Rhonda and the class arrived at the check-in station, to see Mr. Knight talking with a firefighter lieutenant. The rest of the school had been cleared out earlier, save Ralph's class, Pam and Bill.
Knight turned and, seeing them, smiled softly in relief. "So, Mr. Hinkley's class finally showed up," he said. "Now, where's he?"
"He's still in the classroom with Cyler and Tony," said Rhonda. "Tony had a bookcase fall on him and he's hurt pretty bad."
"How bad?"
"Well... Mr. H said Tony has a broken leg and maybe his ribs. He was out cold for about an hour. Mr. H and Cyler have been taking care of him all this time."
Before the principal said anything, the lieutenant sprung into action. "All right, I need station 6's paramedics to come here for a rescue," he said to a group of firefighters, then turned back to Rhonda. "Are the other two all right?"
"Well, Mr. H has a cut on his head, but I think he's all right," she said. "They're still there just to help keep Tony from falling asleep."
The lieutenant nodded and, after receiving directions to Ralph's classroom, headed out with a small firefighter squad and paramedics.
Once they arrived at the classroom, the firefighters found all three men inside. "Over here," Ralph half-shouted as he heard the movement. The firefighters entered through the window with a stokes, an air tank and other medical equipment.
"Are you Mr. Hinkley," asked one of the firefighters walking toward the trio.
"Yes sir, and these two are Cyler and Tony."
The paramedics went to work quickly on Tony, asking him questions as they assessed his injuries.
As the paramedics patched up Tony and relayed his treatment to a local hospital, the others helped Ralph and Cyler out of the building. One of the firefighters took a look at Ralph. "Are you all right, Mr. Hinkley," the man asked.
Ralph looked at him blankly for a moment, then realized he was referring to his head wound. "Yes, I believe so. It's just a scratch."
"Uh huh. It's a little more than that, has a bruise as well. Did you lose consciousness after receiving that injury?"
"No, in fact I feel fine," said Ralph as the firefighter bandaged it, but inside frowned. He still wondered why he felt great despite the injury, even after all this time.
"Well, still we ought to take you to the hospital as well..."
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine. It must've been a glancing blow," said Ralph. "Listen, have you heard anything about a Pam Davidson or Bill Maxwell being rescued? They were also here during the earthquake."
The firefighter shook his head. "No, no one's out there by those names," he said as he reached for his handi-talkie "Home base, this is HT 6. We're in the classroom treating one patient. We have reports from one of the patient's friends that there are two others who might be trapped in the school."
Understood. We'll send out search parties for their location, squawked the voice on the HT. The firefighter looked back at Ralph, who glanced back inside the building to see how Tony was doing, and was surprised. Judging by his slight pallor, the man thought that Ralph would go out on him any moment, but he was still going strong. "Are you sure you're well," asked the firefighter. "You look a little pale."
"Yes, I'm fine. It's Tony here who needs the help," said Ralph as he watched the paramedics and third firefighter lift Tony and put him in a stokes to carry him out. "I've never seen one of my students hurt, and I'm not too fond of needles myself, so seeing them put the IV in Tony just now..."
The firefighter chuckled softly, realizing that Ralph could be telling the truth. Even all these years in the department, he still was little unnerved by IVs too. "All right, he's doing well," said one of the paramedics. "We're going to take him to Mercy General. Now, let's get out of here."
Ralph nodded, and the paramedics picked up the stokes and exited through the classroom window. The firefighters and paramedics rushed toward the ambulance with Tony while Cyler and Ralph walked quickly behind.
They had almost reached the home base when they felt the ground move. Ralph and Cyler hit the ground as they heard a groaning sound shortly before a rumble. Once the aftershock subsided, the two men looked up and found that part of the school's roof collapsed... the part where Ralph's classroom was.
"Damn..." said Cyler bluntly. "Another minute..."
"Took the words right out of my mouth Cyler," said Ralph, worried. If Pam and Bill were in that part too...
"Cyler, head over to Knight and say you're out of the building. I'll join you in a few minutes," said Ralph took out the communicator. "Bill, come in do you read me... Bill..."
