Chapter Three

The Cage

The night was so cold that Sam could see his breath when he stepped outside, shivering, onto the patio, which was bare since they had no furniture to fill it with. They had just moved in at the beginning of the week and even if they hadn't, he had never been one for patio furniture. From where he stood, rubbing his hands together, Sam could see Laura, sitting cross-legged on the brittle lawn, staring up at the night sky. She wasn't aware that he had come outside and he took the opportunity to stare at her, unnoticed, just as he did whenever he got the chance; she was so beautiful, her skin a pale color because of the cold and the after-effects of blood poisoning, her heavy ringlets cascading down her back and shoulders and her beautiful round eyes taking in the sparking stars.

Laura's gaze traveled away from the sky and she seemed startled to suddenly see Sam standing on the porch. "What are you looking at?" She questioned, looking behind her for a moment as though there was something back there far more captivating then she. The yard was small and she didn't have to shout to be heard.

Sam just smiled, amazed by the fact that Laura, herself, was still amazed at the way he felt about her. It had been two months since they had escaped the super-storm in New York, two months since he had first told her how he really felt about her and Laura seemed both amazed and anxious about the way he felt, as though she was expecting him to get bored and move on. Sam wished he could explain to her that that would never happen.

Laura beckoned to him. "Come here." She called, ending the silence. Sam did as she said, smiling again when she grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the frost covered ground beside her. "Have you ever seen so many stars?" She questioned, gaze sweeping upward again.

Sam looked up; the sky was completely clear, not even the faintest wisp of a cloud in sight and without the many street lamps and artificial lights to obscure the sky, it really seemed as though he was gazing up at the entire night sky. He was a city kid, born and raised, and the only time he had seen such a mass of stars had been on his trip to Greenland with his father; but sitting here with Laura, the stars he had seen then were nothing compared to the ones he was seeing now.

Sam let out an appreciative, nearly silent, whistle as he agreed that he had never seen as many stars; he slipped his arm around Laura's waist and she leaned her head against his shoulder. She was shivering slightly, and he held her tightly, trying to stop her shaking.

For a moment, they sat in silence, with Laura studying the night sky and Sam studying her. After a while, Sam said, "Did you ever used to play that game with your parents? Well, I guess it's not really a game but...where you'd pick a star and make a wish?"

Laura looked down at him and shook her head. "My mom was always busy with work and I was always busy trying to be the best and my little sister was always busy being a pest." She admitted, sighing and looking down at the ground. Sometimes, it still hurt to admit why she had invested so much time in studying and that she really had worked to be the smartest, the best at everything. Sam took her hand and Laura looked up again; sometimes it didn't hurt so much.

Sam kissed her lightly on the cheek and she smiled. He laid down on his back, pulling Laura down with him so that her head was resting on his chest; they were both studying the star filled sky and he wondered if she was making wishes on all the stars. Sam thought about wishing himself, but the thing he would have wished for he already had.

The first thing that Sam was aware of when he struggled out of unconsciousness was the fact that he his cheeks were damp; he had been crying in his private blackness, thinking of Laura and knowing, somehow, that the earthquake where she was had been much worse, that she wasn't okay. For a fleeting moment, he wished he were unconsciousness once again, back on the lawn with Laura in his arms, a perfect night, a perfect memory.

"Sam?" Jack questioned once he saw his son had stirred. He gently shook Sam and his son's eyes snapped openly quickly.

Sam looked almost confused. "Where's Laura?" He questioned, blinking away the tears that had yet to fall and shaking away the thoughts that had convinced him that the woman he loved was in danger. Maybe it was all just a nightmare and he'd find Laura safe at home, asleep in their bed with the covers clutched tightly and her head bowed.

Jack looked at his son with concern on his face. "Sam," he began slowly, "do you remember what happened?" His face was still a mask of unexpressed pain, his cheeks red and brow knitted but he looked more worried about his son then himself.

Sam nodded slowly, he remembered: earthquake. "I have to get to Laura." He said, getting to his feet quickly and wishing he hadn't. His head spun, the room spun, everything tilted and he fell back to the ground, squeezing his eyes against the blinding pain.

