Aftermath

      “I’m missing Kane! Where’s Hunter Kane?” Mr. Sutton yelled above our heads. His eyes landed on me. His faced traced with worry and panic. “Miss Dwyer, have you seen him?” I gulped and shook my head. I had not seen him. I saw him leave this morning to skip first period like he does three times a week.
      “No…he’s not here.” I replied slowly. My chest became heavy as my thoughts took a turn for the worst. Did he come back? Is the city in a panic? What the hell is going on? I looked around me seeing a sea of shocked faces. Then the ground below us began to cower beneath us and the building began to shake. The walls were cracking under some unknown pressure. We all stood flabbergasted with each other just waiting for the worst to hit.
    I racked my brain... just a few hours before I was just sitting in chemistry class, mindlessly curling my hair around my pencil. One of my classmates heard screams ring out from the hallway. Then, before we knew it, we were all being pushed down the stairwell, outside, and onto the soccer and hockey fields outside the school.
      Everyone was in a state of pure horror. Teachers and students alike were screaming and frantically looking around for their friends and fellow faculty. And when they could not find the ones they were looking for, they lost it.  I watched as people came back out with their friends on their heels and others came out without the ones that were looking for them. Then too soon enough for me people seemed to stop coming out of the building all together. The once sturdy walls came crashing down around us. The ground beneath us began to shake harder and cracks in the foundation took form, swallowing people before they could scream out for help.     
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-Two Days Ago-
“You cheated!” Hayley yelled throwing her cards down as Hunter laughed maniacally as he slapped down his cards showing Jacks over threes. He picked up each money chip, one by one, just to spite her.
“It’s just luck, my friend.” He replied smoothly. Jane laughed and kissed him.
“Screw you, Hunter! You always cheat when we play poker.” I said picking up the deck and shuffling.
“You sound like such a sore loser, Hales.” Jane teased lightly. She had never seen Hunter and I act this way towards each other, even if it was all in good fun. She did not hang around me too much. I playfully rolled my eyes and reached over to a picture of me and Hunter when we were no mover than five years old. I pointed to a small seemingly innocent boy
“This little boy, right here, was the worst possible play mate a kid could have.”
“You’re just saying that because I beat you at everything!” Hunter explained with a laugh. Jane squeezed her boyfriend’s hand tightly and gave me a smile. But before I could argue with him, my dad rushed through the door, papers dangling from his grasp. The three of us instantly stopped laughing and looked to see my obviously flustered father attempt to organize himself in the foyer. In just a matter of moments he gave up and dumped his things on the dining room table and stormed up the stairs. I looked over to Hunter with a hard stare. He shook his head and mouthed “You don’t have to, Hales.” I ignored him and took a deep breath as I excused myself and quickly followed my dad upstairs into his bedroom.
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      It was hotter than it was earlier, and I did not know how long I had been lying there on the grassy soccer field. I felt the sun bake my skin as I laid in shock on the ground. My heart was pounding in my ears and my chest was heaving in and out. I slowly opened my eyes, but my sight was blurry at first. After a few long moments everything soon became clear. Something had happened. Something devastating had happened. I tried to turn my head, but an agonizing pain shot through my spine and throughout my entire body. Something inside my head was punching against my skull a million times a second, even the tips of my hair hurt. Probably a concussion. Where is everyone? I looked down to my legs, covered in fallen building debris. 
      I slowly lifted my head up from the ground. Just as I finally got myself upright a sting of pain ran through my stomach. I looked down to my stomach where a large shard of glass was protruding from my side. As the blood trickled down to my waist I immediately felt woozy. I took a deep breath…in…out…in…out, just like my dad taught me to do when I was little when I got nervous and when I needed to be strong for myself and for the other people around me.
      I pulled my shirt back down and struggled to my feet. I looked around at the piles upon piles of rubble that was once my school building. There were bodies of my classmates and teachers hidden under the wreckage. Hunter. Where the hell was Hunter? Where was Jane?  She was on the third floor when everything came crashing down. I hope to God that she got out. Tears clouded my vision. I quickly wiped them away, knowing I needed to be strong, especially now. I was always supposed to be strong. Always.  My friends needed to be alive and breathing. Out of nowhere, a blood curdling scream rang out. I turned around completely to see a student crouching over a body sticking out from under a piece of the building. As I looked past her, there were more people running around covered in cuts, bruises, and even more blood. There was so much blood. There was too much screaming. All if did was further my already worsening headache. Breathe, Hales.  The girl looked up from the body spotted me. She stared at me with tears streaming down her cheeks. She stared harder at me. Then, her entire expression changed from confusion to relief.
