AN: Before the chapter starts I wanna thank NellisEllis for the nice comment! :)
Music tip:
Rhodes - Worry
youtube: watch?v=Ij1yi7km12s
State of Emergency
Chapter 3:
Day 4 - Leaving
Mitch hadn't been often in hospitals.
Nonetheless the Macclesfield General District Hospital seemed to be rather small. Admittedly there was a canteen for the families and friends of the patients as well as the hospital staff, but it could only hold so many people and definitely not the masses that currently roamed the hallways.
"To be honest this is the only thing that makes the whole situation at least a little bit more real," Jerome admitted and looked back to Mitch, who was still lying in his bed. "The plane crash?"
"No, this Europe-is-going-down situation. I mean, I see the reports in the news and stuff, but it just sounds like one of those countless movies to me. The plane crash? It feels like a bad dream right now-"
"Bad dream. Yeah, right."
Mitch couldn't stop himself from using a bitter tone and he quickly looked out of the window and over the quiet and small town of Macclesfield. In the past three days he hadn't slept a single night without a nightmare about dead bodies, a death trap made out of steel and Jerome, who just wasn't moving…
Not a second later he felt a hand on his arm, holding on to him with slight hesitation, then he felt the weight of a body sitting down on the edge of his bed. He sighed and tried to calm his friend down, "It's okay, Jerome, don't worry about-"
"No it's not. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so insensitive."
The hand disappeared from Mitch's arms and instead the American pulled him into a hug. Whenever they had somehow stumbled upon the topic of their unplanned arrival in Great Britain, Jerome had been unusually… close. Mitch had been sure that it would have made him snap sooner or later, but the comforting embrace and Jerome's reassuring words were actually helping him to keep a clear head.
"You shouldn't even have a reason for worrying about being insensitive in the first place," he murmured, leaned against Jerome's chest and closed his eyes, as his arms wrapped around Mitch like a protective blanket.
"I know. We never should have insisted on flying," Jerome answered with a dark voice and Mitch involuntarily tensed. With a barely audible voice he replied, "No, I don't mean that. You were in that crash, too, but I have to-"
"Stop it. You're not weak, Mitch, don't you even dare thinking something stupid like that!"
"No, I… I know. It's just… I'm a crybaby. I actually bawled my eyes out, when I was calling my family."
Jerome chuckled and grabbed Mitch tighter, who put his arms around the other's waist. This situation was completely new, but it was because of Mitch's need for some comfort, right? Jerome knew how to cheer him up with little gestures, so it was perfectly normal…
Right?
"Mitch, it's alright, believe me. I would be more worried if you wouldn't, to be honest."
"But you don't cry about it."
"I did."
Mitch forced himself to loosen his grip on Jerome a little bit and stared at his best friend with wide opened eyes. "When?" he asked confused and finally Jerome let go of him, so that Mitch could lie down properly again. "Idiot. I cried when I told our parents what was going on. I cried when you wouldn't wake up. I cried when Jo was mourning for her parents while sitting at your side."
With an honest smile on his face Mitch pulled his best friend into another hug.
"Thanks, Biggums."
The warm hands returned to his back and enjoying their little peaceful moment together, Jerome leaned his head against Mitch's and exhaled deeply. "No problem, Benja. I have honestly no clue what you would do without me."
The door opened and Sam, followed by Jo, entered the room to a happily laughing Mitch. Both let go of their embrace and turned their heads to the newcomers, but Mitch stopped laughing as soon as he saw the serious expression on Sam's face. "What happened?"
"We have to leave."
For a moment everyone kept silent, even Jo, who quickly walked over to the bed and crawled onto it to lie between Mitch and Jerome. Sam's words seemed to be quite harmless. Maybe the three of their little group had to finally find a small accommodation, because everyone except for Mitch was actually ready to be released, but the hidden message between his words was indicating for something more grave. Since no one said anything, Sam sat down onto a chair by Mitch's bed and began to explain.
"The doctor has examined you this morning, Mitch, and he came to the conclusion that you're ready to leave. Normally you would have stayed in the hospital just for a couple of days longer, so that they could have an eye on you, but things are… different. There are too many people from the flooded regions, who are in desperate need of some medical attention."
Mitch wasn't able to follow his chain of thoughts, but Jerome made it clear.
"So basically they're throwing us out, because there are too many patients?"
"Exactly."
Another second was filled with silence, when Jo finally caught Mitch's attention. With big blue eyes she stared at him, then she came closer and put her arms around his waist. Her face was buried in his chest and a warm feeling spread in his whole body, while he wrapped his arms around her and listened to her shaking voice.
"Where will we go now? Do I have to live on the streets, since I'm all alone?"
She began to cry again and Jerome was about to take her, as Mitch shook his head, pulled the little girl onto his lap and then stroke her long blonde hair.
"No sweetie, I will make sure that you have a place to stay at. Besides you're not alone, are you?"
"…I'm not?"
"Of course not," he replied with a cheery smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You've got Jerome, Sam and me!" She tried to smile as well, but the tears still streamed down her face. With a shaking hand Mitch tried to brush them away, as Jerome put a comforting hand on his back. Again a little gesture to keep him sane, because Jerome knew what seeing Jo did to him.
It reminded him of her dead parents.
