Chapter 2:

Waking up Shane felt bolts of pain tear through his body. Going through a brief period of panic he was able to quickly calm himself down and assess the situation.

First, he tried feeling his appendages, which thankfully seemed to work although the pain was glaring, but the fact he could still feel his arms and legs meant he wasn't paralyzed. However, as he attempted to move, he found all his limbs firmly bound to the floor and searing pain shoot from his lower body. His legs were definitely injured, maybe even broken.

To add to the issues the space was too tight to breath. He could only move his head slightly. The previous residents of the stalls were vegetables and unfortunately now they were taking all the place in the already cramped area. Moving his head to free a small gap he was able to get a subtle supply of air. It was difficult as the compression on his chest added with the small area made breathing a torturous task.

The only good news was that light was visible from sparse cracks far from reach, comforting in their dim glow and helping him keep his rationality. Shane tried to shout for help but he was unable to produce enough noise, only gruff grunts escaped his torn lips.

Thinking over the situation he was able to find solace in saving the kid. Although the action was spontaneous, he even questioned as to why he did this. He was no saint after all and valued his own life far more than others. He would gladly risk himself for family but never for strangers. It seemed his body made a judgement call in the spur of the moment which he already began to regret.

Trying to alleviate himself from bad thought he tried refocusing his mind. Although the current situation was bleak to say the least, a rescue party could still be sent as it was day time and he had confidence he could survive a bit longer.

Thankfully his sturdy body conditioned under frequent training and exercise was able to hold under the stress. When he stood, he was 6feet tall, not ginormous but good enough for him.

With strong muscles visible even under his clothing. Shane loved exercise and sports, especially combat sports. He watched everything from Boxing to MMA which spurred him to try and train like his idols. Muhmmad Alis speed and charisma, Mike Tyson vicious power, George Sr piers dominance and Anderson Silvas stylistic expertise.

These were only a few of the greats as the list could easily go on. Shane picked up boxing at 12 years old alongside high school as a way to relieve stress and condition himself before going on to kickboxing. His main love for stand-up fighting came from a quote he once heard, 100% of all fights start standing up. Bullying also played a part but which geeky kid wasn't bullied in this day and age. Shane often competed alongside his studies. His love didn't translate to dominance in the sports as he was defiantly above average but lacked the killer edge to really become great. This also led him to read martial arts novel to immerse himself in imaginary worlds. Although the martial arts in the novel were definitely not practical and any experienced or knowledgeable person in combat could easily find faults, it didn't change the entertainment and enjoyment from reading them, and above all he loved Dragons. Huge scaly creatures that could easily rip through the sky with there sheer dominance and might. An apex predator no matter which form or shape and in most successfully fantasy books. There was obviously a reason so many people loved dragons.

Unfortunately, Shane was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts by a searing pain and lack of air. Shane closed his eyes trying his best to remain calm. Unfortunately, against his best efforts to retain rationality the cramped space added with the pungent smell and gooey substance running from his limbs, which he could only think of as blood, he began to hyperventilate.

No matter how strong a person believes they are mentally, if not conditioned to such dreadful circumstance they can easily break down mentally. His mind kicked into fight or flight response pumping adrenaline into his blood stream as he began to lose control over his thoughts. His body convulsed as this was a life-or-death moment trying to free himself, he pushed and shoved the surrounding rubble further injuring his already battered body till he lost consciousness again.

Shane woke up surrounded by darkness. A chill swept through his body as he could feel the cold concrete ground beneath him. Disorientated as he could see nothing but black, he tried to move only to realize he was stuck. The memories came pouring in and he remembered he was still stuck under the wall. As the realization dawned that he had not been saved he began to feel fear. A deep fear almost primal rampaged his mind. He was alone, cold, hungry and above all in pain.

So much pain.

The wind howled through the cracks seeming to curse him to be bound here forever. He tried to keep calm. He stayed awake in the darkness not knowing if it had been minutes or hours and as time passed the fear only became stronger. The fear of death took over his mind entrapping him in a downwards spiral of negative emotion.

To tackle the fear, he turned to belief. He prayed harder than he ever had for God to save him. After what seemed an eternity of praying, he tried praying to anything that would listen. He promised to become a better human, to help everyone he could if he could just survive. If anything would save him, he would worship it. The cold licked his open wounds as the dust and dirt filled his lungs. His eyes bloodshot as he tried to stay awake. The fear of dying in his sleep forced him to stay awake.

Not knowing how long it had been, but soft embers began to bleed into the rubble. It seemed a new day had come and to welcome the new day the pain became worse. Shanes body convulsed from time to time refusing to die out. Holding to the belief the light brought he strained his eyes to stay open.

Thus, began a tortuous wait for yet another day to pass. As the light began to recede, vanishing cruelly after instilling belief, the darkness began to resettle. The darkness came with fear. The fear of death blossomed within his very soul and he tried praying to even the devils. He just wanted to be out of here, he would do anything to be out of here. Why did he save the kid, he should have left him and he would never had to suffer?

Why did he not move when the wall fell, why, why, why?

He began to question everything; the fear turning into disgust and hate to save another life. He should have let the boy die, was any of this worth it. The hunger, the pain, the scorched throat through lack of water and countless injuries broke his mind.

Minutes passed by as hours came, hours turned to days. Only a grim chuckle as if devoid of being or soul escaped the cracks within the debris periodically. A face covered with snot and blood; lips torn on both sides showing the broken gums beneath. The chuckle seemed to curse the world. The spite it held unimaginable in depth. After a while there was only silence. Silence and a mangled corpse under the rubble.

Bones broken and displaced, teeth littering the blood-stricken floor. In his final attempts of salvation he twisted and turned, tearing ligaments and flesh, clawing with his teeth until his body finally gave out.