'PART ONE'
Jac Naylor scowled moodily as she scanned the patient notes handed to her by Nurse Tait. Elizabeth was standing next to Jac nervously, worrying about what might come next. Jac turned to her,
"I'm sorry Nurse Tait, was there something else or are you just going to stand there gawping at me?" Elizabeth said nothing but timidly moved away leaving Jac to her thoughts. Jac, meanwhile, was now on the phone to oncology. Five minutes past, and Jac, having accomplished her goal replaced the telephone on its hook. She sighed as the clock ticked on past five o'clock. Another six hours she thought to herself. Jac was doing a double shift as no cover had been able to be found for Sacha. Now over halfway through, the immense workload was beginning to take its toll on Jac as she crossed the ward to speak with Mr. Brown, a patient suffering from chronic stomach pains.
He walked along the corridor suspiciously. Concealing the package he was holding under his arm with a long beige coloured overcoat, he swept around the corner nervously. He was drenched in cold sweat as he carried out his task. Striding past Mark Williams on the stairs down to the basement, he stopped breathing for a second, fearing that he would be caught. He checked all around for any other people and satisfied it was clear he moved on through the double doors at the foot of the stairs. He pushed past a porter hurrying on through the corridor with a trolley laden with sheets. The Porter gave him a dirty look as he scooped down to pick up the sheets that had been knocked over on to the floor. However, he was on a mission, time stopped for no man. At last, he thought as he rounded the corner and came face to face with the door to the basement, the very bottom of Holby City Hospital. He pushed open the door with his free hand and strode inside. Locking the door behind him, he took the package out from under his arm and placed it on the floor. Unwrapping the brown envelope paper around it, he revealed the package to contain a large amount of plastic explosive and wires. Turning to face the generator in front of him, he began to place each stick of explosive onto it, connecting each one with a red coated wire. He repeated the process until all of the explosives had been placed in position and connect the final wire to a timer. He set the timer to thirty minute and pressed start. The clock began to tick.
Jac sat in the staff room drinking a cup of coffee and helping herself to custard creams. Luckily it was Mary-Claire's day off and there were for once some left. Jac found herself smiling as she thought of a comment Joseph had once made nearly a year ago. Mary-Claire definitely had a raging custard cream addiction. The staffroom door swung open to reveal Hanssen standing ominously. Jac groaned. He was the last person she needed to see. Hanssen strode over to her without speaking and handed over a letter. Taking it, Jac gave him a wary glare but Hanssen was unmoved. He merely smiled and walked away, leaving Jac to ponder what the letter was, or who it was from. The envelope was addressed to Jac Naylor, Holby. Tearing it open she took out the letter and began to read. The letter was from Joseph. Jac's eyes welled up as she read.
Dearest Jac,
It has been too long since I saw you and my heart is empty. I yearn for your company, life is incomplete without you. However, Harry has settled well - you'd be surprised how much he's grown these last few months. I am faced with a dilemma, do I come back to Holby to be with you again, or do I count my losses and remain here in the country where I know Harry is safe. Alas, I do not know what to do...
At this point Jac stopped reading and said quietly to herself,
"Typical Joseph, never knew whether he was coming or going." She wiped the tear away from her eye and returned to the letter.
...I have come to the decision, after many long nights of torment, to return to Holby briefly. I am leaving two days after I post this, considering the state of Holby's postal service...
Jac stared at the date on the letter, it was from exactly two days ago, so theoretically today was the day Joseph was due to return.
With complete adoration and love,
Joseph Byrne
Downstairs in the basement, the clock continued to tick. There were now a mere five minutes left on the timer and still no one had noticed a thing. The man had long since departed, for his role in the operation was now complete. The Porter who had been the last to see him, was heading towards the basement with the intention of checking on the generator. Any second, he would open the door and be faced with the full horror of what was only minutes away. The ticking of the clock began to be in time with the marching footsteps of the Porter. He wrenched open the door.
