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Hustling the first of her brood over the front threshold, Abby flinched and ducked to avoid wildly swinging light fixtures overhead. Any moment, she feared, one or all might crash down on the rows of students. Until right now, she’d never thought about how many kids ate breakfast at school. She began counting heads as sobbing, shivering groups exited the building.
“There’s safety in being orderly,” she hollered above the deafening roar. “I want everyone to get a buddy. Walk fast, but don’t run. If you run, you may fall. Once you’re outside, move away from the walls but not toward the street or parking lot.” As she spoke, two windows on the north side of the cafeteria ruptured. The front bumper of a blue Ford that must have been parked beside the cafeteria had obviously jumped the curb. Slivers of glass rained everywhere like glittering icicles.
Ms. Fielding, another teacher, dodged a ceiling tile as she led her group of children toward an exit. Abby scooped two of the smallest kids into her arms. She set them outside, out of harms’ way, and in so doing took a direct hit from the heavy door that suddenly swung shut. Terrified, she watched the metal casing crumple as if made of paper. The door splintered, sending a new wave of fear through the kids trapped inside. Bawling, they trampled over those near the front of the line.
Abby forcefully shoved them away from falling debris. “About face, everyone!” she commanded. “We’ll use the side emergency exit.” Herding the remaining few, ranging in age from six to twelve, the length of the cracking, groaning building was no easy feat. Inside her head a hollow voice chanted. Why doesn’t the shaking stop? Lord, please, it can’t go on much longer.
It felt as if an eternity had passed before she reached the side exit, and wrenched it open. Abby knew they’d lost power when the door sprang open without emitting the piercing squeal that told the world she’d breached security. She doubted anyone else noticed or cared. Outside, the air was filled with wailing sirens, ringing church bells, barking dogs and earsplitting car alarms. The sky was brown with floating debris.
Keening, shaking children fell to their knees, all trying to make sense of the disorder. There was confusion everywhere. Bricks tumbled from the second story, splitting the walkway circling their newly constructed gymnasium. Asphalt beneath the playground equipment seemed alive as it puckered and broke apart. A river of water zigzagged between buildings. “Kids, stay away from that water,” Abby shouted, veering her last charges to higher ground. “We don’t know if a water main inside the building broke, or if that’s sewage from the bathrooms.”
Teachers and students, all looking shell-shocked, attempted to band together in the center of the playground. Abby began collecting her nephews and Ben’s nieces. She checked each child for injuries before she allowed herself a deep, calming breath.
“Where’s the sun gone?” Erin asked in a frightened voice. Until then, Abby hadn’t noticed that an ugly ecru sky had replaced the earlier blue. A thick layer of smoke or dust or both thickened the now still air. Blessedly, the horrid rumble had begun to recede, and the shaking was slowly subsiding. Disaster sirens didn’t let up their howling.
Glancing at her watch, Abby couldn’t believe that minutes, not hours, had passed. She tapped her watch to see if it’d stopped. But it was seven-fifteen the last time she’d looked, just before crossing the cafeteria to greet Erin and Mollie. Now her watch said twenty-three minutes after the hour. All this chaos occurred in less than ten minutes?
Mr. Conrad, the school principal, a slightly stoop-shouldered man who’d announced his plans to retire at the end of this school year, worked his way among his scattered staff. Usually impeccable, he looked thoroughly disheveled.
Abby had to peel Brad, Reed and Mollie away from her so she could go have a word with her boss.
“It’s not good news,” he said in a hushed voice. “The university seismology lab is saying this quake was 8.0 on the Richter scale. The West Seattle Bridge and parts of the viaduct along the waterfront have collapsed. No telling how many of these kids who were dropped off early have parents buried in that rubble.”
Abby’s heart did a double flip. Bile rose to gag her. Practically anyone headed downtown after leaving the school crossed that bridge. “What about the floating bridge into the city?” she asked, unclenching her teeth to speak.
Conrad hiked a shoulder. “I only got sketchy reports before I had to evacuate the main building. Our job, Abigail, is to calm the students until we get specific information on the whereabouts of their families.” He sighed. “It might be a selfish reaction, but why couldn’t this have waited until next week when school’s out for spring break? Then parents would’ve had the responsibility that’s fallen to us.”
Abby thought about her plans for spring break, and a shiver rushed up her spine. Had her selfish decision brought God’s wrath?
Don’t be ridiculous!
