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Friday, October 11th 2013 – Part Three [ Kate ]

The full scope of what had happened only dawned slowly on Kate, not all at once. It was hard to tell just how dire the situation was, how many lives had been changed, while she was trapped within the walls of the hospital. She had obeyed the hospital staff and stayed put, understanding that even if the hospital was damaged, whatever mess the outside had been turned into must be worse. She could afford to wait, though after Brooke took off, she hated every minute of it.

She was only able to steal glances through the broken windows while she wondered anxiously when Brooke would come back. Kate had warned the hospital staff right away that she had wandered off, but short-handed as they were, they weren’t equipped to do anything about it. There was a hollow pit in her stomach. She prayed for Brooke’s safety, but as usual, she was answered by silence.

Of all times, why can’t You answer me now? she thought with acute frustration, before feeling a pang of shame for getting short with the Almighty. Sorry, she added timidly.

While Kate worried alone, vehicles rolled in from Bay City to the south, cherry pickers, pickups, and tow trucks among them. They set about clearing the hospital parking lot of debris and smashed cars, the sound of chainsaws suggesting attempts to further clear the road of fallen trees.

A much larger group of trucks appeared once the parking lot was clear, spearheaded by the Oregon National Guard. Kate and the other patients watched with amazement as the military vehicles rolled in one after another, men and women in fatigues spilling out of them. They carried all manner of supplies and gear with them, and set about putting up some kind of station in the lot, slinging tarps over poles to create a covered area. Others drove in the direction of town, followed by trucks from the Bay City Fire Department and what Kate assumed were civilian volunteers from the surrounding communities.

Soon after, the hospital staff finally let the patients out to access food and water in the area set up by the National Guard, allowing Kate to stretch her legs a little and watch the vehicles and people come and go. She perked up attentively when the first National Guard and emergency crews to go down into the town came back, then felt a pang of anxiety and fear as she saw their faces. They ranged from stony dismay, to stunned horror, to looking outright ill. She could imagine the destruction they beheld, but she had no way of knowing whether the reality or her imagination was worse.

They brought the injured back with them – but too few. Far too few. One truck came back with just two people in it, holding onto each other and shaking as they were escorted to the tents by the soldiers. There was a sinking feeling in Kate’s gut as the trucks started to slow to a trickle.

Then, after a gap of five minutes without another arrival, one more truck brought back someone else, and Kate forgot for a moment about the bigger picture. Two National Guard soldiers stepped out, then retrieved a slight figure from the back who walked between them at an unsteady gait, holding onto their arms for support.

It was Brooke. At the sight of her stumbling through the camp, no matter how dirty and disheveled, Kate considered her prayers belatedly answered. She still couldn’t quite feel entirely satisfied, seeing how out of sorts Brooke looked, and especially not once she remembered that Brooke had gone into town to look for her mom.

She came back alone, was the heartbreaking thought that went through Kate’s mind.

She wanted to go to Brooke, but her friend was ushered away, probably for another checkup, or to get her name on the list of survivors as Kate had several minutes before. She watched the faint traces of Brooke’s red hair dye disappear into the sea of heads with a forlorn feeling.

Kate thought to herself that she should have prayed for more, perhaps. Prayed sooner. Prayed more sincerely. Maybe Brooke’s mom would have come back if she had. Then she felt selfish for having this thought. God’s ways were not hers to understand, a prim voice in her head that sounded like her mother reminded her. Besides which, she was alive. So many others had survived, too. She should be grateful.

What did it mean that so many had died? She overheard an emergency worker say that there were three hundred survivors in the camp now, and she knew Arcadia Bay’s population was about twelve hundred people. Something like half of the survivors were just from the hospital.

Kate was still grappling with the scale of the death and destruction when one last truck finally rolled to a stop. As she watched, a larger group of survivors emerged, and her eyes widened as she recognized them. They were students from Blackwell. With a mixture of thrill and apprehension, she identified them all at a distance. Dana, Trevor, and Justin were toward the fore. Behind them walked Victoria, Taylor, and Logan. Dana and Trevor held hands, while Victoria and Taylor leaned on each other for support.

