Realistic or Modern Aftershocks

[KillGill]

The earthquake struck without warning. It ripped apart streets and turned buildings into piles of debris and rubble. The earthquake itself left over 4,400 dead and countless other injured. But the tragedy isn't over, a massive tsunami is speeding towards the town. It will destroy anything it comes in contact with, and you are right in its path.

 

[KillGill]

2:12 P.m. Pacific time. The earthquake forever known as "The Big One" struck central and northern california. It lasted 2 minutes and killed 4,400 people.


@xXxKateKaysxXx


@Identical

 

[KillGill]

Colin lifted himself from the debris. His arm had been violently slashed and cut. He looked around in disbelief, the boardwalk had been completely destroyed. What was once carnival rides and booths was now chaos and horror. Colin dragged himself to what was once main street but now looked like a war zone. The beautifully planted palm trees stood above the ruble like giant pillars. "What in the hell happened?" he said to himself. The nearby wharf had sunken into the sea claiming the lives of 12 people.

 

[Wiggle]

William opened his eyes and blinked a few times, he stared in between the bottom of the kitchen cabinets and where the fridge was and thought to himself. "Wow, wonder how long it's been since Catherine, or anyone for that matter, cleaned back here." He felt something stinging on his forehead, which brought himself back to reality. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and reached up to where the stinging was coming from, brushing his hand against it lightly. He winced and pulled his hand back, and down into his field of view, his fingertips where covered in blood and he grunted in confusion. It was then he remembered feeling the ground shake hard enough to throw him off balance, and after that, his mind drew a blank. There was a cut on his forehead, so he must've hit the counter top on the way down. He grunted again, and wiped his fingers on the hand towel that hung from the oven and pulled himself up. He looked around his home and noticed things had been knocked over, some picture frames had broken glass and so on. It was soon after he felt a presence near him, and then a whine. He looked down at his partner, a 6 year old German Shepard named Buck, Buck never whined or acted nervous unless something was going on, or he sensed something. William had learned to trust his four-legged partner's instincts when it came to things he had no possible way to know or foresee.


"Alright, bub. We might have to go to work." William said to Buck.


He turned and made his way to the bathroom to take care of his wound and get dressed in his uniform. After a little bit, William had dressed himself in his uniform, with his duty belt and service firearm. He quickly put his issued work leash on Buck and grabbed the keys to his K-9 SUV, Buck whined again at his side again and looked up at William with a look on his black face.


"I know, bub. We're going, come on." He said.


He opened the door and stepped out into the sun, followed by Buck. William quickly locked his front door and walked out to the drive way where his squad car waited for him. After a quick survey of his neighborhood, everything looked normal, and there was no real damage to his house, save for some of the plants his wife liked to keep where knocked over, or had their pots broken. Good thing he and his wife had decided to live farther inland, rather than towards the beach. He quickly opened the back door for Buck, whom quickly jumped in and laid down. Will shut the hydraulic operated door and opened the drivers door, and started the SUV. He turned on the police radio and it squealed loudly before finding the channels. Tons of 11-80s, 11-81s, 11-99s, 904s, 10-67s were being called out over the radio, and William cursed under his breath. A sudden realization came over him as he realized that his wife was at work and his children where at school, he knew they would be alright and he needed to do his job first. He flicked on the radio and a news report came in of a city wide evacuation, and that a tsunami was on it's way here. Suddenly the police radio went silent and a call came on for all available police units to respond to the boardwalk and beach for help on the evacuation effort. William threw his SUV into reverse and backed out of his driveway and then into drive, squealing his tires. He flicked on his sirens and lights, and headed towards the board walk to respond. He grabbed the radio microphone opened his end.


"This is K-9 Unit 2904, I'm responding to the call, over." He said, cutting the radio off.


A few moments of silence and the Dispatcher radioed back.


"Roger that 2904, Good luck. Multiple casualties, and multiple injuries. 10-0, 2904, over." The female dispatcher said.


"10-4. 2904 out." William said, ending his transmission.


He continued on his way to the boardwalk.

