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Life-Altering Night 3 |
| Written by Brian Miller | |
| Tuesday, 12 February 2008 | |
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Share it:      “Jacen,” Amber said as she slowly approached him. He was on his knees in the mud, digging through the rubble of his home. Amber saw that he had tears running down his face. What he must be going through, she thought. She watched him as he pulled an old photo of his family from a pile of glass and wood. He stopped and stared at the picture for a moment. “Jacen,” she said again. Jacen looked up, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I can’t believe they’re gone.” He pulled his feet out from under himself and fell on his butt in the mud. Amber sat down next to him on a fallen two by four, trying not to get in the mud too bad. It didn’t matter to Jacen; his clothes were ruined anyway. “You want to talk?” Amber asked. She knew there was something he wasn’t telling her. Something was nagging at him. He wasn’t just mourning; he was beating himself up for something. “What happened, Jacen?” “The reason I didn’t come to the party was because my mom and dad told me ‘no.’” he said. “I blew up at them and said some things I shouldn’t have said.” Amber understood now. She had wondered why he hadn’t been at the party. Now everything made sense to her. “Jacen, you can’t blame yourself,” Amber said. “You didn’t know this was going to happen. There was no way for you to know.” She paused, watching Jacen for a minute. “Don’t beat yourself up. They knew you loved them.” Jacen looked back down at the picture. “This was when we went to Florida for vacation,” he told her. “I remember…” he laughed softly through the tears. “…my mom didn’t know what a margarita was and my dad thought it would be funny to get her drunk without knowing what she was doing. She had six or seven margaritas then went to the hotel room and passed out for about an hour. When she got up, she decided to try the skydiving lessons that the hotel offered. “She got in the plane and got suited up, and when she took that first step out of the plane, the alcohol wore off and she realized what she was doing. She screamed all the way down. When she got down, she tore into my dad for giving her a massive hangover.” Amber smiled at Jacen’s story. At least he’s remembering the good and not the bad, she thought. “What are you going to do, Jacen?” Amber asked. He looked around at the area of devastation around the remains of his home. “I don’t know,” he said after a long pause. “I really…don’t know.” It was that moment when he heard a muffled cry come from nearby. He stood up and began to follow the trail of the sound. Amber followed. “Where is that coming from?” Jacen asked. “Over here!” he heard Amber call to him. Jacen ran to where she stood, looking down at a pile of debris. There it was again. Jacen began digging. Faster and faster he pulled two by fours and cinder blocks out of the way. Amber stood by and watched as he began to put a dent in the pile. He turned to her. “Help me, Amber,” he said when he realized she was standing by. She began pulling debris out of the way. As the minutes ticked by, the pile got smaller and smaller. The muffled sound grew louder and more distinct. It was a human moan. Someone was still alive. Jacen’s heart jumped when he realized his family might still be alive. “Amber!” he said. She looked up. “Go catch that group of police and EMS you came up here with. “Alright,” she said and she took off down the mountain in a full run, gravity giving her the extra momentum she needed to catch up to the small descending parade of lights and sirens. Jacen kept digging. He had to know who was down there. After just a few moments, Amber returned with the EMS. “What is it?” the police team leader asked as he stepped out of his squad car with Amber. “I think we found someone,” Jacen said. “Help me dig.” The team leader turned to his men. “You heard him, guys. Dig!” At once, everyone hit the pile, moving the debris out of the way, trying to get to the muffled voice coming from underneath. Jacen moved a large piece of concrete to find a human arm, still moving. Jacen grabbed the hand. “We’re coming,” he said. “Hold on.” “Jacen, get me out of here!” It was Krystal. How had she survived? Hadn’t she died in the tornado? Jacen felt a rush of relief to know he wasn’t alone anymore. “Hold on Krystal.” One of the police officers pulled out a large wooden plank, and suddenly, the whole pile caved in just deep enough to crush Krystal fully. Her exposed arm went limp, and her hand fell from Jacen’s. Krystal’s muffled voice went silent. Jacen swallowed hard. No, he thought. I don’t believe this. This can’t be happening… Jacen felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Amber standing over him, sympathy in her eyes. Jacen looked back down at the bruised and bleeding arm. “Don’t leave her under there,” he said softly. The team leader nodded. Without a sound, the police and EMS uncovered Krystal’s body. The medics laid her on a stretcher and covered her face with the sheet. Jacen caught the medics before they put her in the ambulance to transport her to the hospital morgue. Slowly, he pulled the sheet back and looked at his dead sister. Her face was cut and smashed. Her limbs were broken and bloody. He couldn’t bear to see her like this, but it was his choice to look at her. He covered her back up. As they loaded her into the ambulance, Jacen turned around to give his home one final look. Is this how he’d always remember it? Most likely that was the case. Amber took him by the arm and led him to the squad car she had arrived in both times. “You want to go to the hospital with your sister?” Jacen nodded. “You want me to go with you?” Again, Jacen nodded. “Alright, let’s go.” Jacen sat down in the back seat of the squad car, next to Amber. As the emergency vehicles pulled away for the last time, Jacen watched the remains of his home fade into the darkness. He knew his life would never be the same. He knew he would never be the same. He felt a touch on his hand and looked down to see Amber interlacing her fingers with his. The vehicles reached the bottom of the mountain and started the trip to a hospital just north of what was left of Cofton Falls. Jacen had had nightmares for a long time now, but this was one he feared he would never wake up from.
Copyright 2008 Brian Miller |
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