It was only when Sam opened his eyes again, the spinning gone, that he was able to get a look at the room that had once been his father's orderly office. The desk that had landed on top of him lay in a heap, the broken shards of the computer monitor poking out a odd angles. Jason lay beside the desk, still unconscious, bleeding from a gash in his head but breathing regularly. Sam let his eyes travel away from his father's partner and around the rest of the room; the walls had crumbled, chunks of plaster and brick laying smashed on the ground along with picture frames and potted plants. The glass covering the windows had broken and the lights were still out, no doubt shattered like everything else.

Sam gently prodding the side of his head with his fingers and wasn't at all surprised when he pulled them back, sticky with blood. Jack looked at him with concern, as though he hadn't noticed the injury before. "Sam, you've got to get to a doctor." He muttered, though it pretty much went without saying.

"No," Sam looked at his father, "I have to find out if Laura's okay." But somehow, someway, he knew that she wasn't. His heart felt like it was going to break into pieces at any moment, torn by not knowing whether or not Laura was hurt.

Jack looked at his son. "Sam, you could have a concussion." He pointed out. "Now I know you're worried about Laura but-"

"I can't just sit here, Dad." Sam said, trying to get to his feet again but his head commanding him back down. He leaned against the rubble that was the desk and closed his eyes. "I can't just leave her."

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The ground shuddered one final time and everything was still, unnaturally so, as though the entire world had be put on pause. It was eerie, silent and Elsa thought for a moment that she was dead.

A piercing cry split the silent air and Elsa's eyes snapped open quickly as her mind fought to identify the sound and scramble itself back into place. When a similar cry followed suit, she realized that it was the twin boys, wailing; seconds later, the mother's voice started trying to sooth them. At least they were okay.

Elsa slowly lifted her head and even more slowly got to her feet, leaning against the counter and checking herself for injuries. Aside from being shaky and scared shitless, she was all right.

The room was black but Elsa could barely make out the shaking forms of the customers that had happened to be in the store when the quake had started. From what she could tell, no one seemed too badly injured, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions while there was still one person unaccounted for. "Laura?" She called as loudly as her shaking voice. Elsa turned in the direction of the storeroom. "Laura?" A little louder this time.

There was no answer from inside the room and Elsa knew there was something wrong with the girl inside; Laura would have said something by now, she would have come out. The only reason that she wouldn't have answered would have been because she was hurt or... Don't even think it! She commanded. Don't go there. But it was hard.

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The American Embassy was in a state of chaos and disrepair but not enough to keep those inside from rushing to the aid of the wounded. As soon as she was certain the quake was over, Janet rushed from her makeshift hiding spot and hurried toward Jack's office, where she had last seen her fiancé, his partner and Sam. All around her, she could hear the mumbled words of concern and the not-so muffled cries of pain from those who hadn't been lucky enough to escape falling debris. The building itself didn't seem too damaged, with the carpet littered with shattered glass and the occasional chunk of plaster that had been shaken loose from the wall; Janet knew from experience that things could have been a lot worse.

The door to Jack Hall's office had to be forced open and Janet stumbled instead, her eyes scanning the room. Jack looked up as soon as she entered. "Sam needs to see a doctor." He said, not bothering to waste his time on unnecessary concerns. Sam mumbled something; Jack ignored him and went on to explain that Jason could use a doctor as well and he believed his own leg was broken.

Janet hurried off again to find someone to collaborate with on how the emergency should be dealt with; Sam groaned and shifted so that he could empty the contents of his pocket, including Laura's engagement ring and his cell phone. Holding the box tightly, he flipped open his cell phone, hoping the cell phone towers hadn't been damaged in the quake; there was only one bar of service, but that would have to do. Jack watched silently as his son dialed Laura on speed-dial.

The cell phone you are trying to reach is currently not in service was the message that Sam received after the first ring. He cursed as the message continued to repeat, snapping the phone shut and biting onto his bottom lip. He had to get to Laura, he had to make sure she was okay.

