“I don’t…” she whispered, her voice trembling.
Lena’s eyes fluttered, barely conscious. “What…?”
“I don’t remember,” she said, the words tasting strange and unreal. “I—my name—I don’t—”
The fire crackled louder, snapping her back to the moment.
It didn’t matter.
Not right now.
Names could wait.
Survival couldn’t.
She swallowed hard, forcing the panic down.
“Okay,” she said, more firmly this time. “Doesn’t matter. We’ll figure it out later.”
She placed her hands on the debris pinning Lena.
“On three, okay?” she said. “I’m going to try to lift this. You need to pull your arm out as soon as you can.”
Lena gave the faintest nod.
“One… two… three!”
She heaved.
The metal groaned, shifting slightly—but not enough.
“Again,” she gasped. “We try again.”
They did.
And again.
Each attempt drained more of her strength, each failure tightening the knot of fear in her chest.
The smoke was closer now.
Thicker.
Time was running out.
“Come on,” she whispered, desperation creeping into her voice. “Come on…”
She repositioned herself, bracing her feet against a piece of wreckage for leverage. Pain shot up her legs, but she ignored it.
“One more time,” she said. “One more time, okay?”
Lena didn’t respond.
Her eyes had drifted closed.
“No, no—hey!” she said quickly, tapping her cheek. “Stay with me. Lena—stay with me!”
The woman’s eyes fluttered open again, barely.
“Good,” she said, relief flooding her. “Good. Okay. On three.”
She tightened her grip.
“One… two… three!”
She pushed with everything she had left.
For a moment, nothing happened.
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