Seattle Quake 9.2 (9 page)

Again, he eased another step forward, and then another until he could see down the steep, southern slope of Queen Anne Hill. Eighteen square blocks of homes and apartment buildings lay in shambles. Stronger, newer structures rested askew on broken and damaged foundations. Older buildings lay heaped in odd shapes of mangled brick, metal and wood. Others were missing roofs and walls. Still more threatened to fall, precariously leaning or collapsed on one end. Yet none were on fire. Relieved, Collin sighed, and then went back upstairs.

*

The royal blue chopper drew closer to the Winningham Blue, and then paused.  At a snail’s pace, it circled the building, turning and tilting until its video cameras captured every inch of the damage. In the modified body, Jackie paid particular attention to the collapsed 6th and 7th floors, and then asked Carl to move them higher.

Rising two hundred feet higher, the chopper hovered for several long minutes over the demolished observation deck. The glass dome was gone and broken steel window frames jutted up from the outside rims. Tables and chairs were missing, as were flowerpots, vending machines and seven decorative water fountains.  In the center, only the hull of a devastated luncheon counter remained with its back to the back of the elevator shafts. The other side of the shafts still held six closed doors.

Jackie zoomed camera two in on the damaged elevators, and then slowly guided it to a dark hole on the northern end where the entry to a stairwell once was. The door was gone and only one wall of rafters remained intact. She typed in a new command, changed to night vision and zoomed closer – peering into the black hole, but the images were too small and unclear. She continued to increase the size of the zoom until finally, her monitor displayed a pile of crumpled and broken concrete steps in a heap two floors down.

Solemnly, Jackie spoke into her headset, "You guys got any ideas?" Neither Carl nor Michael answered.

In the mobile home, Michael pushed his glasses back up his nose and tried to think. He stared at the monitor, and then caught a glimpse of something. "Look at that!"

"What?"

"Screen six. Look behind the building. There's a man hanging off the top of the Columbia Tower."

Ninety stories tall, the windowless, forbidding, black Columbia Tower still stood on its damaged and broken, multi-level foundation. Jackie adjusted the angle of camera one and zoomed in, "A window washer?"

"Yes, and still alive. Looks like the cables on one end of the scaffolding snapped. Move the camera up. Let's see what's holding him." Almost instantly camera one moved, sending pictures of the dangling man with his safety harness hooked to wires leading to the roof. Behind him, loose wires hung from the bottom of the flat metal scaffold and above, more cables led to the end of a steel I-beam that stuck out almost two feet over the edge. On the other end of the I-beam, another steel cable stretched to an oversized hook mounted in the center and except for the I-beam, nothing remained on the roof of the tallest building in Seattle. Missing were transmitters, satellite dishes, television cameras and a mountain of communication equipment.

"Don't window washers usually work in pairs?"

In the pilot's seat, Carl slumped, "I wouldn't think about that, Jackie. The question is, how do we get him down?"

"Down? Why not up? We could land on the roof and..."

Carl shook his head, "No way, not with aftershocks like the last one. You ever see a chopper fall off a ninety-story building? It ain't pretty. Besides, all the equipment is down there with Michael. We don't even have the hook up here."

"We can't just leave him."

This time it was Michael who spoke, "We won't, we just need to think of a better way. Meanwhile, tell him you're coming back, okay?"

"Okay." While Carl moved the chopper closer and turned it broad side, Jackie hit a different hot key at the top of her keyboard. This time, monitor five went blank. At the same time, all the little bulbs on the outside identification board just below the windows lit up. In black font, Jackie typed the words, "Hang on, we'll be back." She zoomed camera one again, closer and closer until she could read the expression on the terrified, man's face. He looked in pain, yet his clothing were free of blood. Finally, the man lifted his right arm and halfheartedly waved.

When Collin returned, Max had his head halfway inside the base of the transmitter. "How can you concentrate? All I can think of is Beth."

