AN: I'm not gonna say anything right now…I want you to read the story, not my insane ramblings…so read and review!
Kid Blink
What the hell?! The ground is not supposed to move…it's supposed to stay put!
Those were the thoughts flying through my head as I was thrown violently to the sun heated ground, skinning my knees but not really caring, considering that a huge crack had just split the ground underneath me. I rolled away from it as it opened up about five inches, only to find myself in the path out an out of control horse- with a carriage still attached to it!
Someone grabbed me by the jacket and hauled me out of the way, and I was immensely relieved to see Jack standing there, trying to hold his balance. Things were falling to the ground all around us, and the cracks and roars of buildings breaking and falling were deafening.
"Come on, Blink!" Jack yelled, and I realized that the building we were beside was bulging dangerously outward toward the street. I jumped to my feet, trying to gain my footing on the earth as it rolled and heaved beneath me.
That's when the building fell, and I fell once again as debris slammed into my back. I felt a sharp pain as I tried to push myself up, and as more bricks and wood fell around me, I did the only thing I could think of…covering my head and praying.
The screams. Oh, God, I'll never forget the screams I was hearing. Sirens were wailing, whistles were blowing, and the noise that the earth itself was making was enough to wake the dead. I felt like I should've been crying, sobbing like a two year old even, but something in the back of my mind was yelling at me that this was not the time or place to be giving in and acting like a child.
And just as suddenly as it had started, the earth stopped moving. I felt like I had been laying there for hours while the world ended around me, but when I thought about it, it couldn't have lasted longer than a minute. I guess I'll never know, because the nearby clock tower had stopped dead when the quake started.
"Blink! Are you okay, Kid?"
I lifted my head and promptly began coughing- my throat was coated with dust. In fact, my whole body was now covered with dust. Jack appeared beside me, none the worse for wear as he began pushing various forms of building materials off of me.
"Can you get up? Are you hurt?" he asked, and I slowly pushed myself up onto my knees, feeling pain in every single limb of my body.
"I think I'm okay…" I said despite the stabbing pain in my lower back. "What about you?"
"Just a few scratches. I'm fine. Where's Mush? Wasn't he selling with you?"
Oh, God, no. Mush was out there…alone…during an earthquake.
But I would turn this whole damn city upside down to find him.
Racetrack
Everything seemed to move into slow motion as the ground began to tremble.
And then Mother Nature sent her sledgehammer down on us.
The bleachers collapsed from underneath me, and I found myself flung forward onto the ground. I heard screams of pain as the bleachers- made of solid iron- came down on top of a few unlucky souls. I tried to stand up, but getting balance was impossible with the ground tossing everyone around like rag dolls. A woman fell against me, and I held her up so she wouldn't be trampled in the crowd.
I'd never forget the look on her face. Her beautiful face was now twisted in pain and horror, and only then did I realize that I was holding up someone who was already dead. A post from the bleachers was sticking clear through her body.
I shoved her away from me, feeling the urge to throw up but not having time to do so before I realized that the announcer's tower was coming down straight toward the bleachers. I dived for cover under a trackside bench, the 'clang' of metal hitting metal practically deafening me. The main box on the tower had landed right on the bench, and I was now pinned securely to the dirt.
That meant I could only do one thing- wait and see if I survived. It was getting harder and harder to breath as the bench pressed down on me, but I felt grateful for the protection since I could see immense pools of blood forming where the tower had squashed a few people who weren't fast enough.
I began to do something I hadn't done in years- I began to pray. I found, to my surprise, that the words my mother had taught me to pray with were right there at the tip of my tongue, sliding out of my mouth even faster and smoother than when I'd been saying them every night.
And then, the ground stood still. And I began to wonder if anyone would even notice me down here.
I tried to yell for help, but my mouth couldn't seem to form words. I was shaking so bad that it was almost like the ground was still moving beneath me. Finally, I managed to get my mind back into play.
"Somebody…help me!" I yelled, for once not so full of pride that I couldn't ask for help. "Help! Please!"
"Where are you?"
It could've been the voice of an angel, for all I cared. Somebody had heard me, and they were obviously willing to help. I was surprised I could be heard among all the other cries for help and shouts of pain that I was hearing.
"I'm under the tower…the bench has me pinned!" I explained as loud as I could over the commotion outside. I couldn't see much of anything- twisted iron was blocking my view.
"Are you hurt?"
"I…I don't think so. It's hard to breathe, though!"