“Hayley? Hayley Dwyer?” She yelled in a cautious tone. The girl ran towards me as she wiped the stray tears away from her eyes.
“Terry?” I responded. She climbed over the debris and crashed into me with open arms against the glass in my side. I winced and let out a moan of pain.
“What’s wrong?” Terry asked as she pulled away and looked me over. I sucked in a quick breath and shook my head. Terry tugged her red hair behind her ears as her eyes fell to the bloodstain spreading on my shirt. Her eyes met mine again, lined with concern. I shrugged it off.
“Have you seen Hunter or Jane?” I asked her, taking the attention off her ailing abdomen, though the pain was only growing.
“Jane had history on the third floor right?” Terry asked. I nodded quickly, my hopes slowly rising. “I haven’t seen Hunter anywhere,” She continued, “But Jane is over there.” Terry finished with a grimace taking form across her lips.
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-Two Days Ago-
“Dad, can I come in?” I asked through the wooden bedroom door. I did not hear anything from the other side. In. Out. In. Out. Now is the time to be strong, Hales. “I’m coming in, dad.” I warned. I gingerly pushed the door open, half expecting what I saw next.
“Miss Carter needs to have her appendix, removed, but her appointment comes after Mr. Swanson’s heart surgery. But I could have sworn we moved him to Thursday morning.” I heard him mumble aloud to himself. I watched from the doorway as he scattered his papers over his side of the bed. Only one half of the bed was made, the other was left untouched. Today was that day.
“Dad…your appointment book is right here.” I said handing him the black pleather planner book. He snatched it from my grasp and continued to frisk his papers across the bed sheets. In. Out. In. Out.
“Hayley, I need you to call the hospital and tell them to move my lunch meeting with the board to next week.” He told me. His voice was distant and he did not even look at me. He knew what today was. We both did. Just thirteen years ago. Mom was taken from us. The Big C took her. Dad tried to get rid of it, but there was just so much and she could not fight anymore. I took my dad’s hands in mine and for once he looked up at me. His crystal blues looked into mine. A crooked smile formed on his face.
“My strong, girl…” He whispered to me. The guilt lined the irises of his azures. I could see it killing him, more and more each year. He tried to be strong on his own, but that’s why I was here. I had been his rock since I was little. I could not let him down now.

      Suddenly the throbbing in my stomach halted. In. Out. In. Out. I felt my heart stop as Terry motioned to a body lying on the cold concrete ground. I turned in that direction and spotted something that was gleaming on the body’s wrist. It was a gold and silver bracelet….like the one Hunter gave Jane on their one year anniversary just a few days ago. I remembered him brushing back his brown locks when he gave it to her. He always did that when he was nervous. He’d done that since we were kids. I had never seen him smile so hard when she began to tear up at his gift.
    The pain from the glass shot through my body ripping me out of my wonderful memory. I gripped my side and ignored the pain as I made my way over to the body. I dropped to my knees as she looked over Jane’s condition. Her spine was protruding from her neck, contrasting against her once clear skin. Jane’s beach blonde hair was dyed red from the blood that was pooling around her shoulders. I traced my fingertips along my friend’s skin. I felt the cracked bones twitch under my most gentle touch. I felt my hands began to tremble as I looked over Jane. Then my entire body began to quake as I tried hard to keep my cries at bay. Fucking, breathe, Hayley! Keep it together! I took a deep breath and gingerly turned Jane's head around to match the direction of her body.
      With my hands still trembling I reached out to Jane’s arm one more time. I shivered at the stillness. She was still warm. One would almost think she was sleeping. I blinked back the tears as my thoughts adverted back to Hunter, who was still missing. Where was he? He had to be somewhere. I refused to believe that my best friend of fifteen years was not breathing anymore. I looked down to Jane. I just could not, would not, believe it. This was Hunter’s girl…my best friend’s girl. This was not supposed to happen. She was going to be the maid of honor in ten years. And Jane and Hunter would have two kids three years after. None of this was right. None of this was supposed to happen…if I even knew what happened. There was an explosion. There was an earth shattering explosion. But there was an earthquake, strong enough to affect the whole city. There was never anything like it, even in California. There had never been anything like it. It had to be the end.
