By ty dehner
The sweat was pouring from under my helmet washing away pieces of the dirt and grit from my face. Every muscle in my body ached, but I couldn’t give up now. Everyone had one goal in mind right now. This work, nearly 48 hours straight of it, was taking our minds off the bigger picture. I hadn’t been out of my fireman coat since the call came in, it weighs a ton on me right now, but it protected me from the small falling pieces of concrete and glass. I don’t know how all this finally happened and it is beyond any of our imaginations that we are searching and digging in such desperation, but we are not giving up, we can’t. We are firemen and dedicated to our fellow firemen and first responders.
As I wiped the sweat away from my eyes, I’m sure the grit smeared across my face. But there is so many layers of it what does it matter. The sun was setting on the second day since something happened that would forever change me. I was so focused on my digging that I didn’t feel the Captain grab my shoulder at first. He yelled at me over the machinery that motored on everywhere around us. He finally got my attention and told me it was time for me to head home and get rest. I shook him off, but he ordered me to get my ass out of there and home. He knew I wanted to stay, but also knew that I needed the rest.
Owen was bored with his office job at a large design firm. He piddled about, unsatisfied that a newly earned college degree from an Ivy league school wasn’t bearing fruit. Perhaps majoring in Art History was a bad idea. As he came to and from the elevators to work every day, he paid little mind to the chaos in the lobby. A large suite on the first floor adjacent to the lobby was under heavy construction. Noise, dust, and a flurry of dirty laborers going in and out of a large plastic tarp draped over the entrance to the area.