All shared identical, dazed looks, and all were covered in scrapes, bruises, and mud. But they were alive, if a somewhat motley crew. Kate chose to feel elation and not worry in that moment, and raced over. As she did, she saw Dana’s eyes light up, and she opened her arms as Kate crashed into her at full force for a hug.

“Dana!” Kate exclaimed, more or less immediately starting to cry as she latched onto the taller girl.

Dana was no slouch in the hugging department herself, freeing her hand from Trevor’s to embrace Kate right back. “Hey, Katie…”

“Hi Kate,” came Trevor’s greeting, chased by Justin’s simple “Hey.” Both of the skaters were more subdued than usual, but still offered Kate faint smiles.

From the back, only Taylor managed to stammer, “H-... hi.” Victoria and Logan just greeted her with matching awkward stares. Kate let her gaze pass over them from where her head was, for the moment, resting against Dana’s shoulder. She wasn’t sure how her expression looked to them, but they both broke eye contact and looked away.

Pulling away from Dana a little, she wiped her eyes and told the group at large, “I’m so happy you’re all here… I was beginning to worry…” When she saw their attention turning past her, Kate paused and looked over her shoulder.

Brooke was walking up to the group with a somewhat surprised look on her face. Somebody had given her a bathrobe, which she wore over her dirty hospital gown. Her hands were stuffed in the pockets. It brought to mind her habitual hoodies and made her look a little more like herself, but Kate couldn’t miss that there was still just something missing behind her eyes that was there before.

“Oh… hey. You guys made it.” Her affect was usually a bit flat, and now was no exception. Her voice was just perhaps a little more listless than normal.

Victoria, of all of them, spoke first, frowning at Brooke like she was a puzzle to solve. “Scott? What the hell were you doing in the hospital?”

Brooke gestured carelessly at the bruise still evident on her face. “Blackwell’s esteemed photography teacher turned out to be a serial killer, and when I ended up in his path, he gave me this.”

Victoria opened her mouth, closed it again, and was silent for a second. Kate had never seen her at such a loss for words. “I heard– I heard he got arrested, but I thought it was just a rumor…”

“Nope,” Brooke said, popping the ‘P’. “Painfully real. Emphasis on the painful part.” She met Kate’s eye. “He’s not here, is he? I don’t think they’d be stupid enough to put him in the same hospital as you.”

Feeling a little exposed by the question, Kate just shook her head mutely.

Brooke accepted the answer with a nod. “I bet they transferred him to Portland overnight. There’s no way he didn’t need medical attention after Chloe bust his head open.”

That won a round of bewildered stares from the others, except for Kate who had heard the whole story already. She was busy watching Brooke with a wary eye, wondering how she could keep her voice so steady after all of this.

Brooke continued. “If we’re lucky, maybe they decided to let him stew in a cell overnight regardless and he got sent on an express trip to Oz. Not like it matters in the end.”

“Not that it matters?” Dana echoed, a bit of edge entering her voice. “It sounds an awful lot like it matters to me. Why are you so blasé about all that?”

Brooke looked away, slowly shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “The town he terrorized is gone. The body of the girl he got killed is… probably gone, in all this. It was all just… small. Insignificant. Mother Fucking Nature had the final say on the whole thing. Now it all seems… meaningless.”

“It matters to us,” Victoria interjected, a little peevish.

“Yeah, his students. The school he left behind. What school? We’re the only survivors.”

“Brooke, don’t say that!” Kate admonished, her eyes widening. She looked to Dana for clarity. “Are… Do you think there will be more Blackwell students coming after you guys?”

The mood among the six of them, if anything, just turned gloomier. Victoria looked down, her eyes hooded, while Trevor shuffled awkwardly. Dana winced and met Kate’s gaze, shaking her head slowly. “I… I don’t think so.”

The answer felt like ice water for Kate, whose breaths came up short for a moment. “Alyssa… Juliet…” Her gaze passed toward Victoria and Taylor, no less sympathetic. “Courtney?”