She shrugged off the childish thought as fast as it popped into her head. A counselor way back when had made her see that her parents’ accident was nobody’s fault. She’d believed, as kids often do, that she’d been somehow to blame. The counselor had convinced her acts of God weren’t caused by human deeds.
Beyond her, Mr. Conrad was saying, “No, children. We can’t let you go into your classrooms. Remember our earthquake drills? We stay out in the open until the fire department gives us an all-clear.” Numerous hands shot up, and the principal patiently answered each and every question. The smaller kids huddled inside their jackets looking dazed. A fifth-grader, whose teeth chattered, enquired about aftershocks.
Aftershocks. Abby wondered how many kids knew they could be as devastating as the original quake. If the aftershocks were big enough, already damaged buildings and bridges could shake apart. Secondary quakes often delayed rescue attempts, too.
Her head was a jumble of worries. She tried to focus on something that might occupy the restless students. The cell phone she wore clipped to her belt vibrated. Abby flinched until she realized it wasn’t the beginning of another quake.
Fumbling the phone out of its case, she ventured a raspy, “Hello?”
“Ms. Drummond? This is Mercy General ER. Thank God I’ve finally gotten through to you! Some regular circuits were knocked out. The phone company said that eventually undamaged cell towers would route calls past towers that collapsed.”
Abby said nothing.
“Have I reached, Abigail Drummond, sister of Elliot David Drummond?”
Spinning away from her nephews, Abby answered with a shaky, “Yes.” The hole in her stomach widened. The woman on the phone identified herself as Nurse Olivia Warren. She continued in a thankfully even voice, “I understand the streets are a mess, Ms. Drummond, but Dr. Nelson thinks you should try to get here to see your brother. His injuries are…serious. Please come if you can make it through the snarled traffic.”
“I…am a teacher. We have our own emergency here. Exactly what are Elliot’s injuries? And…Blair. What about his wife? They were traveling together with their son, Sam. He’s four.”
Abby heard paper rustle, or maybe it was static on the line. “I can’t tell you anything about his wife. But Samuel—a team’s working to stabilize him now.”
“Sam, oh, no!” Abby’s voice broke. “Listen, tell Elliot I’ll do my utmost to get there. Are you at liberty to relay the nature of Sam’s problem?” Abby bit down hard on her lower lip to keep from revealing her panic.
“I believe it has to do with his legs. Dr. Nelson is trying to find a pediatric orthopedist. But…the entire medical community is on triage alert. We’re not sure which hospitals have which physicians at this point. Your family arrived in one of the first ambulances.”
Ben. Ben would know how to find the best doctor for Sam. “I have a friend. A pediatrician. Dr. Galloway. I’ll see if he can recommend a doctor for Sam. And I’ll do everything I can to get to the hospital. I’d appreciate it if you’d give my brother a message. Tell him his two sets of twins are safe. I have all four boys right here.”
Her hand shook so badly after she ended the call, Abby had to order herself to calm down. At first she couldn’t remember Ben’s number. She felt the same numbness she’d experienced when her parents died.
Taking a deep breath, she remembered that Ben’s clinic and hospital pager were programmed into her phone. She tried his clinic first. After four tries, someone there told her he’d gone to the Children’s Health Hospital. He picked up on Abby’s fifth attempt to connect with his cell. “Galloway. Make it short unless you’re calling about blood gasses on Bobby Harris.”
“Ben, it’s Abby. I’m sorry to bother you.” Her voice sounded reedy to her ears.
“Abby?” People were shouting in the background. “I’m surprised you got through,” he said loudly. “Are you okay? Newscasters say the city suffered widespread damage. Phone and power lines are down. In fact, our hospital’s working off a generator.”
“I’m fine. I’m calling because I need a favor. Elliot and Sam are in Mercy General. I don’t know any particulars, but Sam apparently needs an orthopedist. The nurse who phoned made it sound urgent. Ben, I didn’t know where else to turn.” Abby was afraid she was on the verge of hysteria.
“My father,” Ben said flatly. “Kirk Galloway. As a dad, he stinks, but as a bone surgeon, he’s the best in the city. Hell, in the state. Mercy General? And the boy is Sam? Sam…Drummond?”
“Yes. He’s only four. I appreciate this, Ben. I know you’ve never met the kids, only Elliot and Blair at the opera that night. But—jeez, I’m rambling. If your dad can see Sam, tell him I’ll guarantee his fee. Elliot’s insurance through the church probably isn’t the greatest.”
