Collin walked to the window and looked at the buildings across the street. Even in the fading light, he could tell the chances of people still being alive in the ruins were slim. Even so, loved ones and neighbors still struggled to remove debris piece by piece with their hands.
"...more troops should arrive by dawn to help downtown, over."
"Copy WS. A couple of hours ago, A7BB reported an explosion in the south. Can you tell us what that was? Over."
"NP7WS stand by. ...Sarah, some guy in a small plane either didn't know about the quake or didn't care. He tried to land at Boeing Field, hit a lifted section of the runway and flipped. His plane caught on fire, skidded under the belly of a Boeing 777 and blew it up. And Sarah, we've got potential refueling problems for the choppers. Hope to have that resolved by morning, over."
*
Gusts of warm wind were whistling down the darkened hallways of the Winningham Blue Building, by the time Tim and Jenna lay down beside Seely on the floor. Each held a flashlight and none had a blanket. A few seconds later, Tim turned on his side and propped his head up on his hand. "I've begun to hate that sound."
Lying on the other side of Seely, Jenna did the same, "The wind or that train."
"The train. Of course it’s not really a train. The tracks are out, remember?"
"What is it then?"
Seely glanced at one, and then at the other. "Don't freak, but I've heard that before. It's the earth."
"You mean it's still moving?"
"Sugar, I haven't got a clue. I've read a lot of books on earthquakes and few ever mention the horrid screech right after, or the train noise it makes for weeks. I guess no one knows what causes it."
Tim thoughtfully listened. "Maybe gas escapes through the new cracks or something."
"That's the best guess I've heard yet. Or maybe that sound is always there but we can't hear it until the dirt is dislodged. At any rate, it goes away."
Jenna sighed, "Good. I'll be glad when that happens. What time is it?"
Seely raised her flashlight and looked at her watch, "a little after nine-thirty."
"Nine-thirty? I haven't gone to bed this early since I was twelve."
"Yes, well going to bed after an earthquake is one thing. Going to sleep is quite another."
Tim lay back down and closed his eyes, "The booze will help with that, I hope."
*
A7BB was tired. The air was still warm and the cat was curled up on his shoulder. Fewer choppers broke the stillness with their thudding noises and the bright Aircraft Carrier lights seemed to be dimming. On far off shores, tiny flickers signaled make-do campfires and small spot lights cast ghostly, elongated shadows on downtown buildings. In a dark sky normally brightened by city lights, stars twinkled in the heavens. The rhythm of the sloshing water below seemed mellow and comforting, and for a little while, A7BB slept.
"Net Control, this is NP7H, care for a little good news? Over."
"NP, go ahead."
"NP7H, Sister Elizabeth's weekend daycare in Northgate is in good shape. Moderate damage, but all nineteen kids are safe and they've got a working generator. They could use diapers, formula and some extra hands if anybody can help, over."
"NP, that's the best news we've had all day. You got an address? Over."
"NP7H, 92nd and Linden. There's a big sign, tilted a bit sideways, with a duck on it. Bet we've got some relieved Moms out there somewhere, over."
"Bet we do too. Thanks NP7H. Anybody else?"
"KB7MN."
"MN, go ahead."
"Sarah, I forgot to tell you. The statue of Lenin fell. It smashed into a thousand pieces. KB7MN, over."
"The one that guy brought from Russia? Over."
"That's the one. A lot of folks in Freemont will be pleased about that. Night Sarah, I'm going to turn in now. KB7MN, out."
"Good night, KB. Who's next?"
"NP7WS."
"WS, go ahead."
"NP7WS. Navy wants to take your net for the night so you can rest, over."
Sarah stared at the radio, and then lightly rubbed her brow.
Before she could answer, Collin leaned into the mike, "WS, tell Navy thanks. We've got a real tired lady here."
