Chapter 15

JSP's Shuis Achives | home

Sheridan glanced at the clock on her kitchen wall as she poured herself a cup of steaming fresh coffee. “Seven thirty” she laughed. “You've come a long way from your days in Paris Sheridan. Here it is the sun is barely up and you're dressed and ready for the day.”

“Good morning Sheridan” Marianna smiled, joining her in the kitchen. “I smelled that heavenly scent all the way from my room.”

Sheridan grinned. “That's the first time anyone's called my coffee heavenly.”

“Oh it is Sheridan” she said pouring a cup for herself, stifling a yawn. “And I'm going to need it today.”

Sheridan was sure she'd forgotten something. “Today? What's today?”

Marianna realized what she'd just said and didn't want to give away the fact she and Pilar were throwing her a surprise shower on Saturday. “Theresa's finished all the invitations” she said quickly and I'm taking the rest to the post office to mail.” It was the truth, but hardly enough to occupy the day.

Sheridan's smile was nothing short of brilliant. “Things are really starting to come together, Marianna,” she said excitedly. “Everything's just about finished. I can't think of anything we haven't done.”

Marianna nearly choked on her coffee. She laughed heartily at her friend's excitement. “Trust me, there is still plenty to do. We still have the final fittings for our dresses, we can't confirm anything with the caterer until we have all the invitations back and they're not all sent yet, not to mention…”

“Okay” Sheridan smiled. “I get the picture, but still, in a month's time Luis and I will be in Spain on our honeymoon and the best part will be I can call him my husband.”

Marianna loved watching Sheridan when she talked about Luis like this. She positively glowed every time her nephew's name was mentioned. “Let me shower and change Sheridan and then we can go to the post office together to mail these invitations.”

“I'd like that” Sheridan smiled. Marianna nodded affirmatively and headed for the shower. Sheridan decided to email her friends Godis and Baby Shuis while she waited for Marianna.

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It was nearly 7:30 and Luis had been up for nearly an hour. He decided last night he'd do some research on the computer to see if he could find out any information about the house he and Sheridan had seen the night before. It didn't take long for him to find out the name of the owner and when he did he was both surprised and slightly disappointed. The house was still in the names of Alex and Ethel Pearson. Hw would have sworn he saw a “For Sale” sign on the property a few years back, not to mention the fact they were both dead or at least he thought so.

“Hmm, I wonder if it's possible that one of them went into a nursing home when the other died?” Luis wondered out loud. It was as good a guess as any he supposed. He did find a phone number to call and decided to jot it down. He didn't know who'd receive the phone call, but it was one he definitely planned on making. Last night when he and Sheridan had been looking at that house he could almost envision his entire future and it had been wonderful. After he'd come home he'd even dreamed about it and now more than ever he was sure that house was meant for him and Sheridan.

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Try as he might to concentrate on the story he was reading, he couldn't. He'd had a fitful slumber as thoughts of her invaded his every dream. Asleep, awake, it didn't matter. Jay was ever present on his mind. Things had gotten way out of control and decision time was coming. Scott had to decide if he was going to share his past with Jay or end things completely.

Taking a mouthful of coffee, Scott felt his heart become heavy at the thought of ending his relationship with her. He smiled, remembering what a great time he had whenever she was with him. She was all he thought about lately, almost to a point of distraction from work. A mental image came to his mind of never having to leave her again, of waking up with her nestled in his arms. It was an image he rather liked, loved in fact.

“Damn!” He said. “I can't lose her. I want her more than anything. I want her in my life.” He took another drink of his coffee and furrowed his brow in thought. “Well Scott, you know what you have to do then don't you? You have to tell her. You have to tell her everything and do it soon.”

Satisfied he was making the right decision, Scott folded his newspaper and swallowed the last mouthful of coffee from his mug. He groaned slightly when he noted the time as 4:35 am. “I can't wait till the end of January” he mumbled as he placed his mug in the kitchen sink and rinsed it out. “And I'm glad we don't open at 6 am every morning.” He walked around his condo and shut out all the lights except for the one by his front door and looked around to make sure everything was in order. Finding everything the way it should be, he grabbed his keys from the table by his front door and placed them in his pocket. Upon opening the door he realized he'd need a jacket and grabbed his leather jacket from the front hall closet. He chucked to himself when he thought about how often he actually got a chance to wear it living in Southern California.

Scott walked out his door taking time to lock it and was headed down the long hallway towards the stairs when it happened…

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Jay rolled over, a small smile etched on her face. She was in REM sleep and her mind was consumed with thoughts of only one person, Scott. She didn't realize it at first when her bed began to tremor, she thought it was part of her wonderful dream.

