Shock

-35-

As evening neared, the amount of light shining through the windows lessened quickly. Seeing as the power was still out, the gym got darker by the minute and you could see people were staying near their cots as opposed to walking around and mingling with the others.
I looked down at my watch to check the time. 5:26 PM. I hesitated, then pushed the button on the side to make the timer appear. 47 h 58m 13s. When we'd left the diner it had been at 4 hours. It was hard to believe we'd been gone for so long. I wished I'd be able to call Layla to ask how things were back there. If Grace was still unconscious. Though it was probably best I couldn't. It wasn't like I could just go back and magically heal her. Besides, we weren't allowed to go outside. When I'd told mrs. Chesterfield about Grace earlier in hopes of finding a way to get her here and take care of her, she'd told me no one left this building until we got the clear from mr. Taylor. Taylor was the head of the Newington fire department, who also happened to live on our block. He'd helped set up the shelter and had become the main authority around the place.
'Besides,' mrs. Chesterfield had told me, 'with the way the roads are looking, I honestly think she's safer staying where she is.'
In the time we'd spent in the gym, Cam had asked Peter to tell the story of how we got there at least a dozen times. Especially the most exciting bits. He'd been bored out of his mind in those couple of days he'd had to miss his brother. It was endearing to see them interact now that they'd reunited.
Mum and dad had asked me for clarification on several occasions as well. I'd been afraid they'd lecture me for opening a box of crackers with a steak knife, but they were just happy I was safe. Turns out, unsurprisingly, they'd been even more worried about me than I'd been about them. I suppose I could have gotten away with just about anything at that time. After quite a few hours of catching up however, we didn't really have that much to say anymore. Now that the thrill of the search was over and there were no more explanations to give, I was once again left alone with my own thoughts, and that had already proven to be a bad idea. Even though Nathan had told me none of it was my fault, it was hard to believe him when the image of Paisley's lifeless body was imprinted so clearly on my retina. I thought back at what Andrew's mum had said. Humans did this. Though it sounded ridiculous and the idea of someone having caused this hurt was terrible, I couldn't help but want to believe it was true. It was awful, but in some weird, twisted way it would mean I was off the hook. Anything to help me sleep at night, right?
I looked over to the Bennet family's cots, where Andrew was sitting, pulling at a thread on the olive coloured canvas. He looked quite a bit different from the last time I'd seen him. Granted, the last time I'd seen him we'd been twelve, but I was still surprised. His raven black hair was cut short, military style. His glasses had made way for contacts and he'd grown at least ten inches. Meanwhile, all I had done was lose my braces.
Near him sat his mum, who was typing something on her laptop. I knew the wifi was down, so I figured she was typing up a document of sorts. Perhaps about her theory. I was hoping to get a chance to ask her about it, but I had yet to figure out a way to get past Andrew. I could wait 'till he was gone, but he didn't seem to be going anywhere soon. I briefly considered asking Nathan to create a distraction, but that would raise way to many questions I didn't have the answer to. Aware that I had been staring, I averted my gaze and looked down at my hand, picking at the bandages. When I looked up a few minutes later, Andrew had shifted his position on the cot. He was now laying down with his eyes closed, noise canceling headphones plugged into his phone. It was the perfect opportunity. I looked back at Nathan, who was talking to Haley. Mum was braiding her own hair, dad was playing a card game with the twins. No one was paying attention to me. I slipped off of the cot and sneaked off to the front of the gym. I tried to approach them from Andrew's mum's side, so he wouldn't notice me, though, to get her attention, I had to stand right in between the two cots. The woman was engrossed in her work, seemingly unfazed by the world around her. I scraped my throat. She didn't notice. Someone else did, though.
"Hey, you're back."
I turned on my heels towards the other cot, where Andrew had sat upright and taken off his headphones.
"Hi..." I couldn't say I wasn't there for him, since he'd figure out I wanted to speak to his mum, about those theories he hated so much. He patted the end of the cot and I reluctantly sat down. I promised myself I'd talk to his mother later. Andrew didn't seem to notice my discomfort. He apparently thought I just wanted to chat.
"So, how come you just got here?" he asked, "I thought I saw Cameron earlier."
"I... wasn't with my family when the earthquake hit. I was at Rhonda's."
He seemed confused, so I gave him the abbreviated version of the story I'd told Rhonda and my parents. He gave the expected reactions. Astonishment, surprise, compassion. The abbreviated version didn't include Paisley. If it had, I'm sure there had been a lot less positive reactions.
"How about you?" I asked when I'd wrapped up my story. "Where were you when the earthquake hit?"
"Well," he started, but at that moment he was tapped on the shoulder by a tall, grey-bearded man in his late fifties: mr. Taylor.
"Hey, Andrew, it's time for food distribution, but if you're busy..."
Andrew looked up at the man, then back at me. He raised his eyebrows.
"Go ahead. I'm gonna be heading back anyway," I lied, vaguely waving in the direction of where my family sat.
"Okay, I'll see you later" Andrew nodded, standing and following Taylor to wherever the food distribution happened.
As soon as he was out of sight, I rose from the cot and skidded over to mrs. Bennet.
This time, I didn't waste any time trying  to get her attention.
"Excuse me, mrs. Bennet?"
The woman finally looked up from her laptop.
"Oh, hello. Charlie, is it?"
"Yes. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about what you said earlier. About the earthquake?"
The woman seemed flattered by my interest and put aside her laptop.
"Of course. Come, sit."
She scooted a bit to the side and I sat down next to her.
"Okay, uhm, I was wondering... when you said humans are responsible for this, what did you mean? Because I just don't understand how a person can cause an earthquake."
"Well, that is a very good question. How much do you know about the way earthquakes usually happen?"
I struggled to remember last year's geography lessons.
"They happen around fault planes, right? When rock underground suddenly breaks?"
Mrs. Bennet nodded.
"Simply put, yes that is what happens. But there's this concept called induced seismicity. Have you heard of it?"
I shook my head.
"Well, when drilling for oil, wastewater is produced. So called 'disposal wells' pump it deep into the ground, even deeper than where the oil is found. Scientists have been studying the effects of pumping liquid underground on seismicity for decades, but Atkinson & Coles doesn't seem to care..."
The woman paused.
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you so interested in all of this? Everyone else seems to think I'm a lunatic."
I bit my lip.
"Because I don't know what happened. But I do know that earthquake killed my best friend. If there's any chance of finding the person who's responsible for that..."
"Well I can't tell you who, exactly. But I can tell you for sure that Atkinson & Coles has something to do with it. Their reputation is far from clean. If they found a way to make easy money, they wouldn't care how many lives it would cost."
The name of the company sounded familiar somehow, though I wasn't sure why.
"And, you know, they recently took over that oil field in Dorset, Wytch Farm." Mrs. Bennet continued.
"They may have drilled just a little too deep this time..."
"Can't we sue them?"
"How are you gonna prove they're the ones who did this? You saw how people reacted when I told them. They think it's all bogus."
"Well, what's the alternative?" I could hear the words leave my mouth, but I don't know why I spoke them. I wasn't planning on getting revenge. I just wanted to see who was responsible. The woman tilted her head, as if she was contemplating my options.
"Well, the Atkinson & Coles offices are in Brixton, St Matthews road, I believe, nine miles from here."
"Nine miles? I don't... I can't do that, it's too far."
I didn't have a car. Plus, with the way the roads were looking, a car wouldn't get anywhere either.
Mrs. Bennet shrugged.
"I know. But I'm telling you, that place'll give you the biggest chance of finding your friend's killer."
I thanked her, and with my head throbbing from all the new information I'd received, I walked back to my family.