Los Angeles, California

Horrible sounds of muffled screams of terror came from below the rubble.

The still-swirling dust and floating debris from the wreckage made breathing difficult and people backed away, choking. They had come to rubberneck, as people often do, but soon became aware of the danger. Not only were there toxic fumes no doubt mixed in with the dust, but any of the identical buildings in the center could soon collapse as well.

Somewhat phased but still fully aware, Sylas covered his nose with his shirt and proceeded through the onlookers and toward piled chunks of building, broken glass, mangled metal and the terrible sounds of agony.

Where a ten-story office building had stood only four minutes ago now lay utter destruction. While his instincts told him something wasn't quite right, he couldn't bear the thought of not helping.

As he moved closer, Sylas squinted, trying hard to make out any movement in the haze but none was apparent. Although he had never seen a catastrophe like this in person, Sylas had seen them in a few movies and in the footage from the September 11, 2001 attacks on the world trade center. Rarely, if ever, were bodies immediately visible.

Also from watching television, he knew it was extremely important to tread carefully over wreckage as it is highly unstable.

Part of Sylas knew he should wait for the police and firemen to arrive, but he feared it might be too late for some of those trapped so he began to climb up onto the concrete. The first step seemed solid enough, as did the second but the third step caused part of the rubble to shift heavily downward. Immediately, Sylas could tell part of the screams had died out and he felt his muscles tense and his face cringe. His stomach sank as he tried not to think about what had just happened: he'd already silenced someone's scream.

The dizzying combination of haze combined with the sounds of sirens and screaming people was enough to send his head spinning. Sylas knelt down and yelled between the openings in the rubble, "help is on the way." He listened for a sign that someone had heard him -- any sign of acknowledgement, but there was none.