Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
“Let’s not talk about that right now.” She shook her head. “We don’t have enough pairs of hands. The women should take care of the kids and the elders here. The others will head out to search for the victims. But please look out for your own safety because the aftershocks will strike at any time. Let’s save as many as we can while keeping your safety as the top priority.”
The chief looked at Danika. Feeling complicated, he reminded her, “Sure, but you have to be careful.”
“You too.” She nodded at him and ran toward the clinic. As she disappeared into the night, the chief teared up. “Dr. Zellweger is a good person.”
Clutching her first-aid bag, she started the rescue mission with the other villagers. Since they had no technology, they could only shout and wait for responses from beneath the rubble. Once they detected a response, everyone would stop and dig through it.
Even though some victims were rescued successfully, the rescue mission was too slow to be effective. Danika felt anxious as the clock ticked away. However, there was nothing she could do about it.
“Chief, is the landline connected?” After performing first aid, Danika went up to the village chief to ask. In their situation, they needed to establish contact with the outside world as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, the chief shook his head, looking despondent. No. We only have one landline in the village. But the cables were damaged, and we couldn’t find anyone to repair them right away. I’m afraid we’ll be cut off for a while.”
Danika frowned and stared at the collapsed houses they had yet to check. She was sorrowful and pleaded, “Let’s send someone to Elmwood District for help. We can’t go on like this.”
“We sent someone there, but we’re quite far from Elmwood District. There won’t be any transport available because of the earthquake. We have no choice but to walk there.” The chief sighed, knowing their messenger might take an entire day to reach Elmwood District on foot. Danika knew things were not looking up, but they had no other choice.
“There are two kids under here!” someone shouted not far away.
Danika looked over and said, “I’ll help out now.” She ran in the direction of the call and arrived in front of a collapsed house. “What’s the situation now?” she asked the villagers.
“We heard two kids crying under the rubble. This looks like John Bayer’s house! All four of his family didn’t show up,” someone answered. As the houses were damaged beyond recognition, the villagers relied on their memories to ascertain the families who lived in the houses. It wasn’t accurate, but it was good enough.
“Get everyone over to rescue this family.” Danika looked grim, and she walked in the direction where the crying was heard. She yelled, “Lilian, Justin, don’t be afraid! I’m here to save you soon.”
Her voice echoed through the structure of the house, but she received no reply. Only faint crying could be heard from the inside.
Worried, she began removing the rocks on the top of the rubble in the hopes of rescuing the kids as soon as possible. The villagers came to her help. They moved fast and kept their mouth shut to focus on the rescue.
Soon, the rocks were cleared from the top of the rubble, but everyone faced a new challenge.
“John Bayer and his wife didn’t respond at all. The kids keep crying. We can’t get them out.” They stared helplessly at the only entrance-a hole that could only fit one. If only the kids could calm down, they could be instructed to crawl out through the hole.
“We need someone to get in and bring the kids out,” someone suggested but was met with silence. The villagers were keen to rescue victims, but they understood the risk of getting buried under the rubble if they crawled in. Considering that the aftershocks were ongoing with the possibility of another earthquake, everyone was worried about the risk of putting themselves in danger.
“I’ll go,” Danika volunteered without any hesitation. She knew the two kids very well because they’d visit her to play every day. She would be devastated if the adorable kids were to lose their lives in the earthquake.
Seeing that, the chief jumped out to stop her. “No, no, Dr. Zellweger! How could I explain to the higher-ups if something happens to you?”
“I’ll be careful,” she insisted. Soon, she was at the opening and bent down to crawl in. The chief, worried and helpless, could only sigh. “You must be careful!”
Crawling through the hole, Danika followed the sounds of crying and quickly located the kids, who were lucky enough to be hiding in the corner of the wall, forming a triangle of life that spared them from being crushed by the rubble.
She walked over and called out softly, “Lilian, Justin, are you hurt?”
The kids were shocked to hear someone speaking, and they broke into tears when they recognized Danika. “Danika!”
They crawled out and quickly ran to her, finally crying out loud when they were safe in her arms. She comforted them until their crying softened. Then, she confirmed with them again, “Are The kids shook their heads, but tears welled up in their eyes again. “Daddy and Mommy are still in there…”
you hurt?”
Her gaze followed the direction they were pointing. She saw nothing but a collapsed wall and guessed that the couple must have been in another room when the earthquake struck. Since she hadn’t heard a sound from them after entering the house, she knew things weren’t looking good. If they couldn’t rescue the couple on time, there might be no hope at all.
At the thought of it, she told the kids, “I’ll bring you out and come back to save your daddy and mommy. Alright?”
“Okay.” The kids nodded obediently. Danika lifted Lilian and went to the hole. After sending Lilian to safety, she came back for Justin.
“Danika, Daddy and Mommy will be fine, right?” The five-year-old curled up in her arms. He was more aware of the situation compared to his three-year-old sister.
With a heavy heart, Danika promised him, “I’ll try my best. You have to believe that your daddy and mommy are trying their best. They must want to see you and your sister again.”
“Okay.” Justin nodded and fell silent.
Just as they inched closer to the hole, they heard a deafening sound, which triggered Danika to squat down in a corner with Justin in her arms.
“There’s an aftershock!” someone yelled from the top of the rubble, and the rescuers had no choice but to leave momentarily to avoid being hit by the houses and falling rocks.
When the aftershock subsided a few minutes later, everyone hurried over to check on the Bayer house. However, they went silent when they realized that the hole was buried. The chief was the first to respond and yelled at the rescuers, “Why are you still standing there doing nothing? Start digging!”
Everyone answered his call and started digging away. Suddenly, they heard a rumbling. Just when they were about to escape, thinking it was an aftershock, someone looked up and froze.
“Is that a helicopter?” The villagers were unsure about the foreign object in the sky.
The chief, who had more exposure, immediately reacted. “Someone’s here to save us! We’re saved!”
“Hey! We’re here!” someone roared at the helicopter to attract the attention of the rescuers. Little did they know that no one in the helicopter could hear them because of the altitude.
Eustace’s eyes scanned the ground, and he spotted no humans. There was only rubble and more rubble.” Have we arrived?” he asked the pilot in front of him.
The pilot answered, “Judging from the geolocation, Clearwater is somewhere near.”