Of his failure to save them.
Of a difficult future for a little girl, who had deserved so much more.
And finally it reminded him of his little brother. Connor.
He missed his family endlessly and couldn't wait to finally get off this godforsaken place. As soon as he would step off the plane, he would embrace each and every one of them, until his arms would give out. Then he would go back to normal – record some videos, chat with his friends, hang out with Jerome-
Normality.
He didn't know cute little Joanna, but her kindness and her worry for someone, who was a complete stranger for her, were adorable traits. Mitch had saved her from the wreck, so he would make sure that she was save and with people she trusted, even if it would take him ages.
And Sam… He was different. The panic in his eyes, when he had been about to drown, had disappeared and not once had Mitch seen it again in his eyes. Something regarding his appearance and his way to speak was telling him that he for sure was more than just a simple passenger from the air plane on his way to a nice vacation, but Jerome didn't know more about him either so far.
"So where are we going then? Did we get a plane already? You did talk to this official, right?" asked Jerome and tried to get back to the original topic successfully. Sam, who seemed to be glad to get away from the emotional side of things and back to something he understood, nodded and then replied, "I actually did. There are still no planes flying due to the ash clouds and the weather conditions, but they will bring us in a refugee camp in about an hour. From there on we will be able to get back to the States again."
"Well… I didn't expect there to be that… many."
Sam was the first to step off the transporter they had been on during their ride from Macclesfield to an area just outside of Birmingham. Other people had been sitting in the vehicle as well, but many had sad and frightened looks on their faces. Children had been crying and Jo had snuggled up against Mitch's side, while some adults had told them about the situation in Manchester, where they had been coming from.
It hadn't stopped raining since it had begun three days ago and meteorologists blamed the thick ash clouds for it. An earthquake had hit somewhere between Iceland and the coast of Great Britain, which was responsible for the flooded areas in and around Manchester. Mitch didn't say a word, but as he looked towards Jerome, his friend seemed to share the same thought. They would have been in the middle of a mass hysteria, if the flight had continued as it should have. Nonetheless Mitch would've preferred the panic a thousand times for what had happened instead.
"This is so unreal," Jerome agreed and stepped forward to get a better view on the countless tents, soldiers and masses of people. The rest of the group followed and stared as well, when their driver appeared by their side and gave them some information about the next steps.
Directly behind the entrance was one of the larger tents they were supposed to go in first. They would be registered and sorted to a tent. Another large one was supplying everyone with food and water, another one held something close to showers and toilets. The driver disappeared and the group began to move towards the registration, but Mitch hesitated.
He didn't want this.
There had to be a way off the island, a ferry, a cruise liner, something to escape this nightmare.
Mitch wanted to turn around in full-fledged panic, as a small hand grasped his own.
"M- Mitch?"
Jo. She was crying again and he froze on the spot filled with guilt. He had promised to keep an eye on her. He had promised to not leave her alone. "I'm afraid, can you…"
She was too shy to continue with her plea, but her clinging to him was obvious enough. With a for once honest smile he bend down and she stretched her arms to put them around his neck, as he scooped her up and held her close. "Better?"
The happy smile on her face was absolutely breathtaking.
"Better!"
She needed him and even thought they didn't really know each other, he was the closest person she had at the moment. No friends, no relatives were here for her and especially being so young she must be scared out of her mind.
And her parents died.
He couldn't imagine how it must be for her.
Just the thought of something happening to his parents was horrible and made his heart race, because he always had valued their advise, love and patience for him. She needed him to be there, until she was safe and sound with someone she was familiar with.
With a content Jo on his arms Mitch entered the tent together with Sam and Jerome to get registered – which was harder than they had expected at first. All their identifications had been lost and several phone calls had to be made, until they finally got a tent just for the four of them at the back of the camp. Jo had fallen asleep during all the commotion and Mitch tried to hurry and get her out of the storm, because it was still raining. Thankfully the ground was paved and drains in the ground were preventing the camp from being under water.
"Here it is, the number is the same," Jerome broke the silence and let Mitch go through the entrance first. The tent was large enough to hold six cots with blankets and some towels, but other than that there was nothing else. It was good enough for the moment, but it felt too clean and sterile to Mitch, as he carefully put the still sleeping Jo on one of the beds in the middle.
"We have three hours until they give out something for dinner, so what do we do in the meantime?"
Jerome kept his voice down so that he wouldn't wake up Jo and Mitch threw a thankful glance in his direction, before he continued to dry off Jo's hair carefully. "Why don't we get to know each other a little bit better? Seems like we're stuck here for a few more days," Mitch replied and then looked up straight towards Sam, who still stood by the entrance of their tent. The smile on his face somehow felt unreal for the Canadian and he frowned, as Sam decided to stay silent.
"Why don't you begin?"
The smile simply grew and fueled Mitch's anger.
"You're awfully familiar with what to do in a situation like this, so what is it? Do you know more than us about what's going on? Did you experience something like that already? Maybe your job has something to do with it? What is it?"
He was impatient, tired and emotionally exhausted, but Sam didn't seem to mind. Instead he nodded, uncrossed his arms and then said, before he left the tent, "I'll tell you if you insist, but it's a story for another time. I'll try to find out when they'll let the planes fly again, see you at dinner."