MARIEL

28~ Tira ~

"Will she be okay?"

The flashing lights seemingly stretched across the city. Several blocks from the courtyard, Esther stood at the incident command post. The little girl sat on her hip, and she was getting heavy, but neither were prepared to let each other go just yet.

"She'll be safe." The female paramedic reached out blue gloved hands and smiled.

Becoming steadily aware of the impending soreness and throbbing headache, Esther placed the girl on the ground and knelt. For the first time, she had a moment to look into the brown eyes before her. Rain dribbled over the little girl's cheeks, and it looked like tears. How old was she? Five? Six? Too young to experience this.

"They're going to help you find your family." Esther rested a palm against the girl's cheek. Her thumb traced rain from her skin. She didn't feel like she was telling the truth. It hurt. Everything hurt.

"Come on, honey, let's get you somewhere warm." The paramedic reached for her.

Wildly, the girl shook her head and darted away from the paramedic's hand. With a frantic look, she spoke in Arabic to Esther, urgently, crying. She looked terrified.

"I'm sorry," Esther whispered, and reached for her again. What else could she say? She didn't know Arabic. She couldn't offer words of comfort if the girl didn't understand her. Even if she did, what could possibly provide comfort after the events that had happened?

"We need to get her out of the elements, ma'am. Do you need assistance? You look pale." The paramedic sounded more agitated than concerned. It made sense. There'd been a terrorist attack. There were far higher emergency tasks for this woman to deal with, and Esther was wasting her time.

"I'm fine," Esther said, hoarsely. She hugged the girl one last time and sat back on her heels. Firmly, she squeezed the girl's enclosed fist where she held the dancing pendant necklace. "It's yours. Take care of it. Okay?"

Esther stood up, stumbled a little, and then regained her balance. "Closest roadway back to the main road? I'm supposed to meet an officer to give my information for a statement."

The paramedic wasn't even listening. She'd picked the girl up already, hastening towards the ambulance.

Alone, Esther stood in the bustling crowd of the injured, the displaced, and first response. Her new phone was gone. Lost. Her head pounded with increasing pressure. She wanted to ask for help. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to go home and pretend none of this had happened.

Taking a wavering breath, Esther started walking. The subway was likely chaotic. No, probably shut down given the gravity of the situation. Even if it wasn't, she had no desire to trap herself in a moving target. If she couldn't find the officer, a gas station wouldn't be too far from here. There'd be a phone. Her grandmother, hopefully, would still be at the bookstore.

Fuck. She needed to tell her family she was safe, and that Hawk was safe. The only reason she knew that was because Carter, before other first responders arrived at his side, confirmed it.

"He's in a secure area with Mr. Spears," Carter had said, before other firefighters and paramedics swarmed for him. As soon as Esther verified with first responders that she wasn't injured, she no longer existed in the aftermath.

Esther rubbed her head and pushed past lingering people. A large paramedic, shouting something at a colleague, bumped into her and nearly knocked her down. He kept going. So did she.

She needed to leave the crowd. The area. The city.

Her body, bruised and worn, kept moving despite its cry to stop. Her left hamstring tightened and pulsed, threatening to cramp, and it hurt with each step she took.