For a brief moment time seemed to slow down. Josh was aware of
the shouts, the barked orders of the Secret Service Men, the urgent tones
in the voices of the marines that stood heavily armed on the lawn surrounding
them; he felt the whir and the breeze caused by the
rotors of the marine helicopter he was about to board. He
saw Sam Seaborne waving his arm urging him to move faster,
to board so they could lift off. But he couldn't move. It was as if his feet
weigh a tonne and no matter how much he willed them to
take him forward he was rooted to the spot.
Josh felt something was not right.
Which was a feeling that was in no way an understatement.
The evacuation of the White House had taken little less
than 8 minutes. Evacuating the President, the First Lady
and Leo has taken closer to 2 minutes. No doubt they were
safely far away from the White House.
As he looked up he saw the silhouttes of CJ and Toby in
the chopper along with Sam's worried face. He was shouting
to Josh. At first Josh couldn't make out the words.
A steady pounding in his ears made hearing difficult.
But as he continued to pause he managed to concentrate enough
on Sam's face to read his lips.
"Josh! Come on! We've got to go!"
Josh remained where he was. Something was not right.
"NOW, Josh! We're lifting off."
Sam now had his arm out stretched to Josh, his body and shouts
were pleading with his friend.
The desperation in Sam's voice shook Josh from his
stupor. He fumbled forward and reached the doors of the
helicopter. Once there, he saw the fear in the faces of his co-workers.
Something was not right.
As he hesistantly placed one foot onto the helicopter he
glanced over his shoulder and froze.
"Josh?" Sam questioned.
"Donna." Josh replied absently. "I've got to go back."
"We can't wait, Josh." Toby urged him.
"Donna is with the other staff."
"No. I've got to go back for Donna. They're not being airlifted."
"They'll be taken care of." Toby said but his tone wasn't
convincing.
Josh looked towards CJ. Her face shared the look of Sam and
Toby's. It was one of guilt.
"Josh get on board." Sam pleaded again.
"We HAVE to take off NOW Mr Lyman!" The pilot announced sharply.
The engines emitted a higher pitch than before as the marines pushed buttons
and adjusted headsets.
"You go on. I'll get out with Donna. With the rest of them-" Josh started.
"No-" Sam yelled.
"Go. GO!" Josh shouted before he threw his body out of the cabin
and began his sprint back across the lawn.
Grit, grass and gravel flew around him as he moved towards
the doors to the whitehouse. He barely noticed the sting
they caused against his cheek.
It took his less than a minute to negotiate a path through
the swarms of people that were bursting out of the doors and
corridors. His head was up and eyes were sharp, looking
for any glimpse of long blonde hair amongst the hordes, but
somehow he knew where'd she'd be. He was certain that Donna
would be one of the last to leave, she would do her job-her
low paying, take over her entire life kind of job that she loved to
death despite how much she griped about it- to the last
possible moment.
A last sprint sent Josh crashing through the doors to the
now near deserted bullpen. His eyes took on a look of desperation as he
searched for his assistant. She wasn't at her desk. Rounding the corner
to his office he found that empty as well.
Josh spun on his heel at the same time as he ran a hand through his hair in
sheer desperation. Perhaps I was wrong and she had left already, he thought.
Just as he was doubting himself, he saw her as she flashed past
the end of the corridor near CJ's office.
"DONNA!" he yelled after her while racing down the empty hall way.
"Josh?" She replied somewhat confused. "You're not out yet? You should
go. They'll leave without you. Go Josh! GO!" She urged him back towards
the way he came with a shove.
"They've already left without me."
"You missed the helicopter?" She said with an incredulous tone. "Josh-"
"No I told them to go without me. I wanted to make sure you were okay.
I had to-"
"You came back for me?"
"Yeah I came back for you," he said with a small smile.
Then without waiting for a response he
grabbed her by the arm and lead her down the hallway."What are you
still doing here? You should have left like five minutes ago."
Walking as quickly as she could, trying to keep up, Donna merely shrugged
her shoulders. "Anna is new. I wanted to make sure she knew where to go.
I wanted to make sure she got out. Josh-" she began but whatever she was going to say
was drowned out by the
shouts of what appeared to be the last secret service agent
directing people to the doors and to evacuate the Whitehouse.
Caught up in the bustle, Josh and Donna scurried with the last of the
stragglers. It may have been chaos but at least it was organised chaos.
The crowd was moving quickly towards the gates to join the carcophony
of emergency personnel that lined the streets of D.C.
"Where are we going?" Donna asked Josh, not really caring in the slightest that he
had tightened his grip on her arm once they reached the outer gates.
"I had hoped to get us to my car," he said glancing back over his shoulder.
"But I guess that's out of the question."
He pulled her to one side and headed off to join the main throngs of the
D.C. working populace. Surprisingly enough Josh felt less afraid
now that he was with Donna then he had when he was about to board the
relative safety of a marine helicopter.
For her part, Donna was secretly glad that Josh was here to take charge. But that
didn't dissuade the guilt she felt that he had given up his one chance of being
safe to make sure she was okay.
Josh didn't really have a chance to work out a plan of where he would take
Donna. moments after leaving the White House he first heard and then saw
fighter jets screeching across the pale blue spring sky. Mere seconds after
silently praising what he thought to be the cavalry, he heard the first explosions.
