by ES Richards
Chapter 7
The second the alarm went off; Walter was on his feet. He jumped up from the table so quickly that he nearly sent his plate crashing off the other side, only to be stopped by Luc’s quick hand. The two men looked at each other with questioning expressions, neither of them any wiser than the other regarding the cause of the alarm.
“We better find Taggy and Lin, quick,” Luc said, climbing out from the bench he’d been sitting at. “Henry only sounds this alarm when something serious has happened.”
Walter didn’t need any further indication of the severity of things. During the time he’d spent in the cave, he’d gotten to know Henry Packham a fair bit and the man was very methodical and level-headed in his decisions. He never jumped to conclusions or acted rashly when faced with a problem, If he had sounded this alarm, there had to be a real reason for it.
Running through the underground network of tunnels, Walter and Luc made their way towards the new meeting hall – the basement of an old office building. In the last couple of days, the cave had been expanding rapidly. They had found an access hatch into the office building and managed to develop upwards, rather than moving to a new part of the city. It was the perfect location for them really, allowing a more aerial view of the city to be obtained without ever stepping foot outside.
It did mean however, that a lot of things had been moved around. Walter had only just gotten the hang of the cave in the first place and now everything was different, even his sleeping quarters had been relocated to the office tower. Thankfully Luc adapted much quicker than he did and as the two of them paced towards the tower, Luc took all the correct turns to get them there as quickly as possible.
The alarm was still ringing as they entered the basement, the scene unlike the meetings Henry had called before. Instead of a large crowd, people were already funneling out the other exit – heading upstairs into the office tower so they could access the street.
“There you are!” Taggy grabbed Luc by the arm as soon as she caught sight of him, dragging him and Walter into the throng of people alongside Lin who waited there. That was another change over the last couple of days – Lin had been fully integrated into their group and she was one of them now. Walter got along with the woman incredibly well and had formed a close bond with her, similar to the relationship Taggy had with Luc.
“Someone’s set a bunch of the bombs off,” Taggy explained hurriedly as they began to ascend from the basement. “Just outside Brooklyn. One of the zones has collapsed.”
“On purpose?” Walter questioned. “Or by accident.”
“Don’t know,” Taggy shrugged as she reached the top of the ladder. “But the whole street has practically collapsed. God knows how many people have been hurt.”
“It’s a populous area,” Lin commented, offering her view on the disaster. “There could be hundreds trapped underneath the rubble. We need to get there now and see what we can do.”
“Come on then,” Luc was the last out of the office building and onto the street. “Lead the way.”
Dashing away from the office tower, Walter had a brief thought that if anyone from the Gov was watching, their secret location had undoubtedly just been uncovered. There were loads of them rushing out of the building and toward the disaster, the one key thing that bound everyone from the cave together was their desire to help others. Even if it put them at risk, they had to do what they could to help the poor people who had fallen victim to the Gov’s cruel and inhumane way of keeping them in their place.
By the time they made it to the disaster, any other thoughts were pushed entirely from Walter’s mind. He’d worked in the police force his entire life and had only responded to a major incident anything like this once in his entire career. The placed looked like a warzone, buildings were blown entirely out of place, the bricks and mortar scattered across the road like a hurricane had torn through the houses and spat them out in disgust. The last tendrils of fire were just being extinguished, but even as the orange glow faded, the scene didn’t change. Looking at Lin with his mouth wide open, Walter questioned whether she’d ever seen anything like this during her career as a firefighter.
Lin grimaced. “Unfortunately, yes,” she replied, “this is bad. There’s no telling how many bodies could be trapped underneath all of this.”
“Bodies?” Taggy questioned, overhearing the exchange. “Or people? What are we dealing with Lin? Does anyone under there stand a chance of getting out?”
“There’s always a chance,” Lin replied positively, though something behind her eyes told a different story. “But we’re never going to find out unless this area gets cleared. All these people walking around on top of the rubble – they need to stop. One wrong move could shift the debris and trap people even further. Or worse. The area needs to be mapped and processed methodically. Someone needs to get this place under control.”
“Leave that to me,” Luc declared, running off into the cloud of smoke and declaring himself the savior of the situation. It was an impossible task. Mothers screamed and cried for their children, families wept for those trapped underneath the rubble and clawed at the rock, doing whatever they could to free their loved ones. Telling them to stop and stand to one side wasn’t going to be easy, but Lin knew what she was doing and they needed to listen to her.
“We should try and round up the civilians,” Lin continued. “Figure out who is hurt and who can be moved to safety.”
“It looks like they’re setting up a sort of triage area over there,” Walter pointed, just able to make out a group of people who were being collected in the bed of a truck. A few men and women were wrapping makeshift bandages around bloody wounds, doing their best to fix up those with minor injuries. “Do you want me to go and check it out?”
