Their meal finished, Johnny and Roy coaxed Chris to her feet and went off in search of the showers. They didn't want to leave the woman alone. It was like the life had been sucked out of her when she didn't find her brother's name on that list. Unsure of what else to do, Spencer tagged along. He'd checked the survivor's list once Chris had put it down and realized that there wasn't anyone he knew on it either. Feeling a little lost, he wanted to stay with people he at least thought of as friends.

Over Chris's head, the two paramedics glanced at each other. They were worried about her. After asking directions, the small group made their way to what was now being used as the shower facilities.

It wasn't much. Roy figured it looked like something from the Vietnam War or possibly the Korean War but then, it probably was. The showers were communal and situated inside tents. The tents were segregated to keep modesty possible. Reluctantly, the men sent Chris into the women's tent while they went into the men's.

Several minutes later, they regrouped outside the tents, feeling more human than they had for days. Inside they'd been issued towels, soap, shampoo, tooth brushes and tooth paste. Once they were clean again, their clothes were replaced with green hospital scrubs. It seemed to be the only clothes that they still had in abundance.

"Feeling better?" Johnny asked as he looked at the woman. She had more colour in her face and didn't looked quite as stunned but there was still a spark missing from her brown eyes.

"Yeah. How about you?" Chris asked, looking at the three men. She knew they were concerned but she didn't have any energy left to try to help. "Do you think there's any way for me to make a phone call home? My parents probably think I'm dead. I'm not on the list."

"Sure. Let's find the command centre, if there is one," Roy responded. He hadn't thought much about the woman's life before she came here. He suddenly realized that he should be contacting his own family, to let them know he was okay. Desperately he hoped Battalion had contacted all of the firemen's families to let them know they were all right and still on the job. "They may be able to get word out."

"I hope so," Chris responded. She trailed behind the men. What was she going to tell her parents about Paul? He was the eldest; she'd always looked up to him. How was she going to manage without him? Paralyzing grief flashed through her body.

They crossed the camp in search of the nucleus of the place. Johnny and Roy saw people that they knew from the other public services that were also on the job but it still took them a while to find the right tent. After a while they all started to look the same.

"Hey," Johnny said as he ducked to enter the tent. The men inside were military, which arm of the armed forces he wasn't quite sure. All the uniforms were beginning to look alike. Briefly he explained the situation to the man who appeared to be in charge. The man looked at them hard for a moment.



"I'll have to get the okay from my commanding officer," the man said finally. "Frank, get hold of the OC." He'd turned to face the man sitting at a large radio consol. None of the civilians had any idea what some of the electronics were but they looked very impressive. There was another man seated a short distance away, large earphones over his ears and he was listening intently.

"If you'll excuse me for a few minutes, I'll let you know what the CO says."

"Does the fact that my Dad is ex-military help my case at all?" Chris asked. She didn't want to suck up but she desperately wanted to talk to her parents. The need to return home was burning in her heart stronger than ever.

"What branch?" the man asked out of curiosity. It probably didn't matter but every little bit helped.

"RCAF. He was an air plane mechanic before he had a stroke and was forced to retire," Chris answered. It was one of the first admissions the woman had made about her life. Roy couldn't say that he was especially surprised.

"Canadian, huh?"

"Yeah. I just want to make sure that they know I'm okay," Chris responded.

"Yeah, you and everyone else in this camp. Just give me a few minutes." The man sitting at the counsel had nodded at the leader.

The four wandered out of the tent and stood a short distance away. All around them people in the camp were moving around, fast walking between tents, piles of papers in their hands. Generally, it made the group feel a little out of place. Chris checked each and every face in the vain hope of finding her brother. Damn how she wanted to go to bed right now.

The man lifted up the tent flap and motioned them inside. He waited until four of them were they before giving them the verdict.

"You have five minutes and five minutes only. Our communications relays are tenuous at best so I can't really even guarantee that you'll get your five minutes. What's the number?" He asked.

Quickly, not quite believing her luck, Chris gave the man her phone number. Then she waited on pins and needles while the technician tried to get hold of her family. Time seemed to stretch, she was finding it hard to breathe.

"Okay, you're on," the technician said as he handed over a mike and a pair of ear phones.

"Hello?" Chris asked, holding her breath.

"Is it really you?" her Mom's voice asked with wonder.



"Yes, it's really me. It's so good to hear your voice. Are you and Dad okay? How about Trace?" The inside of the tent melted away as in her mind's eye she saw her Mother sitting at the kitchen table.

"We're fine. We've been so worried about you. When are you coming home?" she asked.

"I don't know. As far as we can tell the air port is completely out of service. I'll get home as soon as I can." Chris took a deep breath as she prepared to tell her Mom about her brother. "I have something to tell you about Paul."

"Have you seen him yet? We talked to him for a moment yesterday."

"What?" Chris felt like her entire world shifted two feet to the right. She collapsed back into the technician's chair that he'd just vacated to give her a little privacy. Instantly the paramedics and Spencer were concerned.

"The line was very bad. I only heard a few words but he said something about being up in the hills somewhere, looking for you."

"He's alive?!" Chris looked around at the familiar faces surrounding her. The faces were quickly obliterated by the tears that were running down her face. "I've been looking everywhere but I haven't found him. You said he's up in the hills? Do you have any other details?"

"No, dear. Just that he was in some kind of a camp in the hills."

The leader touched Chris's shoulder. Time was up.

"Look, Mom. I've got to go. I'll find Paul and we'll be back home as soon as we can. I love you. Tell Dad and Trace that I love them too," Chris said.

"I love you too. Take care of yourself." With that the line went dead.

"Paul's alive. I have to go find him," Chris informed the paramedics. She knew that she needed to rest but mostly she wanted to get back up into the mountains.

"Okay," Johnny said, looking at her like she'd lost her mind. They needed to stay here, in camp, where they were safe. Or at least out of the way.

"Where are we going?" Roy asked.

"Are you nuts? We barely made it back here. I don't think they'll let us just wander off to perform a search."

"You never know until you ask," Roy countered. "Let's go."

Hi everyone (at least I hope there's more than four people reading this story!)Sorry, but I couldn't resist. Enjoy!

Susanne



P.S. let me know if you think I should end the story now that the group is all safe or keep on writing.

Thanks.