The Shake Up Part V
Monday morning finally came, and in New York, normality had to intervene for most. Work had to be attended to as normal, and at the usual time. Beats, Flint and Ethan were all at their respective desks by 8am. The latter found himself dealing with an exceptionally busy day, thankful that none of the companies that his bank had investments in were located in that part of California, although he knew that there were parts of his parents firm, Mackenzie Inc, located in Los Angeles. Just along the road, the stock exchange on Wall Street was in turmoil from the second the opening bell sounded; the shares of many of the technology firms were in virtual freefall, given that in many cases they no longer had research facilities that were functional, and in many cases, they no longer had much of a staff…
The younger Warblers all had to head to their own jobs too, and that included Jeff, who had to head to the Spotlight, his holiday time over. Trent had been given leave by Burt to stay in the city in the circumstances, and so he kept Nick company, the latter having another week before he started work. Neither of them wanted to cross town to see Sebastian, conscious that he had a house full of people anyway.
In Ohio, Thad attempted to get back to his lesson planning and his other summer jobs, but his mind kept straying to thoughts of how his best friend was faring on the other side of the country, where the city he had spent four years in was changed beyond all recognition. Then he thought of Wes, tied up with the huge task of helping to process the thousands of victims of what they were now being told was the worst earthquake in recorded history. The scientists had predicted at the start of the year that there would be a huge quake at some point that year, but no-one had imagined that it would hit the United States. Those same scientists were also not rushing out to say that they had warned people, not in the face of such an overwhelming calamity. Even the President had stopped his inane Twitter messages, the rumour being that he was totally swamped by the crisis, and he had been shifted to one side, to allow others with more experience to take over the management of the Federal response to the disaster.
On the West Coast, none of this was known to David as the first shafts of daylight woke him that morning. He stretched himself awake, and suddenly realised just how bad he now smelt as he did so; how his face was itching thanks to the unaccustomed stubble; and how tired he felt, even after several hours of sleep. "Please let there be someone at the base," he thought, as he glanced over at the four people still sleeping around him. "I wish that you could be with me right now Wes, just to encourage me. I know you must be busy, but even just to see you for a minute would be good…"
There was no sign of him of course; in fact, Wes did not even hear his friends plea, so tied up was he with work, his mind full of processing, his brain dealing with the fact that the numbers of people that had been processed so far had now reached six figures. What made matters worse was that Elizabeth had just informed him a few minutes earlier that they were to ready themselves for a further influx in just a few hours time…
After breakfast, the five survivors set off again, making good progress towards their ultimate destination. The roads were fractured and abandoned, but there were fewer big obstacles here than they had encountered before. Then the base came in sight, and what they saw left them with mixed emotions. They had reached the point from where Puck had stated they would be rescued, but it was no more occupied than anywhere else they had passed en route. The gates were unattended, and the runway was empty, although on a positive note, the buildings seemed to be relatively intact. They were just about to head in when the ground beneath their feet started to move again. They all quickly realised that this was no small aftershock either; this was something that felt every bit as bad as the last two big ones…
Across the nation, indeed the world, viewers were watching a live report from Edwards Air Force base, the presenter describing the relief effort that had commenced and the scenes on the ground to the show's anchors back in New York. Then the young woman's voice faltered and stopped as the ground below her feet began to move in an alarming fashion. As the quake grew in intensity, the world around her quickly descended into chaos; she fell to the ground, as did the camera crew, but the live broadcast kept going as the camera operator continued to film. Thus he captured the moments that the main centre of the relief effort, where thousands of people had headed to for an escape to safety, was reduced itself to the same piles of rubble as the city they had fled; the epicentre of the new quake was in the valley itself, not far from the base. Unknown to anyone then was that the main escape route from the city, which was crowded with survivors, was suddenly hit by a series of landslides and collapses, trapping many and burying more.
In Murray Hill, the broadcast had been on, Julian and Sebastian glued to the screen. As events unfolded, the room was suddenly filled with such screaming that Dave and Eloise rushed in, thinking that murder had to be taking place; on seeing what was going on, they realised that the noise was well and truly justified. Nick and Trent were also watching in stunned silence, until they both suddenly burst into tears. At the Spotlight, Jeff was rooted to the spot as he watched, and then without warning, he fell in a dead faint to the floor. Across the city, the Warblers found all their hopes torn asunder as events occurred, and as for Kitty, it was all just too much to bear.