Suddenly Jay's eyes snapped open. On her nightstand was a digital clock, the red display reading 4:37 am. She jumped out of bed as best she could and ran towards her doorway and crouched down bracing herself as best she could. “Damn” she said holding onto the door frame as she heard glass shattering all around her, “this is a big one.” Her heart pounded rapidly as her she felt the floor shaking beneath her from the force of the earthquake. Jay'd been in California five years and until now had only experienced minor tremors. She'd heard about the larger quakes and was fully aware of the damage they could cause but until now never had a real appreciation of how someone felt while in the middle of a large quake. She fought the fear that threatened to engulf her, reminding herself that she was a police officer and trained to handle emergency situations, but it was tough. She briefly thought about Scott, her mother and grandmother and her best friends Luis and Sheridan, wondering if she would ever see them again. She forced those thoughts from her mind and concentrated on what she was taught when she joined the Beverly Hills PD.

“Please let this be over” she muttered. In the distance she swore she could hear people in the next condo screaming amidst the sound of falling pictures and shattering glass. “Please let this be over soon…”

Scott lay on the floor of the hallway motionless, covered in cement dust and plaster. His mind suddenly coming to the realization that it was over he slowly opened his eyes. Scott gingerly pulled himself to a sitting position groaning slightly from the discomfort. He'd been hit by more than one fallen beam during the quake, though luckily none of them pinned him down. He looked around in the darkness to survey the damage. Because of the early hour the sun wasn't up and he felt his heart lurch when he saw a faint orange glow growing stronger at the other end of the building.

“Oh my God!” He exclaimed. “The building's on fire.” Without thinking he began pounding on doors warning the residents to get out of the building. One by one the doors began opening and Scott's neighbors began to file out carrying varying objects from family heirlooms to photo albums to camcorders. Slowly they made their way to the fire exit at the opposite end of the building from the fire under Scott's direction. He asked each person he met if there was anyone left in their place or if they knew of anyone who might have trouble making it out. He also requested someone call 911 and inform them of the situation.

Adrenalin filled him as he started knocking down the doors that no one came out of. Since it was the middle of the night for all practical purposes, chances were most people were home. In the condo of the first door he broke down Scott found a young single mother he knew from meeting in the laundry room on Sundays. She was pinned under a bookcase screaming for her baby who was trapped in the bedroom. With strength he didn't know he possessed, Scott lifted the bookcase off the woman and then forged his way into the child's room and brought the frightened infant to his mother.

“Can you walk ma'am?” Scott asked in concern.

“No, my leg… I think it's broken” the woman cried, clutching her four month old son tightly in her arms.

Without thinking Scott picked up the woman who was holding her child and carried her out of her condo. He was met at the stairs by some other neighbors who took the injured woman from him. “Could someone call 911 to make sure they've been notified we have a burning building and injured people here?” Scott asked before returning to see if there were any other people trapped in their homes. “I haven't heard any sirens yet.” As he raced back to the building which was now engulfed in flames he caught two men videotaping the burning building.

Scott couldn't believe what was happening to him, to all of them. Living in California for at least the last fifteen years he'd felt many tremors, some of them pretty scary but none of them even came close to what was happening at this very minute. The last big earthquake to hit Southern California in '92 had only caused one death. As he looked around him at all the destruction he had a sinking feeling this one was going to be a lot worse. He hoped to find a radio soon and find out exactly what was happening, but for right now he was concentrating all his efforts on pulling as many people out of the building as he could before fire engulfed it or it collapsed completely from the massive structural damage that was done.

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Jay felt like kissing the ground when the earth stopped shaking. She immediately stood up and looked around the living room. Besides a few paintings and pictures falling from the walls, nothing seemed to be terribly damaged. She tried a light switch and cursed under her breath realizing she'd lost power. She was pretty sure she'd lost power as she saw the glow of the emergency lights on coming from the kitchen. “I guess checking for structural damage will have to wait. I should get down to the station anyway.” Jay knew the drill. She was on the “A” team which meant unless it was a physical impossibility, she was to report to the station immediately.

Jay grabbed a flashlight and found her way around her bedroom gathering clothes and quickly dressed for work. Not knowing when she'd get a chance to come home again, she grabbed a change of clothes to take with her and a few necessary supplies. As she was dressing she made a mental note to email her mother and Luis to let them know she was okay, once her power was back. She hoped Scott was okay but somehow figured she'd not be able to contact him for awhile. Maybe she'd find something out when she got to the station…

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Luis walked into the kitchen at his mother's house and was surprised to find her glued to the small nine inch television at the far end of the counter. “Good morning Mama” he said only to have his greeting go unheard. Pilar was so engrossed in what she was watching on the TV she didn't realize Luis has entered the room.

Luis moved closer to his mother and wondered what could possibly have her so engrossed watching the tube. “Good morning Mama” he said a little louder. Pilar still didn't answer him, but this time Luis understood why. He saw for himself what captivated her interest.

“We're talking to Patrick Healy from our NBC affiliate in Los Angeles, KNBC. Patrick, can you tell us what time this morning the earthquake hit?”

“Katie, at 4:37 am Pacific Daylight Time a huge earthquake was felt in the city of Los Angeles and surrounding communities. We have some unconfirmed reports the quake could be felt as far away as Idaho and Colorado…”

“Oh my God” Luis exclaimed.

