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.