At Dalton, a stunned Thad just watched and prayed, begging each and every God that might be listening to help. It couldn't be the end, not now, not when their was light at the end of the tunnel. His best friend couldn't just have died….
Everything happened in slow motion for those that found them caught up in the third big quake as it hit Riverside County. Instinct told them it would be best to abandon the rickshaws that had brought them this far, head over to the grass verge at the side of the road, and throw themselves prostrate upon it. On reaching there, David had thrown himself over Peter, to protect him from any flying debris, whilst Mercedes lay at his side, praying for it all to be over soon. Jake and Unique had also made for the safety of that stretch of ground, but just as he reached it, a sudden lurch of the earth sent Jake sprawling over the kerb, and as a result, his landing was a lot heavier than the others. All that they could do was try and ride out the quake, fingers crossed that this was the last one they would have to endure, and that the buildings and runway of the March base would not be damaged any more than they already were. Eventually the tremor ceased, almost abruptly, and once again the cacophony of destruction was silenced, and the birdsong could once again be heard.
"Please make it stop! Please make it stop!" a small voice was saying repeatedly, and David carefully lifted himself back off Peter, his own mind echoing the small boy's sentiments. Two had been bad enough, but this was one too many. He almost hoped that when they got into the base they would find a plane or a helicopter in there; and that he would be able to hot wire it. Sure he had never flown any kind of aircraft before, but how hard could it be? It would be massively risky, but then in his mind at that moment, so was staying here and waiting… Peter had got back on his feet by now, and was in Mercedes' arms, and pretending that he wasn't crying…
Then Unique spoke. "David, Jake isn't waking up… I think he's hit his head…"
In a flash David was over at the younger man's side, checking almost by instinct to see that he had a pulse. Boy was he so glad when he found one that was good and strong. He reached across to where Jake's bag was lying, opened it up, and pulled out his water bottle. He splashed a little of the precious resource on his friend's face as Unique watched in concern, blinking back tears…
It took a moment but Jake's eyes slowly opened, then his lips parted to let out a groan, his face forming a grimace as he did so. "My head feels like something heavy slammed into it," he muttered, and then he tried to lift himself up - and screamed in agony. It was only then that David and Unique noticed that his left foot was lying at a strange angle. It quickly became the focus of their attention, and David gently felt it, realising that it was badly swollen. He gingerly tried to move Jake's foot back to a more normal position, and he managed to do so, but not without eliciting a chorus of squeals from the younger man. There was no doubt about it in their minds; his ankle was probably broken, at least very badly sprained. That there was undoubtedly damage to tendons and ligaments from the jerky nature of his fall. There was no way that he was going to be able to walk on it in the immediate future.
What concerned both David and Unique more was the fact that they could not get him expert attention swiftly, and such a delay might change the entire course of Jake's future. He was a dancer after all, and that was what he lived for; if his foot did not mend then he could be saying goodbye to his career and the one thing he lived for. Such concerns were for later; for now, they just had to be glad that they had so little distance left to cover to reach the base, and that surely there had to be some sort of medical facility in there. If nothing else, they would be able to find painkillers to give Jake some form of relief from his agony…
They might have been close, but it took a while to get there. The quake had rendered their faithful rickshaws useless; the middle of the road had been torn apart, and one had landed in the base of a huge chasm that had appeared, twisted out of shape. The other was intact, but was on the other side of the deep gulf, and they had no means of dragging it back to their side. So they had to walk, Mercedes leading the way with Peter's hand clutching hers, and carrying her own bag and Jake's; behind them, David and Unique carried their own bags, with Jake in between them, his arms round their necks as he hopped along on his good foot. He was trying his best to keep smiling, but his mind was full of turmoil and unanswered questions. Where was Puck and the rescue crews that he had promised? Would his foot be left badly damaged, made worse by the delayed treatment? And worst of all, would there be another earthquake, because frankly he was done with all of that now…
Once they had entered the base, it did not take them long at all to identify the medical room, although sorting through all the packets of drugs that now lay scattered across the floor did take a while. Unique had insisted that she went in alone, not willing to risk anyone else just in case there was another aftershock. Leaving Peter in the care of Jake, David and Mercedes ventured into a barracks building, and managed to carry out some chairs and bedding, which meant Jake could be more comfortable than when he was sprawled on the ground.
