Page 53 of Still Afraid

Her phone was not currently pinging her whereabouts, but the last known location was her driveway, twenty minutes ago.

His knees gave out on him. She’d been here?

Gabe caught his elbow. “She’s a smart, resourceful woman. We’ll find her.” His voice shook, giving away his fear.

Troy stopped them both. “Let’s pray. God, please be with my little girl. I ask that You kept her safe through the storm. And help us to find her quickly. In Jesus’ powerful name, Amen.”

Josh took a breath. “All right, Poirot. Let’s find Chloe. Search.”

The dog barked and pulled toward where the house had once been.

Chloe, where are you? Please, Lord, let her be okay.

The dust around her was settling, and little bits of light slipped through here and there above Chloe. How was there light coming through the floor above her?

At least the rain seemed to have died down and wasn’t filling the crawlspace. If the storm had let up, she needed to see if she could get out.

She crawled to the door. It had been blown off, but the entire doorway was blocked. What was blocking it? Hopefully, it would be easy to move.

With her hands, she found the door frame and then the item blocking her exit.

It was rough and … huge. She pushed on it, but it wouldn’t budge.

She picked at the rough surface. Was it bark? A tree? Definitely a tree.

At least the frame of the foundation had held and the giant tree hadn’t crashed in on her.

She couldn’t push it with her upper body, but her legs were stronger. Turning, she positioned herself with her feet against the trunk and pushed.

Nothing.

Wait, was this the big oak between her house and her neighbor’s?

If so, there was no hope of moving it. It would be way too big and heavy and need to be moved by heavy machinery or cut up with chainsaws.

But no one knew she was down here, and she had no way of letting anyone know.

She hugged her knees close. How was she going to be found? It could take days for people to search the area. Would she be heard?

Perhaps she could find the spots where a little light slipped through and break it open further.

She crawled over to the spot where the most light was coming from. But there was nothing she could do. Maybe if she had a hammer or a crowbar. Yet nothing like that was down here.

When she’d had the crawlspace encapsulated, they’d found a few random old tools left under the older house, but they’d taken them out and without leaving anything behind.

It was pointless. She’d have to sit down here and hope someone found her before she had a panic attack or starved.

She tried to get comfortable and quoted Psalm twenty-three. God was with her, right? Even if she died down here, He’d be with her. Please help me be found quickly.

Maybe Josh would bring Poirot. Hope sparked. That’s if they were still all right … Don’t think about that. If they were safe—Please let them be safe—Poirot could find her.

Josh fought off the despair that wanted to take over as he looked at the complete destruction before him. He still shook as he stared at where Chloe’s house had been only an hour ago. If she had been here and had made it inside … her safe spot was flattened. He couldn’t think about that.

Poirot pulled on his leash, demanding Josh go faster.

He was second-guessing his search command. “We need to go about this strategically.” Chloe’s scent was going to be all over everything. But first they needed to establish whether she had even been here when the tornado hit.

If the area wasn’t so dangerous, he’d let Poirot go to do his own searching. However Josh was too afraid Poirot would get hurt. If the dog was safe his mind felt an iota more at ease while not knowing if Chloe was okay.