIELD, he keeps feeding Hydra false information while following her trail.

Skye –  Potential ex- love interest.

Natasha Romanoff – Former colleague, his interrogation officer.

Mj Watson – Her anonymous informant.

Delia Stavros  –  roommate, mentee, sister like

Faceclaim: Brett Dalton

Status: Taken

Clenching his for another reason, anger boiling up to the surface now, he pinched his nose as he looked down. “We could’ve helped you!” he blurted out. “We could have prevent Garrett to make you do this if you’d have talked to us.” He could understand why he felt obligated to the man but they could have come up with something and even if they had no way to know what could have happened if Ward did something else than what happened, he just wished he could have trusted them enough to see he didn’t have to go that way. “I know you’re not a bad person.” Fitz always thought there had to be something that made him like that, he refused to think anyone was born evil, even if that thought had been put to a test quick often lately.

mspottsceoofsi:

hulkinside:

thehenrykane:

fracturedhq:

taserdarcy:

She frowned at his sentence “ Wait what ?! ” Then she saw his bottle of alcohol and so freak out. “ Wowowo ! No way dude ! Don't ! ” Too late… “ AAAARGH ! HOLY SWEETY CHRISTMAS PHOQUING SHIT ! ” Scream out was liberating, but scratch his arm to blood was better. She finally let him go and hidden her face under her fingers, trying to breath and to focus on something else than the pain. She was shock, because of the pain and the situation. Everything was too much. It was the first time, the first time that she was a victim of a disaster. No aliens this time. No Gods. Just a damn tunnel accident. “Can you… Just… One moment…” She looked at her bloody and shaking hands. Maybe ten or thirty second passed like this. Just few second to convince herself that yes, she could do it, that everything gonna be alright. She closed her eyes one last moment before answered. “Ok.”

She tried to move, contorted with pain. “You know what ? Give me this damn bottle.” She drunk few swallows, contorted even more. “Hum… Ok.” Darcy leaned on her own seat and on the wheel to turn at Grant’s direction, her feet in thin air. “'Good for you ?” He started to bandage her despite of her insults. He did it fast, fortunately for her and for him. When he finished, she asked. “….what is your name already ?” She gave him back the bottle with a small smile and then tried to go out the car, leaned on his shoulder to put a step away from this car. The first one was ok, but when her other foot brush past the ground, she felt like an electric discharge. She murdered a scream before speaking. “I can't… I’m sorry…”

“CUT THAT DAMN POWER NOW” The chief of the firemen yelled into the radio. The whole block went dark, only lit by the cars and spots of the rescue teams. In the tunnel, darkness too found its way. The demonic electric serpent went still, while the remaining lights went off. Only fires and some still functioning car lights were able to give some lights to the underground. It felt in many ways like hell. The team coming down was progressing, but the air was thin by now, charged with CO2. The temperature had risen, making it hard to breathe normally without feeling that something was wrong. 

In the darkness of the belly,  scream echoed, chilling, not human. It wasn’t the Hulk either, he who was getting the two humans out of there, it was not any repulsive blast from Pepper either. That scream had a low vibration to it , that made every instinct good to run. 

Hulk + Kane: time to get out of the tunnel. The way is pretty much cleared passed where you are, you will not have any troubles getting out … until you actually reach the outside. The rioters have gotten to your area, menacing civilians and rescue teams. 

Rescue + Barton : Make your way to Darcy and Grant asap. Time is running short. Barton, you have impacted negatively on the law renforcement. Someone randomly bossing around is not appreciated at all. You risk to be apprehended once out.

Grant + Darcy : time to run. That scream came from behind you, better not stay to admire whatever it came from.

1 round post. Purpose of this round is to get out of the tunnel to phase the last round . See you all in the next round.

