Daniel spent the next three hours searching every square inch of the suburban home.
He checked the gloomy basement, the dusty attic, and every single closet downstairs.
Sarah followed him around the house, constantly telling him to rest and accept the situation.
Her persistent nagging felt like sharp needles poking directly into his fried nerves.
The afternoon sun began to tilt through the large front windows of the main living room.
A massive framed American flag hung proudly on the thick, polished wood wall paneling.
Daniel leaned his tired head against the panel, closing his eyes in sheer agony.
Suddenly, a tiny sound resonated from the structural hollow area directly behind the plaster.
It sounded like tiny fingernails slowly scratching against dry, painted sheetrock.
Daniel froze instantly, holding his breath to listen closer to the dark wall.
Daniel: Did you hear that noise right now?
Sarah: It is just mice inside the old pipes.
Daniel: That is not a mouse, Sarah.
Sarah: You are losing your mind from grief, Daniel!
Daniel pressed his left ear flat against the cool plaster panel.
A soft, faint cough echoed from deep inside the tight structure of the wall paneling.
It was undeniably the distinctive raspy sound of a tiny human throat.
Daniel felt a sharp bolt of adrenaline surge through his entire body.
He turned and marched directly toward the garage near the back kitchen hallway.
He grabbed a heavy iron sledgehammer from the cluttered work bench in the corner.
When he marched back into the formal living room, Sarah went completely pale with fright.
Sarah: What are you doing with that hammer?!
Daniel: Someone is trapped behind this wall structure!
Sarah: Get away from that wall, Daniel!
She threw her slender body directly between Daniel and the polished wall panel.
Her eyes held a frantic, terrifying look that Daniel had never seen before on her face.
Daniel: Get out of my way right now, Sarah!
Sarah: You are completely out of your mind!
Daniel shoved her firmly aside and raised the iron sledgehammer high into the bright air.