Free Daughters of Silence by R.L. Stine Page B

the others, asking if they’d felt anything.
    â€œNo,” Jenna whispered, feeling in her bones a disaster was imminent.
    The barn shuddered. There could be no doubt this time. The whole structure quivered like an animal twitching its skin. Men clung desperately to the timbers. The framework swayed one way, then the other.
    Rob lost his grip. He dangled by one hand, swinging wildly with every movement of the barn. Wood shrieked and groaned as it was stressed beyond its limits.
    â€œHang on!” Jenna shrieked. “Rob, hang on!”
    He couldn’t have heard her in the din. But for a moment he looked straight at her, almost as if he’d read her mind.
    Then she saw his hand slip from its hold.
    And she watched him fall.

Chapter
10

    â€œR ob!” Jenna cried. “Oh, no!”
    She raced toward the swaying barn and heard the wooden timbers groan and snap. Men screamed as they clung to the shattering structure.
    Then the whole framework collapsed. Timbers snapped in two like toothpicks. Splintered shards of wood flew in all directions as the barn crashed to the ground. A great cloud of dust puffed up, tossing stinging grains into the faces of the horrified watchers. The sharp smell of pine lanced the air.
    Jenna’s heart beat so hard she thought it would come right out of her chest. She could hear groans from beneath the wreckage. A man screamed, a sharp, tearing sound that scraped along her nerves until she thought she would scream with him.
    She wasn’t going to do Rob or anyone else any good if she panicked. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself.
    â€œRob?” she called as she reached the wreckage. “Rob, can you hear me?”
    He didn’t answer.
    Other people came to help. Jenna worked with the rescuers, pulling boards away to free the trapped men. There were a few broken bones and a lot of cuts and bruises, but it seemed they’d all been very lucky.
    Jenna would have been relieved … if she’d found Rob. But she didn’t see him anywhere.
    â€œPlease let him be all right,” she murmured. “Please let him be all right.”
    She said it over and over, as if that might make it come true.
    â€œJenna!”
    Recognizing Hallie’s voice, Jenna turned. The other girl picked her way through the wreckage. Dirt smudged her face, and a long tear marred her skirt.
    â€œYou’re all right?” Hallie demanded. She sounded almost like her old self, although a strange light glimmered in her glassy eyes.
    Jenna nodded. “Are you?”
    â€œI’m fine. Have you found Rob yet?”
    â€œNot yet,” Jenna replied. Somehow, she managed to keep her voice from shaking. “I think he’s under there.” She pointed toward the main section of wreckage.
    â€œOh, Jenna.”
    The girls looked at each other for a moment. Then they started working. Hallie never stopped and never complained. Jenna forgave her for the terrible things she’d said. Nothing else mattered except that she’d come to help when Jenna needed her most.
    Then Jenna spotted a bit of cloth, buried beneath a mass of splintered wood. Pale-blue cloth, like Rob’sshirt. She found a long plank that felt stable and crawled along it to get a better look.
    Was he down there? Was he alive?
    â€œBe careful!” Hallie called.
    The plank shifted under her, and Jenna felt herself falling sideways, into the rubble. She clung to the wood and stood perfectly still. Her heart pounded wildly. Finally, she felt the beam settle into place. She began creeping along again.
    Crawling as far as she dared, she peered into the wreckage. She saw a dark head of hair and the edge of a shirt.
    Rob! His eyes were closed, and she couldn’t see enough of his chest to tell if he still breathed. Or not. A thick heavy beam rested across his body, pinning him in place.
    â€œRob?” she called.
    She stared at his face. He didn’t move a muscle. His eyelids didn’t