      I turned back around to see that Terry had disappeared. I looked around for her, but she was nowhere in sight, but there were plenty of other people screaming out for help. I looked down once last time at Jane’s body. My stomach churned with cries unheard, but I kept them down. In. Out. In. Out.
      I managed to get people out from under some of the rubble with the help of students and teachers that were not too badly hurt. We sat on piles of rubble looking around at the dozens of bodies that surrounded us. No ambulance was coming so that meant the school was not the only place blown to bits. The Hospital. Dad. No. He was fine. He was always fine. He was my dad. He had to be fine.
“Hold pressure on that. I just need you to press down as hard as you can.” I said to one of  my classmates as she cried over her boyfriend’s gaping leg wound. God, I wish I could do that. Cry.
“But…but what about you?” She asked referring to my glass wound. I finally pulled the shard out. It was bigger than  I anticipated. I had to pull a hoodie off a body and tie it around my stomach in order control the bleeding. I stole a dead guy’s hoodie. Jesus…I never thought I would have to do that. The world really is over.
    I still could not find Hunter. I knew he was not here in the first place, but I needed something to hope for, so I looked for him anyway. I had to. I needed to tell him about Jane. He deserved to know. It would kill him…if he was not already dead. The thought of Hunter dead haunted me. The thought of my dad being dead somewhere taunted me. Sobs gathered at the surface, ready to be released, but I could not do it. Crying would make it all too real and this…this end of the world type deal, just could not be real. I would not allow it to seem real.
“Hales?” An all too familiar voice yelled from ways away. I turned to see a bloodied Hunter struggling towards me. I dropped all my weight and fell to the ground. I felt the small rocks dig into my knees, but I did not care. Hunter was alive. He was fucking breathing. Thank God. Hunter finally made his way to me and clutched me to his chest without saying a word. I wrapped his arms around his neck and squeezed back.
“Thank god you’re okay.” He whispered into my hair as his tears streamed onto my head.
“I thought I’d never see you again.” I mumbled into his chest.
“I was on my way back for second period, and then everything just suddenly went black.” He stated, not letting me go. After a few intimate moments, Hunter slowly let go of Max and looked around behind her.
Something was not right.
“Where’s Jane?” My head shot up from his chest. I could not find the words. How the hell do you explain to him that she’s dead? People were scattered around the lot fighting to get first aid kits from inside the demolished building and others were crying out for assistance. “Hayley, where’s Jane?” Hunter pushed again. I unwound my arms from around his neck and began to take deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out.  He knew all too well what my heaving breathing meant, but he refused to believe it. I looked up at him, more tears gathering at the brim of eyes.
“Hunter, she’s…”
“Shut up, Hales.” He yelled angrily, tears burning his once bright hazel eyes. He pushed away from me and stood up with his arms stretched firmly out in front of him. He shook his head fiercely back and forth. “We have to go back. She’s probably just badly hurt. We just have to help her. She’s just waiting for us. We’ll find a car and we’ll go back. That’s all we have to do.” He stammered as he paced back and forth.
“She’s gone, Hunter.”
“Shut up. She’s fine.”
“She’s gone.”
“I said shut the fuck up, Dwyer!” He shouted at me. His eyes darkened towards me. He paced around in a small circle, unsure what to do or say or think. He combed his bloody fingers through his knotted hair.  He fell down. I reached out for him, but he flinched away. He did not make a sound. I reached out for him again, this time he did not refuse the contact. I clung to Hunter’s stiff posture. I felt his heart beat quicken against my chest. His back heaved in and out as his disheartening sobs took over his body. Before I could say something to at least try to soothe him, Hunter was out of my hold and trying to gain back control.
“How can you be so fucking calm? Everyone is dead!” He shouted. His voice scared me. I had never seen him so disgruntled or flustered.
“Hunter, I have to be.” I answered simply, knowing no other answer.
“You can’t be strong all the time, Hales! Not even your dad can be strong all the time!” He said taking a stern hold on my shoulders. I shook my head, not understand what I was hearing. With just a few words, Hunter had torn down everything I had learned to be a as a kid. The tears finally escaped. Hunter folded me into his arms. My stomach churned as the long overdue sobs came pouring out. I had no way of finding my dad. With the earthquake, everything, even the hospital was probably in the same state as what was once my high school. But I could not stay strong like this anymore. I wanted to make my dad proud, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not stay strong forever, so I thought I had to, but Hunter was right. I could not hold everything in like this anymore. Sooner or later, everything, the tears, the anger, all the feelings, had to come out eventually.