Just a bit more…

Janus stared at the wreckage; his calculation was correct. The way the metal plates were layered and warped allowed him to use the opposite end of the section above him as a lever. He saw the bottom sheet of metal push down further, creating more space in the area where the man's legs were as he put more force onto the top plate.

"Does that... hurt?" he asked. He kept both of his hands up as he tried to keep the space separated.

"No. Not at all. And I can move my feet a bit more."

"Maybe I should've…" Janus said as he took a deep breath, "Taken gym class my last two years of high school." Janus let out a hoarse chuckle while looking at the trapped man. There was no response. Only a silent and confused glare was given in return.

"Sorry. I heard that using humor can help…" Janus could hear metal creaking as the weight of the upper part of the vehicle began to press down. With a heave he put more force into his arms to keep the vehicle from collapsing inwards further. "Diffuse the stress in a situation like this."

"I-I just want out!" The old man began looking around, terrified.

"I know, I know. I'm doing the best I can until backup arrives."

"Janus!" Upon hearing his name, he turned around and saw Gurk come rushing towards him. The crocodile stood next to him and made his own analysis of the scene. His eyes locked with the victim. He began squirming to place his arms above his head to protect himself and curl up in a defensive manner.

“Go away!” the victim exclaimed.

"Stop moving! Gurk won't hurt you! You're only going to…" The upper portion began to bend inwards, warping the upper plate at a sharp angle. When Gurk saw Janus struggling to keep the section of the vehicle propped up, he quickly placed one hand next to Janus and started holding the upper portion in place.

"You know Gurk, you're quickly becoming my new favorite person."

The crocodile made the best grin he could with his jaw.

"Don't push it too far. Try to keep it right there or else you'll press in on his legs. Now that the metal is warped, we can't use that plate as leverage against the one beneath him."

"You lead," Gurk said.

"Alright. Just keep that in place. I'll try to see if there's any other way to get him out."

Gurk nodded and kept the vehicle steady with both hands. Janus then reached around the back of the seat. There's a bit of space back here. He then looked at the front of the seat where the man was situated.

"I think we can get you out if there's a way to move the seat back. Is there a mechanism that can do something like that?"

"Yes, but I don't think there's any way to reach it at this point. It would be down that way." The man tilted his head down, towards his right. Janus looked at the area. The crushed vehicle made getting to it impossible.

"Looks like that’s not an option then. But if the seat is intended to shift back then maybe we can work something out. You just keep calm. And Gurk, you keep holding that up."

The crocodile gave a thumbs up.

Janus’ upper half vanished into the narrow crevice behind the seat. He surveyed the area; the dim glow of the diner’s lighting fixtures gave just enough illumination for him to make out a rough silhouette of what was there. I assume there must be some kind of rail in use to have these chairs move back. Hopefully they use a typical locking mechanism to keep them in place instead of some crazy, futuristic laser system. His hand felt around the vehicle’s floor.

I got it! He felt a long and narrow metal shaft exactly where he thought it would be. His hand moved down and touched a parallel piece that was of the same length.

Janus popped his head out from behind the seat. “I think we’re in business, Gurk! Just keep doing what you’re doing,” he exclaimed with a tinge of excitement. Gurk nodded. Janus then went back inside the vehicle and started to tinker with the seat’s locking mechanism. Time felt like it came to a crawl as the crushed carrier made constant creaking sounds from the various parts collapsing in on itself.

If I can just break that part off… After a bit of fiddling there was a loud snap. Janus raised his hand a bit and held onto another part located closer to the seat. And do the same to this one…” And another snap. Hope that did it. Janus held onto the back of the chair and give it a slight tug. It inched closer to him.

“I got it!” Janus exclaimed. “Gurk, keep propping up that part of the vehicle with one hand. Use your other hand to try to push his seat towards me. Slowly.”

Gurk reached over and placed his hand on the side of the seat just above the victim’s leg. Janus got out of the crevice and held onto both sides of the upper part of the chair. The pair coordinated their movement, shifting their weight into making the seat. The chair moved back, giving the man’s leg enough space to be removed safely.

“Almost there!” Janus said. He reached down and unfastened the seatbelt. “Don’t try to move anything that hurts, alright?” he asked of the man. “Gurk and I will get you out.”

“O-okay.”

Janus placed his hands underneath the man’s arm and slowly began to slide him out. The man’s lower half was limp, making Janus act more cautious as he pulled him out like he was threading a needle. Once he was out far enough, Gurk took hold of the victim’s lower half with his free hand to make sure he didn’t fall out of the crushed carrier. Gurk let go of the section he was holding onto so he could ease the man to the ground, and when did so, the rest of the vehicle collapsed in on itself in an ear-piercing crash. The man now lay on his side, looking at what was once his primary mode of transportation.

“T-that could have been me…” he said, his finger pointing at the crushed section where he was once seated. “I can’t thank you two enough!”

Janus lay on his back, one hand resting on his forehead. He sighed as he turned to the man he just rescued. “Don’t mention it,” he replied with a wave of his hand. Janus then looked up and saw Itzel eyeing the crash victim.

“You know, there is a way you can thank—" Itzel began. She turned towards Gurk and saw his eyes cut towards her. “Never mind. Mister Charity over here wouldn’t accept any Tokens even if you offered them.” Itzel crossed her arms and stomped her foot.

“I’d love to pay you for helping me out, but that carrier was all I had.”

“Yeah, you’re a Labrisonner,” Itzel replied. “Being broke is a key part of our culture at this point.” She walked over to Janus who remained laying face up with his hands covering his eyes as if her were asleep. She gave him a nudge in the side with her boot.

“Huh?” Janus groaned without removing his arm from covering his eyes.

“You did alright.”

“Thanks, Itzel.”

“Maybe there’s a bit of hope for you after all.”

“Thanks. Means a lot coming from you. How much did you make from taking down that Ogre?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Janus laid his arm to his side and looked up. Itzel kept her eyes towards the side.

“Sounds like it wasn’t worth the effort.”

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it.”

Blaring sirens broke the calmness. Janus darted upwards, his eyes looking around upon seeing an oscillating blue and red light illuminating the dark cityscape outside.

“What’s that?”

“Rescue Crew. Law Enforcement. The usual stuff they send out whenever something like this happens,” Itzel said as she stared out the window.

“We could have used their help a lot sooner.”

“Don’t blame them. Blame Labrisson. How they expect to maintain peace and order with how sparse they spread out their Emergency Units I do not know.”

“They don’t,” Gurk muttered.

“Exactly, big guy. They don’t expect it. The guys up top would leave the city to run on an honor system if they could.”