“That wouldn’t matter to me, but I’m sure it matters to my old man. I hate to cut you off, Abby, but I’m being paged. Let’s try to connect later, okay?”
“Right. And…thanks again, Ben. Oh, before I forget— Erin and Mollie are here with me. They’re regular little troopers. Tell Marlo if you talk to her. I don’t know if anyone’s answering our school phones. We’re not allowed inside. I’m sure parents are worried sick.”
“Marlo? I forgot her agency recently changed her hours. She crosses the West Seattle Bridge, and I’ve heard—” Ben’s voice sank, then broke entirely. “Abby, I need to go. I’ll grab a minute to call my sister. Thanks for the info on the girls. Tell them I’ll see them when this craziness settles down.”
Abby relayed Ben’s message to his solemn-eyed nieces before she went to find Mr. Conrad and explain her situation. “I have to go,” she said. “I’ll ask Raina Miller to take the boys home with her if I’m delayed getting back. Until I know where their mom is and how severely their dad and brother are hurt, I’d rather not worry them. I’ll tell them I have a problem at my town house.” Her lips almost didn’t move, they were so icy cold.
“I’m sorry, Abigail.” The principal eyed her sympathetically. “I’m afraid your news is only the first we can expect. You take care driving across town. I have a really bad feeling about this quake. I suppose we should be thankful more students weren’t at school. But I can’t help wondering if we’re prepared to care for the many whose parents won’t be able to get through the wreckage to pick them up.” Normally a sedate man, he was all but wringing his hands.
Oddly, his unrest had the opposite effect on Abby. She began to think more clearly. “Someone should go get the student files. Most parents have cell phone numbers listed. The nurse who called me said the cell towers fared better than standard phone lines. You could designate one teacher to call parents.”
“Excellent suggestion, Abby. I should have thought of it myself. It goes to show that no matter how many drills we have, nothing prepares us for the actuality.”
“I’m sorry I can’t stay and help. But…the nurse was insistent, even though she’s aware of conditions in and around the city.”
“Go. Reassure the boys and don’t forget to explain that you’re leaving them in Raina’s care.”
Abby turned away, hoping she’d be able to hide her alarm.
CHAPTER THREE
THE TWINS, especially the younger set, hung on Abby’s jacket, and begged her to take them. “Aunt Abby,” Noah, one of the nine-year-olds, pleaded. “Can’t you drop us off at home? Ruffian will be so scared. So will Speedy and Poky, me and Mike’s hamsters. And Brad and Reed’s gerbil. Even Daddy’s fish, I bet. What if a tank broke or something? Mommy’s gone, so there’s nobody home to save our pets.”
Abby ruffled his wheat-blond hair. “Guys, I need you to stay here where I know you’re safe. Mrs. Miller has agreed to watch you until someone in the family comes by. She might take you home with her. You boys have been to her house before, remember? I promise I’ll be as quick as I can, but I want your word that you’ll do exactly as she says.”
“What if Mama or Daddy comes to get us first?”
Abby glanced worriedly away from Noah’s direct blue eyes. “You’ll go with them, of course.” She hugged each boy harder than she normally would, but wasn’t able to look back at their tearstained faces after she’d hurried off.
“Raina, I have no idea how long I’ll be.” Abby spoke in a low voice to her good friend and fellow teacher. “Maybe I can reach some neighbors, to see if the kids’ home—and my apartment building—are still standing.”
“Don’t worry, Abby. Do whatever’s necessary. I have a freezer full of hot dogs left over from our Super Bowl party. Jerry won’t be home. It was his day off, but he just phoned and said the precinct’s called everyone in.”
“I hate to ask another favor, but…I called Ben Galloway to ask for an orthopedic referral for Sam. Ben’s sister is Marlo McBride, and her daughters are in the breakfast bunch.” She nodded toward the huddled girls, who sat still as mice. The older child’s arms were looped tight around her younger sister. “Would you keep an eye on them, too, until Marlo or her designee arrives? Erin told me this morning that the woman who used to baby-sit them moved to California.”
“Hey, the more the merrier. Our house is so close to the school, it’s not a problem. If the city streets are as messy as Jerry said when he phoned, I might be a clearing house for a whole bunch of school refugees. Abby, you take extra care, hear? The streetlights have been knocked out. Some roads have buckled and others are flooded. Maybe you shouldn’t go.”
Abby rubbed at the furrows forming between her eyes. “If it were me in the hospital and Elliot at work, he’d make every effort to reach me. Outside of Blair and the boys, I’m Elliot’s only relative.”
