Eye of the Storm

Chapter 13

As I look around me, ready for our names to be called out, I realise that there are people here I haven’t spoken to this whole time, because I’ve been too caught up in my own dramas. I never really had a reason to talk to them because Nic was looking after them. Nic and Charlie seem to have grown quite close.
“I’m going to call out every name in alphabetical order, please stand up as I say your name, no talking,” the old man commands, pulling up a device in front of him. “Nicholas Fallon, Amy Kennedy… Amy?” he calls Amy’s name a second time, we all shake our heads, our hearts reaching the floor. The young man looks at us, crushed.
“You’re kidding…anyone else?” I nod, catching his gaze. He turns to the older man. “I told you we were going to be too late!” he turns back to me. “Who?”
“Ethan Porelli,” I whisper, his name alone reducing me to a state of depression. The young man shakes his head disapprovingly, as the other taps a few buttons.
“That’s very unfortunate, I am terribly sorry for your loss,” he says, looking at me directly. “We however must continue. Leonardo Knox, Daniel Laughton, Alexia Matthews, Esme Moon, Lorenzo Moon,” he pauses for a second, skimming over Ethan’s name. I’m standing next to Leo, broken. “Emerald Rout, Isla Yoshida and Charlie Young,” Everyone is standing up. “Now, any serious injuries we need to attend to?”
“Yes, here,” Nic says, signalling to Emerald. Shit, I don’t think I’ve payed any attention to Emerald, one of my closest friends. Wait, serious injury? I look over to her.
“I think her arm is broken,” Isla tells the man.
“Emerald…” I begin, staring at her.
“Oh, so now I’m good enough for you?” she snaps. Shit. Leo stands in front of me.
“All of you, calm down,” the young man buts in, walking over to Emerald. “Hello Emerald, my name is Domingo, I’m here to help,” he reaches down, looking at her arm.

The older man, perhaps Domingo’s father, faces the rest of us.
“If there are no other pressing injuries, I’ll take the rest pf you on board. We’ll be flying back to your home, however you’ll all be required to stay as many nights as required in the hospital, as many, if not all of you, will require intensive care,” Home?
“How long have we been here?” Nic asks. I didn’t even think of that.
“Two weeks,” two weeks? He must be joking. It feels like it’s been both forever and no time at all. From the looks on everyone else’s faces, I can tell they’re thinking the exact same thing.
“Long enough that if you didn’t have your wits about you, you called all be dead,”
“Dad!” Domingo cries out. “Don’t you think they’ve been through enough without your comments?” so they are related. You can see it in their facial structure, carved to perfection. I imagine Domingo must be popular with the ladies. “Now let’s just get them home, look at them, they’re wrecks,” normally I’d be offended by that but I have no defence. Leo looks down at me, hope coating his eyes for the first time in a long time.