 

[KillGill]

Colin studied the damage around him. Dozens of injured people and car accidents lined the once sunny and happy streets. He spotted a nearby shop with noone inside. A small grin grew on his face as he walked into the shop. Noone was inside. He cracked open the register and stole fourty bucks and some band aids for his arm. He quickly made his way out of the shop hoping noone had seen him.

 

[xXxKateKaysxXx]

Sean groaned quietly to himself, his eyes opening slowly as his vision cleared. His whole body ached and it felt like he'd been slammed full force into a brick wall, but nonetheless he groggily pulled himself into a sitting position, rubbing his head. He was still out of it, and his head throbbed horribly. He figured out he must have landed hard, on the cement, and he saw his backpack near him on the ground, books spilling out into the street.


"Wha..." the boy trailed off to no one in particular. He heard sirens, and slowly picked himself up, using a nearby pole for support. He noticed his arms and legs were both going to be bruised later, and there was a couple large cuts across his hands and kneecaps. "What the... heck happened...?" he gasped, staring down at his cheap shoes.


Suddenly, he felt it all come back to him. He'd been walking to school. All of a sudden, the ground began to shake, and he had thrown his bag to the ground so if he fell (which he did, obviously), it wouldn't land on top of him and knock the wind out of him, rendering him helpless to oncoming debris. Next moment, he was here, waking up, all sore and beaten up.


It had been an earthquake, no doubt. Sean steadied himself before staggering over to his book bag. He dumped the useless textbooks from it, hoping to lighten the load and get rid of things he wouldn't be needing now. Maybe later, sure, but the school would probably be able to get him new ones once he used the earthquake as an excuse. Now all he had was his lunch money (accompanied by the rest of the money stashed in his wallet, which was nestled safely in his pocket), a few pencils, his notebook, his cell phone (which was pretty old and really wasn't that good for anything), and his shaken, sore body, which carried the near-empty backpack like it was a struggle.


As he started to walk back the way he had come, he snapped out of his survival trance and remembered his brother. "Oh gosh," he gasped, eyes wide. 'Please don't let him be...' the boy thought, but didn't allow himself to finish the sentence as he broke into a run. He had to be okay. He was always okay. He'd get there, and his brother would be there, with his dad, and then they'd get the heck out of this place.


That thought stung a little bit, he realized. He had finally thought he was going to stay here for the rest of his life, but the motel would probably have to close for safety reasons. (Yes, they live in a motel. Wonder why they move around a lot? They're poor. Wonder why Dad works late? 'Cause they're poor.) Well, wouldn't be the first time his hopes would be shattered. He hadn't even made any friends yet, so he supposed it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Still, leaving because of a stupid earthquake seemed like one of the worst notes to leave on.


He approached a few shops, the street littered with car accidents, injured people, and such, and caught sight of a guy just rushing into an empty one. Normally, the kid wouldn't have said a word, but when he saw this guy stealing money and items, he couldn't just stand by.


"Hey!" Sean called, quickening his pace. Sure, the guy was stealing to survive, but once this was all over, that shopkeeper guy was gonna have a hard time getting back on his feet if people just stole from him whenever there was a crisis. Stealing was still stealing, regardless of the circumstances. "Hey!" he repeated, grabbing at the guy's arm.


(( @David Parks ))


Also


(( @Wiggle ))


If you wanna come =P

 

[KillGill]

Colin moaned in pain as the young man grabbed the arm which had been cut. "What the hell are you doing!?" He winced in pain as he dropped the packet of band aids and yanked his arm from the boys hand. He grabbed the pack of band aids and looked up at him. "What are you doing!?" he uttered.

 

[Wiggle]

William soared down nearly empty streets in his squad car, with his sirens blazing. Buck whined in the background, and nervously paced in his kennel.


"I know, bub." He said, concentrating on driving. " We're almost to work, Buck. I hope you got your search and rescue hat on, because we'll need it."


William had long grown out of feeling weird or stupid when he spoke to Buck as if he was a person. He pretty much was anyways, except on four legs, and covered in fur, and long ears, and sharp teeth, and a tail......okay, maybe not quite human but he was a friend and a co-worker at the same time. William laughed at himself as he thought of Buck as a person, and he shook his head and soon after arrived at the boardwalk, where multiple car accidents, injured people and deaths had occurred. William flipped off his sirens and then grabbed the microphone for his car's loudspeaker and began to speak into it.


