'PART TWO'
Carnage lay all around at Holby City Hospital. Everywhere was burning, people screaming, patients and staff lay scattered all over the broken floors, unmoving, dead. Those who had survived the initial blast were trapped, trying to break their way through. They coughed, they spluttered, all around people collapsed from smoke inhalation. Up on AAU, Frieda and Penny were desperately trying to reach out to Oliver. Penny had tears in her eyes, she could see her little brother lying underneath an enormous slab of plaster from the ceiling, she could see a puddle of blood around him and yet despite all her calls he would not answer. Frieda could tell that Penny was distressed and so she put her arm around her shoulder and whispered into her ear.
"Calm..Valentine, be calm. Help will come. We must be calm..." Penny felt herself relaxing slightly but the sight of her brother's unmoving body kept her just on the edge of a breakdown. Frieda gripped her shoulder tightly. "Everything will be alright, you trust me?" Penny nodded, shaking.
"What the bloody hell happened?" shouted Mark Williams, looking up at the burning hospital. Only minutes before the blast he had still been in his office, his breathing increased rapidly as he thought of how close it had been. He looked around. Chrissie had been on duty. Where was she? She must have got out. Please say she got out. Mark began to panic. "Chrissie!" There was no response. "Chrissie!" Mark tried to run back into the building but was held back by two burly firemen.
"It's not safe Mr. Williams. You have to remain outside," they told him. Mark was having none of it.
"My daughter is inside!" he yelled at them.
"We're doing everything we can, please, let us do our jobs." Mark looked up at the hospital again, just as a huge flame roared out of one of the windows.
"Chrissie!"
Joseph tried to shake Jac. She was limp, unmoving. Please don't be dead, Joseph thought desperately. He had to save her, he could never forgive himself if she died.
"Pulse, check her pulse," he said to himself. Joseph placed two fingers on Jac's neck and waited for the tell-tale sign of a pulse. Thump. Thump. Joseph sighed. A strong palpable pulse. Thank God. His elation was short-lived. Checking her again, he saw that she wasn't breathing. Laying her into the recovery position Joseph checked her airway. Something was obscuring it. Joseph reached with two fingers into Jac's mouth and clasped them around the item blocking her airway. He pulled it up out of her mouth and threw it down on them floor. Seconds later, Jac coughed and began to breathe again.
"Welcome back," Joseph said. Jac took hold of his hand.
"I'm lucky I had you," she told him. "Now, how are we getting out?"
"Well maybe we should just wait here for the fire crew..."
"Joseph if we do that, we could be waiting all bloody night. Face it, we're going to have to get out on our own." She winced.
"Are you alright?" Joseph asked concernedly.
"I'm fine don't fuss. Help me get this door out the way." Jac and Joseph heaved with all their might, trying to throw the door off them. They heaved again. This time, the door came loose and clattered to the side of the flame grilled corridor.
"Come on, let's go," said Joseph seriously.
The trauma of watching her brother lie trapped was at last becoming too much for Penny. She wrenched herself free from Frieda's grip and ran out towards Oliver. Frieda chased after her.
"No Valentine you mustn't. Don't be stupid. We must wait for help." Penny rounded on her.
"If I wait too long Ollie will die Frieda! I have to help him." Frieda thought about this. If they waited help would certainly reach them, she felt sure of that. Then again, Ollie did seem to be in a bad way. She sighed.
"Very well, we help."
"Thank you," Penny said breathlessly.
"Hey what are friends for?" Frieda shrugged. They knelt down beside Ollie. "Wake up!" Frieda called to him. Miraculously, Ollie stirred. "How you feel?" Frieda asked. Ollie coughed.
"Drowsy," he croaked.
"You have to stay awake," Penny called in a panicky voice.
"I know," Ollie said.
"I'll be back, I'm going to try to find a way out," Penny told him.
"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere," said Ollie. Penny attempted a smile. Frieda beckoned Penny.
"We go look for way out now, Valentine," she told her authoritatively. Penny stared into Frieda's wide eyes.
"A moment ago you were all in favour of waiting for help, why the sudden change of heart?"
"I thought about my Valentine," Frieda said cryptically. Penny raised her eyebrows. Frieda began to laugh.
"Oh Frieda!" Penny joined in on the laughing. "I never know whether you're joking or not..." Frieda fixed her with a stony glare.