Max paused in his work just long enough to choose a smaller wrench, "My wife is smart, and she’ll take care of Beth and the boys. Besides, Dad packed an earthquake kit in the trunk of the car. They've got water, food and medical supplies. If they can get to the car, they can make it another three or four days."

"If they can get to the car."

"Yes." Max sighed and turned his attention back to the transmitter. "And if we can get on the air, maybe we can tell them we're alive. They're probably just as worried about us as we are about them. Go to the window and see if the towers are still up. Okay?"

Collin nodded and obeyed. Outside, more men and women were gathered at the collapsed apartment building feverishly digging for survivors. The bodies of two men lay side-by-side in the street and three injured people huddled on a neighboring yard. Cautiously, he leaned out the window and looked left. He saw no towers. In fact, on a street once lined with a multitude of houses, he saw only the remains of three severely damaged buildings and the roof of a forth. Straining, he leaned out just a little farther to get a better look across Queen Anne Avenue North. Suddenly he gasped, "The hill slid!"

Instantly, Collin jerked his head back inside, covered his face and sucked in an urgent breath. For a long moment, he held it. He let it out, lowered his trembling hands and leaned back out the window to look right. This time the houses and businesses looked in pretty good shape and a block away, he spotted the only remaining tower. It no longer stood tall. Instead, it leaned south, as though bowing in homage to the fallen city. But south was where Beth and Candy were. With renewed optimism, he hurried back to Max. "The one to the south is leaning, but it's there."

"Good. Check the phones, will ya?  Maybe they're ringing and we can't hear them. Don't forget my cell phone…though I doubt there are any cell towers still up. It takes one every three miles, you know. And see what you can do with the equipment in the studio."

At last, Collin grinned, "Aye, aye, Captain. Hey, want a soda?"

"Sure," Max answered. As he worked, he listened to Collin scoot rubbish aside, and then open the refrigerator. Suddenly he noticed something on the floor. Half hidden beneath a chunk of plaster was a picture of Candy and the boys. Thoughtfully, he picked it up and dumped the broken glass out of the frame. He stared at them for a long moment, and then closed his eyes and bowed his head. When he opened his eyes again, Collin stood in the doorway with two cans of soda.

Any other day, Collin would have snickered at the sight of someone praying and turned away. But today he simply handed Max the soda, and then went back to the window to get his shovel. Tears lined the rims of his eyes.

*

Eighteen minutes and forty-six seconds after the first jolt, the fault was still settling into its new position. Small rocks and crushed earth tumbled into voids, and then larger rocks gave way, causing a 6.3 aftershock.

*

In Yakima, James spread the map of Seattle across his desk and hunted for Mountlake Terrace. "There!" he said, pointing to a northern suburb just across the Snohomish County line. He yanked his dartboard down, grabbed his tape dispenser, held the map against the wall, and taped all four corners. Next, he searched in his desk for a small box of adhesive dots, found them and placed a tiny red dot on the map near I-5 and 228th Street S, eight miles north of downtown. He held the box out and grinned at his sister. "You're in charge of the dots, okay?"

Heather's eyes instantly lit up. She took the box, rushed to a steel fold up chair and carried it to the wall.

Just then, someone on the radio screamed, "Aftershock!"

"Copy that, NJ, after..." Background noises burst over the radio waves. A child screamed, and the sounds of crashing mixed with the rumbling of the earth.

*

At the same time, the thunder and movement in the ground made the shaking of the Winningham Blue Building begin anew. "Come here!" Seely shouted. She waited endless seconds while Jenna struggled to walk in the jostling building. Finally, she grabbed Jenna's arm and pulled her back into the bathroom foyer. The rumble was not as loud. Still, the twisting metal and concrete shrieked as the building rode the waves. Toilet water mixed with glass and plaster bounced across the tile floor and more chunks of ceiling fell. In the hallway, hundreds of feet of dangling wiring dropped from exposed beams and danced with the jousted building. But the top floors did not sway, the sides did not bulge and no more floors collapsed.

