Author's note below...


There's Always Someone Willing

A boy struggled in the wreckage of his house, groping around for anything, anything that could help his people. Sighing, he tossed aside a shattered TV, a freezer drawer, splinter-filled timber, concrete chunks... It went on forever.

So much destruction. So much death.

And yet there was nothing to show that a typhoon had swept through the area. Blue wispy skies, warm sun, and yet...

He sighed, picking his way up to where his bedroom used to be. As he pulled out a soggy wad of trading cards, a shout made him topple backwards, almost falling onto the sharp remains of his window.

"Garfield? Gar, is that you?"

Two people were making their way towards him, classmates of his. They were friends, almost the best.

And could he help maybe having a crush on one of them?

Kori smiled sadly, holding a crumpled aluminum phone emblazoned with a bold yellow 'T'. "It was destroyed when my house came down around me. I almost died, and would have if Rachel had not found me."

"I still can't find the others..." Rachel sighed. "They could be anywhere. And, though I hate to admit it..."

"Don't!" He clenched his fists, throwing the useless wad of cards to the ground. "Vic and Richard'll make it. They always did!"

Kori brushed away tears. "But what if they didn't?"

Heart wrenching silence filled the air, and the boy turned, running off into the house, under an outcropping of metal and cement. He yelled over his shoulder, "You're lying! They'll be here! I know they'll find us!"

"Gar, stop it! I know it's a lot to take in-"

"I don't care!" He kicked the wall angrily. "I just... I just want us to be a family again!" He broke down, sobbing, collapsing to his knees. "I don't wanna... I don't wanna have to say goodbye!"

Rachel knelt next to him, wrapping him in a hug. "I'm so, so sorry..."

There was the truth. All five of them, orphans. All five of them, living together in a makeshift 'family'. All five of them, the perfect team. And now, half were gone, lost forever.

The boy pounded his fist on the wall. "It's not fair..."

The cement wobbled, and the metal began to creak. Kori screamed, and as the massive block of concrete thundered through the air, Rachel grabbed him, and pulled him closer, silently saying goodbye...

Then everything stopped.

Time slowed down. Cracking open an eye, he saw two figures running towards him, shoving them out of the way, rolling away from the impact...

There was a tremendous crash, hard enough to make the earth shudder.

Vic and Richard coughed, pulling themselves out of the rubble, and managed a smile. "And hello to you too, grass stain."

Garfield sank to his knees, crying with relief, finally united within his circle of despair and destruction. Finally, there was hope.


This was an unplanned one-shot, made for the victims of the typhoon that has devastated the Philippines. Please, pray and remember the dead, the injured, and the survivors. We don't want reviews. We don't want this to be just a story. We don't want this to slip through your mind, and vanish in the folds of your day. We want you to remember them, pray for survivors, and help them. Please, help them. Please. Let us do whatever is in our power, and make a difference.