If Henry wasn’t concussed or having trouble breathing he might have freaked out, both in a good way and bad, that the guy was the Hulk. As soon as the weight was lifted off of him he was able to take in a large, painful breath but as he rolled into his right side, he nearly yelled in pain from his shoulder. That explained the lack of feeling in his shoulder. Before he could even try to get up he was lifted into the air and through blurry vision he could barely make out the fact he was being carried by the Hulk. The constant moving was making him sick and it was taking every ounce of him not to throw up. Everything seemed to be getting cooler and the air thicker but his breathing was still painful and labored. He wasn’t sure how long he would last because wanting to go to sleep was the only thing be could think of.

With a scared little girl in one arm and a nearly unconscious, possibly dying man in the other, the Hulk barreled through the tunnel. His heavy feet landing with ground-shaking force couldn’t have been doing any good for the stability of the tunnel but his large strides and near obliviousness when it came to the things in the way, meant the distance to the surface decreasing quickly. Then, what little light had remained from the tunnel itself shut out and an inhuman scream vibrated past them. A not so small part of Hulk heard that scream as a battle cry and wanted to confront whatever it was - even if it meant burying himself and the creature beneath the rubble at the bottom of the Hudson.

Fortunately enough, though, the Hulk’s anger and need to fight was tempered by the cries of the girl he held. After the scream had finished, Hulk snarled and huffed before continuing toward the end of the tunnel. The hint of a light came into view and seconds later, Hulk found himself momentarily blinded. The sounds, however, warned of what he could not immediately see. Shouting and cursing and rioting waited for them - it was certainly not safe for either the child or the man. And so, Hulk let out an angry roar in an attempt to scare away some of the rioters.

“Yeah, the suit’s…kind of new.” Pepper managed to get her helmet back on before anyone saw her. She helped Barney up, “You’re okay to walk?” She double checked, making sure he was okay to move along the tunnel to make hopefully what would be a clean escape. “I have no idea how many people were in here. Had to be hundreds with the way traffic moves through here.” They started to head along the tunnel, hopefully towards the quickest exit route when the screech echoed through the tunnel, sending a chill through Pepper, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

“Friday?” Pepper’s voice came out quiet and wavering. “What the hell made that noise?” She asked, unsure if she wanted the answer. Friday didn’t have an answer, and informed her that she would let Pepper know as soon as she found the source. Holding a little tighter to Barney, she continued to move along through the darkness. Pepper had Friday turn up the lights shining from the helmet, spotting Darcy and the man tending to her. “Shit…” She mumbled, moving closer to the pair. “Everything alright?” She asked, voice changed by the helmet again, keeping one ear open for the scream again.

He’d talk about what exactly that meant, her having a suit ‘cause right now the priority was to get out of there before anything else could happen. Nodding to tell her he could walk, he stand beside her and started to make his way out. “Probably. What’s troubling me’s to know who did pulled that off ‘cause there’s no way this was of natural cause.” The hit was too big, targeted to make the most damage and kills. He was felling more and more dizzy and the mix of his head inury and the ever growing level of CO² was to be blamed no doubt. It was hard to see far ahead but at least they still had some lights on and the power seemed to have been cut out. Still dangerous to be here but they wouldn’t die from eletrocution at least. Sweat dampening his shirt, he stopped when the noise echoed in that wretched scenery, something…deep and angry.

“What the hell ?” he muttered to himself. Wasn’t the whole thing awful already ? Now they had to deal with some other shit ? The day was getting better and better, really. As they progressed towards the exit, thanks to a little help from the suit, they stumbled upon other people.  He let her go to them, trying to spot something around that could help the girl who seemed to be unable to move. Coming closer to the pair, he looked at the other guy. “We can get out if we help her out, you should open the way.” he adressed Pepper quickly. “We need to move ‘cause whatever that scream was, it was close.” he said as he carefully pulled his arm under the shoulder of the girl. “Come on gorgeous, let’s get you to a hospital.” he said a bit jokingly, trying to drown the seriousness of their predicament with a hint of humor.

Ward’s arm instinctively wrapped around Darcy’s waist to catch her, helping her shift her weight against him as he studied the two approaching them. The scream had him on edge, and while he doubted it had come from either of these two, it certainly sounded close. “She’s got a broken leg and has lost a lot of blood.” Dammit talking hurt. He wasn’t getting enough oxygen, he could feel it in every breath, and he had to imagine the others were in the same situation. This was not going to end well, not for everyone.