Initially both he and Donna merely flinched as the slight tremor that accompanied
the incredible roar shook the pavement beneath them. They had known that
this was coming but it didn't make it any easy to be prepared.
A series of blasts sounded behind them which were then followed by the
sound of return gun fire no doubt by forces atop the whitehouse itself.
The smell of smoke and the shouting were secondary to the surrounding battle.
The streets began filling with smoke. With panic now setting in it was
clear that most people began fleeing the sounds of explosion after explosion
any way they could rather than following designated evacuation routes.
Perhaps a minute or two had passed since the first explosion before a blast
occured extremely close to Josh and Donna. Donna heard the missle incoming
and had stopped in her tracks only seconds before it hit. In all honesty, neither Josh or
Donna could have been sure exactly how far off it had hit. But the blast
was close enough and powerful enough to knock them both off their feet and
rain debris onto them. Donna instinctively covered he head with her arms when she
hit the pavement. For a moment, in the darkness that engulfed her as conrete and dust
filled the air and her lungs, she panicked realising that she no longer could
feel Josh beside her.
"Josh!" she called. But no answer came. "JOSH!"
"Yeah," he gasped and then coughed. A few seconds later she could make out
his grey form just five feet away.
"Are you alright?" She asked but her last word was drowned out by a second
nearby blast.
Donna's ears began to hurt. But that didn't matter once she felt herself being
hauled onto her feet again. She closed her eyes as much as she could and
allowed herself to be led along the street once again. It was difficult to
find her bearings and the only way she knew that Josh was the one holding
and guiding her was that she recognised approximately one inch of the tie
he had been wearing this morning, that small patch the only section left
unmarked by dust and dirt.
"We have to take cover somewhere." Josh screamed at her. His arms were around
her shoulders now partly shielding her back. He was careful where he put his feet least he bring Donna down with him if he fell.
"Where are we?" Donna asked.
"I have no idea. I don't even know if we are going in the same direction
anymore. Can you see any landmarks?"
Looking up at her surroundings for the first time since she was knocked
over Donna squinted in all directions. It was hopless. The blasts had stirred
clouds of dust high in the sky and it would be some time still before the cloud
that now all but blinded them would settle.
"No. I can't see much of anything. What are we going to do?"
Before Josh could answer they were knocked over once again, but this time it was not
from a blast. A murmur of apologies came from a large African American man as
he stumbled to his feet. He had crashed into them in the panic and darkness.
Helping Donna up again, Josh announced, " Come on I have an idea."
Less than four feet away there was a sewer grate. Without hesitation Josh tore
off the cover right as another round of explosions rocked the area. "Get in. Go," he
urged Donna.
Donna managed to see the first rung of what she hoped was a ladder. Trusting
Josh she quickly and without pause climbed into the sewer, pleased for the relief
the dust free air gave to both her eyes and lungs. She waited below as Josh climbed
in after her and glanced around the darkness.
Josh's haste had meant that he had left the grate off which was fortunate in that
it left some light in to illuminate what would otherwise be a very dark tunnel.
Yet another explosion caused Josh to slip on the very last rung and though there
was little chance that he would have hurt himself being so close to the bottom
Donna found herself reaching an arm out to steady him. He swung around and grabbed her
hand.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said while noddding. "I think so. You?"
"Yeah."
"So what now?" she asked.
"Let's just take a breather for a minute and then we will come up with a plan."
"Okay."
*****************
Josh wasn't sure exactly how long they had been beneathe ground. He sighed heavily
and then coughed. Light streamed down into the darkened tunnel they were now in
through the open grate which was some fifteen feet away. Rays of sunshine
highlighted the particles of dirt and concrete that they had sucked in
when they were above ground. For the first time since this whole nightmare began
Josh noticed just how sore and tired his body was. Apart from hitting the ground
hard when he had fallen to the pavement, he had a week's extreme tension and
fatigue taking their toll on his forty-something year old body. He shifted position
slightly, trying to increase his comfort any way that he could.
Donna stirred a little from the light sleep she found herself momentarily
enjoying as she rested her head against Josh's shoulder. She sat upright
once she realised that Josh was trying to get more comfortable. They had been
down here for a while and although it was a sort of refuge it lacked all
comforts. The bricks they sat on were cold, hard and unforgiving. The only
softness Donna had found down here had been against Josh's shoulder and in his
eyes.
"Hey," she whispered.
"Hey."
"The bombing has stopped."
"Yeah. Only for about ten minutes though."
"What do you think is happening?"
"I don't know, Donna. I don't know."
Donna shivered.
Noticing, Josh drew her closer to him. "Cold?"
"Not so much cold as afraid," she admitted.
Josh said nothing for there was nothing really to say.
"Do you think the President got away safely?" She asked in a concerned
tone.
"Yeah."
"And Toby, CJ, Sam?"
"I saw their helicopter take off. They're fine."
"You could have been fine too, if you hadn't have come back for me."
"I am fine, Donna."
They let his statement hang there for a moment.
"I don't understand, Josh. You could've got out. You could've been safe. You
didn't need to come back for me. You're an important man. They'll need
you and you won't be there. You should be with the rest of the senior staff."
"I'm a what? An important man?" He said in an amused voice.
