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"I can't," he said. Fatigue overwhelmed him. The smell of jet fuel filled the air. Somehow, he summoned the strength to grab the nail. When blood spurted, he wiped it off on his tattered undershirt.

When he got closer to the light, though, another fallen wall blocked his path. Electrical circuits and wires dangled from the exposed ceiling above. The voice told him to climb over the debris, but he felt too tired. Finally, Praimnath asked the man if he believed in Christ. When the voice answered affirmatively, he suggested they pray.

Afterwards, the 5-foot-9 karate student felt strength surging through him. Punching away at the wall, he kept driving dents deeper until the other man exclaimed, "I can see your hand!"

Praimnath's "guardian angel" was Brian Clark, an executive at a brokerage firm three floors above him. After Clark pulled him through the wall, they hugged quickly and darted into the stairwell. Fortunately, the tower's walls were coated with a luminous paint that had been applied after an earlier terrorist bombing in 1993.

Fear and anxiety filled Praimnath as they raced down the stairs. Sagging with exhaustion, he locked arms with Clark. He remembers telling him, "You're my guardian angel, who the Lord sent to help me."

"I was rambling on," Praimnath recalls. "I never would have made it out were it not for this man." When they finally reached the concourse at the mezzanine level, some firemen asked if there were others. When we replied, "Yes," they pushed past in a frantic ascent.

The two businessmen looked around at a gruesome scene. Shards of glass fell from above. Miscellaneous body parts lay scattered about. Flaming debris darted through the air.

Looking at one of his rubber-soled shoes, Praimnath declared, "These things are going to melt." Seeing water cascading down the steps, Praimnath, Clark, and others stood under the sprinkler system and drenched themselves before fleeing the building.

Two blocks later, they stopped outside historic Trinity Church and grasped its gates. Soon, they watched in horror as the South Tower wobbled and shook ominously. Flares of smoky debris shot from the building like Roman candles. Then, finally, the South Tower—the building in which Praimnath had just stood minutes earlier— began to fall upon itself. Only 47 minutes had passed between the plane's impact and the tower's collapse.

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