*****
“Fuck that old bitch,” Maria wheezed as she looked around the wreckage of the attic crawlspace.
The explosions blasted the support beams in the center of the garage to toothpicks and the front concrete retaining wall was destroyed. The roof had been about twenty-five feet high originally but was now a shattered and twisted ruin surrounding her.
Coughing on some tendrils of smoke, she looked around trying to find the source while continuing to mutter. “Fucking old bitch just left me here. Now I'm going to be eaten alive or cooked in a fire and eaten like bar-b-Que,” Maria said, pushing against a big piece of wood that had her right leg pinned under it.
The lantern was on its side just out of reach in the cramped area she found herself in.
It's really a crawlspace now, she thought, looking back to where the exit used to be. The hole she threw the grenades through was replaced by a large pile of shattered lumber.
Coughing harder, she again tried to lift the wooden beam pinning her leg again but it didn't budge. She pulled on her leg trying to slide it from under it but she was stuck.
I’m doomed. I’ll burn or die from the smoke fumes. God help me, she thought, clutching her Crucifix tightly.
Feeling something hard under her back, she reached around for it with her free hand. She pulled out a grenade, stared at it then shook her head, and set it aside. The smoke made her cough harder and she was having trouble seeing.
Luckily, her ears still worked fine as she heard first the sound of grunting and then some shifting wood nearby. She picked up the grenade again as the grunting grew louder and wrapped a finger around the fuse cord thinking bitterly, I'd rather be blown to bits than cooked alive or be your damn bar-b-Que snack.
A slight breeze coming from above made her look up. She saw a sliver of daylight and blue sky just a few yards away. Maria prayed silently as she wrapped her hand tighter around the Crucifix she wore around her neck.
With her other hand, she placed the grenade between her thighs held the cord and started to pull.
After several seconds, very faintly, she heard a sound that made her release the cord. It was a sound she never thought she'd be so happy to hear. A distant police siren was slowly growing louder.