Written by Firelight

Findings

Previously:

Nothing. There was nothing there. Where there should have been a dazzling and historic downtown skyline, there was just nothing.

Within seconds the smoke had filled in again, leaving the helpless bystanders to wonder if they had somehow lost their sense of direction or just imagined the whole thing. Caroline's mind couldn't even process what she thought she'd just seen. She ran through her mental map of the city again, wondering how she'd been so far off. It just didn't make sense. She'd been here before; looked out these very same windows at the bright lights of the city.

She took a few steps backwards and grasped onto the wall beside her for support. She was suddenly not feeling well. She felt dizzy and disoriented, as if she had been cast adrift on pitch black rocky seas on a tiny raft.

Through the whole ordeal she had held fast to the knowledge that no matter how terrifying or hopeless things can seem, the world always works itself to rights in the end. Now she wasn't sure she knew anything about the way the world worked. 

Chapter 4 - Findings

The fire had been bad. Caroline had already guessed that much, but even her worst nightmares couldn't compare with this. She had imagined the once majestic rows of buildings now black and charred in the aftermath of the tragedy. She had pictured rows of burnt houses, factories, and shops, but there were none. In a few places a singular wall or pillar stood above the collection of rubble as a reminder that something had once stood there. Somehow, in less than 72 hours one of the grandest cities in the country had been leveled.

She was not the only one who had caved to her curiosities. Several other men and women could be seen climbing across the wreckage and examining the remaining structures. She briefly made eye contact with another young lady who was observing the scene and saw her own dazed shock reflected in the woman's features. It seemed that no one had truly understood the extent of the damage until they were standing in the middle of it.

In the distance she heard the solitary whistle of a train departing. It had taken almost a full day for the engineers to clear enough debris and ash of the tracks for the engines to be able to move. When they had finally let cars begin boarding it had been mass chaos. Caroline had barely been able to keep herself upright as the crowd around her shoved their way onboard.

She and Charlotte had no sooner found each other and managed to squeeze themselves into the corner of a cabin when the announcement had come.

The smoke from the fire had made its way into the train engine and coated the gears with a thick layer of soot. They said it would likely take another six hours at least before the trains could go anywhere.

In that moment, stuffed between dozens of strangers and packed into a tiny unmoving train car, Caroline had felt the world close in on her. It felt as if the smoke was suddenly inside her, suffocating her. She couldn't breathe.

Caroline ran. She shoved her way out of the train car and through the terminal without a second thought to the looks of confusion, concern, and anger thrown her way. It wasn't until she had reached downtown that the whole situation had caught up with her.

Now, standing in front of what had once been her father's office, fighting back a heavy lump in her throat, the world seemed more empty than it ever had before.

Caroline stood mesmerized by the disaster for a few more moments until the trance was suddenly broken by the sound of someone speaking from directly behind her. She had been so focused on the broken city that she hadn't noticed the heavy police presence on the street until she turned and found herself face to face with an officer.

"Ma'am this street is closed. Can I help you get directions somewhere?"

His tone was bored, as if he'd been repeating this same sentence to curious onlookers all day. Most likely, Caroline realized, he had. She felt a burst of slight anger rise in her chest. She was not just another young girl come to gape at the destruction before running home to feed the gossip mills. She had a reason to be here; she was going to find out what had happened to her parents, even if it broke her.

She took a deep breath and summoned the best attempt at a smile she could manage under present circumstances.

"I'm looking for someone."

The officer's face did not change. Caroline realized that this too was probably something he had heard a few times already.

"Do you know where someone who was injured may have been taken?"

In hindsight, someone who was known to faint at the mention of blood or gore probably should have stayed away from a pop-up crisis hospital. Unfortunately this thought hadn't occurred to Caroline until after she arrived, and besides, it wasn't like she had much choice. As she pushed open the large wooden chapel doors, she was greeted with a sight that hardly seemed like it should be allowed in the house of the Lord.

The pews had been pushed against the far wall to make room for rows and rows of cots. These cots were covered by sheets that she supposed would have been white to begin with, but certainly weren't now. She smartly avoided looking too closely at any of the figures who lay moaning in the makeshift beds. Instead she focused on the faces, or at least what was left of some of them.

As she made her way down the line her breath became shallow and difficult. Caroline felt as if the walls were closing in around her. Suffocating her among these living dead. The world began to spin and she was sure that she was going to pass out, when two soft hands and a flash of fiery hair reached out for her arms.