*

On top of Queen Ann Hill, Collin nearly fell out the window. At the last second, he let go of the shovel, threw his soda in the air and hurled his body toward the center of the room. He crumbled to the floor, and then covered his head with his hands. Above him, the loose ceiling fan renewed a circular motion with its long, wide blades dangerously tipped downward.

*

On the golf course, Sam scurried back up a tree. This time the golf ball was in his pocket. He watched for new fissures, but he saw none. He watched with fascination as the golf course rolled like the waves of the sea. His tree bent rhythmically, but he was not in danger and found it oddly thrilling.

Heather McClurg held her breath and waited. Peaceful Yakima, where the ground had not moved since the initial quake, lay in stark, inconceivable contrast to the horror unfolding in her mind. In silence she watched as the battery operated wall clock ticked off thirty-two seconds. Finally, a woman's stone cold voice came on the air, "K7LIZ."

"LIZ, this is net control, go ahead."

"K7LIZ reporting a death in Snohomish County. Name, Bill Wright, age 41, reason, heart attack...My husband, over."

"K7LIZ copy" For a moment, there was a different, more heartfelt silence.  "AP... AP7RB, can you get to her? Over."

"AP7RB, on my way. I'm about four blocks from her house."

"Thanks AP7RB. Any more reports of damage? Reports of injury or damage only please, over."

"W7HEU emergency. We've got a fissure that did not close. I repeat, a huge fissure that did not close. The hill split apart. It's just north of the University of Washington Campus running diagonally across Revena Boulevard. It looks like a giant tear in the earth. It's about half a mile long, fifty or sixty feet across and real deep. I can see part of a house and several people down there, over."

"Copy. Jeff, can you see the hospital from there? Over."

"W7HEU, I'm on the wrong side and too far away."

"Roger HEU. Do you have any help? Over."

"A couple of guys went to see if they could find some ropes. We've got heavy damage to houses all around me. Cars are buried under buildings, people are trying to crawl out...I don't know who to help first. W7HEU, over."

"Copy that, Jeff. Keep us advised. This is Net Control, who's next?"

"NY7E."

"NY, go ahead."

"NY7E, heavy damage at Central Elementary School. It's got walls missing, the playground is buckled and the roof collapsed. One injury, not serious. Thank God it's summer."

Nearly in tears, Heather puckered her lips in a childish pout, "Isn't Net Control going to do anything?"

James glanced at his sister's sad expression, and then reached over and laid a tender hand on her shoulder, "Net Control isn't supposed to do anything. See, other people are listening too, like police and firemen. When you think about it, it saves everybody a lot of steps. This way, Net Control doesn't have to make any 911 calls. See?"

Heather nodded. Her eyes brightened, but only a little.

*

Sam waited a long time after the earth stopped moving to breathe a sigh of relief and climb down out of the tree, "You know Lord, Max is all I've got. Max, Candy and the kids. Annie, she's up there with you. Course, you already know that." He removed his golf cap, smoothed his white hair and pulled his cap back on. He adjusted it slightly and looked around for the safest route to the clubhouse, and then headed off on the long walk from the 18th hole. "If you let them live, I promise to confess, openly, to the whole world. I'll tell them I'm a fake, a fraud and a liar."

Abruptly, he stopped walking and winced. "Well now, maybe not a fraud. That wouldn't set well with my customers. Liar's okay though, people expect that from a banker." He puffed his cheeks, blew his breath out and renewed his clumsy walk across the broken ground near the slanted trees. "And if you let me live, I promise..."

*

Still crumpled on the floor with his hands over his head, Collin waited for the last tinkle of glass to stop. Slowly, he removed his hands, lifted his head and cautiously looked up. Max was standing above him, holding the ceiling fan with both hands. Relieved, he rolled over on his back and allowed his body to relax. "You got earthquake insurance?"

