The final escalator roared into life as the belts and steps did their rhythmic rotations and rises. Jed, Neil, Ashely, Meghan, and I all mounted the final set of stairs that would take us out of the underground. A place I had once planned to visit to get a bite to eat for lunch after swearing at my boss during my leave.

Life had fucked me so hard down here, my arm was destroyed, my organs probably going into overdrive, and my psyche taking several years of torment in a single day. But it was all about to be over, just 20' of a climb to go, I was raring to start walking but I was trapped behind those that couldn’t.

Jed easily saw my facial expression, probably one of glee, a happy sight to be sure. We shared a toothy smile with one another, Jed holding out his right hand to shake my good hand. A firm grasp of one another solidifies our friendship as we plan to meet up after we’re seen to be professionals.

Shouting to the others we all exchange our full names and agree to meet up at whatever hospital we’re going to, and if not to ask for our contact info later on. I push their numbers into my phone as it’s the only one that works, hopefully, they can all keep their original numbers with their phones destroyed, it’d be a simple contract thing to do.

“Hey, they’re coming up the escalator!” a dominant man shouts over in our direction.

“Stretchers!” another calls out.

The slow and careful footsteps of oncoming aid cascade over to us, Neil being the first to see the emergency services.

“You found us!” Neil calls out, as he prepares to help Ashely to the helpers.

A fair few paramedics are on sight, snapping out wheelchairs and stretchers to aid both Ashely and Jed out of the building. The others wrap an arm around Neil and me, helping to straighten our walks to the exit. Blinding light shines on through the smashed window doors that still hold their metallic frames.

“Watch her leg, we don’t want to agitate that foreign object”, one of the paramedics states as they put Ashely onto a stretcher.

“How are you feeling? Has you wound---” another woman questions Neil up ahead.

Bombarded with questions and aid, the approach to the doors occurs almost instantly. I shield my eyes with my good hand against the low sun in the background, an orange haze cast over the plaza I had fallen down within. In the distance I see Empire Rize’s bottom section in a jagged design, the top part cracked and crashed through the earth beneath.

On either side of the plaza, I can see walls of tape and cars blocking an onslaught of onlookers and reports trying to get an eye into the chaos. Aside from our small group I also make out a few other survivors in the distance from other buildings or stairways that didn’t collapse.

The plaza is a mess of people, debris, dust, and sadly, corpses. A hotpot of luck and disaster all at once, I was drenched in both. Our group were escorted to different ambulances, the slams of the doors sealing our new brotherhood away in the hopes we’ll all come out of this endeavour not worse for wear.

The beginning of my recovery begins, the light of a small torch shining into my eyes as the paramedic does a basic on-site appraisal of my condition. Questions bombard me of how I was injured, how it feels, what drugs did I take in the underground, any allergies I might have. Again and again, I answer what I can until I peer at my reflection in a mirror that sits atop the side of the van.

I am deathly pale, sweat all across my face. I looked drained of life and energy, and for sure I felt that way. The softness of the bed in the back of the ambulance brings me comfort, but it also entices me to sleep once more. I lay my head down gently as the paramedic wants me to stay awake… but I have been awake enough. Now is the time for sleep. I deserve a good nap.

Awaking in a bed with wheels, I notice I am being moved through a sterile hospital hall. The sounds of beeps in the background, heart rate monitors, skipping of heels against clean floors, it’s all so comforting. The paramedic notices my eyes open as the questions and answers stage happens again, they say that I need to be operated on to save my arm, I give the ok to do so. And then I sleep.

I sleep for a long time.

- 1 month later -

The recovery was long, but I probably had it better off than some of my friends in the underground. My arm was saved, though I was told I couldn’t be a professional sportsman even if I tried. I wasn’t going to try, so no loss there. Alongside that, I got a medical reason to get me out of any sort of lifting work alongside compensation for damage inflicted in the event.

Empire Rize, the corporation, also lost a lot of access to files and data in the earthquake that I was able to sell to a local law house that approached me. A lot was stored off their main site, so employees that worked there could access it in case of emergency. I knew the passwords, who got paid what, as well as plenty of codes to their charities. It was all too easy for the company to fall even further with their main building going down as it did.

With that, I was settled for money. I sent some to my new friends, who are all doing better, and even saved some local businesses that got screwed out of their funds. I would still need to work a bit in my life with what was left, but an easy job would suit me well, I couldn’t just sit around for the rest of my life.

I don’t want to talk much about the death toll of the event, but it was in the thousands. Aside from the deaths, the businesses in the plaza and underground all suffered heavy losses. Our group wasn’t sued for what damage or theft that happened in the underground, not as if they could prove any of it if they tried.

I was allowed full leave from the hospital second after Meghan, followed by Neil, Ashely, and finally Jed. Neil lost full use of his arm but was able to keep it for sentimentality sake. The glass cut too deep so he had no control over his fingers. Ashely was told her leg would heal in time, though was stuck with crutches for a while.

Jed was the worst off, his legs were too far gone. He had feeling down to his knees, but below that was all dead. He was happy enough to keep them at all, though I am sure when he is alone his anger is on full display over what happened. Due to his loss, he got the most in the way of compensation, alongside a disability allowance.

The plaza is still cordoned off, the research about the quakes is taking a long time as well as making sure places are safe before reconstruction can start. Thinking about that place brings a chill to my spine and a dark pit in my stomach, so I try to not picture it at all. It’s a new sensation, having a fear that can bring on anxiety or panic attacks, but at least with this one, I can stay far away. I didn’t live in the city anyway.

As planned, our small group were able to share our contact details with our new phones, and a month after being admitted we set up a meeting outside. A small restaurant that served amazing food and drinks at a high price, which I happily took the tab for. We all met, wrapped in bandages and slings, though with the colour returned to our faces.

With the sun shining through the glass windows, I squint my eyes as tears form in the corner of my vision. At least the sun came back, at least we survived. We cheer to those we lost on the way, in their memory, and then to the future where the Empire had fallen and took us with it. But where the Empire laid on the ground, we all rose to the surface, together.

- The End -