"I'm serious, Josh. You shouldn't be here with me. you should be with the
rest of the senior staff. You should be with the President."
"The President has lots of important people, Donna. He probably won't even
miss me."
"Josh-"
"Look, I couldn't go. Not until I was sure that you were alright."
"I would've been fine."
"Maybe. But then again who knows which gomer you would've found yourself curled
up with down a sewer if I hadn't come along and rescued you."
"You DID not rescue me."
"Yeah, I know. But a guy can dream can't he?"
Donna smiled at his joke not really knowing if he would see it or not.
Josh thought for a few moments. There was something he kind of wanted to
get off his chest, something that had been bugging him since the first weeks
President Bartlett had taken office.
"I was prepared for this you know."
"How could you have been? Our intelligence only confirmed-"
"No, not the attack. I was prepared for not being evacuated."
"I don't understand," she admitted but something in his tone, the way he
was talking to her just now let her know that he desperately wanted her to
understand what he was saying to her.
"When the presidency began - Bartlet's presidency - they came to me. They
offered me a- a pass. It was a card that told me what to do in case of
an nuclear attack. Where to go. What protocol would be followed. How
evacuation would take place that kind of thing. I turned them down."
"You turned them down?"
"Yeah. I told them I didn't want the card - the pass. I didn't want to go.
I couldn't go. I couldn't face being one of the selected few. Not if it
meant that I would willing and knowingly leave behind friends and family.
I just couldn't do it. I couldn't be safe if my friends weren't."
"But the country needs you, Josh."
"Oh how I've dreamnt of hearing a women say those very words," he chuckled.
"Josh-"
"The country wouldn't need me in a situation like that. It would be all
NSC and Defence."
"Well, no, probably not during an attack. But afterwards, when we'd be recovering
rebuilding whatever, then they'd need you."
"'Doesn't matter, Donna. I couldn't leave my friends behind, my family.
I couldn't leave you."
His words hung there for a moment. Donna felt her throat tighten, swallowed
and then hugged him.
"I'm glad you didn't leave me, Josh."
Josh smiled secretly to himself. Her words made him feel like he had made the
right decision to come back. He absently brought his hand up to stroke her
hair, but stopped when he heard another round of bombing start up.
"Oh no," Donna whispered.
Josh noticed her cringe just a little bit. Suddenly he was extremely tired.
"Just rest, Donna. You need to rest. We need to rest. It'll be okay. We'll
stay here for a little while longer."
***************
"Where should we go?"
"I've been thinking about that," he sighed.
"Camp David?"
"No. It's too far. We'd be lucky to make it. Besides we wouldn't be allowed
in."
"What do you mean we wouldn't be allowed in. You're the Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh."
"It wouldn't matter if I was the First Lady herself. Camp David will be in lock
down mode. No admittance. No exceptions. The Secret Service would probably
shoot me on sight. That's just the way it is. It has to be, to keep the
President safe at all costs."
She was silent for a few moments. "What about home? My place - or your place-
somewhere familiar."
"I don't know, Donna. It's not safe out there."
"Well we can't stay here forever. I can't stay here forever, Josh. We'll
need supplies, food, water, a blanket, it's freezing down here. We could
go home and pick up a few things and take it from there. Who knows? It might
all be over by the time we get there."
"Yeah. It might be." He was less than enthusiastic.
"Yeah well do you have a better idea?"
"No. No, I mean it's a start. A plan. It's a plan and we needed a plan.
We'll make our way to my apartment. It's closer. That okay?"
"Yeah." she smiled. "Josh?"she whispered to him as he made an attempt
to stand on legs that were suffering a bad case of pins and needles.
"Yeah?"
"I'm scared."
He pulled her up to him. "Me too, Donna. Me too."
**************
The streets had been eerily quiet for around twenty minutes when Donna and
Josh emerged from their underground haven. It took a full minute before
their eyes became comfortable to the daylight that illuminated the chaos
before them. Washington was hardly recognisable. There was debris everywhere.
Strangely enough the streets seemed deserted. There were no other people
runnng or walking amongst the ruins. There was none of the emergency or military
personnel Josh had expected to see to be found anywhere near their location.
Where had all the people gone?
It took Joch a few minutes to get his bearings and to decide on which route
would be the best to get them to his apartment in the shortest amount of time.
It took him another few minutes to quell the panic that rose within him when he
began to wonder if his apartment was still intact and undamaged from the
barrage of bombs that had taken their toll on the Capitol.
It was difficult negotiating the piles of concrete and steel that littered the
streets. Everywhere they stepped there were splinters of wood or bricks or
tile, paper, cardboard, evern office furniture lay in their path. But what was even
more unsettling was the quiet. It was deadly quiet. Not a car or a bird or
anything discernible could be heard. The only sound for many minutes
seemed to be the crunch of their own shoes against the remnants of buildings
and trees beneath their feet.
That was until Donna heard a small voice.
She stopped in her tracks, and cocked her head. At first Josh feared she could
hear approaching aircraft and that another bombing was imminent. When she
abruptly held her hand out and ordered him to "SHHH" he saw that her face was
not full of fear but held the signs of intense concentration.
"Do you hear that?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"Hear what, Donna?"
"A voice. I thought I heard a voice."
"Come on, Donna. We have to keep moving."
She allowed herself to be gently pulled along for a few more feet before she
froze again.
