So this story is very personal to me. It's centred in the 2011 February 22nd earthquake that hit at 12:51pm on the dot. It was one of many in a city in New Zealand called Christchurch which is where I live. I wanted a way to write it down and I didn't know how because my own story would interest none of you. So I thought I would incorporate it into a Fan Fiction which is something I love to write. It's been a few years since the earthquakes happened but I decided there must be some way I can share this. Who knows I may publish my own story on Watt pad someday but for today I will settle on incorporating my story into something I love, Sherlock and Fan Fiction. Trust me, nothing is exaggerated.
Any names that appear in the story are entirely coincidental.

John remembered the silence. The eerie silence that followed the tremendous rumble that threw him off his feet, it sounded like something was waking under the earth and it sounded violent. The ground shook, it was a huge betrayal. Ground was stable, it was always there, it was meant to keep still but it didn't, it lied. They say you should always stay grounded and at one with earth but when the earth shook John didn't want to be grounded or at one with the earth he wanted to be in the air floating because the ground was frightening and it threw him off the ground with the force of six atomic bomb explosions. The silence leaked from destroyed buildings and gaping holes in the pavement and it soon filled the air and for that split second of deafening silence John had about a split second to realize the stable, trusted, reliable ground had just destroyed a whole city. Alarms pierced the silence, not one but two; no three, he couldn't keep up as one after the other alarms blared around the city. They were obnoxious; overlapping each other like a demented harmony. John didn't realize how much he hated alarms and sirens. They were loud and they filled you with panic and urgency. Please evacuate the building. There were so many different types of alarms and John felt like now he had heard them all now, he didn't realize there were so many. Ones that shrieked at you, ones that filled the air with a loud drawn out wails like a wounded child amplified a thousand times. Then there were the rush of sharp ambulance and fire sirens. Punctuating the wails with urgent warnings. They were the cried of a broken city.
Please evacuate the building.
Please evacuate the building.
Please evacuate the building.
He didn't know which building should be evacuated or if it was multiple buildings that needed to be evacuated. The dust, oh God the dust was choking him, it clung to his skin he could feel it thick like mud. He could now taste, smell, hear, and feel earthquake. He didn't even understand how he could feel, taste, smell and hear an earthquake but he could, he just could. Suddenly wails and screams floated through the ruined city, cries for help and pleas for safety. He wished he could go back to just the sirens. No sane thought could push past the barricade of adrenaline and fear in his brain. He just stared around at him; he looked up at the sun blocked by dust. But it had just been there a moment ago shining brightly. The building had been there just a moment ago where had it gone, where had everything gone! The sun was just a round blot like a tea stain on parchment. Then all of a sudden he was running. He hadn't even commanded himself to run, nowhere in his head had he thought run he was just suddenly running and when he realized he was running, he couldn't stop. People streamed from building surrounding him. People screaming, people crying, oh God he had to get away from here, he had to find Sherlock.

Sherlock.

