Hey everybody! Once again the response this story is getting astounds me. Thank you so much. As you can see, the reviews make me write a lot sooner. I also agree with most of you. There just aren't enough Rylor stories out there. I hope you like this chapter. It was tough going there for awhile but it started flowing when I got to the middle. I hope you like it.
Taylor opened her eyes and stared up at the roof of the cab. She raised her hand slowly to feel the bump on the front of her head. Her whole body ached and she knew she'd hurt her foot pretty badly. Taylor winced as she sat up slowly. Her foot was killing her but she couldn't just lay on the bottom of the cab. She had to get help.
She pulled herself up onto the seat, tears pouring down her face from bumping her foot. It was definitely broken. Taylor looked into the front street and screamed. The driver wasn't going to be much help. He hadn't lived through the crash. She turned her face and gagged. She had to get out of there.
She was sitting in the middle of the back seat so she reached over and tried the passenger side door first but it didn't budge. She said a quick prayer as she tried the other door and punched the seat when it didn't budge either. The window was missing and Taylor took a couple deep breaths as she pulled herself towards the window using her good foot to help prop her up. Every move she made sent a shooting pain up her leg and tears fell down her face.
Taylor groaned as she pulled her torso through the window but froze when she heard a pop sound like something sparking. "I don't wanna look….I don't wanna look," Taylor murmured but turned her head slightly to see the hood of the car had started on fire.
"Oh crap," she muttered taking a moment to prepare herself for the massive amount of pain that was to come. She counted to three in her head before pulling with all the strength in her arms and pushing with her one good foot to propel herself through the window until she landed on the ground. "Shit…shoot."
Taylor opened her eyes and she knew she'd blacked out for awhile. How long she didn't know so she rolled onto her stomach and pulled herself away from the car. The flames had grown in the time she'd been unconscious it had spread. She just needed to get away from the car. That was the number one priority.
Only minutes later when she couldn't see the car anymore did she stop. It felt like hours but she was sure it had only been minutes. She rolled onto her back and stared up through the trees at the star filled sky. She knew she should be doing something else but she couldn't think through the pain. Her whole leg was now throbbing along with her head and she knew she was going to pass out soon. The pain was getting to intense.
Taylor finally thought of calling someone but her next thought was she didn't have her phone. Who knows where it had flown during the accident? It had just been resting in her lap. In fact, she'd forgotten her purse in the taxi. She had nothing on her.
"Help!" Taylor called out, but her voice was barely audible to her own ears.
More tears escaped through her clenched eye lids. She hated crying but she was willing to let go this one time. She'd just been in a car accident because of an earthquake. The day was turning out to be one of the worst ones in her life.
"Help!" Taylor tried again but knew nobody could hear her. She didn't even know where she was. She stared up at the sky through the branches and just let the tears fall. She hated that the first person she thought of was Ryan. She wanted him to find her…to save her. But that was wrong of her. He didn't want to be that person. Ryan only liked saving Marissa. She needed to remember that.
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Ryan gritted his teeth as he dodged another fallen tree in the middle of the street. They'd only been on the road for a minute but everywhere they looked there were car accidents, people walking around aimlessly…just chaos.
"I'm sure she's okay Ryan," Kaitlyn said for like the tenth time since they'd pulled out of the Robert's driveway.
"She's gotta be," Ryan said softly. He kept praying that he'd find a taxi pulled off to the side of the road but so far he'd only seen one and it hadn't been the one she'd pulled away in.
"What's going on there?" Julie asked pointing towards the cluster of people standing beside a broken guard rail. She pulled on Ryan's shirt when he only slowed down and didn't stop. "We should see if they need help."
"Mom," Kaitlyn said turning to face her. "There is like twenty people already there. I'm sure somebody is helping them."
Ryan sighed as he slowed down to a stop. He didn't put the car into park, but instead motioned one of the guys over to ask what had happened.
"A car flew right through the guard rail," the guy said shaking his head.
"Are they okay?" Julie asked concerned.
"We don't know," he admitted. "We can see the tail end of the taxi but that's it. We are trying to decide who's going to go down and see if there were any survivors."
"Did you say a taxi?" Kaitlyn asked but Ryan had already thrown the car into park and jumped out. He took off, pushing his way through until he could see down into the ditch below.
"Ryan!" Julie yelled following more slowly behind him. Kaitlyn was right behind her.
"That's her," Ryan said when Julie and Kaitlyn reached him.
"How do you know?" Kaitlyn asked confused. It was the back end of a taxi. They all looked alike.
"I just know," Ryan said as he headed towards the end of the guard rail. He stepped onto the grass and started making his way down the slope towards the car.
"Ryan!" Julie yelled following him once again. She couldn't just let him climb down their alone. Sandy and Kirsten would hate her if she let anything happen to one of their boys. "Kaitlyn you stay here or you're grounded for life."
