Joyce was standing too close and debris could fall and struck her. When Natalie came to Joyce’s side and met with her reddened eyes, her heart clenched.
However, it wasn’t the time for comforts. She tugged at Joyce’s hand and urged, “Joyce, let’s go first, shall we?”
Joyce whirled her teary face around to look at Natalie. Her voice was filled with grief and indignation as she asked, “Nat, why do you think this happened? Why do we always encounter such matters?”
“I—” Before Natalie could speak, a sudden creak sounded from above them. She raised her head only to see a section of crossbeam from the warehouse splitting in half, falling right in their direction.
“Be careful!” Natalie’s pupils shrank as she shoved Joyce away without hesitation.
Joyce was shoved to the ground with a hiss. Ignoring her scraped arm, she stood up and searched for Natalie. When she saw the falling beam, she screamed, “Nat! Get away from there!”
Natalie wanted to get away too, but she had sprained her ankle when she shoved Joyce away earlier. It was too painful to even move a muscle, much less run. All she could do was watch as the burning beam get nearer and nearer to her—the raging heat and thick smoke approaching to swallow her whole.
Eventually, her eyes could no longer stay open in the suffocating smoke. Her tears fell like leaky tap water as she shut her eyes hopelessly. She was almost certain that was the end of her.
Unexpectedly, she felt a pair of arms circling her waist and took her down on a tumble on the ground. The beam crashed down mere seconds after they rolled away. A few sparks spattered, but the fire didn’t go out and kept burning.
Natalie forced her eyes open when she felt herself being moved out of the way. Her focus wasn’t on the beam but the man who shielded her with his body. She could never have imagined he would appear out of nowhere and save her life.
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