"I never joke Valentine..."
Joseph kicked open the door leading out of Keller, shielding his eyes from the smoke and flames. Jac followed close behind him. As they stepped out onto the corridor they were met with a startling sight. The stairs leading down were blocked by a wall of flames. They were simply impassable. Jac cursed under her breath.
"There must be another way through," Joseph said.
"If there is, it's doing a great job at hiding from us!" Jac replied irritably. "Face it, we're trapped!" They stood watching the flames crackle and spit. For what seemed like an age there was silence between them. Joseph twiddled his thumbs, deep in thought whilst Jac kicked out at the rubble around her. "I am not dying in here!" Jac yelled as she took another kick at a lump of plaster.
"What are you achieving by doing that?" Joseph asked her.
"Personal satisfaction," Jac retorted. Joseph didn't respond. He merely stared down the corridor. Jac realised instantly what he was thinking. "The other stairs."
"The other stairs," Joseph repeated. They ran.
"Preliminary safety checks complete sir," a fireman was telling the chief. The Chief nodded curtly. "Are we clear to proceed with the rescue?"
"Situation is still too volatile. There could be more explosives, we have to hold back until it is certified safe to enter," the Chief replied. Mark overheard the conversation; staring at the Chief in incredulous disbelief he cried,
"Hold back! If you hold back any longer, everyone will be dead and there won't be any need to rescue them!"
"I understand you are stressed Mr. Williams..."
"You don't understand the half of it..."
Frieda and Penny stepped out into a corridor so unrecognisable that they felt shaken to their cores. The smell of death lingered around them. Here and there they could see bodies littering the floor, charred.
"The stench of the dead," Frieda said scrunching her face.
"It's horrible," Penny said. Frieda suddenly stopped stock still. "What's wrong?"
"Something is going to happen..." Penny realised that Frieda was speaking the truth moments before it took place. They began to walk backwards away from the collection of bodies. Frieda put her arm out, blocking Penny from going any further. She stared up at the ceiling and pointed at it. Penny felt her eyes drifting upwards. Cracks were appearing in the ceiling at an alarming rate. Seconds later the ceiling caved in, rubble piled on to the floor all around them. Penny found herself cowering on the floor, her hands covering her head as plaster, bricks and mortar showered everywhere. When at last the chaos subsided, Penny opened her eyes again. Frieda hadn't moved at all. She reached out her hand to Penny and helped her to her feet. Penny looked up at the ceiling again. Where Frieda had moved her to, there had been no collapse.
"You saved my life!"
"The paperwork would have been horrendous..." Penny threw her arms around Frieda, squeezing her tightly. It was a long time before their embrace broke apart. Penny looked all around her.
"How do we get past all of this?" The rubble had piled up on both sides of them. There was no way through. Frieda groaned.
"Some day this is turning out to be!"
Jac and Joseph reached the stairs. Joyously they found it to be passable.
"Come on," Jac said hurriedly. They dashed down the stairs. Approaching the bottom they looked at each other, deciding on which way to take.
"Left," said Joseph.
"Right," said Jac. They looked left. It was too dark to see clearly but Jac swore she could make out flames at the far end. They looked right. It appeared to be clear.
"Right then," Joseph decided. Jac smiled, it was always good to be right. They headed down the righthand side. As they walked down, Joseph turned his head curiously. He thought he could hear the sound of someone shouting.
"What's wrong?" Jac asked.
"There's someone else alive here," Joseph said slowly.
"I can't hear anything..."
"Shhss. Listen." They listened. Then at last, she heard it.
"Help! Somebody help!" Jac looked around, trying to pinpoint where the shouts were coming from.
"Over there, that office," she said, feeling certain. Joseph walked up to the door and kicked it open. Inside a young woman and a little girl were sitting on the floor trying not to breathe in the smoke. They looked up in relief as Joseph entered the room.
"It's okay. You're going to be alright," Joseph said comfortingly. But it wasn't. A horrendous creaking noise sounded and seconds later Joseph found himself trapped inside the office with the girl and the woman, and Jac trapped on the outside. He looked around as the dust cleared. The woman behind him began to gag. Joseph looked down at her and groaned. A piece of metal was sticking through her chest. It was hopeless. He called out.
"Jac! Jac! Can you hear me? Jac! Jac!"
'TO BE CONTINUED..."