Silence for a moment, and then another voice spoke. "It's gonna take a while, but we'll get you outta there, kid. What's your name?"
"Racetrack!"
A gasp. "Race, is that really you? We thought you were a goner! Hang in there, we're trying to figure out how to get you out!"
I wasn't surprised that he knew me- most of the employees at the track do. What worried me was hearing them talk about how heavy that tower was…and the span of days it would take to find a way to lift it…
Dutchy
I leaned against the outside of the bookstore for support, wondering why in the world the ground would be shaking. Then all hell broke loose.
Even the wall didn't save me from being thrown into the street the first time the ground heaved upwards. I heard people screaming as the ground continued to pull things down into it- that's right, pull them down. Buildings were collapsing like dominos, one right after the other.
I suddenly smelled the strong scent of smoke, and I rolled onto my back to find that the bookstore I had just walked out of had gone up in flames. I immediately thought of the man who had sold me the book, and I stumbled to my feet and made my way to the door. For a moment I hesitated- this place was going to go down any second, just like all the others. Dozens of people had probably already died.
In the end, I pushed the door open, and the smoke rolled out into the street. I covered my mouth with my shirt- easier said than done, trying to keep my balance in a flame filled building with the ground doing a tap dance under me. Luckily, he was still at the cash register, which was right beside the door. I grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him out, pushing him out into the street.
I stumbled and fell once again, unable to keep my footing as there was an especially violent jerk. The street was now split in half, a jagged crack running all the way down the center of it and widening by the second.
Quite suddenly, as I curled up into a tight ball to try and 'wait out the storm', a dog ran up to me and stuck its nose in my face, as if it were asking me if I was okay. It was a small, scraggly brown dog, now turned black from soot and dust with only brown patches here or there.
Then the earth stood still. It was eerie, almost, after a hell on earth for what seemed like hours but was, in truth, only moments.
I pulled myself to my feet as the screams and sounds of crackling fire reached my ears, and then the man from the bookstore pulled me into a tight hug, sobbing hysterically. He then stumbled away, talking to himself the whole way as he stared at what used to be his store.
I have to find the others. Specs said he was selling at Bottle Alley today…that's where I'll go, I thought, trying to keep my mind clear and realizing that I couldn't possibly help every single injured person on the street.
I started to walk through the wreckage, and after a moment I noticed that I had a tagalong. The little brown dog was following me over the debris, wagging its tail and looking up at me with sparkling brown eyes.
"Well, if you's gonna come, you's gonna hafta keep up. I ain't carryin' ya."
Specs
Skittery and I looked at each other with the same expression on our face…what the hell?!
There was a sudden jolt that knocked me to my knees and threw Skittery off the steps, and my mind completely froze. What was happening? The ground doesn't just move all by itself!
It was a loud 'cracking' sound that brought me to my senses, and I sprang to my feet along with Skittery. We were in an alley, equal distance from the street on both sides and with two huge brick buildings on either side.
And they were both about to collapse inward.
"GO!" Skittery screamed, pushing me toward the street. I took off, stumbling on almost every step with the ground trying to pull me down to meet it.
We were almost there, but we just weren't fast enough. But just before the buildings hit the ground, I felt Skittery's hands on my back, and with one last ditch effort, he shoved me out of the alley.
The ground shook even harder as the 'boom' from the buildings hitting the ground added to the chaos. I leaped to my feet and spun around, ready to get Skittery away from that God forsaken alley and to safer grounds.
But he was nowhere to be seen; only a pile of rubble.
He hadn't made it.
"SKITTERY!" I screamed, jumping onto the pile of bricks and wood and trying to throw the wreckage away. Tears and dust stung my eyes, but it didn't matter. Not even the fact that the earth was still jarring every movement mattered. Skittery could be dead, and it would be my fault.
Finally, the ground fell still. It sounded like a war zone…the thunder of roaring fires, the sobs of women and children…screams for help, none of which I recognized as Skittery's.
"What happened? Is there somebody in there?" A man asked, stepping onto the pile next to me.
"It's Skittery…He was still in the alley…" I managed to choke out among my sobs, and I could see the pity on the man's face. He turned around and whistled, and I was stunned when two other men came running over to us.
"There's a kid trapped under all this. We've got to get him out." The man told his two friends. I looked closer, and I realized that there was a badge on the man's belt. He was a fireman, and his two friends obviously were as well.
Skittery…hang in there…don't die on me!
AN: Review, please!
