air,” she said. “God knows what we’re breathing in.”
“I guess.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“I’m not coughing,” I said. I was suppressing the urge to cough.
“Good.”
She took my hand, turned it over, and placed two fingers against my wrist—she was taking my pulse. Thank goodness she’d taken my right hand, the one that had only a few cuts. I didn’t have the energy or the oxygen to start to explain to her what had happened to my other hand.
“A little fast, but you’ll be fine. Sit there for a while. If you start coughing again you’ll need to talk to a paramedic.”
“I’m good, honestly!” I protested.
She turned to James. “You’re his friend?”
“Yeah.”
“If it gets that bad again you’ll have to get him to see a paramedic, understand?”
“I don’t need a—”
“I’ll make sure he does it,” James said, cutting me off. “I’ll make sure he’s okay, whether he likes it or not.”
“Thanks. It’s good to have a friend.”
She walked away, and James sat down beside me. We sat there as the crowd slowly dissipated and we were no longer the center of attention. I continued to sip from the bottle. I took a big drink and spat it out on the pavement … That’s when I noticed that there was something, some kind of dust or powder, that had accumulated on the ground. It was so fine that it looked almost like snow … I knew it was from the collapse of the building. Concrete or pulverized paper or … I didn’t even want to think about what else it might be. That was the same stuff that had gotten into my lungs and was now making me cough so badly.
“I shouldn’t have brought you down here,” James said.
“You didn’t bring me. I came because I wanted to come.”
“No, you didn’t. The last place in the world you want to be is here. You came because you were being a friend.”
There was no point in arguing. We both knew it was true.
“It’s time for you to get home.”
“Sure,” I said. I felt a sense of relief. I looked at my watch. “With any luck we should be home by—”
“Not
we
.
You
.”
“What are you talking about? We should both go home.”
“I’m not going home. I came here to get to the towers, and I’m still going down to the towers.”
“But the barricades … what that woman said … They aren’t letting anybody get any closer.”
“I have to get through,” he said.
“James, they’re not letting anybody through.”
“You go home. I’m going to find a way.” He got to his feet.
I jumped up and took him by the arm. “I’m not going home without you.”
“Well, I’m not going home,” he said.
“Then I’m not going either.”
“No, really, you should go. I’ll be fine,” he said.
“
We’ll
be fine. Maybe I can’t make
you
come with me, but you can’t stop
me
from going with you. Come on, let’s find a way in.”
CHAPTER
TEN
We figured that the most congested places would be around the barricades on the major streets coming down on the north side of the restricted area, so we started to circle around to the bottom. With the ferries not running there would be almost no one coming up from the tip of the island. Almost instantly we knew we were right. The crowd at Beekman Street was smaller than at Broadway. We passed by Ann Street, and then John and Maitland. As we continued to circle, each street had fewer people than the last. That was encouraging. Of course each street also still had a barricade manned by police officers.
We were also noticing more evidence of what had happened. The streets were filled with scrap paper, blowing and swirling and accumulating in little pockets where the wind could deposit it but not blow it away. Some of the buildings had smashed and broken windows, and down one street there was a bunch of cars with their roofs caved in and windshields smashed. It was too far away for it have happened right there, so I figured that they’d been towed. They were probably starting
“I guess.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“I’m not coughing,” I said. I was suppressing the urge to cough.
“Good.”
She took my hand, turned it over, and placed two fingers against my wrist—she was taking my pulse. Thank goodness she’d taken my right hand, the one that had only a few cuts. I didn’t have the energy or the oxygen to start to explain to her what had happened to my other hand.
“A little fast, but you’ll be fine. Sit there for a while. If you start coughing again you’ll need to talk to a paramedic.”
“I’m good, honestly!” I protested.
She turned to James. “You’re his friend?”
“Yeah.”
“If it gets that bad again you’ll have to get him to see a paramedic, understand?”
“I don’t need a—”
“I’ll make sure he does it,” James said, cutting me off. “I’ll make sure he’s okay, whether he likes it or not.”
“Thanks. It’s good to have a friend.”
She walked away, and James sat down beside me. We sat there as the crowd slowly dissipated and we were no longer the center of attention. I continued to sip from the bottle. I took a big drink and spat it out on the pavement … That’s when I noticed that there was something, some kind of dust or powder, that had accumulated on the ground. It was so fine that it looked almost like snow … I knew it was from the collapse of the building. Concrete or pulverized paper or … I didn’t even want to think about what else it might be. That was the same stuff that had gotten into my lungs and was now making me cough so badly.
“I shouldn’t have brought you down here,” James said.
“You didn’t bring me. I came because I wanted to come.”
“No, you didn’t. The last place in the world you want to be is here. You came because you were being a friend.”
There was no point in arguing. We both knew it was true.
“It’s time for you to get home.”
“Sure,” I said. I felt a sense of relief. I looked at my watch. “With any luck we should be home by—”
“Not
we
.
You
.”
“What are you talking about? We should both go home.”
“I’m not going home. I came here to get to the towers, and I’m still going down to the towers.”
“But the barricades … what that woman said … They aren’t letting anybody get any closer.”
“I have to get through,” he said.
“James, they’re not letting anybody through.”
“You go home. I’m going to find a way.” He got to his feet.
I jumped up and took him by the arm. “I’m not going home without you.”
“Well, I’m not going home,” he said.
“Then I’m not going either.”
“No, really, you should go. I’ll be fine,” he said.
“
We’ll
be fine. Maybe I can’t make
you
come with me, but you can’t stop
me
from going with you. Come on, let’s find a way in.”
CHAPTER
TEN
We figured that the most congested places would be around the barricades on the major streets coming down on the north side of the restricted area, so we started to circle around to the bottom. With the ferries not running there would be almost no one coming up from the tip of the island. Almost instantly we knew we were right. The crowd at Beekman Street was smaller than at Broadway. We passed by Ann Street, and then John and Maitland. As we continued to circle, each street had fewer people than the last. That was encouraging. Of course each street also still had a barricade manned by police officers.
We were also noticing more evidence of what had happened. The streets were filled with scrap paper, blowing and swirling and accumulating in little pockets where the wind could deposit it but not blow it away. Some of the buildings had smashed and broken windows, and down one street there was a bunch of cars with their roofs caved in and windshields smashed. It was too far away for it have happened right there, so I figured that they’d been towed. They were probably starting
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