Chapter 12

12

MAYA

" A re you sure you're in a safe building, all of you?" Maya tried getting through to her parents for a thousandth time, but as usual, they wouldn't listen.

"Maya, the earthquake is over. What are you talking about?"

"Yes, but it could've created cracks in the structure of your building, and it might cause collapse later down the line, even tomorrow, for all you know, if you don't get that checked."

"I think we'd know if our building had cracks in it." Maya's father sounded as insufferable as always. "We're fine."

"Please get it checked." Maya sighed.

Ever since her parents had gotten back together, talking to them had proved even more futile than when they'd been separated. After brisk goodbyes, they hung up. The familiar sense of hollowness stirred within her stomach, but she had no time for that. She had to call her brother, then go to work, go and witness again and again how cruel nature could be in its impartiality.

"Colin." Maya said his name, almost starving for an affectionate conversation.

"Hey Mike , how are you feeling? Are you horribly overworked?" Colin's voice contained a warm shade of worry, very different than their parents'' cold, harsh one that almost spelled you should be ashamed I even have to worry about you.

"I am, but every rescue worker is right now. I'll be heading back out in some twenty minutes. I wanted to discuss something with you, though."

"Be careful out there. Don't let them work you to an early grave. What is it?"

"I need you to check whether the building our parents are living in now is still safe to stay at, because they won't listen to me about possible cracks the earthquake could have caused. And I can't be rescuing my own parents from the building's ruins, all right? I'm having enough of that," Maya had let the irritation spill into her voice, and once she realized it, she felt a little ashamed. She wasn't annoyed with her job, only with her parents' stubbornness.

"Are you really okay?"

"

I'm just sick of our parents never listening to me as if I don't know what I'm doing. I know natural disasters quite well," Maya sighed.

"I'll talk to them. Be safe, and good luck with the rescue. You're doing important work there."

Hanging up, Maya stood motionless for a moment, simply listening to herself breathe. Elle would probably be on the same scene with her, and once again they'd work side by side. Maya liked the perspective of that. She felt safe with Elle around, even if sometimes watching her work along the dangerously crumbling still pieces of the building caused sharp pangs of anxiety in her chest. They knew they could rely on each other's professionalism, though, and that wouldn't change. Elle's nerves of steel were infectious.

On the scene, ambulances stood lined up already, waiting to receive potential victims from floor number two. The lower the floor, the more dead people would be found, the ratio of dead to alive slowly increasing. And the dead, she knew, would have to wait until they helped rescue other buildings. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to know someone from her family had died. But she knew thinking about the dead in this situation was of no use when there were people out there still struggling to survive.

Elle's jacket shone brightly, RODRIGUEZ reflecting streaks of the sun among the backs of the other rescuers. The medics waited to be called either in case of a found victim or an injured rescuer.

Suddenly, Maya heard the dogs bark. Cameras and digging tools were employed to discover what had been the reason for the dogs' excitement. The firefighters gathered round the opening, but the digging took long hours. Then the rescuers quieted down. Maya couldn't see the reason from her post, and guesses flooded her thoughts. They discovered corpses, but were expecting the living, she thought on repeat. But no. Elle was carrying a child toward Maya's team.

"He's still breathing, he's still breathing," she shouted, carefully lying the boy down on one of their stretchers.

Preparing to take him to the hospital, they assessed his state—fractured ribs, potential pneumonia, severe dehydration – and that was probably not all. Maya remained on site and understood why the team had quieted down before. The boy would wake up as an orphan.

As they soon learned, he would also be the last person to be rescued from the building.

They began organizing themselves and regrouping, waiting for instructions. Maya found herself trying to get closer to Elle, seeking the comfort she'd experienced the last time against her chest, when they didn't need to talk, only breathe against each other and feel that the other person was alive.

"Hey." Maya approached the firefighting team, waving at Elle.

"Hey." Elle came up to her, dirt and sweat mixed on her face. "Feeling all right?"

"As much as one can." Maya nodded. "You? You were the one to find that small boy, right?"

"Yeah… And his parents… Well, our job is to rescue those we can." She shook her head as if trying to straighten out her thoughts.

"It's fine to mourn. We're only human."

"Just not on the job." Elle nodded.

"No, not on the job, I guess." She stood silent for a while. "I hope we'll also do the next location together."

"Oh, yeah? Why?" Elle smiled lightly.

"I like working next to you." Maya mirrored her smile. "You're a good firefighter. I feel…secure."

"As if you're the one rescued." Elle laughed.

"RODRIGUEZ!" Captain Ramirez shouted to finally get Elle's attention. "We're moving to another collapse. Some survivors are said to be on scene. Let's get going!" And she disappeared into the truck.

"See you around." Elle squeezed Maya's shoulder affectionately and went to join her crew.

Indeed, Maya's team was assigned to the same scene as Elle. They drove only for a moment, since the buildings lay in the same neighbourhood, the worst prepared for a disaster of this type. Its buildings went down as if made out of paper, crumbling and trapping the sleeping citizens. The majority of work there had already been done, and the firefighters began their consultations with specialists regarding the possible survivors.

"It's been over a hundred hours already," someone said. "The chances are slim."

Either way, the rescue had to be performed as a rescue operation until they could be certain there was no one alive within the ruins. Maya and her colleagues felt uncomfortable only waiting, but each understood that at the end of the day, that was their mission as the firefighters' support. They spied on the unravelling of the very slow search operation, knowing that this time, it was better to be needed. They all hoped they'd be needed, observing the tall machines move away the rubble, undress the fallen building, and spread open its ribs. Now and then, Maya would see RODRIGUEZ flash somewhere on the familiar jacket.

"Building on Terrence Avenue fell due to post-earthquake vibrations, we need all available teams there," sounded in everyone's radios.

Maya knew there would be much to do now. Certainly many people would need surgery on the spot. Their ambulance rushed through the streets full of alarm and vigor.

On the scene, the police were trying to make the gathered crowd disperse. Many eyes were stuck to the site of tragedy, making the job of scanning the building difficult.

This was torture for Maya. She knew there were people in the building crawling, suffering, waiting for help, but there was no way of getting them out before making sure the operation was safe. So everyone waited until the scanning was over, until they could be told where to go. The building was only three stories, which meant high chances of survival.

Finally, the search went in to rescue the survivors. Elle and other firefighters dug through the rubble assisted by many automated tools that made the search easier. They located someone alive on the third level of the building, someone conscious and screaming.

Once the victim had been pulled out, Maya knew what to do. Major trauma to the head. Finally, she had the chance to help someone directly. The surgery went smoothly. The woman was young and would probably recover rather quickly once they sent her off to the hospital. Maya felt tired but invigorated. What a good feeling to find someone alive, someone lucky enough to be pulled out just in time. The search went on further, bringing many more victims to her and her colleagues. Due to the swiftness of their response, it seemed that most inhabitants of the building, if not all, had made it out alive. The work was difficult, but for Maya, it went by in such a state of focus that she hadn't even noticed when her superior let her know that her time operating was up and she should rest for the remainder of the day.

On her way home, she felt more optimistic than in the previous days. She felt powerful to be able t o save people, and that was the exact feeling which had pushed her toward this career.