The thought hit him so hard he stumbled and fell backwards, he hit the ground and his hand sunk deep into an unknown sandy liquid*. It swallowed his hand and he tugged against it before it could swallow his arm. What the hell was this!?Sherlock
Sherlock
Sherlock
His name was being drummed into his brain, mixing with the wails, and the screams, and the sirens. He was dizzy with panic and he felt so disconnected from his own body that by the time he reached the city limits all he could comprehend was a blur and swirl of panic, wailing, fear, sirens and screams. He hit speed dial one and stared in horror at his surroundings, a huge stone arch towered over a bridge that looked highly unsafe to wander over, a river run wildly underneath and the bank was covered in towering willow trees. It seemed a strangely beautiful backdrop to the most terrifying nightmare John had faced in his life. The phone was engaged; he hit one and tried again but hit the same dial tone, engaged. No, no, no! He had to get hold of Sherlock he had to know he was okay!
"Sir you need to move away from the building" a voice shouted at him, a shock of yellow ran towards him. That's when the earth shock again, it didn't shake sideways it bounced, the ground actually bounced beneath him, he watched the ground ripple like water. John blinked in amazement, had the ground just rippled towards him, was that possible?
"SIR YOU NEED TO GET AWAY FROM THE BUILDING!" arms grabbed him and pulled him from the building as huge chunks of wall and masonry hit the ground. He heard the ground split with a sound like thunder. He screamed, for the first time since the ground betrayed Christchurch he screamed. The woman screamed with him and he felt less alone. He wasn't the only one experiencing this nightmare. "Help" he bellowed but it was no good because he was one of the hundreds screaming for help. People with faces covered in blood and bits of roof and wall. He wondered what he must look like. "sir you need to remain calm" Remain calm! How the bloody hell could he remain calm the ground had literally rippled underneath him. "What's your name?"
"Sherlock" he said without thinking "No, no it's not its John, my names John"
"John my name is Cassie" the woman was shouting at him over the alarms.
"I have to go, I have to find Sherlock" the woman wouldn't let go, she had a death grip on John "Let go I have to get out of here" the woman wouldn't let go, he pulled away but the woman pulled him closer to him. He looked up at her face for a moment and he understood the woman wasn't just being annoying and clingy, this woman was afraid to let him go she stared at him, her eyes huge with fear. John stopped pulling against her and pulled her into a hug instead. The woman wept in his arms and he felt her legs go slack, John was holding up a stranger while she wept in his arms, he only knew her for five minutes but they were the only thing each other had right now. An ambulance turned down the street they were on and John's heart leapt was Sherlock in there? He tired his phone again but it was still engaged. Finally Cassie let go and just like that she was gone; she took off and seemed to disappear into the dust. John was baffled but he let it go he had to get to Sherlock. He remembered the conversation they had only ten minutes before.

"I need to check something out at the cathedral. Two men were seen acting suspicious there last night. I need you to talk to this man" Sherlock handed him a piece of paper with an address on it, scrawled underneath the address was 'Wizard' John gave Sherlock a skeptical look.

"He's not actually a wizard obviously but he is always around the centre of the city, I've seen him. I acquired his address and I need you to talk to him, he'll know more about this city than me" John nodded and thrust the note into his pocket. Sherlock nodded and they went separate ways. John looked up at the towering steeple ahead of him tipped with green. It was an odd feature of the stony cathedral but he didn't have time to judge it. It was a beautiful building, a large stain glass window sat in the middle underneath a huge oak door. It was open, welcoming everyone, music came from inside, John smiled and glanced down at the address.

