The Celestial Gate by Avital Dicker (red white royal blue txt) 📗

There were hardly any matches left in the box. She decided it was best to leave the rest for future use, when they might need them. Anise crawled toward Yam in the dark, telling herself over and over that he was going to be fine, he had to be fine. In the dark, she stumbled across his arm, and he screamed in agony.

Despite her reservations, she lit another match. It was a good thing no rock had landed on his upper body. All his ribs would have been cracked, she thought, trying to look at the bright side. But, until she succeeded in moving the concrete off his body, she wouldn’t be able to assess his injury. The match in her hand went out and anxiety gripped her by the throat. She was alone now. Everything depended on her.

“There’s a flashlight in my bag,” Yam whispered.

Tears trickled down Anise’s cheeks, but she took a deep breath, wiped her face with the back of her hand, and lit another precious match. Other than rocks, chunks of concrete, and some tree branches, she saw nothing. Yam’s bag must have gone flying when he fell.

Anise forced herself to concentrate. Branches, she thought, there are branches here. She lit yet another match and tried to burn the wood, but it was too damp. Further attempts failed too.

Now there were only three matches left in the box, and Anise was determined to save them for later. She took out her water bottle and trickled a few drops into Yam’s mouth.

“Find the bag,” he whispered.

“I’m not leaving you,” she answered.

“You have to,” he urged her. “We need the flashlight. We can’t do a thing in the dark and, as you can see, I’m not going anywhere.” Yam tried to laugh, but it hurt too much.

Anise looked at the grimace of pain that passed over his beautiful face and her heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, without thinking, she leaned over and placed her lips on his. For a moment, all else disappeared. Nothing existed except for the sweet softness of his mouth. An intoxicating tremor of pleasure ran down her spine; the smell of his body made her giddy. It took an effort of will to break contact, but she finally did so and, without looking back, started searching. She had to help him, she had to find a way to get him out of there.

Nothing was visible in the dark and Anise soon lost sense of time. She took one of the last three matches and lit it. The tiny flame flickered over Mor’s closed eyes. He was just inches away from her, sprawled on the ground looking lifeless. She fell to the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks as she embraced the still body. I don’t know how to live without him, she thought. “Hey, you’re strangling me,” she suddenly heard. For a second, Anise was sure she was imagining things. But Mor was now rubbing the bump left by the rock that had knocked him out. “What happened? It feels like a boulder hit my head.”

“A boulder did hit your head,” Anise laughed in relief. “The tunnel collapsed and some of the ceiling fell in.”

“Shitty workmanship there.” Mor shook some gravel off his shirt. “Where’s Yam?” he asked.

“He’s pinned down by a large hunk of concrete, and I can’t move it by myself without injuring him more,” Anise said.

“I have a flashlight,” Mor said. Anise hugged him tightly.

“Let’s go,” mumbled Mor, embarrassed by her touch.

Mor took out the new cellphone they had both received as a present not that long ago and turned on the flashlight app. Anise looked at him with surprise. How had she not thought of that herself? The new phones were waterproof. By the phone’s light, they could finally see the damage to the tunnel. Large portions had collapsed, the concrete walls were crumbling, and large rocks blocked almost the entire exit.

Yam’s backpack had landed next to a rock not far from Anise and Mor. Anise picked it up while Mor collected some sticks. After a few attempts, they managed to light a fire.

Anise and Mor crouched down on either side of Yam. Mor grabbed the concrete. “Ready?” he asked. Anise nodded yes. Holding tight, they tried to lift it, but Yam screamed and they immediately stopped.

“He’s passed out,” Anise whispered, and leaned over to wake him. Mor stopped her. “It’s better this way,” he said.

They gave it another go. Anise’s muscles burned with the effort while Mor’s forehead beaded with sweat. This time, their straining paid off and Yam’s lower body was once again free.

Anise looked at Yam’s prone body. “I think his shoulder is dislocated,” she whispered.

“Do you know how to pop it back into place?” Mor asked.

“Not really. I’ve seen the doctor do it, but I’ve never tried it myself.”

“Anise, you can do it,” said Mor with all the assurance he could muster.

Anise knew there was no room for error. One wrong move could cause Yam irreversible damage. She took a deep breath and concentrated. The world around her shrank back into nothing. Calmly, she took hold of Yam’s arm and, with a sharp twist, pulled with all her might.

Yam came around with a scream, but his shoulder was back where it belonged.

“I’m alive,” Yam whispered.

“And trapped in a nightmare,” Anise giggled, proud of herself. “But, yeah, alive.”

“You’re going to make an amazing doctor,” Mor concluded.

Chapter 9

After regaining consciousness, the first thing Theo saw was Sual; her head was bandaged and her right arm was in a sling. It took him a few seconds to realize he was in the hospital.

Sual dipped the edge of a towel in cool water and wiped his forehead. He tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down. “You were very lucky,” she said. “The bullet didn’t hit any major organs, but you’re absolutely not allowed to move.” Sual added that, fortunately for her, she’d been in the storage area at the moment of the attack and, other than