“Thanks,” Lin nodded, “if we can sort of shepherd everyone over in that direction, that should leave the site clear for us to try and start pulling people out. Without any machinery it’s going to be tough though, even with a room full of strongmen we couldn’t shift some of this stuff.”
“We’ll do what we can,” Walter replied confidently, determined to help who they could. “Taggy, you okay?”
The red-headed woman stood firmly in place surveying the scene, her mouth slightly open as she took it all in. It was rare for Taggy to keep quiet for so long, her opinion always known to those whose company she shared. Looking at her now, Walter could see there was something on her mind. Gradually she pulled her gaze from the collapsed buildings and looked at Walter.
“Where are they?” Walter looked at her with a confused expression for a couple of seconds before Taggy continued. “The Gov,” she explained. “Where are they?”
Taggy was right to question it. Looking around the disaster, the one group of people that were noticeably absent were those from the Gov. Those who had caused it. There were hordes of recruits from the cave, all rushing to the area as soon as they heard what had happened. They joined forces with civilians who had already been there, helping to rescue the injured and doing what they could for the others. The Gov, however, were nowhere to be seen. They had planted these bombs and brought down these buildings and now – in the time of need – they had fled the scene and left the people to die.
Walter felt a rage bubbling up inside of him at the thought of it. These were people he had worked alongside, some of them for many years. Captain Banes had been a trusted companion of his within the police department, they had shared dinners together, split a bottle after a hard case and listened when the other was in need of something. Walter would’ve listed the man as a friend as well as his captain, he had trusted him and now, Captain Banes was one of the very people who had created this fresh horror.
New York City had already suffered enough in recent times, when the group of them came together at the police station, their aim had been to help the city through the hard times and bring it out the other side looking stronger. Their group had started out with nothing but good intentions – how had it mo
rphed into something like this?
Walter could almost rationalize some of the others turning toward a path like this. Philip McManaman was a man he’d never trusted completely, and Walter could just about force himself to picture him signing off on a plan like this, but Captain Banes? Samantha Rice? How could they have allowed this to happen? It just didn’t make sense to Walter. Everywhere he looked there was someone suffering, whether as a direct result of this explosion or something else. One thing was for certain though – life was no better in New York now than it had been the day that Trident collapsed.
That had always been the aim: improvement. They simply wanted to make things better and instead, those who deemed themselves to be left in charge of the city were setting about making the place a whole lot worse. If someone didn’t stop them soon, there’d be nothing left to save. This was a horrendous explosion, but Walter had a horrible feeling it was only the first of many.
“If I ever see those people again,” Walter muttered under his breath, struggling to hold back the rage that was boiling up inside him. His hands curled into fists by his side and he ground his teeth together, so angry at McManaman and the others for the suffering they had caused.
“We’ll make them pay, Walter,” Taggy reassured him, seeing her friend threatening to lose control. “I promise you that, we’ll make them pay.”
“The best thing we can do for now is to not give them the satisfaction of winning this one,” Lin added. “If we can save as many people as possible, we can show them that they can’t just tear down this city and take it over from the ground up. We have to show them that we’re fighters and we’re not just going to let them crush us. We show them by doing good, not by stooping to their level and fighting back. Anyone can set a fire,” Lin spoke calmly with a faint smile on her face, remembering something a friend had once told her. “It takes someone special to put it out.”
Walter looked at Lin and took in a deep breath, calming himself and nodding. She was right. Now was not the time to become filled with anger and a thirst for vengeance, now was the time to help those in need and to do something good for the world. Heaven knows it needed it.
“Alright,” Walter exhaled. “Where do you need us, Lin? Lead the way.”
Chapter 8
As the smoke from the fires gradually thinned in the air, Lin managed to organize the volunteers and began to methodically work through the wreckage. She slotted into the leadership role flawlessly, giving orders where necessary and advising people on where they could be the most help. She even told people how to walk, helping them navigate the uneven surface of the collapsed brickwork to not create any shudders or movements in the rock.
Without heavy machinery to shift the larger pieces of ceilings that had collapsed in on themselves, there were certain areas which were beyond reach. Instead of wasting precious time and energy on them, Lin informed people to focus their efforts elsewhere, doing what they could to save those who could be saved.
It was an awful feeling to know there were people trapped there and that they simply couldn’t do anything for them. A few people argued with Lin’s orders, family members who were desperate to save their loved ones. Lin did her best to inform them that there was nothing they could do and that by trying to shift the rocks around them, they would only put the people trapped in more danger from sliding weight. Some listened, but some refused, frantically digging for their family until their fingers bled and tears stained their dirty cheeks.
Every now and then, Walter looked over in their direction and felt a lump form in his throat. In his line of work, it was almost taboo to give up on someone. However, it wasn’t unheard of. There were sacrifices that needed to be made sometimes to save the greater community. The only thing Walter could think to compare it to was a terrorist attack from a few years ago, when a man had threatened to blow up a school filled with children. Riot police on the scene had been given the choice between taking down the terrorist and endangering those in his immediate area or letting him continue with his demands and potentially allowing over a hundred children to die. When you read about it on paper, it was an easy decision to make, but in the moment, you were simply choosing between lives. No one should have to decide whose life is more important.
