NINE
Italicized words: thoughts and/or to make emphasis.
With the smoke and fire escalating and threatening to consume the entire second floor, time is of the essence for Shadow and the elderly woman freed from the steel beam that are now unconscious from smoke inhalation and other injuries sustained from the devastation of the hotel. Now on the roof, Curt ran over to the first rescue tech in his sight and explained to him that there are still survivors but their injuries call for assistance to be transported out. The tech radioed his leader to explain the new situation and the leader ordered a team to go back in to retrieve the two mentioned and do a final sweep of the accessible areas.
The team sent in for final retrieval scaled down the rubble and made their way towards the area Curt told them to expect the two survivors. Barely able to see the two, a tech turned on a high powered flashlight capable of cutting through the dense smoke and the techs got to work assessing the two injured. Shadow came to from being shaken and techs checking necessary parts of his body for obvious injuries, especially his back. An oxygen mask was placed over his muzzle. Shouting over the noise of the tumult in the building, the tech questioned Shadow, "Sir? Can you stand?"
"No, my back is killing me!"
"Ok sir, we're calling for a stretcher for you and we'll lift you out through the hole down the hall and you'll be transferred to a hospital. We'll be as gentle as we can so we don't further injure your back. Is your legs broken or sprained?"
"No, they're fine."
"Good. Hang tight a moment, ok?"
Shadow nodded. While Shadow was being tended to, two other techs were assessing the elderly woman and concluded that her injuries were so severe, they didn't want to cause further injury to her already broken body by attempting to move her for any reason. The only things done for her was that an oxygen mask had been placed over her muzzle and a stretcher called to immediately transport her via Medevac to a hospital.
Moments later, two stretchers arrived and the techs began the painstaking task of delicately lifting the two injured onto them and the real challenge began. The techs had to figure out how they were going to lift stretchers with people on them and carry them on a pretty sharp incline composed of rubble. Confident that the two injured are fastened securely, they made a chain along the rubble similar to the earlier chain used by Unit A and the group of survivors that made it onto the roof. Discomfort is expressed by Shadow and the elderly woman by groans, but the techs with no other options, continued on until the two stretchers were safely onto the third floor.
It has been decided by the Police Commissioner and other authorities that evacuation and recovery efforts were concluded and all rescue personnel were ordered to evacuate the premises. With most people safely on the ground, there's the issue with people still trapped on the roof….
On the roof, Medevac helicopters began lifting survivors little by little off the roof and then were taken to area hospitals for treatment of any injuries.
Lou stuck around out of curiosity to see what had become of Shadow. He began to fear the worst when he looked down from the roof and saw body bags being loaded into ambulances and thought, "I hope you ain't in one of those bags, kid. He said something about a café nearby and some chick named….ah, I forget…." He shook his head and continued to watch in hopes he would see Shadow coming out of the hotel alive at least.
"Look! There are techs coming out of the door with two more survivors! Thank goodness!" cheered one survivor. The rescue techs successfully extracted Shadow and the elderly woman from the hotel and are now being prepped for Medevac transport. Lou turned around upon hearing the exclamation from the survivor and recognized one of the survivors lying on a stretcher, Shadow.
"Shadow?" Lou ran over to Shadow relieved to see him alive.
"Hey Lou."
"Shush kid, save your strength."
"I'll get to tell Rouge I love her after all, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Lou said while patting Shadow on his shoulder. "Good to see you son."
"Thank you Lou. Thanks for everything."
"Get out of here. Go to Rouge."
Lou stepped back to allow the techs to place Shadow into the Medevac as the elderly woman was already placed onboard and watched as the helicopter took to the skies to take them to the hospital.
"So long, kid."
Curt stood some fifty feet from where the two stretchers were loaded into the Medevac and as he watched it take off, he mouthed, "I'm sorry for leaving you in there. Forgive me."
Inside the café, Rouge after calling her family and friends about her and Shadow's situation, walked back over to the front door and saw two more ambulances leave and a Medevac helicopter take off heading westward and still, no sign of Shadow. With the ambulances and helicopter leaving, Rouge began to get desperate with wanting to know if Shadow was still inside of the hotel and if so, what condition was he in.
