Original: Waiting for a Sign
Title: Waiting for a Sign [ INDEX]
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Celcians and rescue workers
Rating: PG
Summary: The crowd watches as they wait for more survivors to be found
Warning: about a year before The Day After, concurrent with THIS THREAD *Written for the July Table at writerverse. Prompt: will there be anything left? and 3rd Person, No Dialogue, and Hurt/Comfort
Disclaimer: The original characters of The Wizard of Oz belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters of Tin Man belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine and bizarra's. And, now gatechic's, by default. Garrett Cain belongs to gatechic and is, as always, used and abused with love. ♥
The crowd gathered around the edge of the rubble. No one wanted to be there, but no one could make themselves leave. It had been hours since the quake, though they were all prepared for another rumble at any moment.
In the center of the rubble, recovery crews were working steadily to uncover any survivors. This location, just down from the city center, took the brunt of the damage; the largest part of the crowd was within the space now covered with a scattering of large chunks of the buildings above.
The entire city had been outside, that morning, celebrating spring. Many people had traveled from all corners of the land, to join in the celebrating and sell or trade their wares. The day was perfect, and then everything went to hell.
The queen had just started giving her speech when the ground started to shake. At first, everyone looked around, but laughed it off. After a few moment of calm, the speech continued and the crowds moved in closer, trying to get a view of the royal family.
Starting her speech again, the queen had nearly finished the first sentence when the ground shifted, knocking many in the crowd off their feet. Suddenly, the ground rocked again, as if they were in a boat that was about to flip over, and everyone started screaming and running in every direction.
At least half the crowd managed to get to safety, and nearly a third of those remaining were alive, but seriously injured. The rest of them hadn't been so lucky. Many of the buildings were ancient, and not built in preparation for a quake. The walls buckled and bricks came down into the streets.
One large section of wall had fallen on the stage, and in the confusion, the people didn't know if the royal family was all right. Only a handful of people knew that the family hadn't made it off the stage, but the news was being kept quiet because there was already enough panic.
There was a flurry of activity over to one side and the crowd held a collective breath as they watched to see who had been found. A few moments later, there was shouting coming from the rescue workers and the crowd could see a small body being lifted up and carried away from the area.
The sight of a survivor - especially a child - caused the entire crowd to cheer, thankful that one more person had survived. At the same time, they said silent prayers, as a child that small wouldn't have been too far from her parents. Hearing a man's shouting, most of the crowd looked across the area and watched as a man rushed toward the child and her temporary guardian. Though they were too far away to see the man's expression, every single one of them simply knew that it was relief that his child was safe.
While this reunion was welcome, everyone in the crowd knew that there were other people still under the rubble. The crews were still working, though it was clear that something had their attention, as the men had crowded together and two were pointing at something no one could see from there.
Before anyone knew what had happened, the rescue worked lurched back and a large cloud of dust exploded over the area. Everyone in the crowd heard a woman scream, but no one was sure if it came from the crowd or the rubble. They knew about a minute later, as the rescue workers all rushed back to where they had been and started yelling orders to the medics nearby.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Celcians and rescue workers
Rating: PG
Summary: The crowd watches as they wait for more survivors to be found
Warning: about a year before The Day After, concurrent with THIS THREAD *Written for the July Table at writerverse. Prompt: will there be anything left? and 3rd Person, No Dialogue, and Hurt/Comfort
Disclaimer: The original characters of The Wizard of Oz belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters of Tin Man belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine and bizarra's. And, now gatechic's, by default. Garrett Cain belongs to gatechic and is, as always, used and abused with love. ♥
The crowd gathered around the edge of the rubble. No one wanted to be there, but no one could make themselves leave. It had been hours since the quake, though they were all prepared for another rumble at any moment.
In the center of the rubble, recovery crews were working steadily to uncover any survivors. This location, just down from the city center, took the brunt of the damage; the largest part of the crowd was within the space now covered with a scattering of large chunks of the buildings above.
The entire city had been outside, that morning, celebrating spring. Many people had traveled from all corners of the land, to join in the celebrating and sell or trade their wares. The day was perfect, and then everything went to hell.
The queen had just started giving her speech when the ground started to shake. At first, everyone looked around, but laughed it off. After a few moment of calm, the speech continued and the crowds moved in closer, trying to get a view of the royal family.
Starting her speech again, the queen had nearly finished the first sentence when the ground shifted, knocking many in the crowd off their feet. Suddenly, the ground rocked again, as if they were in a boat that was about to flip over, and everyone started screaming and running in every direction.
At least half the crowd managed to get to safety, and nearly a third of those remaining were alive, but seriously injured. The rest of them hadn't been so lucky. Many of the buildings were ancient, and not built in preparation for a quake. The walls buckled and bricks came down into the streets.
One large section of wall had fallen on the stage, and in the confusion, the people didn't know if the royal family was all right. Only a handful of people knew that the family hadn't made it off the stage, but the news was being kept quiet because there was already enough panic.
There was a flurry of activity over to one side and the crowd held a collective breath as they watched to see who had been found. A few moments later, there was shouting coming from the rescue workers and the crowd could see a small body being lifted up and carried away from the area.
The sight of a survivor - especially a child - caused the entire crowd to cheer, thankful that one more person had survived. At the same time, they said silent prayers, as a child that small wouldn't have been too far from her parents. Hearing a man's shouting, most of the crowd looked across the area and watched as a man rushed toward the child and her temporary guardian. Though they were too far away to see the man's expression, every single one of them simply knew that it was relief that his child was safe.
While this reunion was welcome, everyone in the crowd knew that there were other people still under the rubble. The crews were still working, though it was clear that something had their attention, as the men had crowded together and two were pointing at something no one could see from there.
Before anyone knew what had happened, the rescue worked lurched back and a large cloud of dust exploded over the area. Everyone in the crowd heard a woman scream, but no one was sure if it came from the crowd or the rubble. They knew about a minute later, as the rescue workers all rushed back to where they had been and started yelling orders to the medics nearby.