The Rescue

Douglas walked down an empty back alley, having had to ditch the car a few blocks back because the damage was just so ****. He gawked at the roadways, split in two. He gawked at a collapsed apartment building. And then he saw the ritzy high-rise that Elizabeth and Jamaal called home.

Two of the stairwells were collapsed. The building creaked and groaned as if it was on its last legs. Douglas swallowed hard, and entered the only functioning stairwell. He climbed, thinking. He'd never valued Elizabeth or his children before. They were almost accessories. Nice accessories, to be sure. But would he die for them? Kill for them? He didn't think so.

Was it tossing them to Jamaal that had changed things? Being cucked by Jada? Having poisoned the well so long, he missed when the water was pure? He wasn't sure, but he didn't want to do this. He needed to do this.

He climbed all the way to the penthouse. The door was in half, and Elizabeth was laying on the floor, a cut on her head. He roused her to consciousness.

"Douglas?" Elizabeth said disbelievingly. Of all the people to rescue her, it was him.

"We need to get out of here," Douglas said. "This place isn't going to last."

"I'll get Katie, Emily, and Aaron," Elizabeth said. "Can you carry Little Jamaal down?"

***

Douglas carried the large Black baby, and their three white children, along with Elizabeth, all descended the stairs quickly. Elizabeth held it together until the last floor, when she saw Larry, hanging off the floor above them, his body bruised and battered and bloodied beyond almost all recognition. She uttered a cry, collapsing into a ball.

"C'mon," Douglas said urgently, "We've got to move."

***

It took another half hour for them to make it back to the car. As they drove east, Elizabeth looked wearily at her ex-husband.

"So what now?"

"We're headed home. Away from all this," Douglas said resolutely.