Hexagon

Chapter 84: Collapse

The beginning of this chapter is relevant, I swear (please read the first few paragraphs, even if they sound a bit random)

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Hollyleaf's POV:

Lionblaze, Jayfeather and I are from California. And anyone who knows anything about our home state has at least heard of the San Andreas Fault.

The faultline is the boundary between the Pacific plate and the North American plate, and literally runs right down the middle of the state. My brothers and I happened to live practically on top of it.

With the fault in such close proximity, earthquakes were a constant danger, and I remembered earthquake procedures being drilled into us from the time we started kindergarten.

What to do when buildings began to shake. Drop, cover, and hold: essentially, curling up in a ball under something sturdy and protecting your head and neck. Don't even try to run. It's a surefire way to get yourself killed, or at least seriously hurt.

It seemed to come back to me in flashes as the concrete walls creaked and moaned, and as the cracks began to split the heavy ceiling.

We were at least somewhat lucky. The storage room we were in was filled with bulky metal cabinets. That was a no-go, those would immediately turn into a hazard should they fall. Thankfully, the room we were in opened up into what looked like a modest meeting room, with a large, industrial looking table sitting in the middle of it.

It was a very ugly table, no wonder Citron hadn't bothered salvaging it, but for me, it might as well have been the Holy Grail. I seized Jayfeather by the arm and began guiding him into the adjoining room. For once, he didn't protest. Lionblaze had followed dragging Cinderheart, knowing earthquake procedure inside and out.

The others, however, clearly didn't. "Get in here!", I howled at the confused group. "Get down, protect your head and neck!"

But it was too late. Half Moon, terrified, had bolted for the door, hoping to make it out into the open before the building collapsed.

The words of my kindergarten teacher seemed to reverberate in my head. "Don't. Run. You won't make it out."

"STOP!", I screamed, my voice ratcheting upward before breaking. "Half Moon, NO!"

The others had crowded into the room, huddling under the table, eyes fixed on the ceiling as they waited for the worst.

Everyone except Briarlight.

The brunette was still standing by the door, her head flicking from side to side. Looking down the hall, presumably at the fleeing Half Moon. She looked back, locking gazes with...Jayfeather? His scarred blue eyes were fixed almost exactly onto her. I wasn't sure how he was doing it.

"Briarlight, please", he said quietly. "Please."

She threw one desperate look at him, then back down the hall.

She turned.

And sprinted off down the hall, her footsteps echoing in my ears.

...

Jayfeather's POV:

My world seemed to be collapsing. Literally and figuratively.

I heard Briarlight's frantic footsteps, and it was as if they were bouncing off the insides of my skull, getting louder and louder until they drowned out my thoughts altogether.

My body seemed to switch onto autopilot. I lunged out from under the table, intending to sprint after her. I wasn't the second fastest sprinter in school for nothing, I could catch up.

Falling debris? An unfamiliar layout? All the obstacles that meant life or death to someone who was blind? It didn't even register. My body was halfway out from under the table when a pair of arms locked around my middle and hauled me back. I struggled, lashing out, kicking and punching and scratching and everything else I could think of. I distantly heard the others scuffling away to avoid my flailing limbs.

"Cut it out, you dumbass!" Lionblaze. Of course. Having had to stitch him back together as often as I did, I recognized the arms keeping me prisoner without difficulty.

"Let me go!", I snarled, aiming a vicious swipe at the spot that must be his face. A yelp of pain, and something warm was slicking my fingers. Blood, but he didn't let go. Then Hollyleaf joined the fray, yanking my arms away from our brother.

"You think you running after them will make a difference?!", she choked out. Her voice was thick with tears, I noticed, and ceased the flailing. "All that's going to happen," There was a hiccuping sob. "Is that you're going to get killed, too!"

It was as if on cue. The concrete gave a final, shuddering groan before breaking. The crash that followed shook the earth. Someone screamed. Concrete dust choked the air, burning my eyes and filling my lungs. Floors above, I could hear the frantic scurrying of hundreds of Dark Forest fighters, trying to navigate the collapsing building to safety.

Then it was silent.

Soul-crushingly silent, as if there was no living creature for miles. The only sounds were distant rumbles as other parts of the building collapsed.

Somewhere behind me, I heard a sob.