"Sure Mom," Kaitlyn said rolling her eyes. She didn't really want to climb down there anyway. It was the woods. There were bugs and snakes and things. Gross.
"What if it's not her?" Julie asked Ryan as they climbed down.
"It is," Ryan said curtly. When Julie touched his shoulder, silently asking him to stop he conceded. "Julie, I just know. I don't know how to explain it. I got the same feeling whenever Marissa was in trouble and needed help." He looked down at the taxi which was only about fifteen feet down. He froze when he saw the smoke. "It's on fire!"
They exchanged a look, both sets of eyes full of fear. A part of Julie hoped Ryan was wrong, that this taxi was somebody else's and Taylor was safe somewhere down the road. But as they finished the trek down the hill towards the car, she somehow knew he was right. This was Taylor's taxi.
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Seth and Summer had been on their way home from Taylor's party when the earthquake hit. They immediately pulled over and had watched the destruction of Newport from the front seat of Seth's jeep.
"My first earthquake," Summer said as soon as the rumbling stopped.
"Mine too," Seth said softly. It was so eerily quiet that they both didn't want to disturb the silence.
Summer climbed out of the jeep and walked around to the front bumper. She looked around at all the trees and lamp posts that had fallen down. There weren't any other cars on the street that they could see. They looked like the only people around for miles.
"Oh my God Cohen," Summer said turning to face him once he'd joined her.
"What?" Seth asked checking his jeep for damage.
"Your parents…Ryan…Taylor…the Coopers," Summer said listing all the important people in their lives.
"I'm sure they're okay," Seth said while pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. He was already dialing his parents but it went straight to voice mail. He left a quick message letting them know they were okay and that they were checking on Ryan next. "C'mon Ryan," Seth said as he listened to the phone ring.
"Seth," Ryan said loudly.
"Ryan, you okay," Seth said watching as Summer pulled out her cell phone.
"Yeah," Ryan said panting like he was out of breath. "I'm with Julie and Kaitlyn. We're trying o find Taylor."
"You're trying to find Taylor," Seth said confused. "How'd you lose her? The girl can't keep quiet for five minutes, just listen for the incessant chattering." Summer mouthed something as she held her phone up to her ear but Seth shrugged his shoulders. "I don't read lips honey."
"She was in a taxi when the earthquake hit Seth," Ryan said seriously. He had just reached the back of the taxi and was afraid to walk around and look into the window. He didn't know what he was going to find.
"Then she's probably talking the ear off of the poor driver Ryan," Seth joked. "She's fine Ryan. It is Taylor Townsend we are talking about. She could systematically solve world hunger if she put her mind to it."
"Tell Ryan I am going to kick his ass," Summer said flipping her phone closed. When Seth just stared at her she ripped the phone right out of his hands. "Atwood your ass is grass and I am so the damn lawn mower."
"Summer," Ryan said freezing. "Let me guess, you talked to Taylor."
"Talked…no," Summer said pissed off. "She left me a message."
"What'd she say?" Ryan asked walking slowly towards the broken window so he could peer inside. He sensed Julie standing behind him and held up a hand so she would hold off. She didn't need to see it if it was bad.
"That she was leaving," Summer said sadly. She couldn't believe that another friend, another best friend was leaving her. Marissa hadn't been anybody's fault, well, unless you wanted to blame Volchok. But Taylor's leaving could rest solely on Ryan's shoulders. "You're an ass Ryan."
"I know I am," Ryan agreed. "But right now I think I'm staring at the taxi she drove off in and I'm not sure what I'm going to find."
"What are you talking about?" Summer asked walking away from Seth who was trying to pantomime something but he just looked like an idiot.
"I think Taylor's taxi went through a guard rail during the earthquake," Ryan said uneasily.
"Oh my God," Summer said covering her mouth with her free hand. "Is she okay?"
"I don't know," Ryan said taking one last deep breath before looking in through the broken window. "She's not there."
"Oh thank God," Summer said relieved. "It's not her taxi."
"No it is," Ryan said reaching in and pulling out her purse. "I'm holding her purse right now.
"Well then where is she?" Summer asked snapping her fingers at Seth. She pointed towards the driver side of the jeep while she climbed into the passenger side.
"I don't know Summer," Ryan said turning to look around.
"Where are you?" Summer asked as Seth started the jeep. She repeated the address to Seth and waited until they were off on the road. "We're on our way. Oh and Ryan?"
"Yeah," Ryan said handing Taylor's purse to Julie.
"Find her," Summer said before closing the phone. She looked at Seth who was driving well above the speed limit. She wanted to tell him to go faster. Taylor had been there for her every time she needed her. Now it was time for Summer to return the favor.