John pulled the note from his pocket. It was wet and covered in muddy grey sand from when he had fallen but he could still read the work 'Wizard' clearly. He needed to ask for help, no matter what was going on around him John need to get help. He gazed around not really seeing anything other than rubble and twisted metal, puddles of black and grey sand and wounded, scared people.
"Where is the cathedral from here?" he asked a man covered head to toe in dust and the grey sandy liquid, John noticed he was missing a shoe, John hadn't noticed how disorientated he had become to have to ask somewhere where the building he had just come from was. The man pointed back towards the city and John's whole body seemed to sink into despair. The man was pointing upwards and John had to ask what he was pointing at, all he could see was dusty sky. The man stumbled backwards and narrowed his eyes.
"Oh my God" he whispered, terror fluttered wildly inside John "It's gone" he cried in disbelief "It's gone oh my God, the cathedral! The steeple, gone!" Those were exactly the words John was dreading. It was the news John hadn't wanted to hear. The building Sherlock was in had collapsed, it was gone just like the sun, just like the building John had watched disintegrate to the ground. He took off running again, his shoes catching in the sand that seemed to be bubbling up all over the city; he understood why the man was missing a shoe. He considered taking them off but he couldn't there was glass everywhere. Emergency crews had arrived in the city and John lost count of how many times he saw the words 'St John ambulance' it was written over yellow figures and ambulances, it was written on tents being erected all through the city. The dust had started to settle and the sun began shining down over the rubble, shinning a cheery light over the city. It didn't match the city. It looked wrong to see the sun shinning so brightly. The world seemed to just slow and no matter how fast he ran he couldn't get to the cathedral fast enough. John watched a ripple of ground roll towards him and he froze as the ground shook strongly and fiercely. It made him sick, more walls collapsed around him. The people seemed to still blur around him because none of them were faces he wanted to see, he just wanted to see one face. One coat and scarf walking towards him and everything would be okay again; he could deal with the shaking and the devastation as long as he had Sherlock. The cathedral ahead of him was not the cathedral he had seen before. It was a mess, the man was right the cathedral steeple, that once rose high, and beautiful stained glass window and oak door was gone. Reduced to rubble.
"SHERLOCK" he screamed praying he could hear him "Sherlock!" other voices around him shouted various names.
"Emma!"
"Bobby!"
Sherlock was just another name to those people. It seemed like John had shouted Sherlock's name till his voice was raw. Officers had arrived on scene and taken place just outside calming people down. John's legs collapsed underneath him as he looked at the destroyed building. Sherlock wouldn't call his name back. The building was to mangled for anyone to get out of, there were cries from the people next to him. A hand had risen from the rubble. It was a small feminine hand; a person emerged from the rubble, alive. John could have cried in relief. People were getting out, another hand rose from the rubble and John's stomach somersaulted. Slowly a familiar figure appeared. He threw himself towards the rubble but three police stopped him, he pushed against them and fought to get closer but they pushed him back.
"Let me through please!" he begged but they just shook their heads. There were cheers and applause puncturing through the sirens. It was such an odd sound to hear but people were clapping as one by one people were pulled from the rubble. John watched in desperation as Sherlock was led towards the three police men who had held John back. John was crying, tears of relief streaming down his face a blurry Sherlock walked towards him, and he ran full force at him unable to stop himself. He threw his arms around him forgetting that everyone else was watching. He expected Sherlock to push him away at the public display of affection but Sherlock fell to the ground and clung to John.
"You're okay"
"You're okay"
"You're okay" he repeated. The situation was hugely not okay but for a moment he forgot he was caught in the middle of a devastating disaster. He and Sherlock had survived it and that was all that mattered. They let go of each other "can you stand?" John asked Sherlock grabbing his arm to help him up, Sherlock nodded and John pulled him up.
"That was a huge aftershock" John overheard one man say
"Aftershock!" Sherlock shouted in disbelief, the man jumped in fright and spun to face Sherlock and John. The man looked at the two like they were crazy, like he hadn't just described a major earthquake as an aftershock. "Yeah we had a 7.1 back in September this is an aftershock" John and Sherlock stared at each and then back at the man. "You what?" John asked. A medic interrupted and introduced herself, John didn't remember her name, he was watching the man as he was reunited with a slender woman that looked to be made of dust she was so filthy. The medic guided John and Sherlock towards a medical bay.

The conversation in the medical tent baffled John. He sat next to Sherlock, the sunlight shining through the green tent giving everyone a sickly colour.
"This was much bigger than a 5, I reckon about a 6" another man joined the conversation
"I'm going to say 6.5"
"6.2" a woman replied. John couldn't understand how they could joke about this sort of thing. The medic who was winding a bandage around Sherlock's ankle chuckled to himself, at first it sounded like a strangled cry, he shook his head. His white shirt was stained with dust and mud; there were large clean circles where his sunglasses had been. His hands shook slightly as he wound the bandage.
"We have had over a thousand aftershocks and tremors since September, mostly fives or fours but this, this is huge, bigger than September, Christchurch has a new guessing game, guess the magnitude**, it's one of the things that helps up cope"
"But how can an aftershock be bigger than the initial earthquake?" The medic just smiled
"I'm guessing you haven't been here very long?" another woman who sat by a small child asked wiping down the child's face.
"No just since Sunday, my friend and I are from London"

"Welcome to Christchurch" the woman replied with a weak sad smile.

The cathedral really was a beautiful building. Thankfully no one died in the church after it's collapse, everyone in there got out alive. The biggest tragedy was the collapse and fire of the CTV building. CTV is our TV channel for Christchurch and a majority of the 185 people who died, died in that building along with the PGC building that pancaked and many from falling facades. If you are interested in finding out more about the Christchurch earthquake feel free to ask me any questions, or Google it.

* The gray, black sand is called liquefaction and Christchurch was a complete mess after it, it literally bubbled from the ground and covered whole suburbs in…mess and ruined many people's homes.

** 'Guess the magnitude' was something that my family and the people of Christchurch played regularly we didn't call it that but I had to give it a name, let's hope none of you have to play guess the magnitude in your lifetimes.