Earthquake

"This is not a test.  Attention Sacramento citizens:  This is a warning of the emergency system.  An earthquake struck Central California at 4:58 a.m. this Saturday, October 18.  At least two hundred are dead and several thousand injured.  The severity of the earthquake on the Richter scale has not yet been determined.  Most major power lines are down and are not expected to be running again for at least a week.  This is not a test."

The automated message crackled over the radio as sunlight brushed across Louis' face.  He opened his eyes and glanced at Tawny, who was lying next to him, sleeping soundly.  The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in Tawny's room after the movie they were watching had ended.  Louis sat up and rubbed his eyes, absentmindedly shutting off the radio, which served as Tawny's alarm clock.  "Tawny?" he whispered.  "Tawn?"

Tawny rolled over and slowly sat up.  "What is it?" she asked.  "What time is it?"

Louis glanced at his watch.  "It's almost seven."

"Ohhhh."  Tawny moaned and flipped the covers back over her head.  "Wake me in an hour."

Louis reached over to Tawny's desk and picked up the remote control to her TV.  He pressed the "On" button.  Nothing happened.  Crossing to the other side of the room, he attempted to turn on the lights.  Again, nothing.  "We must have a power outage," Louis said to himself, and turned on Tawny's battery-powered radio to see if any outages had been reporter.

"This is not a test," the radio repeated.  "Attention Sacramento citizens:  This is a warning of the emergency system.  An earthquake struck Central California at 4:58 a.m."

Louis perked up at the word "earthquake."

"Tawny," he said, shaking Tawny gently.  "Listen to this."

Tawny pulled herself to a sitting position and turned toward the radio.

"At least two hundred are dead and several thousand injured."

"Oh my God, Louis," said Tawny, "they're talking about Sacramento."

Louis let out a nervous laugh.  "Yeah, but I mean, how could they be?  If there had been an earthquake we would have felt it, right?"

Tawny pulled open her curtains and sunlight streamed into the room.  "Oh..." was all Louis heard her say before she backed away from the window.

Louis peered outside.  Rubble covered the ground.  The two enormous trees in the yard across the street were lying sideways, blocking what was left of the road.  Half of the houses on the block were crumbled to almost nothing, and telephone wires showered sparks into the air.  Numerous pieces of refuse and debris covered nearly every inch of the street and sidewalk.  "We gotta get out of here."

Tawny's voice trembled.  "Where do we go?"

"I don't know.  Out," said Louis, who was already sprinting down the stairs into Tawny's living room.  A few of the pictures on the walls had fallen to the floor and shattered, but nothing seemed to be severely damaged.  Even the note that Mrs. Dean had left for Tawny with emergency numbers before she and Mr. Dean went out of town for a psychology convention was still posted on the wall.  Tawny followed Louis and took hold of his hand.  He pulled open the front door.

"Louis..." Tawny choked out.

There was no visible pathway leading out the Deans' front door.  An overturned car that Louis didn't recognize lay in the driveway, and some sort of dog house was in two pieces in the yard.

"We'll go out the window in your room," said Louis.

Back upstairs in Tawny's room, Louis opened the window and helped Tawny climb down the ladder he had constructed years ago in order to gain access to her room.  He followed her and jumped to the ground.  The side of the house was littered with paper and glass bottles from the Deans' recycling bin, but at least it could be kicked aside.

The two stood for a few seconds and stared at the destruction before them.  Only about eight houses on Tawny's side of the street seemed not to have sustained damage.  Throughout the rest of the neighborhood nearly all the houses had been completely destroyed.

Louis led the way down the block towards his house, trying to push the negative thoughts out of his head.  Tawny's foot crunched over something and she bent down and picked up a picture of a family, its glass matting cracked and its frame half torn off.  As she stared at it her eyes began welling up.  Louis pried it out of her hands and threw it to the side.  "Just don't think."

A walk that normally would have taken five minutes took nearly half an hour.  As Louis arrived at the spot where his house was supposed to be, he choked up.  Tawny let out a sob.  The lot where the house had once stood was virtually unrecognizable, except for a few pieces of identifiable materials that were scattered about the yard.

"We have to call Ren," Louis whispered.

Ren was currently attending Michigan State University.  There were never earthquakes in Michigan.  Louis tightened his fist.

"How?" asked Tawny, tears spilling from her eyes.

Louis sat down in the place where his driveway had once been.  "I don't know," he said, burying his head in his hands.

"Look, Louis."  Tawny sat beside him and clutched both of his hands in hers.  "Maybe they got out."

"Yeah.  Yeah," said Louis, but it didn't sound convincing.

"We'll find a phone and we'll call my parents and Ren," said Tawny.  "To let them know we're okay.  All right?" 

"Yeah," Louis repeated.  He looked at Tawny, his eyes glazed over.  She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Louis...it'll be okay."

Louis shrugged.  "No..." he stared, but Tawny pulled him into a hug, shushing him.  He leaned his head into her neck and thought of the absurdity of the two of them sitting there, barefoot, in pajamas, in the middle of a deserted city.  They sat there, gripping each other for life, for hours, and neither of them would let go.

More to come...