“I understand. I’ll round up the twins and the McBride girls right now, and reassure them as best I can. You’ll call me when you learn something for sure?”
“I will. Raina, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“Don’t start that, Abby Drummond. One favor does not make you indebted to me for the rest of your natural life.” Mustering a smile, Raina offered Abby a stick of gum, which she unwrapped on her way to the parking lot. Remembering the cars that had come through the cafeteria windows, she prayed her small compact had fared better.
It had, and started on her first try.
An aftershock struck when Abby was little more than a block from the school. It gave her an odd sensation. Her car seemed steady, but around her the sidewalks and curbs undulated. Trees dipped and swayed. It was as if she was viewing the world through a vibrating camera. Homes lining the street gyrated for a moment, dancing to silent music. Thankfully the aftershock was over quickly, and cars proceeded normally in both directions.
Abby popped out the CD she’d listened to on the way to school, and turned on her radio. The ringing of her cell phone caused her nerves to jump and her heart to speed up. “Hello,” she said after groping the instrument out of its case and nearly dropping it.
“Abby?” Ben’s voice, however welcome, sounded terribly strained.
“Sorry, Ben. I had a little trouble retrieving my phone. I’m in the car, headed to Mercy G. We just experienced a fair-size aftershock. I’m still shaking even though the tremor stopped.”
“I wish you’d stay put, Abby. We’ve been bombarded by the first wave of casualties. There are so many critical injuries coming in, you’d think this was a war zone. Two things, and then I have to dash. My dad’s probably examining Sam as we speak. Dad’s condominium on Queen Anne is a matter of blocks from Mercy. So tell Elliot that Sam’s in good hands. Since you’ve left school, it may not matter that I haven’t been able to raise Marlo. I did get in touch with a co-worker who said the agency sent everyone home. She also said one end of their parking garage has crumbled.”
Abby heard worry in his words. “Ben, I doubt Marlo got that far. I don’t know the exact time she dropped the girls at school, but I saw them shortly after they arrived. In fact, I’d gone over to talk to them just before the shock hit. At the most, Marlo couldn’t have been on the road ten minutes. Oh, before I forget, I asked Raina Miller, one of our teachers, to keep tabs on my nephews and your nieces. Marlo knows where the Millers live. If no one’s at the school, she’ll find the girls with Raina.”
“That’s great, Abby. I’m up to my ears in emergencies. All the doctors are.”
“Can your mother collect Erin and Mollie?”
“My folks split a long time ago. Mom lives in Rome. I’m all the family Marlo has here. Dad—well, he and Marlo rarely speak.”
“This is the doctor you recommended for Sam?”
“Believe me, Kirk’s patients get better treatment than his family ever did.”
Abby had never heard Ben speak quite so sharply. Which proved, if nothing else, that she knew relatively little about the man she’d been seeing for almost a year. And she’d planned to spend a week alone with him in the mountains? Looking at it like that, she found it easier to understand Elliot’s concern.
Abby heard Ben talking to someone else, then he came on the line again, sounding rushed.
“I’m needed for an injured baby they just brought in. Thanks, Abby, for arranging for Erin and Mollie’s care. If you have a number for Mrs. Miller I’ll jot it down and see if maybe Dad’s girlfriend will go pick them up.”
Abby had come to a street where the signals weren’t operating, and crossing appeared to be in the hands of the bravest. She quickly relayed Raina’s number, concentrating on traffic.
“Thanks,” he said. “With the bridge out, you’ll have to swing south before you can cross and go north to Mercy. I’ll call again when I get a chance.”
She dropped the phone in her lap and gripped the steering wheel tight. She surprised herself by making it across the intersection unscathed. But she couldn’t help noticing that her palms were slick with sweat. So was her forehead. Navigating around debris spilling out in the roadway claimed her full concentration.
More than once Abby considered turning back. Love for her brother and his family kept her doggedly taking the detours that skirted the worst of the damage.
A full two hours after she’d left the school, Abby was about a quarter mile from the hospital. A policeman directing traffic at a cross-street flagged her down and motioned for her to roll down her window.
“Only ambulance and aid cars beyond this point, miss.”
“But…” she sputtered, her fingers clutching the steering wheel. “The hospital contacted me. My brother and his son have been injured.” She blinked back tears. “The nurse said it was urgent, and it’s taken me hours to reach this point.” She explained how she’d started in West Seattle and had to detour along East Marginal Way, then zigzag from street to street. “Please,” she implored, panic cracking her voice.