"There it is again, Josh."
"Donna-" he began but this time he stopped when he too heard the cry.
"Over here," Donna said as she rushed towards the sound and before Josh could
do anything to stop her.
"We're here! We're coming! Just call out again so we can find you!" Donna's
voice held a tone of urgency.
Josh wasn't far behind her when he saw her bend down and lift a large slab
of gyprock aside. At first he couldn't see much beyond the dust, but as
he looked closely he could see a red sleeve that undoubtedly belonged
to the person who had been calling out.
"Help me, Josh!" Donna turned towards him and yelled.
Josh knelt beside her and began to clear away as much debris as he could.
Not really paying attention to the broken body that lay gasping before him.
When enough had been cleared to reveal a woman Josh stopped.
He was panting when he looked up at Donna. She had taken hold of the woman's
hand and was talking a mile a minute.
"... be okay. You're going to be okay. We're here. We found you. Are you hurt?"
Hurt.
She was hurt. This woman was hurt. For the first time Josh could see that.
The red sleeve wasn't supposed to be red. She was covered in blood. Lots
of blood. Too much blood. And if anyone knew how much blood was too much, it
was Josh. He had lost a fair amount of it himself when he was shot, but
not nearly as much as this.
Josh nudged Donna to the side. He could see that the woman held her other
arm across her stomach. Gently lifting it he revealed a large abdominal
wound.
"Oh my god." Whispered Donna.
Josh took off his jacket and folded it. once again lifting the woman's arm he
pressed it to her torso. She cried out in pain.
"Josh, don't hurt her."
"I'm trying to help, Donna. She's lost a lot of blood."
The woman groaned an spluttered and spittle mixed with blood dribbled from
her mouth.
"We have to get her to a hospital, Josh."
He looked into Donna's pleading eyes already knowing a truth Donna could not
yet bring herself to acknowledge. As if sensing her hope, he turned to
search the streets. There was no one else around to help. He wondered just how
many others lay buried benathe the ruins, dying.
"We can't do anything, Donna. We have to go," he said as he began to stand.
"What do you mean?"
"There's nothing-"
"Josh she needs us."
Feeling as bad as he possibly could he pulled Donna away from the woman
before them.
"Donna, we can't move her. Those are her intestines and her liver and god knows
what else lying there. She's bleeding to death. She's already lost too much
blood. We can't do anything for her."
"Oh yes we can."
"Donna, listen to me. It's too late for her. There's nothing we can do to save
her. But as bad as it sounds we have a chance of saving ourselves by making
sure we're out of here before the planes come back."
"No," she shook her head.
"There's nothing we can do." His voice rose.
"Yes there is."
"Donna-"
"No Josh, we're not going to leave her."
"You're not listening to me-"
"I am. I heard you. We can't save her. But I am not going to let her
die alone."
"Donna-"
"It won't be long, right?" She sked in a calmish tone, a small tremor in her
voice reflecting the fear she was feeling.
"Probably not."
"Well then. I am going to stay and hold her hand and be with her. I am going
to make sure she has a human connection when she leaves this world. I will
not leave her, Josh. She could be somebody's mother, somebody's wife. She's somebody's
daughter. And she's a fellow American. I will not let her die alone.
I will not leave her."
Donna stood before him both defiant and determined. Her eyes moist with tears.
For all the craziness Donatella Moss had brought to his life, for all the
frustration and exasperation she had caused him at times, Josh had never
before felt as proud of his small fireball non-college educated assistant than
he did right at that moment.
As much as he wanted to flee their current location he knew that she would
never agree to his reasons for not staying with this woman. He was beat.
Looking once again at the battered woman that lay before them he turned
to Donna and placed a steadied hand on her shoulder.
"Okay," he said. "Let's try and make her as comfortable as we can."
A tear slid from the corner of Donna's eye. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank
you, Josh..."
*****************
Josh stood and took a few steps back as he watched Donna gently lower the
eyelids of the woman they had come to know as Marjorie, who had left this
world only moments before. Donna bowed her head, no doubt in silent prayer,
and the heaviness that descended on Josh's heart made it hard for him to
breath. He looked at his watch and immediately felt guilty for doing so.
They had only spent twenty minutes with Marjorie. In that small amount
of time they had shared a part of her life and her death. They knew so little
about this woman and yet he also knew that she would be forever remembered
by them.
JOsh stepped back as Donna stood slowly. He could tell without even looking
at her that she was shedding tears. Knowing Donna as well as he did, Josh
was not surprised at the level of emotions she sometimes felt for total
strangers. He stood and turned his back to her to allow her some privacy
for a moment, if he was honest with himself he would have admitted that
he was really trying to avoid seeing Donna so emotional, knowing
that to see her cry would bring him undone as well.
When Josh turned back he was surprised to find Donna bending over and rifling
through Marjorie's purse.
"Donna? What are you doing?"
"I'm looking for her wallet."
"Why?"
"I'm going to need it to track down her family."
"Okay," Josh said softly.
Donna took the wallet she had found in the nearby handbag and shoved it into
her pocket.
It was then that they heard the steady whine of approaching aircraft.
"Come on," Josh said forcefully. "We gotta go, now."
She didn't argue. She allowed him to lead her away from Marjorie, but continued
to look back at the person and the lost life she had left behind.
