Chapter 6 - The Weight of Steel
""Thomas!"" Lucas yelled, spinning around in the waist-deep water.
The emergency lights flickered, casting eerie yellow reflections over the churned brown water. Thomas was submerged to his chest, gasping for air, his hands clawing at the massive steel frame pinning his lower thighs against the concrete floor. The water level in the kennel bay was rising an inch every two minutes as the storm drain outside acted as an open funnel.
""Go!"" Thomas sputtered, spitting foul water. ""The frame is bent... it’s jammed under the water pipe! Get the dog out!""
Inside Lucas’s jacket, Pip scrambled frantically, poking his small fawn head out and letting out sharp, piercing yelps toward Thomas. The puppy knew him. Whatever their history, there was a bond between the dog and this broken old man.
""Shut up and grab the crossbar!"" Lucas barked, wading back into the deep surge.
The cold water hit Lucas’s ribs, knocking the breath from his lungs. He wedged his boots against the base of a concrete kennel partition and gripped the twisted iron shelf. ""On three! Push upward! One... two... three!""
Veins bulged in Lucas’s neck as he heaved. The weight was crushing; hundreds of pounds of saturated kibble pressed down on the frame like wet concrete. Thomas pushed with bloody palms, groaning through clenched teeth, but the metal barely shifted half an inch.
""It's hooked on the intake valve!"" Clara’s voice shouted from the doorway. She threw herself into the water beside Lucas, grabbing the middle rung. ""Deputy Miller is on the radio with the fire rescue boat, but they’re diverted to a bridge collapse! We have five minutes before this room fills to the ceiling!""
""Again!"" Lucas roared. ""Lift!""
Together, they strained against the dead weight. Pip barked incessantly from Lucas’s chest, his tiny body trembling like a live wire. With a sickening screech of tearing bolts, the shelving unit budged upward three inches—just enough for Thomas to drag his bruised legs out from the trap.
Thomas collapsed forward into the water, and Lucas hauled him upright by his jacket collar. Together, dragging the older man between them, Lucas and Clara fought their way up the four steps and slammed the heavy fire door shut behind them, dropping the heavy manual locking bar into place.
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They collapsed on the dry floor of the adoption hall, chest-heaving, surrounded by twenty frightened dogs secured to chair legs and radiator pipes.
Thomas lay on his back, coughing up water, his eyes fixed on Lucas. ""Your sister... she didn't leave Chicago because of you, Lucas. She left because of me.""