"NP7WS, will do. By the way Sarah, you've become pretty famous these last few hours. The press got hold of your picture and half the guys on the ship have flipped over you. They interviewed your Mom in Atlanta. She's worried, but holding up. She said she felt bad for all the mothers who couldn't hear their daughters on the radio. NP7WS, over."
Sarah's eyes brightened a little, "That sounds like my mom. WS, thanks, she's been on my mind too. Did you say you were on the ship? Over."
For a moment, NP7WS didn't answer. "Well, yes. It's not exactly protocol, but I've got my own Ham License out of LA. Captain okayed it as long as it doesn't interfere with my duties. Good night, Sarah. This is NP7WS. Over."
"Good night, over."
"John, over."
"Good night, John."
Sarah flipped the Amateur radio microphone off and briefly listened to Navy take her next call. Then she hung her head and cried. For a long time, she let Collin hold her in his arms while she sobbed like a child. When she finished, she pulled away and glanced up at him, "This is the worst chair I've ever sat in."
Collin got up, lifted her out of the chair and carried her to a pile of pillows on the floor, "What? You miraculously got feeling in your butt now?"
"No, but I still have a back bone."
"Fine. Tomorrow, I'll put you on pillows."
"Good."
Max's grin was wider than it had been all day, "Guess what, we're still on the air.
Collin rolled his eyes, walked back to the microphone and lifted it to his lips, "This is KMPR, 760 AM in Seattle signing off for the night." He nearly signaled Max to shut down, and then thought better of it. "Seattle, this has been the worst day of our lives and those of us who came through in one piece send our love to all those injured, suffering and still waiting for help. Sleep if you can." He closed his eyes and bowed his head, "Beth, I love you. Wherever you are, try to rest. Max wants you to give Candy and the boys a hug for him. Be safe Beth…and please, please be alive." He nodded, and Max shut down the controls.
Collin hung his head for a long, long moment. Then he walked to Sarah, unfolded a thin blanket and spread it over her. When Max sat down beside her, Collin began unwrapping the ace bandage on his foot. "So Sarah, how come you hate the Mayor?"
"He's a twit."
Max chuckled. "A bunch of us Hams went to see the Mayor a short time after he was elected. He took one look at Sarah's wheelchair and left the room, mumbling something about not having time to look at Seattle's disaster plan."
When Collin looked at her, Sarah only shrugged, "I'm used to that. A lot of people don't look me in the eye. They don't know what to say or how to treat people in wheelchairs."
Collin frowned at the black bruise on Max's foot, and then carefully began to re-wrap it. "I hate to admit it, but I never know what to say or do either. Besides, some people with disabilities are so cranky, all I wanna do is stay out of their way."
"They get angry and with just cause. They get to a door they can't open and they get frustrated. I was lucky, I was in a car accident when I was little, and my mom never let me get angry. She said I was beautiful, intelligent, alive, and I'd better be grateful for what I had. Once, when I was having a particularly rebellious day, she tied a scarf over my eyes so I could see what it was like to be blind as well. Boy did that teach me a lesson. I don't think I've wallowed in self-pity since. Still..."
"Still what?"
"Well, I have days when I am angry. I would like to find a good husband and have kids, but it’s a lot to ask of a guy. So I keep telling myself I just have to be content with my little home Internet business and my Ham Operator hobby. With a radio, a girl can have dozens of guy friends and none of them care if she's in a wheelchair."
*
The evening air was still warm when John Carson walked across the flat top of the USS Carl Vincent and stood by the rail facing the city. Still in his dress whites, he removed his cap and ran his fingers through his dark, curly hair. His soft eyes looked tired and his tall frame slumped a little. Calm waters sloshed against the side of the ship, but the noise on deck where dozens of his shipmates still loaded and unloaded choppers obliterated the peaceful sounds.
He gazed at KMPR's light on top of the hill for nearly ten minutes before Ted Walker casually walked up beside him. "I've never seen you like this old friend. Sarah's got some sort of magical hold on you."