"Oh, no! This can't be happening! NOOOOO!" Rouge shouted startling the other café patrons. Before anyone could stop her, she bolted out of the door and ran towards the hotel screaming, 'SHADOW! SHADOW!' until she was stopped by a police officer who placed a firm hold to her shoulders in an effort to slow her down and offer help to her.
"Whoa there, Ma'am, calm down. What can I…"
"My husband's in there! I need to see him!"
"Ma'am, everyone has been evacuated out of there. You can call the hospitals to see if he's been admitted to one of them."
"Thank you, sir!"
Rouge ran back inside the café heading towards the counter.
"Rouge, are you ok?" "Calm down! Sit down girl!" said Kelly and Mrs. Baxter, attempting to calm down Rouge who ran past them nearing the counter.
"No, he's in the hospital! Please be in a hospital, please!" Rouge responded. Reaching the counter, she grabbed a local phone directory, looked through it and found the 'hospitals' section and began to circle certain ones. Rouge then called the first hospital she circled on the alphabetized list, Alpine Valley Memorial.
A receptionist answered on the third ring. (Typical for the business setting)
"Alpine Valley Memorial hospital emergency department, how may I help you?"
"Uh, hi. I'm looking for a possible patient named Shadow the Hedgehog. He should have been brought to you sometime today?"
"I can check for you Ma'am, one moment..."
The silence on the opposite end felt like an eternity for Rouge and she began to silently pray that either Shadow is at this hospital or another, or on his way to the cafe.
"Ma'am, there's no admittance of a Shadow the Hedgehog listed. I'm sorry"
"Oh my God, he didn't arrive yet?"
"No Ma'am, he may be on his way here. Is this in reference to the tragedy at the hotel in the city?"
"Yes."
"Well Ma'am, if he happens to show up here, is there some way for us to notify you?"
Rouge looked around her immediate area to find the phone number to the cafe and gave the receptionist the number. She gave her thanks and hung up.
"Where are you Shadow?" she wondered sullenly.
Call number two was to Coral Isles Medical Center. Rouge was met with the same result as the first inquiry to Alpine Valley Memorial. With her anxiety level peaked, Rouge made a call to a third hospital, The Sacred Heart Hospital. Upon calling this center, she was welcomed with the most annoying digital service known to Mobius, the dreaded automated system. "You have reached Sacred Heart Hospital's automated directory assistance. For English, press one." Rouge complied by pressing one. "Please listen carefully as our menu options have changed. To speak to a nurse on call, press one. For the administrative offices department, press two. Emergency department, press three. With her increasing frustration with the system, she slammed down button three. "One moment, while we connect your call..."
"Oh come the hell on! God I hate these auto operators! Where's a real person for emergencies, dammit! Ugh!"
"Hello, Sacred Heart Emergency, can I help you?"
Taking a calming breath, Rouge began, "Hi, I'm trying to find a Shadow the Hedgehog who may have been admitted there?"
"One second...hedge...hog... Shadow..." The nurse murmured as she typed. "Ma'am? I'm s..." The call was interrupted by a massive explosion from the hotel that shook the structure violently and sent debris flying everywhere. People near the hotel scrambled to find shelter from the debris with some running inside the cafe. Rouge dropped the phone and ran under a table as precaution should the impact of the explosion shatter the front windows and glass door front with many of the cafe patrons following suit including Kelly and Mrs. Baxter.
The final explosion caused sections of the roof to fall in on itself taking a few unfortunate survivors with it. The remaining began to panic. The rescue crews began to usher everyone to the opposite end of the roof. Medevac copters one by one, dropped baskets down to collect survivors two at a time. However, it was an effective but slow process and the collapsing roof was making its way toward them steadily. With that realization, a risky plan was implemented where two Medevac copters would deploy baskets simultaneously. With skillful maneuvering, the copters were able to drop baskets faster and the rescue crews were able to get all those who remained and themselves into the baskets and on to safety mere seconds before the roof ultimately collapsed completely.
The Moonlight Hotel is nothing more than mangled metal, a massive pile of rubble, cinder, and regretfully, a grave for those buried underneath the devastated structure.
