My Ex's Stepsister

5

When Bo stepped out of the room, Echo quickly followed behind, still awkwardly trying to stop her. As she reached closer to Bo, Echo found her staring at the catastrophe that was displayed in front of them with a flash of something in her eyes that Echo couldn’t understand.

Echo wondered if it was fear, hopelessness or something worse. There was no doubt a person would be scared for his life when he realized that not just the flight of stairs but also the entire floor was torn down. The few things that remained were the broken glass door, a damaged trailer, a broken and tilted floor, loose wires and water that had seeped in from all corners, its level was now rising quicker than the sand slipping in an hourglass.

It felt like they could hear the sound of a ticking clock right behind their ears from where they stood. Their situation was worsoning by the seconds that passed.

Bo turned to look at Echo and anxiously asked, “What happened here?" She was so bewildered by the scene that was in front of her eyes, that she urgently needed an answer. The sight would seem unbelievable to her ears, if she would not have seen it with her own eyes.

Echo sheepishly smiled and raised her hands, “I did nothing.” She kidded. But Bo’ expression only turned grave.

Echo realized that jokes weren’t going to work on Bo, she perhaps was the serious type. Furthermore, Bo is dedicated to her work and, given the scenario, she must feel responsible for those people whom she had convinced to stay behind and assured them that she and her colleagues would take care of everything.

The first sentence that instictively left Echo’s mouth was, “Nobody was hurt, I can assure you that much.” Although it was not the whole truth. However, those words actually worked, because Bo’ body visibly relaxed at that moment.

Echo cleared her throat, “I believe Carl is your boss, right?” Bo nodded, “Yes. What about him?”

Echo shook her head and clicked her tongue, “I mean.. your boss had called for help, the rescue team were on their way, and they had sent this trailer to lead us out of here. But then, the water- I-I mean a huge stormy wave tossed the trailer around with it and the vehicle came colliding with the building before it crashed down the floors below.”

Bo still kept staring at her, expressionless, so Echo asked, “What?” Bo shrugged her shoulders and replied, “And?”

Echo was worried as to what else Bo wanted to know, but she still tried to keep things relaxed. “And, nothing. As I said, nobody was hurt. But we have to be more careful, because we are missing a floor and we don’t know when the rescuers will arrive. And, in case you haven't noticed, we need to climb up the water level before we drown.”

Bo wasn't dumb, nor was she blind. She had already noticed a few people who were injured and some were soaked in water. That only means, there was more than what meets the eye. But right now, something else was bothering her mind. Bo took a deep breath and slightly snarled, “Fine.” She sighed and took out her phone.

Bo suddenly remembered, before she had lost consciousness, she was talking to Ricky over the phone and even after a few hours had passed, he had not yet called back. Bo called his number once, and it went unanswered. She redialled it again, but received no answer.

Bo assumed that Ricky was not anywhere near his phone, but would call her back as soon as he noticed the missed calls. Yet, she kept praying that nothing had gone wrong with Ricky on his way back. Given her situation, not knowing how Ricky was doing was making her feel nervous.

Apart from knowing how Ricky was doing, Bo kept thinking to herself about how long was she lying there unconcious before Echo foind her. Was she back from dead, because how was it possible that she hadn't even felt a thing when so many disturbance was happening around her? She should have felt the tremors or the noise of people yelling and crying. But, she felt nothing, remembered nothing.

Bo drew in a deep breath. She could not stop herself from calling his number one more time, and thankfully this time it was answered. “Hello!! Ricky?” she spoke softly. Her voice was mixed with desperation and relief. However, there was no response from the other side. She licked her lips that were drying up constantly and took a deep breath, trying to listen to any sound she could make out in the background.

“Ricky?” she called his name again. Then she heard his voice, a whisper.. a sobbing whisper. Bo felt as if her heart had stopped beating. Her breath got caught in her throat. Dread was slowly coursing through her veins.

Ricky’s voice quavered when he said, “Ronan didn’t make it back, Bo. And I don’t know if he is alright anymore. I-I mean..” he paused, probably to catch his breath from talking so hurriedly. “He- He was right there.. in front of me—at one point and the very next, he was gone. We had informed the search and rescue unit and for an hour and half we scoured through the area, but there was no trace of him.” He silently sobbed.