"Maybe the towers were damaged where Laura is." Jack offered. He had seen that look on his son's face before, the look that said that there was nothing that could stop him from doing whatever had come into his head. Whether Sam realized it or not, he was in serious need of medical attention; the gash on the side of his head continued to bleed and he could barely stand up. If his son was planning on going to the building where Laura worked, then Jack was going to have something to say about that.

Sam looked over at his father but didn't say anything; at least that way he could pretend that maybe it was true.

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When Elsa had been five years old, her kindergarten teacher had picked her to the be a team captain for dodge-ball and she had promptly told the woman that she didn't handle being in charge of others very well. When Elsa had been in the seventh grade, her favorite teacher had thought it would be a good idea if she was class monitor and made sure everyone was quiet and in control while the teacher was out of the room; promptly, the class had become unruly and Elsa had found herself unable to keep them neither quiet or in control. Needless to say, the way Elsa saw it, she wasn't cut out to be in control or in charge of anything and she had been content with that fact for most of her life; she'd rather follow orders then give them.

But when Elsa found herself looking at the frightened group in her store, she realized that it was about time to assume some sort of control, because it was clear that no one else was around to do it. Maybe if Laura hadn't been trapped in the storeroom, she'd make her handle this but Laura wasn't here (something that worried her) and there was no one else.

"Okay," Elsa said, her voice shaky, "Is everyone all right?" The mother with the twins looked up, holding her children tightly against her; she nodded that both she and her boys were all right.

One of the pre-teenage girls, a blonde, looked at Elsa with tears streaming from her eyes. "My friend, she's been cut. Bad." She sniffed and Elsa figured that one of the broken mirrors had found their mark. "What's going on?"

Elsa sighed. "I think there's been an earthquake." There was silence; being the voice of authority wasn't so hard after all. "I have no idea what shape the other floors are in but I'd guess not good." A look around her own store and the solid silence was enough to tell her that. "But I'm sure the Embassy is going to be coming to help us soon." Isn't that what you thought in New York? questioned the scared shitless part of her brain. Didn't you think that someone, anyone, would be around to bail you out of the library and look how long you were in that room, living off Skittles and burning books. Elsa tried to push that thought from her mind, but it wouldn't go away.

Thinking of the library made her think of Laura again; she had to get into the storeroom and make sure she was all right. Walking carefully, hardly able to see in the darkness, Elsa headed over to where she knew the storeroom door to be; she slid her hand along the wall, once slicing her palm on a jagged piece of plaster, until she found the handle. The knob turned back the door was being forced shut by something in front of it and no matter how hard Elsa pushed, that something wouldn't give way.

"Laura?" Elsa tried again, pressing her face as close to the door as she could. "If you're all right, Laura, please say something."

There was no answer, nothing but silence and the continuous crying of the twin boys or the teenager girls or both. Elsa laid her head against the door and shut her eyes, fighting back the tears; she was utterly at a loss of what to do. A girl could possibly bleed to death, the building is falling apart, she could hear the metal groaning as it pulled apart and her best friend was possibly dead. At least in New York she had had someone telling her what to do, someone else to worry about what they were going to do. Now that person was herself and she didn't think she could handle it.

Elsa nearly jumped out of her skin when a shrill ringing noise split the silence suddenly. It took her nearly a full minute to identify the sound that she had heard for most of her life. Her cell phone was ringing.

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Sam lay on a makeshift stretcher -which was really nothing other then couch cushions pushed together, holding his cell phone pressed against his ear, listening to it ring and watching live coverage on the small black and white television set in front of him. The lobby of the Embassy had been transformed into an unofficial hospital wing since those suffering injuries couldn't be moved upstairs into the actual hospital and those taking up floor space were less then he would have thought at first. But that all made sense, if what the news reporter on the black and white television was saying was true.

Robert "First on the Scene" Andrews stood in front of the Mall of Texas, which looked nothing like it had when the sun had risen that morning. The building looked like someone had cut it in half, shook it around a little bit and then tried to put it back together; the bottom levels were completely crumbled and caved in and the top levels didn't look much better.