Whether or not he could forgive him one day, that was something he didn’t even think of for now because he wasn’t sure about what had hurt him the most: that he tried to kill them or that he betrayed him after pretending to be his friend ? Looking at him as he spoke again, advising him to be on his way, he shook his head. “I thought you were my friend. My friend! Do you understand what that meant for me ?” he blurted out, louder than he expected, gazing around to see if someone had noticed but it was too late anyway to take it back.

mspottsceoofsi:

hulkinside:

thehenrykane:

taserdarcy:

She tried to stay focus, to not be overwhelm by her feelings. Hard fight. She took few seconds to realized that someone was here to help her, slightly eased she now tried to focus to this voice, closing her eyes and concentrating to her breathing and not to her losing blood. Still shaking she finally reply “Darcy” She opened her eyes and saw the face of his savior. “Other than this gap on my leg and these god damn headache ?” She smiled ironically. “No, I don’t think so.” She looked at his movements more than at this face, spending time with SHIELD could help her to recognize him, but now, with this situation, she didn’t make the connection between him and this traitor-hydra-bad guys-and all this mess. “What are you doing ?”

This guy wasn’t asking much from him, but each breath was painful. Even trying to stay awake was a task in and of itself. “I’ll do my best,” he mutteredhis head resting against the ground as his eyelids begin to droop. No, no, stay awake, Kane! he yelled at himself. He needed to stay awake but he had no idea how. All he wanted to do was go to sleep. Maybe if he stried to focus on what this doctor guy was doing he could stay awake, but as he saw him get ready to move the slab, his brow furrowed. “No offense doc, but I don’t think you’re gonna be able to move this by yourself.”

Another breath in and immediately he had a vilent coughing fit come over him. So this was it. This was how he was going to go out. As an attempt to stay awake he thought about Kate. What was she doing now? Had she heard about the tunnel collapse? Was she sipping on a nice cup of coffee, relaxing in her apartment? Probably so. He wished he could see her one last time. See her face, her smile, hear her laugh. He wish he could tell her everything he hadn’t had the chance to say, but then again, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. She didn’t grow attached to people. Probably wouldn’t even know what happened to him. Probably better that way, but he needed her to know. “Listen, doc,” he slurred out, his eyelids fluttering as he fought to stay awake, “I need you to deliver a message to a girl named Kate Bishop for me….in case…..this doesn’t work….”

Bruce gave a nod of acknowledgment to Kane’s answer and hoped that his best would be enough. “Oh trust me, moving it will not be the problem,” he replied, voice calm, if a touch cocky. He reached then to the back of his mind for the pool of anger that would bring out the Hulk. He probably should have told them about the Hulk first, rather than surprising the man and the kid but it was clear that time was not on their side. At any moment, the concrete could shift and crush him to death; or the Hudson could make its way into the tunnel forcing them to run/swim or drown; or another explosion could go off trapping them beneath what remained of the tunnel. Besides, it didn’t seem as though Kane’s consciousness would last much longer.

Just as the green had begun to flood in from the corners of his vision, Bruce caught something about a message and Kate Bishop. However, it was too late for him to stop and answer or ask what the message ought to be: the Hulk had already awoken and the transformation had already begun. Even when he willed it to happen, the transformation was the most painful thing Bruce had ever experienced. His bones cracked and snapped under the weight of condensed muscles springing forth from the gamma in his blood. New bones took their place, heavy and unbreakable. His skin stretched beyond any reasonable limits as it thickened and darkened to a toxic green.  All the while, acid burned its way down his spine and through every nerve. Were it not for the pull back into the darkness, he probably would’ve been crippled by the pain.

Instead, only the Hulk remained, now holding the concrete slab well above Kane. Hulk retained direction from Bruce’s last concerns and shoved the slab out of the way before picking up the man and turning towards the little girl to scoop her up as well.

