Better on our own - English

Survive

Before the blast slammed the door shut, I saw it pick up Mr. Jones and throw him through the air. I was only dimly aware of the thundering and rumbling, hissing and creaking in the tunnel, as I was frozen in shock, my arms still wrapped around Penny - which was to come in handy now, as she began to shrink in my arms trembling and desperately trying to pull himself away.

"Sam...No...That can't...He can't...No!" she stammered again and again, stunned in her shock, and I put more strength into my arms, which were still wrapped around her. She tried to pull away from me more and more, fighting against me as I instinctively held her tighter. I suspected she wanted to get out of here, but it would undoubtedly kill her as well as him.

"Penny, you can't get out of here now. The fire from the explosion has probably deprived the tunnel of all oxygen. We have to wait..." Susen now turned to Penny, but I could see that she was also in shock deep.

"Sam is out there and needs help. Do you think I'll just stand here and wait?!" my superior hissed angrily and finally tore herself away from me, but Susen stood in her way.

"Penny, he didn't save you so that you would die just 3 minutes after him. Think of Cody," I reminded her as she pushed past Susen and was already putting her hand on the door handle, but luckily stopped. I quickly looked at the display on my compressed air tank. I had at most 10 percent oxygen left. If Penny opened the door now before enough oxygen returned to the tunnel, we would all suffocate before we could even get halfway out. Not to mention having the time to look for Mr. Jones.

"I can't stand in here and twiddle my thumbs when Sam needs our help," Penny replied desperately, not without taking her eyes off the door. I sighed deeply. She was right. Even if all reason suggested that Mr. Jones could have survived, hope always died last, right? But as long as there was a little child waiting out there who needed his mother, I certainly wouldn't let her go out there!

I hadn't imagined this weekend starting like this at all!

"I'm going out! Susen, give me your oxygen bottle. It should be enough to find him and come back here with him," I now took the initiative and Susen looked at me with wide eyes before she started to pull the bottle off, to turn it over and hand it to me along with the mask. At least no smoke had gotten in here yet. Who knew what it looked like in the tunnel and whether Mr. Jones' bottle and mask were still intact? She had thought carefully. "You close the door behind me as soon as I'm out. You have to let as little oxygen escape as possible until I let you know that enough has flowed in again through the tunnel openings and ventilation shafts," I then noticed and the two women nodded seriously, while Penny also took off her mask and turned off the oxygen supply.

"How are you going to find out?" Susen then asked me as I stood next to the door, ready to go out.

"Let's see!" I replied seriously so as not to worry them both. I really had no idea. I would have to think of something when I had found Mr. Jones and saw what was wrong with him. Penny mouthed a silent thank you, which I responded with a nod. "So, let me go!"

Penny opened the door and I ran outside, relieved to hear the door slam shut behind me immediately. The tunnel was still full of smoke, but even now it was hanging more towards the ceiling than at my level, so I could see quite well, especially thanks to the cars that were already burning here and there and dived the tunnel in dim light. The whole tunnel was pure chaos. Hardly any of the cars were still standing on their four wheels and I swallowed hard. Such images were only seen in action or disaster films when the world threatened to end. The tunnel would certainly be closed for weeks, if not months, until all damage had been repaired and the structural integrity had been checked.

I fought my way through the wreckage of two cars and walked quickly in the direction where Mr. Jones had been sent by the explosion. How far could it have thrown him?