"The City of Santa Cruz has ordered a full evacuation of the city, please gather your things and continue on inland away from the beaches and crumbling buildings." he said.


He continued down the boardwalk, repeating what he said over the loudspeaker.

 

[KillGill]

3:12 P.M. pacific time. exactly an hour after the earthquake struck. Large masses of looting and small crimes began breaking out. Lower Santa Cruz had gotten the worst of the damage. The Santa Cruz Wharf had collapsed into the ocean taking 12 people with it. The boardwalk's rides snapped with riders still on killing 28. 24 minutes until the tsunami forms.

 

[xXxKateKaysxXx]

"What the hell are you doing?!" the man yelled, followed by the repeated, "What are you doing?!" He yanked his arm free and grabbed for the pack of band-aids he had dropped.


"What am I doing? What are you doing?!" Sean yelled back, resisting the urge to punch the guy right there. "Stealing from a shop during a disaster is still stealing, you know!" He couldn't help but feel ironic, telling this man not to steal. He'd done his share, of course, but usually it was his brother doing the stealing and him keeping quiet about it, or him distracting the clerk. He had always felt bad about it, though, and had on more than one occasion told his brother to stop.


He glanced around for someone to help his case, but everyone around was too busy with themselves to bother. "Just put the stuff and the money back, okay? It's bad enough this shopkeeper guy's home is probably destroyed, not to mention he'd probably hurt, but now you just think it's fine to steal things?"

 

[KillGill]

Colin glared at the young man. He looked at him with frustration. "Fine. I'll put them back. It was just a couple bucks and some band aids." He took the box back to the store and put the money back in. "Happy?"

 

[xXxKateKaysxXx]

"Fine." said the guy, glaring. "I'll put them back. It was just a couple bucks and some band aids." He turned back towards the shop, and Sean followed him to make sure he kept his word. He put back the Band Aids and re-inserted the cash into the register "Happy?" Sean nodded, offering a small smile.


"Yeah." he said simply, before jerking his head back towards the door. He wanted the guy to go first, lest he take the stuff back once he looked away. "I'll lock up the shop." He began to search through the items littered behind the counter, before finding a spare pair of keys. "If that's alright with you..." No way he was giving these to the guy.


"If you want," Sean offered, "I have a first aid kit back at the motel. If you're hurt, I should be able to patch you up." Really, he was anxious to get back and find his brother. But it didn't hurt to help a guy. Plus, it'd keep him away from the shop. He heard more sirens and swallowed hard. Please let them be okay...

 

[KillGill]

He starred at him. "No thanks. Besides, you look like you have something important to take care of." he showed a faint smile as he slowly walked out of the shop. Colin began walking further down main street surveying the damage. He walked pass where the mission use to be but was now a pile of crumbled white debris.

 

[xXxKateKaysxXx]

"No thanks." said the guy, smiling slightly as he walked back outside. "Besides, you look like you have something important to take care of." Sean couldn't argue with that. He was almost desperate now to get back. Turning, he locked the shop door before walking outside as well. The guy had gone, but he caught sight of him walking further down the street, past the mission, which had fallen like a block tower.


The teen grimaced at the sight. That place must have been pretty old. Nonetheless, he had more important things to worry about, and started to run down the street as well, adjusting the bag on his shoulders. He was getting lost in his own thoughts, and didn't even realize until the collision that he had rammed into someone.


"Oof!" he grunted, before taking a step back and shaking himself. "Sorry." he offered, though still anxious. He could feel his hands clenching and un-clenching, and he absentmindedly bounced on his toes.


(( Anyone can jump in here I guess =P ))

 

[jinkx]

(I'll jump in, senpai)


Angel fell over backwards. She was very small and very easy to knock over, like a leaf in the wind. She promptly burst into tears, the minute she hit the ground. She was having a very, very strange day indeed. There had been something shaking the ground, an earthquake. And before she knew it, the ceiling of her living room was collapsing in on her. She'd barely made it out but thanks to her small size had to been able to wriggle out with little to no injuries. Since then, she'd been looking all over for her parents. She hadn't been able to find them anywhere. Which worried her.


