Collapse

by Xavier Neal

  Adrenaline hits me squarely in the chest, as we break into a run. The lights dim and people start screaming, the ground rolling under our feet like a carpet unfurling, while large pieces of the ceiling rain down from above. The building is coming apart around us; I scream just as the power cuts out and we are plunged into darkness.

  In the suffocating blackness, Danny’s grip on my hand gets firmer as he drags me towards a pinpoint of light that seems impossibly far away. Must be the exit. I can’t think. Panic. Panic. Oh God, please help us…

  Through the murky dust and debris, I see dozens of people lying injured on the ground, already. There is blood everywhere and I hear the muffled sounds of people moaning and sobbing uncontrollably.

  A blood-chilling scream rings out to my right as we stumble towards the sliver of light, the ground shifting from side to side beneath our feet. The building makes a torturous groaning sound like metal is twisting around concrete. We’re almost home and dry—two metres from daylight—when I hear a sickening, fracturing sound from above me. Looking up, I see a massive piece of the ceiling breaking apart. I freeze on the spot, staring imminent death in the face. Seconds are weighed in syrup and time stalls, as a balustrade marks its precise target, swinging down towards me like a giant pendulum.

  Danny screams out my name, his voice swallowed up in the cacophony of destruction. Feeling a violent jarring hitting me from behind, I’m flung through the exit door. I hear a deafening crash, and a low rumble. My breath is knocked from me as the left side of my body and face makes impact with the concrete littered with broken glass. Pieces slice through my face. The forward momentum causes me to barrel forward and slam up against a wall, my head taking the impact. Everything goes black...

  Pain, piercing my skull. My eyes flutter open, vision swimming. What the hell just happened? Trying to blink, with visibility down to a few feet in front of me, I start coughing violently as something warm and wet pools in my eyes. Wiping at it, looking down at my trembling hands...they’re covered in blood. Snapping into survival mode, I attempt to pull myself up, shouting out for Danny. Turning back towards the building I just escaped from, through the dust cloud, I see a hand sticking out from under what remains of the first floor of the cinema complex that has partially collapsed onto ground level.

  Scrambling to my feet, my footing falters as I’m overcome with a wave of nausea and dizziness. “Danny! Danny!” I shout, heart thundering in my chest. A hand grips my elbow, turning me away. “N...no, no! LET ME GO, h...he’s still in there. I’ve got to get to him.” It’s a half scream, half sob. Breaking free and falling to my knees next to the hand, any coherent thought is lost as a wracking sob wrenches from me. I intuitively know it’s Daniel’s hand.

  The hand is still; a tiny trickle of blood seeps down the pinkie finger. I catch sight of the ring on the third finger; the limited edition infinity ring I bought for Danny a week ago to symbolise our five-year anniversary. “Danny baby, I’m here,” I whimper, gripping his hand. It feels clammy and dusty. I vaguely hear in the distance the sounds of murmuring, crying, and shouting. People appear in my periphery, their voices seeming far off. Sirens are wailing, getting louder, then…stopping.

  Someone places their hand on my shoulder, urging me away. “Please, miss, you’re bleeding heavily, the ambulance is here.” “No...no...oh God, you’ve got to h-help me, help me get him o-out,” I sob, ripping my fingernails as I ineffectively try to tug at the immovable slabs of concrete haphazardly piled on top of his broken body.

  Gripping his hand once more, the last tangible link to my love, my life, blood and tears blind my vision as the realisation hits me...his hand is completely still. Danny could never have survived such a catastrophic building collapse. His lifeless hand, sticking up through that mangled building, is an image I know will brand me for life. The scene is apocalyptic: Light filters through the heavy dust and debris, a cloying grey film coats everything.

  My heart is now lodged in my throat, I clutch his hand tighter. “Please no, sweetheart, don’t you leave me,” I sob. Arms brace me; hands on my shoulders attempting to pull me back.

  My grip on Danny’s hand is pried loose, as an anguished cry escapes from deep within my throat. Hands are on me again, lifting.

  A strong arm supports my waist as I’m guided towards a stretcher; a lone voice tries to reach me. Hearing heavy footsteps, I vaguely register some firemen running past me with torches. One shouts into a radio, “Yes, multiple casualties; bodies everywhere. Possibly hundreds trapped inside the fallen buildings!”

  This can’t be happening. Please, God. Don’t let this be real. Just a few minutes ago I was standing next to Danny in the cinema.

  “No, no, no…,” I sob, totally disorientated. Suddenly I’m struggling to catch a breath, and my body starts to shake. The same male voice I registered before is urging me to breathe. In and out. In and out. I’m laid down on a stretcher as an oxygen mask is placed over my face.

  Suddenly the ground starts shaking again. People are screaming. Somebody is yelling nearby. Car alarms are blaring out from different directions. The sound is muffled by what feels like cotton wool in my ears.

  The aftershock passes and the stretcher is lifted into the ambulance, my vitals taken. Voices. Lost on me. Bleeping. Lights. Feeling very sleepy, I close my eyes.

  “Stay with us, miss, try to keep your eyes open.”

  Looking towards the source of the sound, I make out a medic strapping tape to my arm, while the icy piercing of a needle breaks my skin. He makes eye contact, his brows furrowed in concern. Mossy-green eyes. I’m trying to focus. Their colour…soothing. Bizarre. Then we are moving. Siren screeching. He’s speaking…lips are moving. My ears are still ringing. He leans in closer. “Your name, miss?”

  The barely audible words, “Katrina Smith,” escape from my mouth before my eyes close of their own accord. Everything grows dim as I feel myself drift into oblivion….

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