Pepper finally wiggled through the opening she’d created. “Friday? the structure okay to remove more of the debris so we can get some air in here?” Her screen lit up with ways to clear out some of the mess, so she turned to the pile, starting to work at it. Before she could shift too much of the rubble, and clear an airway, she heard him.

Pepper turned to the man that spoke to her, and turned pale. Even in the messy state he was in there was no doubting who it was. She looked back at the wall, knowing that she should be working to clear the passageway but she couldn’t leave Barney alone like that. She quickly moved over to his side, kneeling down. beside him, listing closely. “We’ll get you an oxygen mask.” She nodded. She hopped up to rush over to one of the fireman, asking for a spare mask to be brought in. It would be a couple minutes before they could get one he said. She winced, and nodded, turning back to head to Barney.

“They said it’d be another moment or two.” Pepper explained, turning her back to the firemen. “Barney, you can’t tell anyone this, okay?” She removed her helmet, giving him a tired smile. “It’s me.” She chuckled, humorlessly, lifting him gently to get the helmet on him. “This’ll help out until they get you an oxygen tank.” She gently patted his side, smiling sadly at him. “You’ll be okay. How badly are you hurt?”

He’d been in tight spots and close call situations before but that was different. He didn’t have anyone to worry about when that happened. And usually he wasn’t stuck under rumble. He was trying to calm his breathing, putting his shirt in front of his nose but that wasn’t working out and if he was going to help the squad, he’d need that mask or he’ll be just another hindrance if they had to carry him too if he’d fall unconscious on the ground. But as the suit came close, he noticed something odd about it. It had…boobs ? He wasn’t sure he’d see it correctly due to the shock on his head but yeah, it appeared this was a new suit and he’d seriously question it if he was going to get out of here alive. Nodding still, he tried to assess if his wound was serious, touching the back of his head and then when the suit came back, he wiped the blood on his jeans. “Okay, thanks.” he said but furrowed his brows when he heard his name. But no time to ask himself if Stark knew him since he saw who was in it now. “Pepper…” he half whispered, taken aback. But before he could say anything more, the helmet was on his face. Taking several deep gulps of air, he took it off. “I think I got a cut on the back of my head but I’ll live. And you ? Please tell me you weren’t in there when it happened.” He was worried about her, starting to scan her to find out if she was hurt but of course the suit was hiding everything. He reached out for her hand. “Nice suit by the way.” he flashed half a grin but winced just as quickly, the motion making him hurt. “How many people d’you think are in there ?” he asked as he saw one of the fireman coming towards them with the tank. “Put the mask on, someone’s coming.” he quickly prompted.

mspottsceoofsi:

hulkinside:

thehenrykane:

fracturedhq:

taserdarcy:

Actually, she couldn’t remember why she took this tunnel, everything was too much confuses. She woke up in a sensation of pain, taking time to open her eyes. Headache of course, but more of that she had this strange sensation of cold, however when she finally saw what going on, she saw first some fire. Why ? What the hell is happened ? No idea. She just tried to move, moaning and opening the door. She still didn’t understand why this easy action was so hard to do. She had an accident and she was disoriented, like everyone in this tunnel, but something else stool her energy. Step by step Darcy, you open the door, now leave this car. She tried to convince herself. But no way, her body wanted to rest, and her mind softly wake up to panic. Yeah, now she understood why her legs were so heavy. She was loosing blood, enough to freak out and cry. Nervously, she tried to stop the blood, pressing the wound of her leg. She for good realized the mess. She bite her lips and looked around for help.