Only another round of shaken heads answered her, and Kate swayed a little as the magnitude of it all washed over her.

Brooke looked over the group with that same dead eye, and asked, “How did it happen?”

Dana wet her lips with her tongue, looking toward the sky, as if worried another storm was going to drop on them at any moment. “We were… me and Juliet, I mean. We were watching Trevor and Justin skateboarding outside the dorm. Victoria, Taylor and Courtney were out there too. And… Warren was there.”

Kate’s eyes flicked toward Brooke again. Her reaction was barely perceptible. Empty, Kate thought. Oh, Brooke…

When Brooke did not react strongly, Dana found strength to go on. “It was getting windy and dark… And then our phones went off with the warning. We looked down the hill toward the Bay, expecting to see a funnel or a cone, but… it didn’t look anything like in the movies. It was just… this wall. This black wall. It looked like smoke on the ground, rolling toward us. So we all headed inside to shelter in the basement. Logan, I guess, was just hanging out on the first floor?”

The boy finally spoke up, his usual machismo and confidence gone. “I was studying.”

Dana nodded at the input. “We all crowded in, and just a few minutes later, it was on us… God, it was the scariest thing I’ve ever heard. Like the entire world was collapsing on top of us. We could hear the dorm being ripped apart.” Then she paused, taking a shaky breath, rubbing her face. “The door to the basement… the latch was coming loose, and it was going to swing open. Warren… I don’t even know what made him think to do it. Maybe he was just the closest. He ran up to hold it shut. And he did… for a minute at least.”

Brooke finally reacted, but only insofar as to drop her gaze and stare at her shoes, motionless.

“He held it– the door. Strength I don’t think anyone knew he had. But… eventually the hinges gave, and… the door opened and he was just… gone. Just gone…” Dana’s voice broke on a small sob. Trevor reached out and rubbed her shoulder while she tried to regain her composure. “And the winds did get in, just for a bit. We all held on, but Courtney and Juliet… I don’t know what happened to them. I just don’t know. Finally it stopped, and we had half of a collapsed building on us. It took them a while to dig us out.”

“I’m so sorry,” Kate said in a small, broken voice, addressing it to all of them at once. What else could she say?

All eyes then turned to Brooke, who still hadn’t uttered a peep since the story began. She was still staring at her shoes when she finally broke the silence, saying: “... Stupid.”

“What is?” Taylor asked, tentative, like she was afraid to know the answer. Brooke had spoken in a mumble, and the group were straining to hear.

“He was,” Brooke said, a little louder. “So stupid. Why would he…? Running to save the day like that…”

Dana looked like she was going to say something, her lips tightening. But it was Victoria who answered instead, vicious in a way that was nothing at all like her usual brand. It was honest anger, heated.

“It wasn’t stupid. He was a hero, he saved our lives at the cost of his. It was good. It was decent.”

And, like a volcano who had only showed faint tremors of warning, Brooke exploded. “There’s nothing good or heroic about Warren being fucking dead! He was worth a thousand of you Vortex ghouls! A million! Maybe you should have died instead!”

Victoria was stunned into inaction and silence by that. Taylor looked like she was going to cry, and Logan clenched his fists. Dana, caught between being shocked and fuming, glared at Brooke.

Even Kate, standing apart, looked at her friend like someone entirely different was standing in her place. “Brooke… don’t say that.”

“What the fuck, Scott?” Victoria finally managed.

Brooke worked her jaw. “... Whatever,” she said, after the tense silence dragged on for a second longer. “Whatever! None of it matters. He’s gone. Just like everything else.” And she stormed away.

Kate watched her form retreat into the crowd, then turned back to the others, desperate to apologize for her. “She… Her mom was killed in the storm, and… she’s had a terrible week.”

“And we’re all very sorry for her,” Dana said, sounding more tired than before, “but that’s no excuse to rip our heads off just for still being here.”

“That was scary, man,” Justin muttered.

“Go figure, the Queen of Salt rears her ugly head again,” Victoria observed snidely. That transgressed Dana’s tolerance despite them supposedly being in agreement, and her warning glare silenced the Chase heiress again, who crossed her arms tightly and looked defiantly off toward the woods.

