Not sure how many of you know, but there was a massive earthquake in New Zealand, Christchurch the other day. It was at 4am and was a 7.1 on the Richter scale. I woke up to the house shaking around me. Not exactly the wake up call I had in mind. The house was undamaged but unfortunately for others, 500 buildings in the city have been destroyed. No one had been reported dead yet, so we're extremely fortunate. I got this idea afterwards.
Simon 'Ghost' Riley cracked his jaw in a yawn, studying the lounge. White couches surrounded a stone fireplace, a polished wood mantelpiece gleaming in the artificial lights, which basked the room in a white, unreal glow. Since he'd joined the 141 a year ago, he hadn't been on holiday. He didn't mind. There was no one outside the Task Force he'd want to spend time with and nowhere he wanted to stay. His home was the Task Force's base and his family was his team. But after he got injured during a routine mission, his commanding officer, John 'Soap' MacTavish had ordered he get a break from the base and from his job.
It would have appealed to anyone else. Nights of boozing, spending quality time with the family, lust filled night with nameless girls. It didn't appeal to Ghost. He'd rather stay with his friends, at base, with a cold glass of water after a long run.
Lucky for him, Ghost wasn't the only one who had been told to get lost and have fun. Gary 'Roach' Sanderson didn't enjoy holidays anymore than Ghost did. He preferred to be around his mates than spending time by himself at his flat in New Zealand.
So when Roach found out that Ghost had some time off and had nowhere to stay, he dragged the Brit onto the next flight down to New Zealand.
Simon had been staying at Roach's place for at least a week now. To say the least, he was enjoying himself. The house was based in a small town called Queenstown, which stood between a chain of snowy peaks and a glassy blue lake. The two had been hiking that day, enjoying the mud covered goat trails, the moss covered trunks of ancient trees and the small green ferns which were glittered with sparkling water drops. The whole area was, in Ghost's eyes, the perfect patch of heaven.
The small oak door opened with a creak, Roach striding into the warm room, bare feet rustling on the squishy white carpet. He quickly closed the door behind him with a click. He was wearing a black polypropylene and a pair of worn blue jeans. His longish hair stuck together in wet clumps, held together by the water from his shower.
"What's up Ghost?" sighed Roach, flopping onto the floor in front of Ghost's chair.
Simon shrugged his shoulders, a lazy smile on his face. "Just thinking."
"About?"
"The 141. Wonder how MacTavish is dealing with everything…"
Gary grinned. "Probably trying to deal with Toad and Worm. You know they hid a snake under Rook's bed the day before we left?"
Simon sat up, curiosity sparkling in his deep blue eyes. "They did WHAT?" he chuckled in disbelief
"Rook damn near ripped Toads arm off."
"I'll bet he did! Pretty ambitious teasing Rook."
"Dangerous I think is the word sir," said Roach still grinning.
A silence fell between the two men, a sloppy smile on their faces. Even though they had enjoyed their time off, they couldn't wait to get back to the action and their team. Most of all, they counted down the days until they could see MacTavish again. He may have been their CO, but they were the closest group of friends in the 141. They knew they had each other's backs no matter what.
Simon's eyelids began to droop slightly. It was so quiet outside. So peaceful. He was about to close his eyes when he noticed Roach stiffen on the floor, his hazel eyes wide, muscles tense and coiled.
"You alri-"
"SHHHH!" muttered Roach, his eyes still wide. Suddenly he leapt up and grabbed Simons arm dragging him off the seat.
"What the hell are y-"
The house began to shake violently, the floor rising, falling and rocking from side to side. The lights, which hung from the ceiling, swayed and flickered off. The books on a pine bookshelf began to fall to the ground with a series of dull thuds.
Roach yanked the lounge door open cold air entering the lounge in a gust.
"Stay under the door frame!" he yelled at Ghost, running to the bathroom doorway and his hands gripping the wood and the house swayed.
Ghost's heart was hammering in his mouth, his knuckles turning white as he clung to the door.
A loud crash announced the falling of several china plates in the kitchen.
It felt like being inside a cheap 3d cinema where the seats moved and jolted in time with the pictures. This however, was so unexpected. So sudden.