Firefighters began the arduous process of battling flames that will take them into the early morning hours. Meanwhile in the cafe, patrons got themselves from under the tables relieved to see the storefront still intact but the relief is bittersweet, especially for Rouge. She slowly walked to the window filled with dread with the possibility that Shadow could very well be trapped underneath the skeletal remains of the Moonlight Hotel.
At this point with her hope dwindling, Rouge began to think that maybe she will never behold Shadow's face, love and be loved by him and live that 'white picket fence' life they had planned for their future. Rouge leaned her head against the window and cried.
Another cafe patron, a young adult male koala named Anthony, came to stand beside Rouge and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and to alert her of his presence. Rouge turned to see Anthony and shook her head. "We were supposed to be on our honeymoon. He wanted to play the fucking hero and save those people! Damn me; damn how I would feel if he didn't make it out of that hotel! Damn him!"
"Shhh, don't think like that! Look, he may still be alive." said Anthony.
"Look at it!" Rouge shouted while pointing to the hotel. "Do you REALLY think anyone would still be alive in that? How dense can you be! He's dead. My Shadow is gone!" As her last words were spoken, Rouge fell into the arms of the koala and whimpered into his chest.
Kelly and Mrs. Baxter watched Rouge's emotional breakdown and turned towards each other, one with a plan in mind. Kelly told Mrs. Baxter her plan and Mrs. Baxter nodded. Kelly walked over to Rouge who is now sitting with her head down on the table.
"Rouge?" Kelly started softly. "You said your husband is the Ultimate Life Form, right?"
Rouge looked up at Kelly. "Yeah, what of it?"
"Well I thought because of what he is, he might actually be alive. He may have been taken to one of the hospitals for a simple check to make sure he's ok. Did you call ALL of the hospitals?"
"No, I didn't. Oh, shit! I was on the phone with one when that explosion happened! I lost the call and..."
"Rouge! It's ok. I could call around for you; just sit and relax. Your husband is alive. I believe it, you should too."
Rouge allowed herself a moment to let Kelly's words sink in. Sighing, Rouge replied, "Ok. You're right, I got to believe. But I miss him so much Kelly!"
"I know you do."
With that, Kelly left Rouge to her thoughts and went to her task of calling hospitals in the search for her distraught friend's husband.
Kelly saw that Rouge had circled certain hospitals and crossed out the ones which Shadow wasn't taken to. She remembered Rouge mentioning something about not being able to complete a call and coincidentally, called that hospital. Kelly was told what Rouge didn't get the chance to hear; that Shadow was not admitted there. She went further down the list and saw that Rouge had circled one called Whitmore General Hospital. She called hoping this one will help to put Rouge's mind at ease.
"Whitmore General Hospital emergency department, can I help you?"
Kelly started, "Hello. I'm trying to locate a patient named Shadow the Hedgehog. He was in an accident at a hotel and was taken to one of the hospitals, hopefully here."
"I can check if we have someone by that name here. One moment…."
Kelly patiently waited for a response from the receptionist and turned to see Rouge, Anthony, and Mrs. Baxter talking. She remained hopeful that this is the place where Shadow is being treated. She brought her attention back to the phone when the receptionist returned.
"Hello Ma'am? There is a Shadow the Hedgehog who was admitted here approximately thirty-five minutes ago and was taken to the ICU. He is currently in unit 730-b. Are you next of kin?"
"No. Actually, I'm calling on behalf of his wife who got separated from him in some way. I think."
"Ok. We'll see you soon then."
"Thanks a lot. I'll tell her."
With some much needed good news, Kelly excitedly ran to the table where Rouge and the others were.
"Rouge, I found him! He's at Whitmore General Hospital! He's alive just like I said!"
"He's alive? Oh my God! Thank you so much!"
"Go to your man girl! Good luck!"
Rouge hugged the three patrons who would leave a permanent mark on her heart and ran out of the cafe for the last time en route to Whitmore General. Mrs. Baxter and Anthony watched with smiles on their faces and tears falling from the elder's face.
Rouge asked around for directions to the hospital. After receiving the directions, she prepared herself by fully extending her powerful wings and went airborne flying in the direction she was given for the hospital with renewed excitement about the reunion with her beloved.