Bo felt like her knees were getting weak, and she was unable to stand. She took support of the wall nearby and then rested her back on it.

“Bo..” Ricky softly called her name. “..can you promise me that you'll be safe? Listen to me, Bo. We are on our way back, OK. Wait for me, I will come and get you.” This time his pleading voice sounded over the phone. Bo could very well understand that Ricky didn’t want to lose her. But then again, her situation was not getting any better here. Though, Ricky didn’t need to know that.

“Rick.. Can you please stay right where you are and take shelter somewhere? Please, I insist.” She calmly pleaded. But only Bo knew the volcano of various emotions that was boiling inside her was about to burst. "I want you to stay safe.. for me. Also, if you want to find Ronan, you have to stay as calm as possible. You will, right?"

If Ricky was afraid of losing her, Bo also feared she might not see him again. If the rescue does not arrive on time, they will be stuck here for long enough until there is no hope left. She still couldn't believe how this happened. In the morning when she had left her apartment, it was blindingly bright outside with a little puff od clouds her and there, of course. But now the shadow of darkness wouldn't leave them alone.

If the water level keeps increasing at this speed, there will be no way out for them and she didn't want to die sitting there. And just in case she had to die tonight, Bo would want Ricky to be safe out there. He was already so worried about his best friend, Bo cannot make him worry about her as well.

Bo swallowed the painful lump in her throat, so Ricky could not detect from her voice that her situation was looking dreadful and slid down the wall. Her bandage was soaked in water, but she didn't care anymore. “I promise you to take care of myself. Can you promise me too? Until I don’t have myself taken out of here, and it is safe out there, you would stay somewhere safe, please?” she added.

Her sweet voice forced Ricky to smile. He found it adorable when Bo worried about him. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be there as soon as all this is over. I promise.” Bo chuckled and replied, “I hope it’s a pinky promise.”

After the call was disconnected, Ricky was relieved to know that Bo was still safe and sound. Even if it takes time, Bo will return to him soon. But, on the other end, Bo hid her face in between her legs and wrapped her arms around herself. She murmured to herself, “Sorry that I lied to you. But I can’t tell you what was happening here and make you worry. I will pray that Ronan is safe somewhere and you will find him soon. But I don't know if we would meet again.” She silently shed tears.

Then, she wiped her tears and dialled a number. Bo got up from that corner near the wall and walked towards the fence where Echo still stood. The wound on her thigh was bothering her, but the bandage was still securely wrapped around it, so Bo didn’t have to worry about it much. Not that she cared about her wound or the bandage anyway. Death was hovering over her and in any given instance, it may wrap her in her arms and fly away with her soul.

The phone number Bo was trying to call belonged to Boston and it was unreachable, so she tried calling her boss, Carl Son. All the while she looked pale as a white sheet. And when the second number went unreachable as well, she cussed out loud and paced back and forth. Fear was now very evident in her body, and she was unable to relax.

Echo couldn’t help but ask, “Who are you trying to call?” She received no answer from Bo, so she asked once again. “Are you alright? Who are you trying to call?”

“Why do you care?” Bo yelled at her. “You won’t stop lying to me, then why do you care?” Echo was trying to understand what Bo meant by what she said. When she couldn’t find the answer on her own, she calmly asked, “Wh-what do you mean?”

“Where is Boston? Or Carl? You said Boston came into that room with you, then why is he not anywhere on this floor? Why aren’t both of them here? Even their phones are not reachable. Can you answer the question without uttering a single word that is not a lie?" Bo yelled at Echo. But Echo searched her face for a brief moment, as mutiple thoughts course through her.

"Oh! So you planning to lie to me again?” Bo scoffed, “Tell me, what do you think of yourself, miss? What game are you trying to play?”

“Excuse Me?” Echo grimaced at her accusations. “I’m not lying or playing any games with you here.” She scoffed, “And I don’t think highly of myself, if that’s what you are implying. In fact, you are one who must be overthinking things.”