The End
the shouts, the barked orders of the Secret Service Men, the urgent tones
in the voices of the marines that stood heavily armed on the lawn surrounding
them; he felt the whir and the breeze caused by the
rotors of the marine helicopter he was about to board. He
saw Sam Seaborne waving his arm urging him to move faster,
to board so they could lift off. But he couldn't move. It was as if his feet
weigh a tonne and no matter how much he willed them to
take him forward he was rooted to the spot.
Josh felt something was not right.
Which was a feeling that was in no way an understatement.
The evacuation of the White House had taken little less
than 8 minutes. Evacuating the President, the First Lady
and Leo has taken closer to 2 minutes. No doubt they were
safely far away from the White House.
As he looked up he saw the silhouttes of CJ and Toby in
the chopper along with Sam's worried face. He was shouting
to Josh. At first Josh couldn't make out the words.
A steady pounding in his ears made hearing difficult.
But as he continued to pause he managed to concentrate enough
on Sam's face to read his lips.
"Josh! Come on! We've got to go!"
Josh remained where he was. Something was not right.
"NOW, Josh! We're lifting off."
Sam now had his arm out stretched to Josh, his body and shouts
were pleading with his friend.
The desperation in Sam's voice shook Josh from his
stupor. He fumbled forward and reached the doors of the
helicopter. Once there, he saw the fear in the faces of his co-workers.
Something was not right.
As he hesistantly placed one foot onto the helicopter he
glanced over his shoulder and froze.
"Josh?" Sam questioned.
"Donna." Josh replied absently. "I've got to go back."
"We can't wait, Josh." Toby urged him.
"Donna is with the other staff."
"No. I've got to go back for Donna. They're not being airlifted."
"They'll be taken care of." Toby said but his tone wasn't
convincing.
Josh looked towards CJ. Her face shared the look of Sam and
Toby's. It was one of guilt.
"Josh get on board." Sam pleaded again.
"We HAVE to take off NOW Mr Lyman!" The pilot announced sharply.
The engines emitted a higher pitch than before as the marines pushed buttons
and adjusted headsets.
"You go on. I'll get out with Donna. With the rest of them-" Josh started.
"No-" Sam yelled.
"Go. GO!" Josh shouted before he threw his body out of the cabin
and began his sprint back across the lawn.
Grit, grass and gravel flew around him as he moved towards
the doors to the whitehouse. He barely noticed the sting
they caused against his cheek.
It took his less than a minute to negotiate a path through
the swarms of people that were bursting out of the doors and
corridors. His head was up and eyes were sharp, looking
for any glimpse of long blonde hair amongst the hordes, but
somehow he knew where'd she'd be. He was certain that Donna
would be one of the last to leave, she would do her job-her
low paying, take over her entire life kind of job that she loved to
death despite how much she griped about it- to the last
possible moment.
A last sprint sent Josh crashing through the doors to the
now near deserted bullpen. His eyes took on a look of desperation as he
searched for his assistant. She wasn't at her desk. Rounding the corner
to his office he found that empty as well.
Josh spun on his heel at the same time as he ran a hand through his hair in
sheer desperation. Perhaps I was wrong and she had left already, he thought.
Just as he was doubting himself, he saw her as she flashed past
the end of the corridor near CJ's office.
"DONNA!" he yelled after her while racing down the empty hall way.
"Josh?" She replied somewhat confused. "You're not out yet? You should
go. They'll leave without you. Go Josh! GO!" She urged him back towards
the way he came with a shove.
"They've already left without me."
"You missed the helicopter?" She said with an incredulous tone. "Josh-"
"No I told them to go without me. I wanted to make sure you were okay.
I had to-"
"You came back for me?"
"Yeah I came back for you," he said with a small smile.
Then without waiting for a response he
grabbed her by the arm and lead her down the hallway."What are you
still doing here? You should have left like five minutes ago."
Walking as quickly as she could, trying to keep up, Donna merely shrugged
her shoulders. "Anna is new. I wanted to make sure she knew where to go.
I wanted to make sure she got out. Josh-" she began but whatever she was going to say
was drowned out by the
shouts of what appeared to be the last secret service agent
directing people to the doors and to evacuate the Whitehouse.
Caught up in the bustle, Josh and Donna scurried with the last of the
stragglers. It may have been chaos but at least it was organised chaos.
The crowd was moving quickly towards the gates to join the carcophony
of emergency personnel that lined the streets of D.C.
"Where are we going?" Donna asked Josh, not really caring in the slightest that he
had tightened his grip on her arm once they reached the outer gates.
"I had hoped to get us to my car," he said glancing back over his shoulder.
"But I guess that's out of the question."
He pulled her to one side and headed off to join the main throngs of the
D.C. working populace. Surprisingly enough Josh felt less afraid
now that he was with Donna then he had when he was about to board the
relative safety of a marine helicopter.
For her part, Donna was secretly glad that Josh was here to take charge. But that
didn't dissuade the guilt she felt that he had given up his one chance of being
safe to make sure she was okay.
Josh didn't really have a chance to work out a plan of where he would take
Donna. moments after leaving the White House he first heard and then saw
fighter jets screeching across the pale blue spring sky. Mere seconds after
silently praising what he thought to be the cavalry, he heard the first explosions.
