Don't Forget You're a Badass

2.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, Chris and Eva calmed down. Their hysterical sobs turning into sniffs as they hugged each other closer. After another minute of just breathing, Chris had decided that it was enough. They were in a safer area, but that didn't mean that their problems were over.

"C'mon, let's sit up," Chris said, "we need to figure stuff out."

"Like what?" Eva asked sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"First, supplies." Chris said, "my dad and Buck told me the most important things to find in an emergency are shelter and supplies."

"We have shelter." She said, already seeming calmer at the idea of a task.

"Now we need supplies," he finished giving her an encouraging smile that Buck always used when they were doing homework, "let's look in the metal boxes up here and see what we can find."

She nodded and they both scooted themselves over to the nearest one, it took Chris's good arm and both of Eva's to get it open, but they did it and inside they found several pieces of rope.

"This is good, we should tie ourselves to the truck so we don't fall off!" Eva exclaimed, and Chris nodded.

After they'd tied themselves to the back railing, but leaving enough slack to let them move around the roof of the fire truck easily, they took out a third piece of rope and tied it to the railing as well.

"What's this one for?" Eva asked, as she tied it using the knot she'd learned at Girl Scouts.

"In case someone else needs help, we can throw it to them and we can try and help pull them over." Chris explained, "like in veggie tales. With Lyle the Viking."

"I don't think I've seen that one." She said, is it good?"

"Yeah, they're vikings and one of them falls off the ship so they toss a rope with a floatie on the end to him and he gets back on the ship." He said, it'd been one of his favourites that he'd watched with his mom.

"But we don't have a floatie." She pointed out.

"Maybe we'll find one," he said hopefully, "and if not, a rope is better than nothing."

She hummed in agreement and they moved to open the next box together. Inside was a couple of hoses, which they deemed as not particularly helpful, but could be used as ropes if they ran out.

They were just about to open the third box when they heard a voice screaming for help.

"Help! Help me!" They both looked over the edge and saw a boy treading water desperately and heading towards them.

"Hassan!" Eva cried, and as soon as she did, Chris recognised him. He had been with Mr. Salazar that day, but no one else was with him now.

"Eva! Chris! Help!" He cried as he started trying to swim towards them.

"Grab the rope!" Chris yelled as he and Eva picked it up getting ready to throw it overboard to him.

They waited until he was less than ten feet away, neither of them being particularly good at throwing, and then they launched it towards him. It landed about a foot in front of him and started to sink.

Hassan ducked under the water and Chris held his breath hoping he'd be able to grab onto it. A couple seconds later his head bobbed back up.

"I've got it!" He yelled.

"Start pulling yourself towards us!" Eva called, "we'll pull on this end!"

With that, Eva and Chris used their collective three working arms to start pulling at the rope, but they weren't making much progress. Thankfully Hassan was close to the truck when he'd caught the rope and it didn't take much to get him to the ladder. Once he did they reached over and helped pull him up on his shaking limbs. Eventually the three of them collapsed on the roof again panting heavily.