“I know,” Kate assured them. “I know. She’ll come to her senses soon.” She hoped.

Dana gave her a sad smile, then gestured to the skater boys. “We should get all… checked in and cleaned up. Catch up later, ‘kay?”

She and Kate shared another quick hug before she went off, Trevor and Justin following with waves to Kate. Logan, stiff and awkward, followed them at a distance after a moment.

Lingering, Victoria gave Kate an unreadable look, then scurried along, leaving only Taylor, who looked tortured by something, wringing her hands. “Kate, I… I didn’t get a chance to send a card or anything… I’m so…”

Kate, who truly did not have it in her to deal with this whole thing again on today of all days, stepped up and gently patted Taylor’s arm. “Taylor. Breathe. Your mom is here and she’s fine. I think she’s anxious to see you.”

Taylor’s eyes widened, and she nodded urgently. “... You’re too good for us, Kate Marsh.” With that earnest pronouncement, she hurried off, leaving Kate to sigh, appreciating just a moment of quiet before going off to find Brooke again.

As Kate went, friendly faces greeted her. Patients from the ward she’d been staying in, who had gotten used to her presence over the past few days, exchanged pleasantries and smiles. There was even someone from her Meals on Wheels route who had made it through the town’s devastation and offered her a hug.

But while she exchanged hellos and smiles and hugs with them, her eyes were searching for someone else, her attention far away. God help her, even at a time like this, she couldn’t stop thinking about Brooke.

She rationalized it by pointing out to herself that Brooke needed her now more than ever, so it was only natural for her to be preoccupied. (So take that.) The idea of her having to be alone after losing her mother was just unbearable to Kate, who redoubled her search.

Eventually, she found Brooke sitting on an as-yet unopened crate, just a short distance from the tent where refreshments were being passed out. She had a bagel in her hand, tucked in a napkin, but was just staring at it, her legs kicking over the side. When Kate came up to lean her hip on the crate beside her and look up at her, Brooke finally lifted her gaze.

“... I thought you’d be sick of me by now.”

“I could never be,” Kate assured Brooke, meaning it. But there was still a point she had to raise. “That wasn’t really like you back there…”

Brooke searched Kate’s face, but Kate couldn’t parse her reaction to the probing; the other girl wore a blank mask that she could not see through. “Wasn’t it? It’s just another case of me losing my temper and acting like a fucking asshole. It happens all the time.”

“You’ve been better lately,” Kate disagreed, resting her hand on Brooke’s wrist. “You’ve mended fences, and been more patient with people. You aren’t an… an asshole. You’re a good person.”

“So, what. I’m relapsing?” Brooke wondered. “Maybe I just haven’t changed as much as you thought I did. Maybe none of it was real.”

“Of course it was real,” insisted Kate, shaking her head, desperate to convince Brooke of the truth, at least as she had experienced it. “I was there every step of the way, Brooke. I saw it. I… I felt it. I’m here now, alive today, because you’re a good person.”

As Brooke stared at her, Kate saw her jaw work, traces of vulnerability entering her eyes again. “... Maybe,” she allowed in a small voice, “maybe. But I don’t… I feel like I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t right now.” Just barely, she leaned into Kate’s touch, some of the tension leaving her body. “There’s so much I took for granted. And all these strange things… Then today…” She wasn’t making much sense. She stopped herself, then said a bit more coherently, “I feel like I’m floating outside, just watching my body work without me. Letting it work on this… shitty, miserable autopilot. The autopilot wants to lash out and hurt people, to give them some idea of what it’s like. I want to stop it, but… I don’t know how to come back.”

Kate’s heart ached as she realized that helping Brooke with all this might be beyond her power. Before she could ruminate on that and reply, the sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention. She looked and saw that same doctor from earlier, Dr. Sloane, strolling up. At his side was another older gentleman in a white coat, rounder in his features. “Hello there,” the stranger greeted in a warm, plummy voice. “You’re Brooke Scott, yes?”

