On occasion, the series of islands off the east coast of Asia, called Japan, has earthquakes. Because Japan and many other Pacific Islands are on the edge of different tectonic plates, known as the Ring Of Fire, so, as these plates shift and collide, they disrupt the Earth above, triggering volcanoes, and tsunamis and can cause landslides or even collapse the ground into the gaps like a ravine.
On August 19th, 2022, this happened to a group of friends spending their summer holiday in Kyushu. Merely two hundred kilometres from the quake's epicentre further inland Kyushu, the movement corresponded to the populated paradise resort early that morning.
Per usual, a majority of the group was downstairs waking themselves up with caffeine and having breakfast. Dante, Travis, Aaron and Garroth were heavily engaged in a Forza Horizon 5 racing battle tournament, yelling at each other. Nothing too unusual.
Nana had jolted awake that morning when she'd felt the slightest foreshocks before the major shake. This startled Zane when she woke up, who calmed her down before she could explain what was going on.
Nana felt wary as she ate her waffles an hour later, ready to dive under the table if the time came. If it did.
And well, she wasn't wrong.
Just as Katelyn was retreating downstairs after her shower, the shakes began. The guys on the couch and those in the kitchen yelped in surprise. Laurance, Aphmau and Nana ducked under the dining table where the rest of the room crawled to join them.
Nana held onto a chair leg and Zane held onto her shoulder to comfort her as well as himself. The ground shook and almost jumped like a foot going up and down, except it felt more like a vibration or spasm.
Aphmau cowered into Aaron's chest, holding onto his flannel top, as Travis and Katelyn held each other's hands. The others clutched table or chair legs as the quake continued.
They watched lights swing, cups and plates vibrate until they smashed to the ground, and lights flickered on and off, as cutlery hit the ground with a screech against the tiles. Finally, it stopped.
They waited a moment before climbing out and observing the damage. Dante and Laurance ran to the TV to check if it was okay, and as they remained asked how everyone was.
Lucinda, Cadenza, Kim, Kasey, Vylad, Remmi, Tatiana and Melissa came pounding out of their rooms and down the stairs. Kim and Lucinda leapt into their boyfriends' arms.
"Careful! There's glass around!" Aphmau called out. Aaron smirked as Melissa slapped him.
"We got it on!" Dante yelled, flicking through the channels to the news, awaiting the report. The Japanese/English reporters began commenting on the quake, stalling until they had information and clarification from officials.
"Hey, where's that hot bluenette chick?" Laurance joked. Half-complaining, half-kidding. Some of them laughed, but the rest didn't.
"Not my first, but not my last," Nana murmured holding her arms close to her chest, head down and pacing across the room.
"What do you mean?" Zane asked, gently grabbing hold of her arms, holding both of her hands.
Nana shrugged, "well, it happened twice when I was here last. You know where that sky-high water slide is? One of the quakes sent half it to the ground," she answered, chewing the inside of her cheek.
"But, you're here aren't you? If it happens again, we'll work through it, 'kay?"
"Okay."
"Here's the report," Laurance announced. Dante grabbed hold of the remote, turned up the volume and turned on the subtitles.
"The epicentre of the quake was located in Nishimera, Kyushu, reaching 8.6."
Remmi gasped, "that's about three hours from here."
"Here in Kawaminami, the earthquake reached 7.2 on the Richter Scale. Reports have come in that nothing major has been damaged, but evacuations nearby volcanoes are to be advised. Tsunamis are not to be expected, all tsunami warnings are to be cancelled. Please be ready for possible aftershocks later today. That's all we have for now."
The live broadcast ended only with upbeat news music playing in the background.
"7.2 is huge!" Cadenza exclaimed.
"It sure felt like it," Katelyn mumbled as Travis had his arms loosely around her neck.
"We don't have anything to worry about," Zane said with a nod.
"No volcanoes are around here, no tsunami, we're safe," Aaron assured them.
"Who's up to join me for another round of Forza Horizon 5?" Dante suggested.
YOU ARE READING
BITTERSWEET
Fanfiction[sequel to zane, meet the ashida family] ❝It can't get much worse, can it?❞ Zane, Nana, Aphmau, Aaron and the rest of the Mystreet crew, are going to Kawaii Kyushu Paradise Resort for the summer, located in Southern Japan, on the island of Kyushu...