John chuckled and rubbed the back of his tired and aching neck, "You've got to admit, she's some kind of woman. Most of the men I know couldn't hold up under that kind of pressure. After she gave the net to us, you know when she cried, I nearly lost it. Didn't you?"
"Yes, but…"
"But she's crippled?"
"Well…"
"So was my mom." Lieutenant John Carson smiled, put his cap back on and walked away.
At shortly after ten o'clock p.m., James flashed his Mother's Red Cross arm banner at a man directing traffic, smiled, and then fell in behind the fifteen-truck Spokane convoy. The back of the pickup was fully loaded with jugs of water, day old bread, canned goods and blankets donated by people in Preston. Darkness hid the devastation and the previous trucks bounced back and forth on the broken pavement. Nevertheless, the convoy followed the Auburn Echo cut off to Highway 169, and then turned north toward Renton.
At the first of two bridges over the Cedar River, the trucks stopped. Men in Army uniforms cautiously waved the trucks forward, allowing only one at a time to drive across the bridge. But none paid attention to James and Heather in the small pickup. As soon as they were past, James took a deep breath. "That's finished. Good." Then the convoy slowed again.
Inch by inch, the truck eased through free standing water, which made Heather nervous, "Why is there water everywhere?"
"Maybe the river changed course."
"Oh. Are we gonna sink?"
James turned an incredulous glare on his sister, and then he suddenly smiled. "That's right, you can't swim."
Soon, they were back on dry land, but in less than half an hour, the convoy stopped. All along the side of the road, tents with blaring lights housed duty minded men in uniform. James waited, moved up each time the line moved, and waited some more. Finally, the last truck in the convoy pulled away.
He was a short man with a fully loaded rifle and a silly grin on his face. He paused in front of the pickup's headlights, looked at the license plate, and then glanced at James and Heather. Finally, he made a smart, military turn, marched forward four steps and stopped. He turned again, marched down the driver's side of the pickup and turned once more. His face was less than six inches from James when he grinned, "Mister McClurg, I assume."
James swallowed hard and slowly nodded.
"We've been expecting you. Your Dad said your Uncle Harry needs help in his packing shed."
Heather closed her eyes and let her head drop, "Peach fuzz, yuk!"
*
Long after the station shut down, Max, Collin and Sarah were still wide-awake. Their tangled nerves felt every vibration in the earth and their ears caught even the softest noise. The volume was turned way down low, but they could still hear the Ham's.
Max soon began to talk about Candy, "My wife tells me we met in a sand box at age three, but I don't remember it. She decided I loved her and that was that. We grew up next-door neighbors and when I went off to college, I realized I did love her. I missed her so much, I got off the plane, grabbed a phone and proposed. She said yes, and we are still best friends." He thoughtfully paused for a moment, and then went on, "When she comes home, I'm taking all of them on the best vacation ever."
Sarah giggled, "You want to take her on a vacation with three little boys? Some favor."
"What do you suggest?"
"Well, if I were her, I'd like a nice long bubble bath with soft music and candle light. Then, dinner out at the most romantic place he can think of, and maybe a movie with no kids, no worries and no aftershocks."
"Amen to that," Collin said. "Maybe Beth would like a cruise."
"I think she would." Sarah adjusted her pillow and laid her head back down, "I like Beth very much."
"I didn't know you knew her."
"I know." Sarah giggled and turned to look at Collin, "Don't you recognize my voice?"
Collin thought for a moment, and then shook his head.
"Amazing. I'm better at disguising my accent than I thought. Beth comes over in the afternoons. We share a pot of tea, and then make as many calls to the station as we can dream up."
"I had no idea."
"See if you recognize this -- Carl, he's your Aunt Jo's boy, never did a lick of work in his life."
"Mom?"
Sarah shrieked with laughter, reached out and playfully smacked his shoulder. "Beth and I have more fun with that one. In fact, we've been talking about maybe asking if I could do a spot on your show. You know, like a half hour or so. I could talk about all sorts of things, like Internet businesses, Ham Radios, girl stuff and..."