Brooke blinked up at him and nodded slowly. “... Yeah, that’s me.”

“I’m Dr. Walter Shevchuk, the director of this hospital.”

“And I assume you remember me from earlier. Dr. Peter Sloane.” He smiled kindly, before deferring to his boss, who continued.

“Now, I know this is a difficult time, but while I had a spare moment among all this chaos, I wanted to express my deepest gratitude.”

This seemed to hold Brooke’s attention, and she looked a little more alert than a second before, albeit confused. Kate kept her delicate hold of Brooke’s wrist, which the other girl did not rebuke. Brooke asked, “Are you talking about the stairwell thing?”

“Indeed,” Shevchuk said, smiling. “Now, it’s clear we weren’t prepared for the type or scale of this disaster. Weather events like this simply don’t happen in our region… Well, until today. But based on what Dr. Sloane and others have told me, young lady, you knew the best thing to do in our situation and you weren’t afraid to speak up about it. I’m proud to report that everybody in the hospital survived, and it’s thanks to your quick thinking. You saved a lot of lives today.”

Brooke was silent for a second, and Kate passed her a worried look, wondering if another outburst would come. But though Brooke appeared far from happy and excited at the news, she at least just looked thoughtful, and a bit awkward. “... It’s fine, sir. I just wanted to help.”

“Of course, of course. Now there’s not much hope of the hospital being operational anytime soon, but if there is anything we can do to acknowledge you for your heroic efforts…”

This made Brooke shut down again, averting her eyes from the doctors. “No, I… I’d rather not. I don’t want… a big production made out of it. Please.”

“That’s quite understandable,” said Shevchuk, sympathetic. He looked between the girls, smiled again, and nodded. “Be safe, and let our staff know if you need anything.”

“We will,” Kate promised to spare Brooke the awkwardness. She watched the doctors walk off, then glanced at her friend again. “Do you… want to talk about that?”

After a second’s hesitation, trying to hold it back out of reluctance or defiance, the floodgates opened and Brooke let it spill out. “I’m sick of being a hero. Of being congratulated. Sure, it’s nice to do good… E–... especially for you, Kate, don’t get me wrong!” She hastened to add that, and, mollified by Kate’s understanding smile, went on. “But I’ve had enough drama and–... and danger for one lifetime. I want things to go back to normal.”

Brooke’s eyes were starting to mist up. “I thought they were about to. I thought me and my mom could…” She was wracked by an inhaling breath, trying to hold back a sob. “But now things can never be normal again. She’s gone. There aren’t enough Blackwell students left to even fill one classroom. There’s been so much suffering…” Sniffling, she looked at Kate, imploring her for some sort of reassurance as she asked: “What does your religion have to say about this? Why do bad things happen to people who don’t deserve it?”

But Kate wasn’t sure that she could reassure Brooke in a moment like this. She thought of Job, his sons and daughters swept away by a mighty wind that destroyed his house. She had thought about his trial before the Lord more than once over the last week, wondering if she was also being tested, but it seemed more apt a point of comparison now than ever. The resolution of that story had no easy answers, and neither did she.

“We don’t know,” Kate admitted. “Nobody does but God. He has a path chosen for us. We just… can’t see where it leads.”

Brooke was quiet for a moment, absorbing that. Finally she said, “That’s cold comfort.”

Kate’s shoulders sagged. “... Yeah. It is.”

Brooke looked down at where her hand was still joined with Kate’s and gave up, leaning her head to rest against hers. Kate felt her heart speed up a little – but no. Now was not the time to confront that. She focused on Brooke’s words to discard her own troublesome thoughts. “You’re right about one thing, Kate. I don’t know where I’m going anymore. What am I supposed to do now?”

And Kate thought for a moment, the seed of an idea growing in her mind. Yes, it could work. I just… have to not think about the ways it could be awkward. It’s the least I can do. Aloud, she said as she leaned back again to look Brooke in the eye, “I think I can help you. Just… promise to be open-minded?”

Brooke blinked at her, but nodded slowly, and listened.