That was what Lin had done with the area of the wreckage she’d deemed unsalvageable. It was a horrible decision for someone to have to make, but Walter respected her a great deal for making it and knew that the weight of what she had done would rest heavy on Lin’s shoulders for some time to come. Judgements like these weren’t made lightly and they weren’t forgotten overnight either.
Wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, Walter heaved another large rock out of the way and onto the road. As he did, he heard coughing and spluttering erupt from underneath him, the two people who they were digging out showered with dust and debris.
“Are you both okay?” Walter called down apologetically. There was very little he could do to stop the rubble cascading down on them as they were dug out, but he still worried every time he heard their croaking voices or gasping coughs echo up from the darkness.
“We’re good,” the woman, Kendra called upwards, murmuring something afterwards to her teenage son, Hayden, that Walter couldn’t make out.
“It won’t be much longer,” Walter reassured them, receiving an encouraging nod from Luc who was digging alongside him and helping to free Kendra and her son. “Just hold on for a few more minutes.”
Since arriving at the scene of the explosion, under Lin’s supervision they had managed to save eight people from the wreckage. Remarkably most of them came out unharmed. There were a few broken bones and a number of bloody faces, but all but one of them had been able to climb out of the rubble themselves and walk over to the triage area. The one that was more of a concern was an elderly man called Richard. He’d been knocked unconscious as the buildings went down and had never come to. He was carried away from the trouble under the watchful eye of his young granddaughter, the seven-year-old talked to the volunteers the entire time they were being rescued and showing extreme bravery.
More coughing rang out from below him as Walter removed another rock, however this time as he moved it, he was shown a glimpse of the room below, where Kendra and Hayden were trapped.
“Hey!” Kendra looked up in excitement, a sliver of light beaming through the hole Walter had made and illuminating her face. “Hey, I can see you!”
The sheer elation on the woman’s face and joy in her voice caused Walter to smile with happiness. He could tell that she hadn’t been convinced about the rescue up to that point, but now that she could see the outside world again, her optimism about being saved and both her and her son surviving what had happened had increased tenfold. It worked wonders to boost Walter’s morale and confidence too, determined to save Kendra and Hayden and see them both walk away from what had happened.
“Hang on,” he called down to them. “Won’t be long now.”
Picking up the pace, Walter started moving debris aside and widening the hole. Smaller rocks tumbled over the edge and fell down toward the mother and son, Kendra shielding Hayden from them. The conversation ceased while they worked, it’s main benefit of generating positivity not needed so much when they could finally see a way out. Walter and Luc looked up at one another now and then, both determined to save the two people they were digging for, along with however many others were still trapped.
Ten minutes later, they’d widened the hole just enough for both Kendra and Hayden to squeeze out of. This was the difficult part though. Twice already the movements of people climbing out escape holes had caused the rubble to shift and fall in on itself. Thankfully in both cases the results had been minimal, and the people had still been able to escape, but Walter didn’t need to be told that it could easily happen again here. He wasn’t willing to take any chances, instructing Kendra and Hayden as they began to maneuver out of the hole in their ceiling.
“That’s it,” Walter nodded as
Kendra hoisted her son up, supporting him from below. “Try and keep steady. Can you reach my hand, Hayden? Grab on. You can do it.”
The teenager reached upwards for Walter, his arm momentarily moving toward the edge of the hole before he remembered what Walter had said about it not being safe. Luc was behind Walter, ready to grab his legs and keep him in place once Hayden latched on. Together they could they pull the boy from the hole and to safety, saving one more life in the fading daylight of New York City.
“I got you,” Walter clasped his fingers around Hayden’s, squeezing tightly as the boys’ weight passed to him. Kendra was pushing as much as she could from below, but it was up to Walter and Luc to do their bit now. “That’s it,” Walter reassured Hayden as the boy clung on for dear life. “I got you.”
Walter heaved Hayden up toward him, gradually bringing him up so his head was above the surface of the wreckage. Once his chest was up too, Luc released Walter’s legs and grabbed Hayden by his armpits instead, taking the weight of the teenager and pulling him clear of the hole. Together they collapsed backwards, Luc catching his breath as Hayden let out another stream of coughs, clearing his airways back on solid ground.
Walter smiled, then turned back to look into the hole where Hayden’s mother was waiting. “Alright Kendra,” he addressed her, “you’re next. Is there anything down there you can stand on to make yourself a bit taller? I’m going to reach down and grab you, but any extra height you can give me will help.”
Kendra looked around for a couple of seconds before moving out of Walter’s sight and returning with a fragmented rock or piece of wood – something Walter couldn’t make out in the darkness. Either way it gave her a good few more inches off the ground and anything was better than nothing.