Further exploration found David find something even better - a tent. However, the process of pitching the large tent gave Jake and Peter a distraction, and something to howl with laughter at; it was total farce watching the other three struggle with the poles, and then the canvas that went over them. Eventually though the tent was erected, giving them valuable shade from the heat of the sun. Jake and Peter were moved inside it, and then David and Unique set about finding the mess hall, and liberating food from it. All that any of them needed now was a sign that help was actually coming; even the distant noise of an aircraft would buoy up their flagging spirits. However, the skies remained stubbornly empty, the only thing visible in them the smoke from the still raging fires. Eventually, partially just to pass the time, David and Unique started to move lighter bits of rubble to the side of the runway, and used them to spell out three letters; SOS. That way, if anyone did fly past, they would be able to see that someone was there and needed help…
In the control room of Buckley Air Force Base, just outside of Denver, the base commander had watched the television in silent horror as before his eyes the base at Edwards had fallen apart. He could see the communications staff pale as they lost all lines of contact to the other base; one call had been open as the quake struck, and it had ended abruptly moments after the air was filled with a scream of pure terror… For all of them there was the realisation that colleagues in the service had just been seriously injured, or worse; that the base at Edwards had just been taken out of commission for the foreseeable future; and that all the resources that had already been assigned there would need to be replaced. After a moment they all snapped back into action, as their training had taught them to; flights that were already in the air en route to Edwards were contacted and rerouted to another destination, or to return to their start point. New plans would have to be consulted, ones which had the contingency that Edwards was not available. It quickly became apparent that if such plans did exist then they were not that reasonably accessible.
Not that far away, Puck had watched the same footage in silence, not wanting to think too much about what he was seeing, what it meant for his brother and his friends. He took care not to let his emotions show. If they found out now about Jake and the others, then at best he would be forced to take a back seat and just watch as others did the work; at worst, he would find himself in trouble with the military police. After all, he had lied to get here… As the minutes passed, he began to realise one thing; if Edwards was gone, or even just restricted, then it meant that March had to come back into play, and that had to be the one good thing in all of this, at least to his mind.
It was just over an hour later when Puck's commanding officer, Colonel Kelly, walked into the room with the intention of grabbing himself a coffee. He was paler than Puck had ever seen him, his face lined and his brow furrowed. There had still been no mention of new orders, and to a casual and cruel observer it would appear that at the moment there were a lot of headless chickens in command… As the man sat down and proceeded to stare blankly ahead, Puck decided that he had nothing to lose in just going for it and speaking out. After all, what was the worst that could happen from him making a sensible suggestion? "Sir, may I talk to you for a moment?"
"Puckerman, this is not exactly the best time for a general chat. Things are to be frank, dire. We have lost a lot of resources at Edwards, a lot of good men, and unfortunately a lot of civilians too…"
"I understand that sir, and that is actually what I wish to talk to you about. I recall in training that there was another plan drawn up for this eventuality in Los Angeles; a plan that mentioned use of another base, in Riverside County if I remember…"
"March Reserve Base? Yes, it was the go to point for this situation once, but that was some time ago. The thing is that there were cutbacks, and March was downgraded as part of them several years ago, with everything concentrated on Edwards. I thought at the time it was stupid, and now I have been proven correct. A great error was made by the people in charge…"
"But March would still be serviceable though, sir? Still with the potential to serve as a base for this mission even now?"
"It was, but given all that has happened, there is no guarantee that it would be in any fit state to do so now…"
"Has anyone actually checked that out? If not, I would be more than happy to volunteer for any mission to ascertain the status of the base. I just feel so useless sitting here in safety when there are thousands of people that need our help. After all, what possible harm could such a mission do?"