Collin quickly turned on his side, "I love the idea. If you did it around noon or one o'clock, Beth and I could have lunch together."
But Max was not so enthusiastic, "Sure, if we rebuild. This place is totaled, and it took every dime I had to build it."
"Well the equipment still works and that's the expensive stuff, right?"
Max stared at him in disbelief, "You're going to stay, even after all this?"
Suddenly, the earth jolted. Collin shot up off the floor, shoved his arms under Sarah, blanket and all, and headed for the door. Max sat straight up, quickly flipped over, and then cried out in pain as he put weight on his sore foot. Even so, he wedged into the doorway beside Collin and Sarah. The earth began its shaking again, sending forth its horrendous thunder, its frightening twists and its murderous heaves.
In the bay, the water once more swirled and churned, alarm bells sounded on the Aircraft Carrier and all hands dashed to the safety of the lower decks.
*
In the Winningham Blue, Tim sat up with a start and grabbed his flashlight, trying to hold its beam on the rolling ceiling. Seely wrapped her arms around Jenna. Her eyes darted, her heart raced and Jenna began screaming in her ear. In the frightening dark of night, the battered and weakened building rode the 8.3 shock wave -- dipping, rising, screeching, twisting, shaking, and falling.
*
Asleep on the grass, Sam jerked awake, stood up and tried desperately to keep his balance, but the earth rolled too quickly and he fell on his face. Theo wrapped his arms around his terrified family and kept them seated on the ground. The wood and brick house behind them cried out in torture and car alarms once more went off.
*
For James and Heather, the thunder was not as loud, but their first real experience with a moving earth terrified them both. Water began seeping onto the wooden floor of their bouncing, twisting tent as the Ceder River sloshed over its banks. In a panic, Heather got to her feet and darted outside. Almost instantly, a young Private grabbed her around the waist, held on tight and whispered in her ear. "You're okay. Nothing can fall on you here." Even so, the tall pines danced in the distance and the water kept rising. Seconds later, James emerged from the tent just before the rolling earth began to quiet. His eyes were wide and his face was nearly colorless.
*
Twice during the aftershock, the lamp at KMPR flickered and dimmed. Twice it returned to its full capacity and now that the shaking stopped, Max stared at its base sitting nearly half way off of Collin's console. Again worried about the stability of the floor, he took cautious steps toward it until he could reach out and shove the lamp to safety. He grabbed his forgotten flashlight, turned it on and shined the beam at the satellite dish. It was still there. Next, he pushed the Ham Radio farther back on the table and turned the volume back up.
Sarah was trembling even though Collin still held her in his arms. She relaxed just a little and buried her head in his neck, "At least you didn't drop me."
At last, Collin allowed himself to breathe, "How could I? You've got your fingernails in my neck."
Sarah quickly let go, "Oh, sorry."
Gently, Collin laid her back down on the pillows, and then sat down beside her and turned his attention to the radio.
"A7BB, this is Navy. How do you read?"
A7BB didn't answer. Max held his breath, made a slight adjustment to the frequency tuning dial, set Collin's stool upright again and sat down.
"Navy to A7BB, over." Aboard the Aircraft Carrier, John Carson watched the last of the waves hit shore on his radar screen, and then ordered a spot light turned on the cliff. "A7BB, come in, over."
"Hey, what's with the light? Can't a guy get any sleep around here?"
Sarah giggled, and Max slapped a hand on the console, "Awesome."
"A7BB, you slid a bit more, over."
"Are you asking or telling? If you ask me, I slid a lot more and I got all wet. You know that stupid cat, the one I was growing fond of? Well it scratched up the whole side of my face, and then took off up the cliff. So much for loyalty. A7BB, over."
"Navy to W7LGG. Over."
Max quickly flipped on the mike, "W7LGG."
"Max, we got a guy named John who'd like to know if Sarah's alright, over."
"W7LGG. She's okay. A little shook up, but okay. We lost the other half of our roof, over."