Echo threw her hands in the air, “And I don’t f*****g know where Carl or Boston is. OK.” She gritted her teeth. “Alright, you want to know what happened? Here’s what happened. When we received the news that this trailer was on the way to rescue us, Boston and I went in there looking for you. Since you were unconscious, Boston requested me to stay with you. Soon after he left, I heard a loud crashing sound and I rushed outside, only to see this happen. That’s the truth.”

“Then where the hell are Boston and Carl?” Bo sounded utterly disturbed and frustrated. “Why aren’t they answering their phones?” she yelled. Echo shushed her, “Will you lower your voice, please? These people don’t need to know you have lost your mind.” Echo taunted. "And just as I said, I was inside the bloody room, with you, when that thing hit us. I simply don't know where either of them went. Believe me or not."

Bo huffed, “You’re damn right. I have lost my mind. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go look for my friend and boss.” Having said that, Bo walked away without looking back at Echo, who stood stunned with the sudden change in Bo’s attitude.

“Wait!!” Echo called out to her. “I’m coming with you. God knows what a person who is not in her sane mind would do.” Bo decided to ignore Echo, as she was in no mood to talk to anyone. She needed to get out of there. It wasn’t safe in here anymore. For her or for anyone, as a matter of fact. Frankly, she was afraid she would end up going missing, like Ronan, or drown in the water and that is exactly what she didn’t want.

Just as Echo had expected, Bo was truly not in her right mind and was capable of doing something wrong that would lead to consequences. Perhaps she was really worried about both Boston and Carl, which is why she was not the same girl Echo had interacted with earlier. Smart, quick thinker, calm and composed. Good at her work, and knows what is expected from her.

Echo met a few of other staff members of the departmental store and inquired if they had seen Boston or Carl, while Bo aimlessly wandered around. Echo called out their names, in case they responded, whereas Bo looked disoriented. All of a sudden, she heard Echo’s voice boom, “What are you doing?” and was pulled back.

Echo was screaming out Boston’s name, when she noticed that Bo was about to step into the water. She yelled at Bo and pulled her, only to be slapped by Bo.

“What do YOU think you are doing?” Bo snapped at her with gritted teeth.

Echo huffed furiously, “What the hell is wrong with you?" she shook Bo by her shoulders, "Can’t you see the live-wires out there? The bloody sparks coming out of those things? Why are you so lost that you don't even notice things that are so visibly in front of you? And you were about to step into this side of the water where you could have even ended up losing your life?”

Echo grabbed Bo by her forearms and growled, “I am so sure you are suicidal. Those wounds are nothing but your attempt to kill yourself. And that is exactly what you are doing right now. Deliberately stepping into the water, so you get electrocuted and die. Isn’t it?”

Bo yanked her arms out of Echo’s grip and let out a grunt. But, before she could say something, Echo held one of her hands over Bo’s mouth to cover it and the index finger of the other hand was on her lips.

As they listened carefully, they heard a faint sound calling Bo’s name. They walked towards the direction from where the voice came from. It was the opposite side of the trailer, and the voice belonged to Carl. Echo saw a hand waving at them and Bo immediately recognized him.

Echo sprinted into action and Bo fetched a rope. Carl and Boston were drowning in the water and the current in it was pulling them out of the boundary of the store. Echo tied a knot to the rope and then secured it around the edge of the fence. A second knot was tied around her waist as she carefully walked on the sides to go towards them.

Bo was holding onto the rope at the other end, just in case they needed to be pulled out. She even called out to her co-workers to get their help. Just as Echo was nearing where Carl was, holding on to something, she couldn’t see properly, a huge wave enveloped all of them in its arms.

Echo jumped into the water, sinking deep in. But so did Boston and Carl. Bo and the others on the second floor, took cover but could barely be saved. Echo struggled to get out of the water. She gasped as she reached above the water level, then sunk again. She once again forced herself out of the water and gasped for air.

After taking a few deep breaths, Echo looked around for Boston and Carl, calling out their names over and over again. Then she heard Bo call out to her. “There.. I can see a hand.” Echo looked towards the direction Bo was pointing at and swam towards the hand that she could see.

But, to her disappointment, it turned out to be a dislocated hand... of a mannequin.