The ground rumbled and the bookcase fell over completely, flattening the books that had thudded to the ground seconds ago.
Ghost took deep even breaths and stared at Gary through the pressing dark. His face was blank, keeping a watchful eye on the lieutenant.
Simon had been through an earthquake before. When he was little he had woken up to the house shaking around him. But it had been tiny and almost enjoyable. The house was thundering around him, furniture screeched across the ground.
And then, just like that, it stopped.
The house fell into silence once again. Ghost could hear his heart beating in his ears and the quiet whisper of air as Roach inhaled and exhaled.
He began to move towards the sergeant, his fingers clicking and creaking as he released the doorframe.
"Get back under the door!" yelled Roach.
BANG! The house gave another jolt and shake, glass smashing to the ground.
Ghost threw his back into the hard wood of the door again, blue eyes searching the darkness, chest rising and falling rapidly. The house was silent once again.
"What the hell is going on?" whispered Simon voice low as if the house would start shaking again if he spoke to loud.
"After shocks. Just stay under the door Ghost, I'll grab a flash light."
Gary edged away from the bathroom door and ran into the bedroom.
The house gave another shudder, several more things falling to the floor with a clatter. Roach stumbled back into the hall, the soft beam of the torch illuminating dust moats, which hung lazily in the air.
The thin streak of light passed over Simon's face. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his pupils dilated, making them seem black in colour than their usual dark blue.
"You alright mate?" asked Roach, his voice tight and distant.
Ghost nodded slowly. He swayed using the doorframe for support, his head spinning.
"How did you know to get out of there?" asked Ghost quietly.
"I damn well heard it," replied Roach bitterly, surveying the hall with the flashlight. Simon gave him a questioning look. Roach shrugged, "I've been in enough of these things to know what to listen for."
"This sort of thing happen often?"
"Often enough." Gary gave Ghost a weak smile. "Welcome to New Zealand, the country with a fault line right through the middle of it."
Simon laughed, but was quickly cut off as another aftershock rocked through the house.
The sound of sirens echoed from the street. Gary leaned his head against the wall with a light bump, sighing in relief.
"I'll grab a radio. Best we know what's going on out there," muttered Roach, leaning away from the wall and walking past Simon into the lounge, legs trembling slightly.
A few minutes of silence passed before the crackle of the radio was heard. The house rumbled again. Simon slid down the wall to sit on the floor just as Roach came back, radio in hand.
'News just in, a huge earthquake has rocked through the region Otago. It has been predicted to have a magnitude of 6.9. The epicenter is still unknown. Emergency services are asking residents to stay indoors…'
Gary stared fixedly at Simon as the news reporter droned on about the earthquake. Ghost was a battle hardened special ops officer. He had seen and been in some of the most awful and helpless situations and had still come out on top. But right now he was gazing at the floor, his eyes wide with fright, face shining with sweat.
Gary tentatively reached out and touched Simon on the shoulder, making the lieutenant jump slightly.
"It's alright mate. It's over."
"Yeah I know," mumbled Simon.
Silence descended between the two men again, as several more aftershocks rumbled through the earth.
"You know what? I recon this qualifies for a return to base. We could head back tomorrow," murmured Roach, thoughtful.
Simon grinned as he thought about going home. "There's an idea."
"MacTavish is going to be pissed we cut our vacation short when he ordered us away fro two weeks, not just one."
Ghost chuckled darkly, eyes sparkling with delight. "Aye. That he will."
I had no idea how to end. AH! This story feels like it has NO SOUL! Please I BEG YOUU! Give me some ideas on how to make my writing better than this heap of garbage! GAH! Maybe I'm just having a bad time of putting down ideas lately. Some advice would be welcome! Sorry if I made Ghost sound like a scaredy cat. Even the bravest of us don't enjoy being thrown around a house by an earthquake. He's still a hard arse, he just got a bit freaked out is all. Well anyway, it's day 3 after the quake and the aftershocks are still going. And yes I'm not kidding about Roach, you can actually hear the shocks coming, it's really freaky. Anyway, please leave a review on how I can improve my writing! Really, I need it! Thanks for reading! Sorry it's not nearly as good as it should or could be. D=