*
Tim was too scared to breathe. The ceiling looked okay, but he wasn't sure. The floor beneath them felt strong, but the building still echoed its settling noises. "Maybe we should go lower."
Jenna sniffed her nose and wiped the tears off her cheeks, "But Seely said higher was better."
"Maybe, but my gut tells me to go lower."
Seely didn't quickly comment. Instead, she again concentrated on breathing normally. She waited for the pain to shoot across her chest, but it didn't and in a little while, she relaxed. "Tim might be right. Maybe we should try to go down a flight or..."
It began with a sharp cracking noise somewhere below and all three instantly resumed their huddled positions. The odd sounds of splitting wood and metal reverberated through the devastated building and objects started crashing to the street below. Even so, the ground didn't seem to be moving, but then suddenly, the forty-third floor shuddered, its walls popped and its floors convulsed. Long, endless seconds passed, and then the Mainland Tower broke apart and fell, sending a horrendous crashing noise up the walls of the Winningham Blue.
Tim laid his flashlight in his lap, covered his face with his hands and took several long, heavy breaths. In the eerie glow of the flashlight, Jenna's eyes looked distorted and huge. Tears once more ran down her cheeks and Seely bowed her head in prayer.
Stiff and sore, Tim slowly got to his feet. "I guess going down isn't such a good idea after all…now." He moved down the hallway and shined his light on the walls. Tiny molecules of dust still filtered down and wires yet swayed, but the walls and ceiling seemed to be holding.
The cracking erupted again – this time within the building. Tim dove back down the hall, sat down next to Seely and threw his arms around her. Jenna shivered, Seely cringed and for more than a minute, no one moved while the building rested. Finally, newly stirred dust began to settle.
*
The noise of the crashing Mainland tower took a good ten seconds to reach KMPR. When it did, Collin jumped up and went to the window. Car headlights cast a faint glow on the collapsed buildings across the street and a lone man continued to dig in the rubble. In the dark, Collin couldn't tell if the other buildings were still there.
*
The "Blue Angel" flew north to Everett, dropped off its passenger at Thorndike Memorial Hospital and turned south again. They were flying over Lynnwood when Seely's heart rate abruptly increased. Instantly, Jackie knew what was happening and instructed Carl to stop. She waited and watched as the heart rate slowed, and speeded up twice more before it held steady. Below the chopper, people poured into streets and she slowly scanned the area with her cameras looking for new fires. There were none.
In the right hand top screen, an enlarged Seattle map indicated Michelle's house and the playground across the street. The monitor next to it showed a view through the sprinkler head camera of a dim charcoal fire in the barbecue, and shadowy figures standing around it. "At least we won't have to wake them up. Go ahead, Carl."
The air crane picked up speed and quickly flew over the more than fifty city blocks to Crown Hill.
On the ground, Sam, Theo, Michelle and the girls quickly spotted the chopper lights. Mesmerized, they watched it land in the middle of the play field. A side door slid open, steps unfolded and the bright interior lights silhouetted the figure of a nicely dressed woman. Flashlight in hand, the figure descended the stairs.
In high heels, Jackie struggled to walk through the broken patches of grass. The sidewalk and the street with slanted slabs were equally difficult, but at length she arrived. She extended a hand first to Theo, and then to Michelle. "My name is Jackie Harlan. Your mother is alive."
Michelle instantly slumped against her husband. "Where is she?"
"She's still in the building, but we're going to do everything we can to get her out. Look, I've got a tired crew on my hands and rooms for all of us in Vancouver, BC. Will you come?"
Theo wrinkled his brow and frowned, "To Canada?"
"Yes."
"Why us? There are millions of people trapped in this mess."
Jackie hesitated, looking first into Theo's eyes and then Michelle's, "I'm a Private Detective. I'm being paid to find you and bring you out."
"Paid by whom?" Michelle waited for an answer while Jackie glanced back at the chopper.
"Your father."
"My father is dead."