Jac stared out of the window, spotting Joseph's car, her heart leapt. He was here, she thought with joy. She walked briskly out of the staff room and down the corridor past the nurses station where Elizabeth eyed her meekly. Ignoring Elizabeth, Jac carried on with her path and kept on walking. Nothing was going to spoil her mood she thought, nothing in the world could spoil this perfect day. To think she had woken up angry at having had to do two shifts she thought. How insignificant that seemed now when the man she loved had finally returned to see her. How good it was to learn that Joseph still loved her and only her, that no country woman had tempted him away. Probably scared off by his baby Churchill, she laughed.
The Porter stared in wide-eyed horror at the explosives lining the generator. He stood frozen, unable to move, unable to call for help, his arms glued to his side uselessly. The clock kept on ticking, there was a minute left.
Jac glided around the corner and walked straight into Joseph. She stepped back, glaring. Then she put her arms around him and kissed.
The clock ticked on, now only seconds left. The Porter suddenly regained his composure and reached for the fire alarm. Breathing heavily he smashed the glass, sounding the alarm. He turned back to the door and tried to wrench it open, but it was stuck. He let out a small moan as he turned back to the ticking clock, five...
"I've missed you so much," Joseph said to Jac as they broke apart. Jac smiled.
"Where's Harry?" she asked curiously. Joseph smiled back at her.
"He's staying with my mother for the weekend. She offered," he said simply. Jac nodded.
"I see." She took hold of his hand and placed it in hers. "I'm glad you came to see me," she said softly. Joseph looked deep into her warm eyes.
"I couldn't go on without seeing you one more time," he said sadly. The sound of the alarm suddenly filled their ears. "What's going on?" Joseph asked anxiously. Jac frowned.
"I'm not sure..."
The Porter tried one last effort to wrench the door open but it was too late, the clock hit zero and the explosives went up. The explosion, doubled in strength by the generator tore the Porter to shreds, showering the room with his blood and bones. The fire swept through the entire hospital, killing all who came in contact with it, the sheer heat of the flames smouldering their fragile bodies. The explosion was tearing the building apart like it was made of paper. Ceilings collapsed onto floors, floors gave way to the floor below. The Emergency Department was in ruins, staff and patients littering the floor, injured and dead. Charlie Fairhead managed to leap out of the way as a huge pillar came crashing down in front of him. On AAU, Frieda Petrenko and Penny Valentine took shelter together as the ward burned all around them.
"When I say, I wish you die painful death, I was hoping I not be here," Frieda said with a cheeky smile at Penny who tried to laugh.
"What's happening Frieda?" she asked nervously.
"That is obvious, it is bomb," Frieda said simply and without hesitation. Penny whimpered. "Don't cry Valentine," Frieda said, trying to reassure her.
Jac and Joseph could hear the rumble of the flames moving fast towards them. Taking a firm grip upon her hand Joseph led her as far away as they possibly go. There was nowhere else to run. They could hear the screams as the fire soared through Keller and licked up the corridor. Joseph yelled suddenly,
"Get down on the floor!" Jac and Joseph threw themselves upon the floor as the flames roared overhead. They could feel the ceiling collapsing all around them, lumps of plaster smacking them as it fell. The glass in the window smashed inward, showering them in sharp shards. Then the felt the almighty bang as the generator added to the initial blast, the door into the staffroom was ripped from its hinges and crashed down on top of them. They were trapped.
Frieda took hold of Penny's hand.
"Don't worry Valentine, I protect you," she said although she was now barely concealing her own fear. A little away from them, they could see Oliver trapped under a slab of plaster, his arm sticking out uselessly. Penny was panicking. Her baby brother needed her, he could die, she thought desperately.
"Ollie!" she shouted through the thick smoke. Then, the lights went out. They were thrust in to darkness. "Ollie!" Penny screamed.
Joseph awoke, coughing. He tried to force the door off him and Jac but it had been piled with rubble. It was no use, it simply would not budge. He turned to Jac. She was unconscious. He shook her, but she would not wake. He turned her over and saw that she was bleeding from a small cut on her forehead.
'TO BE CONTINUED...'