She knew about earthquakes. Her mom, born and raised in Japan, had told Angel all about earthquakes. How scary they were, how many lives they took if you weren't prepared. But Angel never thought she'd be caught in an earthquake. Not here. She didn't make any attempt to get up from the ground. She just sat there, crying to herself.

 

[xXxKateKaysxXx]

"Hey, whoa, I'm sorry," Sean retaliated when the girl he'd bumped into started crying. He crouched down so he was at eye level with her, almost forgetting about his earlier impatience. This was his priority at the moment. Once she was okay, he'd get back to the bigger picture. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? I hope I didn't hit you too hard..."


The girl just cried, and he hesitated. He wondered if giving her a hug would make her feel better, or if she'd push him off. After all, he was a stranger. Well, not entirely. He thought he'd seen her at school before, and decided to ask to make sure. "You... go to my school, right? Or, I guess I go to your school. You've been here longer than I have."


Crap. He shouldn't have said that. Thinking about that, then the damage of the place would drive anyone to hysterical sobbing. As it was, he hadn't been here long enough to get too attached to the place, but it still sucked. It was a natural disaster. People's lives were probably changed forever. Like this girl here. "I'm really sorry." he repeated, not sure what else to say. He simply stared at his shoes, arms curling around his knees as he crouched.

 

[jinkx]

"I want to go home!" Angel cried. But her home was probably destroyed. And her parents were probably~ no, she couldn't think like that! They couldn't be- there was no way-


"You. My school. Yes." Angel sniffled, trying to distract herself, "I've seen you there." She wiped her eyes on her jacket sleeve and stared down at the floor. She wondered how much of the city was destroyed. She wondered how much was left. She wondered what the hell she was supposed to do now. She did the only thing she could do.


"I'm scared!" Angel threw her arms around the boy, "I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared! I want to go home!" She latched onto him as if she were a leech, clinging to him as if he was the only thing holding her to this earth.


"I want my mom and dad!" she insisted, "I want to go home!"

 

[xXxKateKaysxXx]

"I want to go home!" the girl cried suddenly, and Sean cringed. More than likely, he home was a huge pile of rubble now. "You. My school. Yes." she continued, sniffling. "I've seen you there." She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, and the boy sat down across from her. Crouching was making his legs sore. All of a sudden, the girl threw her arms around him. "I'm scared!" she sobbed. "I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared! I want to go home!"


Sean tensed at the sudden contact, but relaxed after a moment and returned the 'hug', though a bit shyly at first. He'd never even gotten into this close a proximity to a girl before. Slowly, he began to rub her back, hoping it would calm her down. That's what his brother had always done for him, especially when he was little. "I want my mom and dad!" the girl insisted, "I want to go home!"


"Shh, hey, it's okay," he reassured her, though to be honest, he knew it wasn't and their families were both more than likely dead. He didn't say that though. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay." He found himself repeating the things his brother would always say to him at times like this. He rocked back and forth slowly, like calming a young child, and hoped it would help. "Shh... everything's gonna be okay..."

 

[jinkx]

"It's not fair... It's not fair..." Angel couldn't cry anymore. She'd run out of energy to do so and her eyes began to dry up. She buried her face in the boy's shoulder, finally running out of things to say.


"I'm sorry..." she let go of him and backed away, slowly. She'd just hugged a boy, who was practically a stranger to her. She was pretty sure that was a big no-no.


"I'm sorry." she said, again. She wiped the tears from her face on the back of her hand and took a few shaky breaths.


"It's just so scary, you know?" Angel said. Admittedly, it really didn't take much to scare her. But this topped the list; this was by far the scariest thing to ever happen to her. She bit down on her thumbnail.


"I'm Angel." she said, finally, "Angel Mochida. I'm sorry. I'll go away now, if you want."

 

[xXxKateKaysxXx]

"It's not fair... It's not fair..." the girl slowly finished, burying her head into his shoulder. She'd stopped crying, so that was good. "I'm sorry..." she said after a moment, pulling away, and Sean almost felt regretful as she did. He hadn't had a hug in a while, he realized, and it felt... nice. "I'm sorry." the girl repeated, wiping her eyes and breathing shakily. "It's just so scary, you know?" She paused, biting on her fingernails. "I'm Angel." she said, "Angel Mochida. I'm sorry. I'll go away now, if you want."