"Well, until now it hasn't been considered, but I think you actually have a point in that it should happen… I think that those in charge would actually be grateful for any idea that could give hope to everyone right now. I guess there would be no harm in asking them to consider it." Colonel Kelly got up, and headed for the door, then turned round at the threshold. "Well, don't just sit there, Puckerman! It's your idea, so you should tell them…"
It turned out that the Colonel had been right; those in charge were desperate for any scheme that could bring hope, and so a reconnaissance sortie was proposed at once. The Colonel was to be in overall charge of the mission, but Puck was to pilot the single helicopter that would be sent, the rest of the crew being chosen from the rest of their unit. Initially the helicopter that was to be sent was a small one, much to Puck's horror, but then one of the others had suggested that they should take a larger one, as there might well be civilians in the area that were in need of immediate rescue. It would also let them take supplies to allow some of them to remain at March as a forward position, should it be okay. Puck silently thanked the woman who would be his co-pilot for her suggestion…
With permission granted, they were airborne within twenty minutes. The course that had been plotted for them was one that had them initially heading south west, to a stop at Luke Air Force base near Phoenix, Arizona, where they would refuel and pick up further supplies. They flew as fast as they could, Puck keeping his mind focussed on where he was heading, and not on the worst he could find when he got there. He did not know what he would do if he got there to find the place deserted, with no trace of those he cared for. If the base was okay, then that left hope, but if not, then it was a disaster. He knew from Thad that they had made it through the first two big quakes, but if they had failed to survive the final one… well, he wasn't even going to consider that.
The stop at Luke took far too long for his liking, but eventually they were headed west again. Again Puck concentrated on his flight path, heading towards the shining Pacific ocean in the distance, flying over a landscape that was starting to show signs of damage the further west they flew. Then there were the plumes of smoke rising high into the skies above the city his brother had called home. All he could do now was hope and pray that they had made it through, and that as he brought the helicopter into land, he would see them all there, waiting for him…
The day had passed uneventfully in the March base; once the tent had been erected and they had eaten lunch, there was nothing left to do but sit, wait and hope. They were not too badly off after all; they had food, water and now shelter. They had made a signal of sorts that would let people know that they were there. They all knew that Puck would make every effort to come himself or send someone here, as he had promised. The only thorn in the side for them all was the state of Jake's ankle. They had decided after a lengthy debate that they would not remove his boot, and had bandaged his ankle up tightly over his footwear, making use of the supplies in the medical room. He was still in a lot of pain, despite the painkillers that they had given him; he was putting on a brave face, but the three older members of the small group could see straight through it. They all knew that he was worried about his future, and what effect his injury might have on that. Every hour that passed without Jake receiving expert treatment was a potential risk to his dancing career, and they all knew it.
As the afternoon wore on, Peter eventually fell asleep on a cot they had dragged out of one of the barracks, and shortly after that, Mercedes had joined him on her own. Unique took a seat beside Jake, and tried to distract him with idle chatter, and to some extent her plan was working. As for David, he decided to take a walk around all the buildings that made up the core of the base to see what was intact; he harboured hopes that he might come across a working telephone or a cellphone signal, but he knew that was reserved for his wildest dreams. He was more likely to stumble across the Holy Grail… He did discover a facilities block where everything still worked, including the showers; the temptation to throw off his torn and dirty clothes and just stand there and let the water run over him, even though it would be cold, was great. He managed to resist by reminding himself that there were no towels. It was as he walked slowly back to the tent that he heard a sound…
He dismissed it as just so much wishful thinking at first, too long standing out in the sun. He had been waiting to hear that sound for so long that now his brain was allowing him to imagine the low drone of a helicopter. Then he turned his eyes to the east, and he saw it; just the smallest of black specks in the sky, on the horizon but coming ever closer. He watched in spellbound amazement for a moment, then as the noise began to grow louder he was running for the tent, yelling at the top of his voice to his friends inside. Unique appeared at the door and was about to speak when she too heard the rotor noise; with a squeal of delight she joined David outside, and scanned the skies. Mercedes emerged then, realised what was happening, then turned back to tell Peter to stay with Jake, and make sure he stayed where he was, given that he was trying to get up and hop out to join the others.
She came back out and rushed over to David's side. "We need to do something to attract their attention, in case they just fly past; we need to get them to come and pick us up."
"We have made a sign, but you're right, that might not be enough. There is no point in shouting out, because they will never hear us," added Unique.
"If it is Puck, then he won't need any sign; he will land in the hope that we are here. But if it isn't…" admitted David. "I guess that all we can do is what they do in all the films; wave our arms about frantically in the hope that they see us." With that, he set off at speed to the open space next to the runway, to wave his arms about like a lunatic; after a glance at each other, Mercedes and Unique followed him, and began to do the same…