Initially both he and Donna merely flinched as the slight tremor that accompanied
the incredible roar shook the pavement beneath them. They had known that
this was coming but it didn't make it any easy to be prepared.
A series of blasts sounded behind them which were then followed by the
sound of return gun fire no doubt by forces atop the whitehouse itself.
The smell of smoke and the shouting were secondary to the surrounding battle.
The streets began filling with smoke. With panic now setting in it was
clear that most people began fleeing the sounds of explosion after explosion
any way they could rather than following designated evacuation routes.
Perhaps a minute or two had passed since the first explosion before a blast
occured extremely close to Josh and Donna. Donna heard the missle incoming
and had stopped in her tracks only seconds before it hit. In all honesty, neither Josh or
Donna could have been sure exactly how far off it had hit. But the blast
was close enough and powerful enough to knock them both off their feet and
rain debris onto them. Donna instinctively covered he head with her arms when she
hit the pavement. For a moment, in the darkness that engulfed her as conrete and dust
filled the air and her lungs, she panicked realising that she no longer could
feel Josh beside her.
"Josh!" she called. But no answer came. "JOSH!"
"Yeah," he gasped and then coughed. A few seconds later she could make out
his grey form just five feet away.
"Are you alright?" She asked but her last word was drowned out by a second
nearby blast.
Donna's ears began to hurt. But that didn't matter once she felt herself being
hauled onto her feet again. She closed her eyes as much as she could and
allowed herself to be led along the street once again. It was difficult to
find her bearings and the only way she knew that Josh was the one holding
and guiding her was that she recognised approximately one inch of the tie
he had been wearing this morning, that small patch the only section left
unmarked by dust and dirt.
"We have to take cover somewhere." Josh screamed at her. His arms were around
her shoulders now partly shielding her back. He was careful where he put his feet least he bring Donna down with him if he fell.
"Where are we?" Donna asked.
"I have no idea. I don't even know if we are going in the same direction
anymore. Can you see any landmarks?"
Looking up at her surroundings for the first time since she was knocked
over Donna squinted in all directions. It was hopless. The blasts had stirred
clouds of dust high in the sky and it would be some time still before the cloud
that now all but blinded them would settle.
"No. I can't see much of anything. What are we going to do?"
Before Josh could answer they were knocked over once again, but this time it was not
from a blast. A murmur of apologies came from a large African American man as
he stumbled to his feet. He had crashed into them in the panic and darkness.
Helping Donna up again, Josh announced, " Come on I have an idea."
Less than four feet away there was a sewer grate. Without hesitation Josh tore
off the cover right as another round of explosions rocked the area. "Get in. Go," he
urged Donna.
Donna managed to see the first rung of what she hoped was a ladder. Trusting
Josh she quickly and without pause climbed into the sewer, pleased for the relief
the dust free air gave to both her eyes and lungs. She waited below as Josh climbed
in after her and glanced around the darkness.
Josh's haste had meant that he had left the grate off which was fortunate in that
it left some light in to illuminate what would otherwise be a very dark tunnel.
Yet another explosion caused Josh to slip on the very last rung and though there
was little chance that he would have hurt himself being so close to the bottom
Donna found herself reaching an arm out to steady him. He swung around and grabbed her
hand.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said while noddding. "I think so. You?"
"Yeah."
"So what now?" she asked.
"Let's just take a breather for a minute and then we will come up with a plan."
"Okay."
*****************
Josh wasn't sure exactly how long they had been beneathe ground. He sighed heavily
and then coughed. Light streamed down into the darkened tunnel they were now in
through the open grate which was some fifteen feet away. Rays of sunshine
highlighted the particles of dirt and concrete that they had sucked in
when they were above ground. For the first time since this whole nightmare began
Josh noticed just how sore and tired his body was. Apart from hitting the ground
hard when he had fallen to the pavement, he had a week's extreme tension and
fatigue taking their toll on his forty-something year old body. He shifted position
slightly, trying to increase his comfort any way that he could.
Donna stirred a little from the light sleep she found herself momentarily
enjoying as she rested her head against Josh's shoulder. She sat upright
once she realised that Josh was trying to get more comfortable. They had been
down here for a while and although it was a sort of refuge it lacked all
comforts. The bricks they sat on were cold, hard and unforgiving. The only
softness Donna had found down here had been against Josh's shoulder and in his
eyes.
"Hey," she whispered.
"Hey."
"The bombing has stopped."
"Yeah. Only for about ten minutes though."
"What do you think is happening?"
"I don't know, Donna. I don't know."
Donna shivered.
Noticing, Josh drew her closer to him. "Cold?"
"Not so much cold as afraid," she admitted.
Josh said nothing for there was nothing really to say.
"Do you think the President got away safely?" She asked in a concerned
tone.
"Yeah."
"And Toby, CJ, Sam?"
"I saw their helicopter take off. They're fine."
"You could have been fine too, if you hadn't have come back for me."
"I am fine, Donna."
They let his statement hang there for a moment.
"I don't understand, Josh. You could've got out. You could've been safe. You
didn't need to come back for me. You're an important man. They'll need
you and you won't be there. You should be with the rest of the senior staff."
"I'm a what? An important man?" He said in an amused voice.
"I'm serious, Josh. You shouldn't be here with me. you should be with the
rest of the senior staff. You should be with the President."
