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He looked at the staff who had automatically collected around him—the emergency phone was almost like a homing beacon to ER staff. ‘We’re expecting between fifteen and twenty casualties, mainly broken bones and lacerations. There have been a number of wall collapses around us.’ He replaced the receiver and glanced at Katsuko, muttering under his breath, ‘Where on earth can he be? We could use him right now.’
The deep voice came from behind her. ‘Who could you use?’
Katsuko jumped and spun around. She hadn’t expected to see Don here. She thought he’d be coordinating everything from the control centre.
Blake gave him a nod. ‘General Williams. We’re missing Dr Flynn from the staff muster. Can’t raise him at all. We don’t know where he is.’
‘I know where he is.’ He touched Katsuko’s elbow and pulled her to the side.
‘What? How do you know where Avery is?’
She didn’t understand. Don and Avery hadn’t even had an official introduction yet. She hadn’t meant to keep him away from Don, it had just worked out that way.
Don spoke in a low voice. ‘Avery came to see me earlier.’
‘What? Why would he do that?’ Now she was totally confused. Why on earth would he go to see Don?
Don sighed. ‘He wanted to meet me. He wanted to tell me that he might have upset my daughter by not telling her how he felt about her. He also told me that he didn’t want to stand in the way of your career plans.’
‘Why on earth would he tell you any of that?’ She didn’t get it. She really didn’t get it. Last night all she’d wanted him to do was tell her how he felt about her—to be honest with her. He hadn’t seemed able to do it, but he could tell Don instead?
Don laid a hand on her arm. ‘He went to see Hiroko.’
‘What? Why?’ This was just getting crazier by the minute.
‘He felt as if she might try and ruin your plans. He didn’t want her to do that. He told me he was going to see her and tell her how great a nurse you were, how great your career prospects could be, and...’ he paused ‘...how proud she should be of you.’
Katsuko gulped. That didn’t sound like the actions of a man who didn’t care about her. ‘Why would he do that?’ she whispered.
Don looked at her with the patient eyes of a father. ‘He also wanted to tell her that at some point he intended to propose to you. And that as your husband he wouldn’t allow his wife—or your future children—to be treated as if they weren’t good enough.’ Don gave a little smile. ‘It seems he’s got the size of your grandmother.’
Katsuko looked around. ‘Then where is he?’
Don took a deep breath. ‘That’s why I’m here. I can’t raise Hiroko on the phone. I’ve heard reports that some of the houses in the area have collapsed.’
‘What?’ She stepped backwards, reaching out for the wall behind her to steady herself.
Don nodded. ‘There’s a military car and driver outside.’ He glanced over at Blake, who was hovering around, pretending he wasn’t listening. ‘We’ve called in all the extra staff. I’m sure you can be spared.’
Blake walked over to a nearby cupboard and pulled out an emergency pack and hard hat. ‘Here. Take these with you. And bring Avery back. I need him. I need you both.’
Katsuko flung her hands around Don’s neck. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
‘Stay safe,’ he replied as he handed her a radio. ‘Let me know how you are.’
* * *
It took more than an hour to reach her grandmother’s street. Some roads had wide fractures in them, meaning traffic couldn’t go the normal routes. Potholes had opened in some places, with a whole variety of police cordons around trees or buildings affected by the earthquake.
Her grandmother lived in a more rural part of Tokyo. The houses were older single-storey wooden constructions with thatched roofs.
At least they used to be.
Two out of the four houses on the street were still standing.
The other two had collapsed completely, leaving their thatched roofs on what resembled piles of firewood.
‘That one!’ said Katsuko, and the driver ground to a halt.
She jumped from the car and ran towards the rubble. A few people were at the other collapsed house in the street, picking up strewn belongings.
Katsuko felt a wave of panic wash over her. Where did she even start? Was her grandmother in there? Was Avery?
She tried to be logical, tried to think with her head instead of her heart.
She crouched down and looked at the pile in front of her. The driver appeared at her side, bent down and unwound her tightly gripped fingers from the radio.
The radio. Of course. So much for thinking with her head. She heard him talking rapidly. All she could think right now was whether anyone could be alive in there.
‘Avery! Avery,’ she started shouting. Apart from the noise of distant sirens, the street was strangely quiet.
‘Sobo! Sobo!’ The Japanese word for grandmother was usually an affectionate term. It had never really fitted her grandmother—even now it felt strange to use it.
She shuddered. The house looked so alien to her—as if a giant had walked along the street and flattened it with his foot. It was odd, though, parts of the thatched roof looked strangely intact—as if a crane could come along and lift it back up on top of a newly constructed house.
She started to pull at some of the shattered wood, throwing it behind her as she tried to see anything she recognised amongst the debris.
The driver joined her. ‘What did they say?’ she asked.
His face was serious. ‘I’ve got to radio back if there are any sign of survivors. Emergency services are only reacting to reports of trapped survivors right now.’
Of course they were. What he wasn’t saying out loud was that the emergency services didn’t have the resources right now to recover bodies. That would come later.
She started to work more frantically, her muscles burning as she tossed pieces of wood behind her.
After ten minutes the driver touched her elbow, almost earning himself a piece of wood in the face. ‘Listen.’
She froze, her ears pricking up instantly.
There it was. A kind of moan.
She dropped to her knees. ‘Avery! Sobo! Hiroko!’ she shouted at the pile of rubble.
There it was again. A faint noise in the debris.
The driver knelt beside her. They practically had their ears to the ground.
‘Avery!’ she shouted again.
‘Kat.’ It wasn’t a shout. It was more like a hoarse whisper.
She started pulling at the wood again, trying to get closer to the source of his voice. After a few minutes she realised it was useless. The edge of the roof stopped her going any further.
She leaned in, pressing her face right up against the thatch of the roof. She didn’t care about the fact it was scratching her face. She didn’t care about anything other than finding out that the people she loved were actually in there.
‘Avery, are you there? Are you okay?’
There was a bit of a groan. Then a quip, ‘Oh, so you’re talking to me now.’
A tear slid down her cheek. He was alive. He was definitely alive.
She tried to find some words. ‘Are you okay?’ she repeated. ‘What about my grandmother?’
It took a few seconds to get a reply. Was he going in and out of consciousness? Could he have a head injury?
‘Give me a minute.’
The driver pressed on her shoulder. He was back on the phone, obviously trying to get them some assistance in the midst of chaos.
It was too quiet. She could hardly bear it. ‘Avery?’
She adjusted her position, trying to figure out exactly where he was. It wa
sn’t easy and she ended up crawling over part of the roof. ‘Avery?’
‘I’ve got her.’