“How’s the tunnel ? “  “holding up towards the river. “ “Good…where are we with shutting down the power ? “  A silence was noticable which made the chief of the firehouse look up.  “What ? “   “I … I don’t know. “  “ Find out !  They may not drown, but I will not have whoever is still in there burned alive by electrocution or worse”  he barked .  A sound of crashing could be heard nearby, making a new wave of panic settle in the area.  “Shit.”  the already unstable building near the red zone finsihed collapsing, making more car alarms bip and more people panic. But also made it impossible to access the Tunnel. Taking it from the other side of the river would take time, and they were not even sure they could access the Tunnel properly.  The Chief rolled out a map.  They needed a way in.  He needed someone in there to assess the situation. Truth was, the people down there would die of air deprivation or CO2 intoxiaction. Especially if it was sealed shut. “Sir  , Iron man is there . “  “ Huh so they show up when —   that’s no iron man you morron. “  He took his megaphone. “HEY YOU  IN THE RED SUIT…” he spoke.  “GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE”  

Pepper + (Barney ) :  The Chief asks whoever the hell you are (sorry he’s not a patient man)   to accompany a squad of firefighters into the tunnel through one of their passages that is seemingly not destroyed.  You are free to decline or go with them. Joined by Barney  eventually.

Throughout the whole tunnel, the vibrations of the collapse above were felt. Partly some rubble fell here and there on already destroyed cars.  The whole structure gave some chilling noises of crackling. Due to the extended damage, the ventilation system is down, making the atmosphere heavy and really humid. The temperature due to several fires was getting higher, while breathing was getting more difficult. While there are no lights anymore, the power was still on, and on certain areas loose wires were squirming like snakes without heads.

Kane + Bruce : the collapse has added more pressure on Kane. He is literally crushed by the cement above him. The whole structure is so unstable that moving it seems really risky and is a one shot attempt. Bruce you can choose to just assess your patient and find a way to get him out or leave him in there. Hulk or no Hulk.

Ward + Darcy :  On your pile you see Darcy and go to her aid despite your own condition. You two are in a very dangerous area. Not only is there a loose big wire blocking the way to get out of there, but there is a leaking pipe (water) nearby as well. Moreso, you are at the western side of the Tunnel , yes the river is behind you but the tunnel is completly shut closed. You have to move east. Help if you want or move along.

note

Second round you guys.  Barney has been jumped, but he can still join the party. As you can see, it’s not a great day to be a victim right now, but we all have faith in you. 

This is going to be a 2 post  round. Everyone will post 2 times before I go ahead and start round 3.  This is to give you the time to find a solution and talk together a little.

You can post in the order you like or keep it the way it is now : Kane, Bruce, Pepper, Ward, Darcy

Now Kane was no super hero. He didn’t have super strength or anything like the Avengers but that thought was the least of his concerns. He needed to get that piece of concrete off him time now so despite the fact he knew he couldn’t move the thing, he tried to push with his free arm. Of course it didn’t budge and all it did was exert more energy than was absolutely necessary, which would be something that would come back to haunt him later. He heard someone tell him to stay where he was (like he could really go anywhere) but he looked up to try and see who it was that was coming to help. Eventually the man came into view and he seemed somewhat familiar but he couldn’t recall the name. Everything was hazy and blurry. “Please tell me you got an idea,” he groaned out. The concrete was already making it hard to breath and trying to talk or even think was getting harder and harder.

There was a vibration above them, people screams echoing in the tunnel and more car alarms going off. Oh, this couldn’t be good. Dust seemed to fall from the ceiling and Kane had to clench his eyes shut, covering his face with his free arm to keep it from falling on him as more of the tunnel collapsed. A sudden increase in weight and pressure came down on top of him, a sudden cry of pain as he felt his chest being crushed. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he muttered in panic as the dust settled, looking up to see that even more had fallen on him. He was completely pinned. Fear coursed through him as he realized what had happened and his breathing intensified but it seemed no matter how much he tried to breath in he couldn’t get the oxygen he needed and the heat was starting to become unbearable. He was completely trapped and was getting crushed to death. Could things get any worse?

Some days, there just weren’t options. Bruce knew the moment he got a good look at the trapped man that he had no choice. He couldn’t walk away - especially not with a scared kid in his arms - and the only way to move that much cement was probably the worst idea he could have for a disaster like this. Waiting for any sort of rescue crews to make it down here was too much of a risk as well, given that they were technically under water and all that water could come flooding in at any moment. If only this had happened a few days ago… Much as he hated his grey alter, Joe retained control after changing. He just had to hope that the Hulk’s instinct to protect scared kids would be enough to keep him from making this situation far, far worse.