Miraculously, the room we were in had been spared. Lionblaze reluctantly let me go, clearly worried that I would go tearing off down the hall if he took his hands off me. He wasn't entirely wrong to be worried. I was still considering it.

"How bad is it?", I croaked, my voice hoarse after inhaling all the dust. Fallen Leaves crawled out from under the table, and with the sound of boots scuffing on gritty floor, he rose. I heard him pacing, checking around the room, checking the storage area, and then scouting out the hall. Once he came back, I could immediately tell that I wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"We were lucky", he informed us. "This room crumbled a little bit on the left side, but otherwise it's okay. The cabinets in the storage room fell over." I imagined him looking over at Hollyleaf, a smile on his face. "It's thanks to your quick thinking that we got out of there. If we'd been in that room when the shaking started, we would have been flattened by those cabinets."

I'm willing to bet that Hollyleaf flushed bright red next to me.

Then the tone of Fallen Leaves' voice became grim. "The hallway's caved in."

The tiny fragment of hope I'd been holding on to, praying that they were alright, extinguished with a puff of metaphorical smoke. Caved in.

Caved in.

Briarlight's fast, but not even she could have escaped the crashing ceiling. And what about Half Moon? I balled my fists, willing myself not to think about it.

"...is it….?" I could hear my own voice, but it sounded muffled, like it was coming from underwater.

Fallen Leaves' hand, big and rough and the texture of sandpaper, rested comfortingly on my shoulder. It suddenly occurred to me how much bigger than me he was. How small, weak, and skinny I was.

"It's not collapsed all the way", he said bracingly. "There's a small crack that goes along the side. Maybe-"

I didn't hear what else Fallen Leaves said. A crack. A small crack. Was it big enough for me, wimpy and small as I was, to fit through?

"Where?", I interjected sharply, turning to face the sound of Fallen Leaves' voice. "Take me there."

There was a horrified noise of protest behind me, one that sounded an awful lot like Lionblaze and Hollyleaf had collectively choked on air.

"Oh, hell no!", Lionblaze snapped.

"Jayfeather, do you have any idea how moronic of an idea this is? The building is unstable, it could collapse on you at any minute!", Hollyleaf admonished.

I didn't turn to her, still facing Fallen Leaves. "You two sound just like Leafpool", I said shortly. Lionblaze made an offended sort of noise at being compared to the overly fussy nurse, but didn't try to scold me.

"Let us go with you, then", Hollyleaf suggested. "I don't want you to go into the cave-in zone by yourself."

I smiled, appreciating the gesture. "You and Lionblaze are much too big. Lionblaze's shoulders are huge and you're too tall. I'm the only one here who has a shot at fitting."

They stayed quiet, and I knew they had caved. Fallen Leaves guided me silently out of the room, helping me over the fallen metal cabinets and out into the hall. As I stood there, I could tell just from the air. If I had thought the dust in the other room had been bad, I was in for an unpleasant surprise.

The air here was so polluted, I resorted to pulling the collar of my sweatshirt over my nose and mouth. I could feel the crack with my fingers, measuring it out as best as I could with my hands.

Fallen Leaves had been right. It was tiny, and even with my short stature, it would be a tight fit. Fallen Leaves behind me stayed silent. I suspected that he didn't trust himself to speak. He just placed another one of his huge hands on my shoulder, and attempted to convey comfort the best he could. I appreciated it.

I edged carefully into the crack, being as careful as I could with my limited senses, creeping along slowly and cautiously. The last thing I wanted was for a sudden movement on my part to bring the tons of concrete above my head crashing down.

Just the thought of the precariousness of the situation made my stomach clench in fearful discomfort, and every step I took was a battle to keep the fear out of my mind. I found myself comparing it to a high latter, or a thrill ride.

Just don't look down. Don't acknowledge the fear, and it's only half as bad. Except in my situation, it wasn't as easy as just not looking. It was a mental battle, a fight to keep my wits about me. Despite the fear, I pressed on, jaw locked and fingernails digging into my palms.

I could only thank the Stars that the little crack continued on, that it didn't end abruptly. I didn't want to think about it, the thought of creeping through the crack for what felt like hours only to find that it didn't go anywhere.

Then, somewhere to my left, came a soft whimper.

I spun as quickly as I dared, and the smell hit my nose with such force that it left me wondering how the hell I had missed it.

The stink of blood.

End Chapter 84

I am so sorry