Page 57 of From the Ashes

Lochlan waves his hand in front of his throat in a ‘kill it’ motion. “Don’t challenge her, my dude. It’ll become her life’s mission.”

That doesn’t appear to deter Dray. “Bring it,” he says playfully with a wink.

The morning passes suspiciously quietly after that. We make it through breakfast uninterrupted before Yara and I are called out to treat a suspected heart attack that just turns out to be heartburn. So after giving the guy some antacids, we’re back within the hour to rejoin the rest of the squad.

Everyone knows better than to say it out loud, but I start to worry that it’s going to be one of those long, boring shifts that feel like they last forever. Of course, it’s good if no one in Redwood Bay has an emergency, and I always appreciate getting some decent sleep when at work overnight. But if we spend twenty-four hours on edge without getting to expel that energy anywhere, I find the unused adrenaline leaves me unpleasantly restless for days afterward.

Luckily…we’re not left in limbo for long.

Some time after one o’clock, the station’s gray cat, Smokey, comes shooting across the open concourse, looking like she’s running for her life. Lochlan’s Dalmatian, Rocky, is chasing her, so initially it doesn’t seem like such an unusual sight.

“Rocky, be nice!” Lochlan yells from where he’s watching some kind of science fiction TV show with Teddy. I shake my head and tsk as I go to resume loading the dishwasher with our plates from lunch.

Then everybody’s phones start pinging all at the same time.

“I take it that’s not normal?” Dray asks as we all start pulling them from our pockets.

“No,” I reply to him. But I barely get a chance to glance at my screen before the tones start sounding. It’s not the typical call alert. It’s…

“EARTHQUAKE!” Lieutenant Flores bellows. “Take cover!”

He doesn’t need to tell us twice. As the ground begins to rumble and more alarms and sirens fill the air, the entire One-Thirteen throws itself on the ground against the interior wall, waiting for the moment to pass. Our administrator, Nancy, hurriedly joins us, climbing awkwardly on the floor in her pencil skirt. Lochlan clings to Rocky. I assume Smokey, like most cats, would rather fend for herself. I hope she’s okay, wherever she’s hiding.

This isn’t exactly unheard of in these parts. I think of my teta scoffing at the meagre 4.2 a few weeks ago. But it doesn’t matter how many I experience, every time the very earth starts to tremble beneath my feet, it’s an extremely humbling reminder of how much we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature. There’s no telling how strong the tremors will be or how substantial the damage. I mutter a prayer under my breath, hoping for mercy.

It’s definitely more intense than the previous one. I reach out and grab the hand of whoever happens to be taking shelter beside me. It’s Anton, and he squeezes my fingers as we share a look. Before the fear can truly take hold, though, calmness descends, and everything stills as if nothing even happened.

I exhale.

“Is it over?” Teddy asks.

We all look to Captain Valentine, who shifts forward and peers out from under the truck. “I guess we’ll know if the bells start chiming.

As if on cue, the alarm blares, and dispatch comes over the speaker. “Station One-Thirteen. Jiyu Sushi Bar. Structuralcollapse. Medical assistance required. Possible search and rescue.”

Before the announcement even finishes, we’re all scrambling from under the rigs and rushing to get into our turnouts. Once Nancy is upright, she pulls Rocky away from the vehicles by his collar to keep him safe. Looking quickly around, it doesn’t seem like there’s been any damage to the station. I guess we’ll get an idea of the event’s magnitude as we drive through town.

I’m just hopping into the ambulance as a rapid click-clacking out front makes me pause. “My goodness!” Mrs. Bloom cries as she skitters to a halt with Miss Margot Fonteyn trotting beside her like a nimbus cloud on a leash. “Is everyone okay?”

“All good here, Mrs. Bloom,” the captain calls out to her from the side of the truck. Dray is already behind the wheel, ready to go. “Are you okay?”

“Of course, of course,” she says, waving us off like we’re starting a drag race. “Go on, get going! Nancy and I will take care of the animals and make sure nothing’s fallen down or cracked in half.”

“You’re the best, Mrs. B!” Sawyer yells, giving the engine’s horn a toot.

After that, we don’t waste any time hitting the road, sirens blaring.

Nowhere in this town takes more than fifteen minutes to get to, so we arrive at the restaurant in closer to five. On the way, we see plenty of damage, but all things considered it’s quite minimal. Mostly toppled telephone lines, some broken windows, and a shit ton of roofing tiles that have shaken loose.

The sushi bar is somewhat out on its own, however, and there are more cracks and potholes as we approach, signaling that this area got it worse. The engine and truck get there first and park as close as they can to better use the equipment on the damaged structure, but I stop the ambulance right behind them.

There are probably other buildings that felt it as bad as this one, and I hope my teta and Colt are okay. Selfishly, I also think of my art studio. I would never normally even consider myself in a situation like this, but Colt put such an incredible amount of care and attention into it, I’d mourn it if it was destroyed after only getting to enjoy it for a couple of weeks.

But that would be nothing compared to any loss of human life, so I’m immediately focused on the scene in front of me again. The restaurant seems to have suffered a partial collapse toward the back left, just like dispatch told us. I’ve never been here before, so the sight of an enormous blossom tree poking its branches out through where the ceiling used to be throws me for a second. Then I realize it must be artificial with a steel core to be tougher than the wood and tiles of the roof.

The walking wounded have filled the parking lot, and thankfully most of them just seem to be covered in dust with a few scrapes. Teddy is already hauling out a pallet of bottled water from the bed of the truck to hand out. I see someone who looks to have a compound thigh fracture and some others cradling broken arms and head wounds. The fact that all these people have made it out of the structure bodes well for them, though.

We need to establish if there’s anyone still trapped inside who needs us more.

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