"The President has lots of important people, Donna. He probably won't even
miss me."
"Josh-"
"Look, I couldn't go. Not until I was sure that you were alright."
"I would've been fine."
"Maybe. But then again who knows which gomer you would've found yourself curled
up with down a sewer if I hadn't come along and rescued you."
"You DID not rescue me."
"Yeah, I know. But a guy can dream can't he?"
Donna smiled at his joke not really knowing if he would see it or not.
Josh thought for a few moments. There was something he kind of wanted to
get off his chest, something that had been bugging him since the first weeks
President Bartlett had taken office.
"I was prepared for this you know."
"How could you have been? Our intelligence only confirmed-"
"No, not the attack. I was prepared for not being evacuated."
"I don't understand," she admitted but something in his tone, the way he
was talking to her just now let her know that he desperately wanted her to
understand what he was saying to her.
"When the presidency began - Bartlet's presidency - they came to me. They
offered me a- a pass. It was a card that told me what to do in case of
an nuclear attack. Where to go. What protocol would be followed. How
evacuation would take place that kind of thing. I turned them down."
"You turned them down?"
"Yeah. I told them I didn't want the card - the pass. I didn't want to go.
I couldn't go. I couldn't face being one of the selected few. Not if it
meant that I would willing and knowingly leave behind friends and family.
I just couldn't do it. I couldn't be safe if my friends weren't."
"But the country needs you, Josh."
"Oh how I've dreamnt of hearing a women say those very words," he chuckled.
"Josh-"
"The country wouldn't need me in a situation like that. It would be all
NSC and Defence."
"Well, no, probably not during an attack. But afterwards, when we'd be recovering
rebuilding whatever, then they'd need you."
"'Doesn't matter, Donna. I couldn't leave my friends behind, my family.
I couldn't leave you."
His words hung there for a moment. Donna felt her throat tighten, swallowed
and then hugged him.
"I'm glad you didn't leave me, Josh."
Josh smiled secretly to himself. Her words made him feel like he had made the
right decision to come back. He absently brought his hand up to stroke her
hair, but stopped when he heard another round of bombing start up.
"Oh no," Donna whispered.
Josh noticed her cringe just a little bit. Suddenly he was extremely tired.
"Just rest, Donna. You need to rest. We need to rest. It'll be okay. We'll
stay here for a little while longer."
***************
"Where should we go?"
"I've been thinking about that," he sighed.
"Camp David?"
"No. It's too far. We'd be lucky to make it. Besides we wouldn't be allowed
in."
"What do you mean we wouldn't be allowed in. You're the Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh."
"It wouldn't matter if I was the First Lady herself. Camp David will be in lock
down mode. No admittance. No exceptions. The Secret Service would probably
shoot me on sight. That's just the way it is. It has to be, to keep the
President safe at all costs."
She was silent for a few moments. "What about home? My place - or your place-
somewhere familiar."
"I don't know, Donna. It's not safe out there."
"Well we can't stay here forever. I can't stay here forever, Josh. We'll
need supplies, food, water, a blanket, it's freezing down here. We could
go home and pick up a few things and take it from there. Who knows? It might
all be over by the time we get there."
"Yeah. It might be." He was less than enthusiastic.
"Yeah well do you have a better idea?"
"No. No, I mean it's a start. A plan. It's a plan and we needed a plan.
We'll make our way to my apartment. It's closer. That okay?"
"Yeah." she smiled. "Josh?"she whispered to him as he made an attempt
to stand on legs that were suffering a bad case of pins and needles.
"Yeah?"
"I'm scared."
He pulled her up to him. "Me too, Donna. Me too."
**************
The streets had been eerily quiet for around twenty minutes when Donna and
Josh emerged from their underground haven. It took a full minute before
their eyes became comfortable to the daylight that illuminated the chaos
before them. Washington was hardly recognisable. There was debris everywhere.
Strangely enough the streets seemed deserted. There were no other people
runnng or walking amongst the ruins. There was none of the emergency or military
personnel Josh had expected to see to be found anywhere near their location.
Where had all the people gone?
It took Joch a few minutes to get his bearings and to decide on which route
would be the best to get them to his apartment in the shortest amount of time.
It took him another few minutes to quell the panic that rose within him when he
began to wonder if his apartment was still intact and undamaged from the
barrage of bombs that had taken their toll on the Capitol.
It was difficult negotiating the piles of concrete and steel that littered the
streets. Everywhere they stepped there were splinters of wood or bricks or
tile, paper, cardboard, evern office furniture lay in their path. But what was even
more unsettling was the quiet. It was deadly quiet. Not a car or a bird or
anything discernible could be heard. The only sound for many minutes
seemed to be the crunch of their own shoes against the remnants of buildings
and trees beneath their feet.
That was until Donna heard a small voice.
She stopped in her tracks, and cocked her head. At first Josh feared she could
hear approaching aircraft and that another bombing was imminent. When she
abruptly held her hand out and ordered him to "SHHH" he saw that her face was
not full of fear but held the signs of intense concentration.
"Do you hear that?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"Hear what, Donna?"
"A voice. I thought I heard a voice."
"Come on, Donna. We have to keep moving."
She allowed herself to be gently pulled along for a few more feet before she
froze again.
