Janet didn’t know what had happened. She was so engrossed in the movie that she didn’t notice when
the ceiling started to shake. The next thing she knew, she was lying flat on the floor of the aisle
underneath Ethan as the ceiling collapsed.
To her horror, something heavy fell on Ethan and she heard a loud noise. Then it was pure chaos. The
room fell into darkness. She could hear people’s screams and cries for help and Ethan’s heavy
breathing.
“Ethan, are you hurt?” she asked urgently.
A faint smell of blood wafted in the air. Janet had no idea if it was Ethan’s or someone else’s. Having
been hit just now, Et han had rolled down the stairs. Janet’s voice trembled as she fumbled for Ethan in
the darkness.
“Ethan?” She knew that he must’ve gotten hurt. She could hear his low, pained moans in the darkness.
However, after a few deep breaths, it became deathly silent. Janet couldn’t hear anything from the
direction where Ethan was. Janet wanted to rush to his side, but a ceiling frame had inadvertently
caged her. When she tried to stand up, her head hit the slate, causing a flurry of concrete powder to fall
all over Janet’s face.
“Ahem!” She inhaled the powder and couldn’t stop coughing.
It was pitch black and she could barely see her hand in front of her. As she tried to get a feel for her
surroundings, Janet concluded that the collapsed ceiling had fallen on top of the rows of seats, trapping
them inside the aisle.
“Hello? Is anyone else there?” She shouted at the top of her lungs. Although there weren’t many other
people watching this movie, she recalled at least a dozen other movie-goers in the cinema. But now, it
was eerily quiet.
The cries for help just now had stopped. Perhaps the fallen ceiling had knocked them out. Without
thinking too much, Janet continued to crawl ahead.
“Ouch!” Pain shot up from her knees. Janet winced and fumbled forward, trying to navigate with her
palms. Finally, she touched something that felt like knitted fabric. It had to be the dark blue sweater that
Ethan wore today.
“Ethan! Ethan, can you hear me?” Janet tapped him, but she received no response. He must have
passed out.
The smell of blood in the air was more intense now that she was near Ethan. When she reached out to
touch his arm, her fingers sank into something sticky and warm. Her mind went blank. Suddenly, panic
seized her. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. Then she placed her hand under
Ethan’s nose to see if he was still breathing.
After a few seconds, she sighed in relief. She could still feel a faint breath coming from his nose. Next,
Janet pressed her ear against Ethan’s chest. She could hear his heart beating.
He was alive! Gritting her teeth, Janet hastily wiped the blood on her knees with her hands. Then she
retraced her steps back to her seat, hoping to find her phone and bag in the rubble.
When the ceiling collapsed just now, the chandelier had fallen along with it. Consequently, the floor
was covered in broken glass. Janet tried her best to avoid them.
Now she only hoped her phone wasn’t smashed to bits. She had been texting Johanna throughout the
movie, so her phone wasn’t inside her bag. Janet managed to make it back to her seat.
She fumbled around in the darkness, searching for her phone. Finally, she found it under a pile of dust.
The screen had been cracked, but the phone itself was still functioning. She immediately dialed 911.
“I’m in Sherwood Cinema and the ceiling has just collapsed. Please, we need your help.”
After giving the 911 operator all the details, she called the hospital. Then, all she could do was wait.
Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. Suddenly, she heard the sound of falling stones.
“Help! Is there anyone here?” she shouted desperately. Although there was no response, soon she
heard noises from outside. It sounded like somebody was trying to dig a hole into the fallen ceiling.
Finally! They were going to be saved! Janet was optimistic. She never even considered that digging
through the rubble would take a lot of time. Moreover, this was the biggest cinema in Seacisco. She
waited anxiously. Several hours passed. The sound of digging outside continued, but she could tell that
it was still far away from where she was.
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