"No," Max answered. He yanked hard and the ceiling fan came lose. He studied the wiring a second, and then leaned the fan against the wall. "Earthquake insurance is expensive and I didn't really think it would happen."

"Me either." Grudgingly, Collin sat up, and then got to his feet. "The book says the aftershocks last a week or more. I vote we pull the rest of the ceiling down before it kills us."

"Good idea. Hop to it man, I'm going down to check the generators." With that, Max headed out the door. His shoulder length, blond hair was filled with sweat and dirt. And out of Collin's sight his blue eyes revealed growing pain.

Collin watched Max leave, looked up and surveyed what little was left of the cracked and broken plaster, "Might I remind you, I'm a radio announcer not a carpenter." He shrugged, found an overturned stool and climbed up. Thoughtfully, he grabbed hold of a one-foot section and yanked. It fell to the floor with ease, barely missing his console and giving rise to thousands of dust particles. Collin quickly closed his eyes. He waited a moment, and then brushed the dirt out of his hair and reached for the next section. This time he shoved until if fell away from what was left of his damaged console. As soon as the dust cleared, he turned to look at the smashed phone. None of the ten lines were lit up. Nevertheless, he climbed down, picked up the receiver and listened. The phone was dead.

*

Just moments after the rapid, unmerciful bouncing of the last aftershock ended, Jenna and Seely heard a huge, frightening crash somewhere beyond the Winningham Blue Building. The boom reverberated inside the grossly damaged building, echoing again and again before their world quieted. Even so, both women continued to hold their breaths – listening, wondering, fearing and trying to remember to breathe.

Finally Jenna scooted away from Seely and coaxed her sore body back into a more comfortable sitting position. "What was that?"

"I have no idea. It sounded like..."  Seely paused to contemplate her words.

"A building fell?"

"Yes."

The quiet lasted but a few seconds more before the building groaned, and then see-sawed north to south in an effort to settle back on its foundation. Terrified, Seely stiffened her legs against the weakened foyer wall and braced herself. Almost instantly, the pain in her chest returned. Jenna screamed, and then curled into a ball and began to sob inconsolably. But the seesaw did not last and the building held.

Tim's faint and muffled voice again drifted down the hallway, "Help! Anybody up here?"

Seely tried to shout. But her scratchy, unrecognizable voice came out weak and useless. She turned instead to the frightened, weeping girl, "Jenna,... stop crying. Answer…him."

"We're going to die. We're all going to die." With that, Jenna burst into a new round of sobs.

"Fine.  We'll just die."

Slowly, Jenna lifted her head and looked into Seely's determined eyes. "We can't just leave him there." She brushed at her tears and sniffed her nose, "Timmy? We hear you Timmy."

"Louder, Jenna."

She drew in a deeper breath and started to get up off the floor. "Timmy?"

"Jenna?"

"Yes. We're coming Timmy."

"Thank God.  I'm stuck."

Jenna sniffed her nose again and made her way into the narrow hallway. The heavy metal filing cabinets still lay half tipped with their drawers spilled. She stooped down, grabbed an armload of loose files and flung them down the hall.  "Timmy, the hall's blocked. You'll have to wait a minute."

Tim's muted voice came back almost cheerful, "Am I glad to hear your voice. I'd love to help, but I'm a little indisposed.”

Jenna got down on her knees, shoved more files aside and then stood up and tried to lift the first cabinet. Still too heavy. She reached in the top drawer, grabbed another armload of files and set them on the floor. When the drawer was half empty, she shoved it back into place, turned the lock and started on the second drawer.

"Hey Jenna, what's taking so long?"

"Be patient Timmy, I'm doing the best I can."

"Well speed it up, will ya?  A guy could die out here."

Jenna stopped, put her hands on her hips and turned to look at Seely, "Still think we should help him?" But when she turned, Seely looked ghostly white and was tightly holding her left arm again. "Is it your heart?"