Sean shook his head (almost a little too) quickly, "No, you don't have to leave. It's fine. I'm Sean. Nice to meet you, Angel. I just wish we'd met..." He glanced around, frowning. "...under better circumstances..." He offered her a smile, hoping she'd feel better. "Are you hurt?" he asked again, before remembering his brother. He felt his desperation rising inside him again, but he tried to focus.

 

[jinkx]

Was she hurt? She'd not even thought about it. She didn't particularly hurt anywhere, except her ankle. But that wasn't that bad, she didn't think. Until she moved it and she winced. She must not have noticed the pain until now.


"I think I'm okay." Angel said, "My ankle's a bit sore but..." She shrugged. It wasn't like she was on the floor dying or anything. She tried as hard as she could to smile but it was impossible, considering the circumstances. She looked around, chewing her thumbnail. It was horrible. This whole earthquake thing- it was like something you saw on TV. It was like something from a charity advert.


"What exactly are we supposed to do now, Sean?" Angel asked, "Everything's over." It felt like the world was ending. She had no idea how to progress from this point.

 

[xXxKateKaysxXx]

"I think I'm okay." Angel said, "My ankle's a bit sore but..." She shrugged.


"It might be sprained," he suggested, then inwardly cringed. That might freak her out. "But then again, it might be nothing," he added quickly, hoping she'd disregard it. "Can you walk on it? Does it hurt to walk on it, I mean?" Better to be safe than sorry.


"What exactly are we supposed to do now, Sean?" Angel asked, "Everything's over." The boy felt himself smile. She was being a bit over-dramatic, but he supposed it was natural. She seemed scared out of her mind, and he could sympathize.


"Well, you said you needed to find your mom and dad right?" he asked, hoping their mention wouldn't send her into tears again. Then he'd feel worse. "I need to find my brother... and my dad." He offered a small smile. "I guess we look for them, right? How's that sound?" He thought he sounded like he was talking to a three-year-old, but he knew he was consoling a crying, terrified, teenage girl. So he felt better.


(( I'm going to bed! G'night, y'all~ ))

 

[jinkx]

(Goodnight )


She would've started crying again but she was too exhausted to do so. After sobbing hysterically for ages, she simply did not have the energy to cry anymore.


"Okay." Angel nodded, rubbing her sore eyes, "We need to find them quickly. My parents will be worried." She leapt up and fell back down again, cringing. Her ankle stung like a thousand bees. But she picked herself up again, slower this time. She could stand on it but it hurt to do so. If she had any tears left, they would've filled her eyes.


"I'm fine." she said, raking her hands through her hair. She pushed her bangs back out of her eyes.


"Let's go look." she said, tugging on Sean's arm, "Come on."

 

[KillGill]

Colin groaned in pain. His leg throbbed, and every step he took hurt even more. He had a bruise in a particular place. He rested himself on the ground. He thought about where everyone from school would be. Whether or nor they're still alive. What would Santa Cruz look like after all this was over? He looked back over at the remains of the old mission. He remembered taking a field trip there when he was in the second grade. The crumbled building made him think as the chaos and despair continued around him

 

[Wiggle]

It had taken a while, but the dispatcher had finally ordered every unit that still remained in the city to evacuate. William breathed a sigh of relief and looked in his rear view mirror at Buck. He was still pacing back and forth and was generally restless and nervous. It was radiating off the dog, and in turn was making William feel the same, and he didn't like it. He drove on for a moment before coming across what looked to be two children, talking. He turned his sirens and lights on and pulled over, leaving the SUV running, he sighed before getting out and walking towards the kids.


"Hey, what are you two doing? Where's your parents?" He asked, sternly.


He looked at the boy, whose family wasn't apparently very well off, and then the asian girl.


"What are you doing out here all alone? You need to get out of here, there's a tsunami coming and you wont survive for very long if you're here when it hits."


@Fallen from Heaven @xXxKateKaysxXx