Tim and Matt turned around.
“I tripped over some of the rubble, but I’m fine. Let’s keep going,” said Emily.
Soon they could see the little park. Tree branches had toppled over on bushes. Benches were broken. It was a jungle of twigs and branches.
“Wait,” said Matt. “I hear something.”
“H-here,” said a small voice.
“Carolyn!” shouted Tim. “Is that you? Tell us where you are.”
“Help. Please!”
“Where are you?” asked Tim, looking around. “I can’t see you. Can you describe where you are?”
“Hurry…please,” was the only response.
“What do we do now?” asked Matt.
“Follow Poppy,” said Emily. “Look at the way he’s leaning. I think he wants us to look near that tree,” she added, pointing to a big old tree. Two of its large branches had come down in the blast. “I bet Carolyn’s near there.”
“Let’s go,” said Tim.
The three friends climbed over a jumble of twigs, sharp pine needles, and jagged branches.
“Help! Tim, I’m here!”
“I can hear you, Carolyn,” shouted Tim. “We’re coming. We’re close to you now.”
Suddenly Poppy leaped out of Emily’s arms and ran over to the fallen branches. He stood beside them and barked.
“Carolyn, are you under these branches?” asked Tim.
“I’m under a bench. The tree fell on it. My ankle and arm hurt.”
“Carolyn! I see you!” shouted Tim. “We’re going to get you out. We’re going to get you help. We just have to move the two big branches.”
Matt and Tim tried to lift the larger branch, but it was so heavy they couldn’t budge it.
“Let’s try again,” said Tim. “One. Two. Three. Lift!”
They still couldn’t move it.
“Let me help,” said Emily.
Emily picked Poppy up and placed him down on a small patch of soil. “Don’t move,” she said.
As if he understood the importance of what she was asking, the little dog didn’t budge.
Emily, Matt, and Tim each held on to a different part of the branch.
“One. Two. Three. Lift!” said Tim.
The three friends huffed as they tried to pull the branch up and away from the bench. Slowly, slowly, it began to move. Slowly, slowly, they lifted it up and over.
Then they moved the second branch. Now they could see Carolyn! Her arm was bruised and her ankle was swollen. Tim lifted the broken pieces of the bench away from his sister. Then he wrapped his arms around her. Poppy bounded over and licked her face.
“I was so scared we wouldn’t find you,” said Tim.
“I thought I’d be stuck here forever,” said Carolyn. “I knew you’d look for me if you could, Tim. I went to the candy store to buy your favourite gumdrops for your birthday. I still have them in my pocket.”
Tim smiled for the first time since Emily and Matt had met him. “I’ll have some gumdrops later. But finding you is the best birthday present. And meeting Emily and Matt is wonderful. They’ve taken care of Poppy and helped me find you. Can you walk?”
“I don’t know. My ankle hurts a lot.”
“I’ll carry you,” said Tim. He lifted his sister up.
“We can pull Carolyn on our sled to the hospital,” said Emily.
“The sled! Oh no!” said Matt. “We can’t. I don’t remember where it is. We may have left it—”
“At the hospital!” said Emily.
“Yes!” said Matt.
“Don’t worry. I can carry Carolyn. She’s not heavy,” said Tim. “I’m sure you’ll find your sled there. But if you don’t, it’s just a sled. I’m sure you can get another one.”
Matt gulped. “Not like this one.”
