Ashes to Ashes (Book Two of The Kazuya Series) (✔️)

十四 (Fourteen)

A/N:

Next one will be longer!! Promise!

Enj-.....Well...yeah.

-B.

~~~~~~~~~~~
(Arielle's POV)

I groaned as I sat up and grabbed at my head, everything spinning and aching. I looked at my hand after touching my head to see blood.

"Fuck." I heard someone mumble as they appeared by my side.

I started to look around, but whoever was by my side grabbed my head and forced me to stay still.

"Doctor Torrence! Come check on her!"

I knew that voice.

I didn't like the owner of that voice.

I looked at the person holding my head and saw Masaki.
A doctor I'd seen around a few times was by my side seconds later. He gave me a quick once over and decided that it was just a flesh wound from the impact, but I don't even remember hitting my head.

"Why...Why are you here?" I asked Makasi as I closed my eyes trying to get everything to stop spinning.

"I came for a checkup."

"That's why...you were in...in line for the pharmacy?"

"I was getting new meds."

"For?"

"You're a nosey thing aren't you?" He chuckled, holding some gauze that Doctor Torrence had given him to my head.

"Yes."

He used one hand to hold gauze to my head and the other to start unbuttoning his shirt. He unbuttoned it until I could see most of his chest. He had a large scar running down the center.

"Heart transplant before I was even a teenager. Have to have a check up every so often and have to take meds for the rest of my life."

"Oh."

"Think you can stand?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Can try." I nodded.

I replaced his hand with mine in holding the gauze as he wrapped an arm around my waist to help me up. That's when I got to actually look around.

My heart dropped when I looked behind me and saw that, just fifteen feet away, the floor and ceiling had collapsed. I was fifteen feet away from being in that collapse.

Standing and walking was a bit tough at first and I reluctantly had to lean on Masaki. The people around us were in various states. Some were okay and just shaken up, some were like me and had been thrown by the explosion, and some were unconscious.

"We have to get down and out as soon as possible." Doctor Torrence said. "We don't know how unstable the building is or if there's going to be another one."

"We have to help them first." I said, pointing to the injured.

"You are the injured." Masaki pointed out.

"You take her and I'll help the others."

I wanted to argue, but my head was throbbing and I was terrified that another one would go off and I wouldn't be so lucky. That's when my mind snapped to Koan. Then it snapped to my mom. I wanted to get out even more now.

Masaki and I found our way to the nearest stairwell that wasn't blocked by the collapse and we got all the way down to the first floor. Opening the door, we were hit with the sight of chaos. Part of the hallway in front of us had collapsed and there were several people moving around.

"You two okay?" A firemen asked when he saw us in the doorway.

"Her head is bleeding, but it's not bad. I'm alright." Masaki answered.

"Good. Well let's get you out, okay?"

We nodded.

We fully stepped out of the stairwell and I was about to let out sigh of relief when the worst happened.

A second explosion occurred.

~~~~~~~~~~
(Koan's POV)

They wouldn't let us near the building. They wouldn't let anyone near the building.

Renzo was trying his best to keep me from being 'reckless' and running towards the building. Then Seiichi showed up with Colten, Shiro, Kenji, and dad. Elle's dad arrived minutes later.

"Have they said anything?" Everett asked.

"No, dad." Colten replied.

It was soon after that when the second explosion went off and the backside of the hospital started to collapse.

It was at that moment when I felt my chest start to feel tight, my heart started going faster, and I started breathing faster.

"Koan, listen to me," Seiichi said, placing his hands on my shoulders and blocking my view of the hospital. "You're having a panic attack."

I continued to have that panic attack for the next five minutes before I managed to calm down with Seiichi's help.

"What do we do?" Shiro asked.

"Nothing we can do except wait."

"They'll send patients and victims to the surrounding hospitals so maybe one of us should go there in case she comes in." Dad suggested.

"I'll stay here with Koan." Colten said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"If your mother calls, tell her where we are and to stay home. Tell her we'll call as soon as we know something." Everett told Colten and he nodded.

"Everyone is to call Koan or Colten first if they see her. Understand?" My dad said.

They all nodded and then took off.

I wanted to go in and look for her myself. I needed to go in and look for her. Waiting for someone else to find her wasn't good enough. It wasn't logical to me. They would take forever.

"She'll be okay." Colten said. "She wouldn't leave you behind."

She wouldn't. I knew that.

But if she did...

I was prepared to follow her.