"Though most of Mexico felt the earthquake as well," Andrews was saying into his microphone, "The quake is believed that have actually occurred at the Mexican border." There was a pause, for dramatic effect. "As you can see, the Mall of Texas has sustained significant damage-"

Sam groaned, wishing he had something to throw at the television; nothing the man was saying related to Laura and Laura's co-worker with the cousin in Memphis and the untamable hair wasn't answering her cell phone.

"At this time, no search efforts have been mounted to enter the building." The newscaster continued. "Seeing as the building is still unstable and there is strong fear of aftershocks. For those who may have loved ones possibly inside the building, the police department is urging family members to stay away from the building-"

This time, Sam actually did throw something at the television set: his left shoe, which collided with the screen and knocked the set off the desk and on the floor. The man closest to him shot him a glare before retrieving the set and putting it upright again.

After what seemed like an eternity, the ringing in Sam's ear stopped and a voice replaced it. "Hello?" Elsa questioned, sounding a million miles away and terrified.

"Elsa, where's Laura?" Sam questioned, speaking almost as soon as the phone had been answered. "Is she all right?"

There was a pause. "Sam?" Elsa didn't seem certain. Sam angrily clarified that it was indeed him and repeated his concerns for Laura. "Sam, I don't know if Laura's all right." Her voice sounded small and even more worried.

"What do you mean you don't know if she's all right?" Sam questioned, his voice harsh, his head pounding. His mother had bandaged it as best as she could and had given him something for the pain but it didn't seem to be helping.

Another pause, the line seemed to be going dead, dropping out. "Laura's in the storeroom and she's not answering and the door's blocked and I can't get in and-" Her words were coming out in a rush.

Sam felt his heart begin to tear; Laura, his beautiful, sweet Laura was hurt and there was nothing he could do. Well, that wasn't going to last for long. "Elsa, I'm going to get there as soon as I can." He said, remembering when his father had made the very same promise a year ago. He could tell his voice was breaking up but he hoped Elsa got the message. "And if you get to Elsa before I do tell her-" The line was filled with nothing but static. Sam slowly lowered his cell phone, flipping it shut so that the static disappeared. "Tell her I love her." He mumbled to no one.

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Elsa stared down at her cell phone after it had erupted in static; Sam was coming and he was going to bring help. Like father, like son she couldn't help but think and suddenly felt much better; after all, look how well that little rescue mission had turned out. She tossed her cell phone aside and headed away from the counter and toward the back of the store where the others were. She was looking for something heavy to force the storeroom door open and get to Laura; she had heard how worried Sam had sounded and prayed that Laura was all right.

The mother was wrapping one of the teenager's legs tightly with one of the shirts that had fallen off the shelves during the quake when Elsa joined them. "I'm a doctor." She explained when she saw Elsa's look and the other woman just nodded. They were going to need her when they finally got to Laura.

"There's help coming." Elsa explained as she searched around hurriedly for something heavy enough to force the door to the storeroom open. There was something back there. Without another word, Elsa went to the front and starting throwing things aside, looking for something, anything.

There was nothing to be found. Elsa sighed and buried her head in her hands; poor Laura, what was she going to tell Sam? With another, much wearier sigh, she looked up again and her eyes instantly settled upon the front of the store.

The metal gate had crashed back into place, twisted and bent as it rested on the floor, locked into place, keeping those outside the store from getting in. Elsa stared at the gate for a full five minutes, unable to believe what she was seeing; there was no way to open the gate except for from the outside and even then, it didn't look too promising since the metal seemed to be contorted.

It didn't matter how much help Sam brought with him. They were trapped.

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Okay, so thanks for all the great reviews I'm getting so far; I have to address one review I got that talked about Jack, Jason and Janet's job and I know that they don't work with the tectonic plates but their computers were picking up the readings by accident. Sorry if I didn't make that clear but thanks for keeping me in line ;) Anyway, as for getting DAT its very own category, here's my plan: we all e-mail fanfiction.net that suggestion to do a category until they make one. If enough people suggest it, then I think they'll make one. So, I think I've talked on long enough; thanks again for all the great reviews!