“I’m sorry, I can’t make exceptions, ma’am. But…I’ll tell you what. My precinct station is a block ahead on your right. I’ll write you a tag to park in our lot. From there you can walk up the hill to Mercy.”
“Oh, yes, please. Thank you, officer. I’m not trying to be difficult.”
He smiled wearily as he wrote out a permit. Abby rolled up her window, then swung around him in the direction he indicated, heading—she hoped—to his station. A short while later, she found it and parked. Once she’d climbed out of her car and locked it, leaving the tag visible, she took a minute to get her bearings.
Midway through her hike up a steep sidewalk that led to one of the city’s oldest hospitals, she heard neighborhood dogs begin to bark and howl. Abby automatically braced for another afterquake. Sure enough, within seconds everything began to jump crazily. To her left, a flower bed of tulips rose and fell, reminding her oddly of ocean waves.
Up to now, she’d been so focused on her destination, she hadn’t really absorbed the surrounding damage. An elegant old home beyond the bed of glads had once boasted mullioned windows. Now jagged, gaping holes left a living room filled with antiques open to the casual passerby. Next door, a neighbor’s wraparound porch had split off the main house. A man, presumably the owner, who’d been surveying his roof from atop a six-foot ladder, scurried down it as the aftershock bared its teeth. He sought refuge under the spreading limbs of a giant fir. As with the previous aftershock, this one quickly subsided. But it made Abby wonder momentarily about the condition of her town house, and also Elliot’s rambling old home that always seemed to be in some stage of reconstruction.
Feeling the first splatter of raindrops from a cluster of dark, fast-swirling clouds, Abby let her earlier concerns slip away. She zipped her windbreaker and pulled up the hood. Tucking her chin to her chest, she ran the remaining two blocks.
Thoroughly winded, she stared up at the solid old hospital, which overshadowed clusters of two-and three-story clinic complexes. Once used as apartments, many of them had been renovated into medical offices. Some had been turned into assisted living quarters for the elderly.
An ambulance screamed past Abby and screeched to a halt under the emergency room awning. She was relieved to note that visible wings of the gray brick hospital appeared to be intact.
As she entered the main lobby, Abby unzipped her jacket and shook rain from her bangs. She located a horseshoe-shaped reception desk, but was forced to wait while a gray-haired clerk fielded calls via a switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Abby strove for a composure she didn’t feel. The aftershocks, along with constant worry over what she’d find here, left her brain addled.
Between calls the operator glanced up. “May I direct you, miss?”
“A nurse, Olivia Warren, phoned me. Earlier. Nearly three hours ago,” Abby said in surprise as she checked her watch. “I, uh, need directions to my brother’s room. His name is Elliot Drummond. His son, Sam, is also a patient. And maybe Elliot’s wife, Blair.” Abby sent up a silent prayer for her sister-in-law, and mentally crossed her fingers. Olivia hadn’t found any record of Blair earlier.
The woman ran a finger down a patient index. She then leafed through a stack of cards piled beside her switchboard. The lighted board constantly went bing, bing, bing in the background. “I—oh, my.” She looked up briefly. “Please take a seat in the lobby. I’ll call a volunteer to assist you.” Making a neat pile of the cards, the clerk again busied herself with insistent callers.
Abby realized the futility of trying to ask another question. She stepped into the teeming lobby and eventually did sit on the very edge of a chair. She called to let Raina know she’d made it, and got through after numerous attempts. Her friend still had her nephews and Marlo’s girls. How long, Abby wondered after telling Raina goodbye, would the clerk’s “minute” be? Her stomach was jittery, and anxiety nibbled away at her calm attitude. But of course she wasn’t alone in her fear. The lobby was filled with pacing, terrified relatives.
Half an hour later, a volunteer in a pale-yellow uniform showed up. At a word from the clerk at the desk, the woman turned and sought out Abby—who rose at once. She rushed to meet the volunteer, and repeated her request. Her guide in yellow spun on soundless white shoes, striding quickly along a bustling warren of halls. She walked so fast, Abby barely kept pace. As they sped around the turns, Abby was actually glad she’d been given an escort. After one sharp, right-angled turn down a dead-end hall, Abby’s helper flung open a door and motioned Abby into a dimly lit room. Squinting, Abby stopped short the moment she realized she’d entered a chapel.