Carefully, he sat the girl down on her feet and told her to stay put before ducking down to better assess Kane. It didn’t take long to piece together that Kane wouldn’t be able to just walk away from this - Hell, Bruce wasn’t even sure he’d stay conscious much longer. That was all the more reason Bruce had to do something now. “Alright, listen to me. I need you to stay as calm as you can and keep breathing as steady as possible,” he instructed, his voice taking on a professional command and calm that surprised Bruce himself. “I can get you out of there but I need you to promise me that you’ll do your best to stay awake and-” Then Bruce pointed to the little girl and added, “And try to keep her calm. If she gets scared and runs off, we’re all three going to be in far worse trouble.” Taking a deep breath of his own, Bruce took off his jacket and braced his palms under the cement. “Ready?”

As Pepper saw the family she helped out of the car run to safety, she breathed a sigh of relief. Onto the next batch of victims. “Friday, how’s the structure doing? Will it hold?” She asked, moving in to start clearing some of the debris. Her question was answered by the next batch of rubble collapsing nearby. “Shit. No!” Pepper growled, moving away from the stray pieces of concrete that made it near her. “Friday, assess the new situation…”

A man yelling at her from behind caught Pepper’s attention. Part of her wanted to tell him off for yelling at her, but she thought better of it. Better to keep as much of her anonymity than to put herself in another layer of potential danger. “Friday, my voice is basically unrecognizable through the comm, right?” She asked. After receiving the affirmative from the AI, Pepper moved over towards the fire chief. “What do you need?” She asked. 

The fire chief gave Pepper a quick run through of where they needed the most lifting and attention. She moved fast, and easily through the rubble, carefully having Friday calculate the shifts in the concrete and metal so that she wouldn’t cause more damage to the tunnel or anyone in it. She worked methodically, trying not to let the faces of the injured, or the dead sink too deeply into her memories. There seemed to be too many victims to count, and too many to easily remove from the danger zone. 

Pepper pressed on, knowing that it was more important for her to get through to the other pockets of victims than to stop and carry each of the injured people out. The fire fighters can do that, she kept reminding herself. They couldn’t clear the tunnel in the time she could. Finally, Pepper broke through to a rather large pocket of empty space, reaching another few dozen people trapped there.

He was out of touch with reality for god knows how long. All that happened so quickly and he froze for a bit, a spliting headache pulsing under his skull. He was just trying to get to the other side, and all of a sudden, hell broke loose. But as soon as he was back, he started helping people around, ignoring his own situation. The place looked like a warzone and he didn’t have to be a genius to know that everything could possibly collapse on whoever was under there with him if they moved too fast, not to mention the wreckage had probably caused other threats. Not to say the air was just barely breathable. Circling the perimeter quickly he managed to escape the spot he was at and started searching for other people he might help. He guided a couple to the other side of the tunnel as they were heading further in, apparently completely disoriented -understandable given what just happened- and as he went further in to see if anyone needed help he was yelled at. From what he could see, his wound not helping him focus too much to see from a distance, he recognized the uniform and stepped further to hear him out and caught the red suit in his sight. So Stark was here too, what a fortunate coincidence. The man instructed to follow the squad to find out if there was a way out through the passage that was nearby. “Any chance you got a spare oxygen tank with you ?” he asked since it was already hard to breathe and he gussed it’ll be even more difficult to do so in that cramped space but he was going in anyway. Staying here waiting wasn’t going to change anything and there was still hope they could get out of this if they could find a way out.

He heard the structure groan as everything shifted, more debris falling, wires snapping and hissing as they flung about wildly. This was all a mess. If things got worse before rescue crews could get everyone out, they’d be pulling bodies out of the river for weeks. Sliding down from the pile he’d climbed, he made his way carefully towards the woman he’d seen trapped in her vehicle.