"There it is again, Josh."
"Donna-" he began but this time he stopped when he too heard the cry.
"Over here," Donna said as she rushed towards the sound and before Josh could
do anything to stop her.
"We're here! We're coming! Just call out again so we can find you!" Donna's
voice held a tone of urgency.
Josh wasn't far behind her when he saw her bend down and lift a large slab
of gyprock aside. At first he couldn't see much beyond the dust, but as
he looked closely he could see a red sleeve that undoubtedly belonged
to the person who had been calling out.
"Help me, Josh!" Donna turned towards him and yelled.
Josh knelt beside her and began to clear away as much debris as he could.
Not really paying attention to the broken body that lay gasping before him.
When enough had been cleared to reveal a woman Josh stopped.
He was panting when he looked up at Donna. She had taken hold of the woman's
hand and was talking a mile a minute.
"... be okay. You're going to be okay. We're here. We found you. Are you hurt?"
Hurt.
She was hurt. This woman was hurt. For the first time Josh could see that.
The red sleeve wasn't supposed to be red. She was covered in blood. Lots
of blood. Too much blood. And if anyone knew how much blood was too much, it
was Josh. He had lost a fair amount of it himself when he was shot, but
not nearly as much as this.
Josh nudged Donna to the side. He could see that the woman held her other
arm across her stomach. Gently lifting it he revealed a large abdominal
wound.
"Oh my god." Whispered Donna.
Josh took off his jacket and folded it. once again lifting the woman's arm he
pressed it to her torso. She cried out in pain.
"Josh, don't hurt her."
"I'm trying to help, Donna. She's lost a lot of blood."
The woman groaned an spluttered and spittle mixed with blood dribbled from
her mouth.
"We have to get her to a hospital, Josh."
He looked into Donna's pleading eyes already knowing a truth Donna could not
yet bring herself to acknowledge. As if sensing her hope, he turned to
search the streets. There was no one else around to help. He wondered just how
many others lay buried benathe the ruins, dying.
"We can't do anything, Donna. We have to go," he said as he began to stand.
"What do you mean?"
"There's nothing-"
"Josh she needs us."
Feeling as bad as he possibly could he pulled Donna away from the woman
before them.
"Donna, we can't move her. Those are her intestines and her liver and god knows
what else lying there. She's bleeding to death. She's already lost too much
blood. We can't do anything for her."
"Oh yes we can."
"Donna, listen to me. It's too late for her. There's nothing we can do to save
her. But as bad as it sounds we have a chance of saving ourselves by making
sure we're out of here before the planes come back."
"No," she shook her head.
"There's nothing we can do." His voice rose.
"Yes there is."
"Donna-"
"No Josh, we're not going to leave her."
"You're not listening to me-"
"I am. I heard you. We can't save her. But I am not going to let her
die alone."
"Donna-"
"It won't be long, right?" She sked in a calmish tone, a small tremor in her
voice reflecting the fear she was feeling.
"Probably not."
"Well then. I am going to stay and hold her hand and be with her. I am going
to make sure she has a human connection when she leaves this world. I will
not leave her, Josh. She could be somebody's mother, somebody's wife. She's somebody's
daughter. And she's a fellow American. I will not let her die alone.
I will not leave her."
Donna stood before him both defiant and determined. Her eyes moist with tears.
For all the craziness Donatella Moss had brought to his life, for all the
frustration and exasperation she had caused him at times, Josh had never
before felt as proud of his small fireball non-college educated assistant than
he did right at that moment.
As much as he wanted to flee their current location he knew that she would
never agree to his reasons for not staying with this woman. He was beat.
Looking once again at the battered woman that lay before them he turned
to Donna and placed a steadied hand on her shoulder.
"Okay," he said. "Let's try and make her as comfortable as we can."
A tear slid from the corner of Donna's eye. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank
you, Josh..."
*****************
Josh stood and took a few steps back as he watched Donna gently lower the
eyelids of the woman they had come to know as Marjorie, who had left this
world only moments before. Donna bowed her head, no doubt in silent prayer,
and the heaviness that descended on Josh's heart made it hard for him to
breath. He looked at his watch and immediately felt guilty for doing so.
They had only spent twenty minutes with Marjorie. In that small amount
of time they had shared a part of her life and her death. They knew so little
about this woman and yet he also knew that she would be forever remembered
by them.
JOsh stepped back as Donna stood slowly. He could tell without even looking
at her that she was shedding tears. Knowing Donna as well as he did, Josh
was not surprised at the level of emotions she sometimes felt for total
strangers. He stood and turned his back to her to allow her some privacy
for a moment, if he was honest with himself he would have admitted that
he was really trying to avoid seeing Donna so emotional, knowing
that to see her cry would bring him undone as well.
When Josh turned back he was surprised to find Donna bending over and rifling
through Marjorie's purse.
"Donna? What are you doing?"
"I'm looking for her wallet."
"Why?"
"I'm going to need it to track down her family."
"Okay," Josh said softly.
Donna took the wallet she had found in the nearby handbag and shoved it into
her pocket.
It was then that they heard the steady whine of approaching aircraft.
"Come on," Josh said forcefully. "We gotta go, now."
She didn't argue. She allowed him to lead her away from Marjorie, but continued
to look back at the person and the lost life she had left behind.
The End