Disaster
With little sleep, eyes stinging from the smoky air and only the most basic hand tools to work with, we were filthy and weary. Looking at the huge pile of rubble that was once the grandest hotel in the town, my heart sank. I wondered how many people were still trapped inside underneath the debris. The volunteers were giving out bottles of chilled water to the rescuers at the scene. I sat on a chair and observered the extent of the bomb.
One hour ago, the building was brought down by a bomb that ripped throught it. Unfortunately, the hotel was fully booked at that point of time due to it being the holiday season. Many people were killed instantly by the blast and even more by the debris. However, its a mircale for some people who managed to get out unscratched. I put my bottle down and stood up, my sudden actions made my already aching joints scream in pain. However, i steeled myself to continue helping to rescue anyone who was still trapped inside.
Using the miserable tools given to me, I joined my fellow rescuers who were trying to break apart a bigger piece of concrete into smaller pieces so that they could be removed with ease. The hammer that i was using was near its breaking point. Every impact between the hammer head and concrete jarred my hand, but every piece removed increased the chnaces of people being trapped inside to be found. As the hours flew by, more bodies were revealed. The numbers of survivors decreased and the moral of the rescuers dropped drastically. By nightfall, half of the building was removed while the other half stood silently against the darkness of the night.
As i continued hacking at the building, I heard somebody shout a warning, followed by another. A low rumble and falling debris told me that the building, or whatever was left of it, was collsaping due to a missing support that must have been taken away during the rescue work. Everybody turned and ran, though exhausted and caked in dust, we ran like sprinters in an Olympic event. Suddenly a hard force hit me in the back and sent me flying towards the ground.
When I awoke, it was total darkness and it was overwhelming. The silence was deafeaning. I looked around for a way out, gingerly pushing against the darkenss, but all around me was a solid black and uneven wall. I finally gave up and sank back against the cold floor, waiting for someone above to rescue me. Hoping that the darkness will be banished by light, and sounds of my rescuers will reach my ears.
I must have drifted off to sleep for when i awoke, i was lying on a hospital bed. I carefully lifted my head and looked around me, trying very hard not to break the silence that seemed to echo throughout the entire ward. In the surrounding beds were the rescuers turned victims who were trapped under the falling debris. When the nurse noticed that i was awake, she called the doctor over and they begin performing some routine checks on me. After a while they declared that I was out of danger and shifted me into another ward for further observation. Three days later I was discharged and before i headed home, I purposely took a bus that will pass by the disaster site. The surroundings looked somewhat different from what I remembered. A new shopping mall, new bus services, more restaruants along the side of the road. What i saw truely shocked me. In the place of the collasped building stood another hotel that was much taller and grander than the previous one. I suddenly realised that the people in that ward when I awoke were all in comma and they were just waiting for a day that they will awake.
One day, perhaps, they will wake and be shocked by the sights outside the hospital and at the original ground zero which they were so frantically working at that fateful day.
comments: my first compo in the year 2003. The original one i scored a D.. this one is the edited and improved version.
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Does the walker choose the path or does the path choose the walker?
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