“I know” Pilar said shaking her head. “Every time I hear about an earthquake in California I worry.”

“About Jay?” Luis asked. He didn't need an answer from her. “I know. I do too. Do they know where the epicenter hit?”

Pilar shook her head. “Not yet. It's barely eight here so this just happened.”

“I hope it wasn't near Beverly Hills.”

“Lucy Jones from Cal Tech is here with us now and she has the initial estimates on the quake. Lucy…”

“Thank you Patrick. This morning at 4:37 am an earthquake measuring approximately a 7.6 on the Richter scale erupted on what we believe to be the NEWPORT-INGLEWOOD-ROSE CANYON FAULT ZONE, which lies beneath the ocean. If our estimates are correct, this quake was larger than the Landers and Big Bear Earthquakes of June 28, 1992 which measured a 7.4…”

“I don't know much about earthquakes, but I know enough to know a 7.6 is huge” Luis said.

“Dios mio” Pilar said sadly, shaking her head.

“It is reported that power lines are down for over a hundred mile radius. Millions of customers are affected.”

“I wonder if Jay lost her power?” Luis asked. He quickly grabbed the phone and dialed her number only to be greeted with an automated message.

“You didn't get through?” Pilar asked. She assumed he didn't by the look on his face.

“All circuits are busy” he replied, repeating the message. “Please try your call again later. I imagine everyone who's watching the news this morning and has a friend or relative out there is trying to call.”

“I'm sure Jay is fine, mijo,” Pilar said in a soothing voice.

“I hope so” Luis answered, returning his attention to the television.

“Let's switch to a live feed from a residential building in the Santa Monica area where a fire is reported to have broken out due to the earthquake…”

It was difficult to see on such a small television but it was clear chaos was ensuing. Fire trucks and ambulances were everywhere and victims of the earthquake wandered around aimlessly as if in a fog, clearly harboring cuts, bruises and broken bones from their near death experience.

“Mama, I'm going to head down to the station and see if I can find out anymore from there. I might be able to get through to Jay from there just to make sure she's okay.”

“Very good mijo” Pilar said as she poured herself a cup of coffee that had just finished brewing. “I'm going to watch this in the living room for a little while before Marianna comes over. Let me know if you find out Jay is all right.”

“I sure will Mama” Luis said. He kissed his mother on the cheek and left for the station. Pilar took her coffee into the living room and sat down in front of the TV to watch more on the earthquake that had rocked the West Coast.

Sheridan finished her emails and turned on the TV to catch some news while she waited for Marianna to finish showering. She was shocked to say the least when she heard the top news story this morning.

“Fires have been reported in several areas with the most intense one being at a condominium complex in Santa Monica. So far the areas that seem to be hardest hit are Santa Monica followed closely by Beverly Hills…

Sheridan clasped her hand over her mouth in horror at the mention of Beverly Hills. “Oh my God! Jay!” She cried as the reality sunk in. She immediately picked up her phone and dialed Luis' cell phone.

“Hello?” Luis answered.

“Luis, it's me” she said in a panic stricken voice.

“You were watching the news” he stated, knowing by the tone of her voice it couldn't be anything else.

“Please tell me you talked to Jay and she's all right.”

“I tried calling the minute I heard and the lines were down or busy. I couldn't get through.”

“Did you try her cell phone?”

“Damn!” Luis muttered under his breath. “Why didn't I think of that? Maybe you should be the cop in the family.”

Sheridan smiled at the remark, but the humor was marred by her fear of not knowing if Jay was all right.

“Call me as soon as you call one way or another?” Sheridan pleaded.

“I will, I promise” Luis said. “I love you.”

“I love you too” Sheridan told him before hanging up the phone. “God, please let Jay be okay.” Sheridan said a silent prayer for her friend and returned her attention to the television and watched more of the chaos being depicted.

“We're here at the Westminster Condominium complex in Santa Monica watching as fire fighters are trying to aide the residents out of this three alarm blaze. Rescue workers are attending to the victims…

“Dios mio” Pilar exclaimed watching the scene unfold. “This is terrible.” Her mind wandered to Jay and hoped Luis had luck reaching her.

“Carl Banks, a resident in this complex for four years, shot some footage earlier this morning before firefighters and rescue workers arrived at the scene. Carl, could you tell us what we are watching?”

Pilar was fascinated as she watched the amateur film of a young man wearing a business suit in near tatters covered in dust and dirt, carrying an elderly man to safety followed closely by a white haired woman who seemingly was his wife. “That guy there carrying the old man has been unbelievable. He's gone back in to the building countless times, each time bringing out another person. I've never seen anything like it.”

The video continued focusing on the Westminster hero running back into the building and when he was out of sight, the camera panned the scene until it made its way to the fire, which was quickly getting out of control. Sirens could be heard in the background getting closer as the rescue workers got closer to the scene.

“Carl, I've got to tell you, this is unbelievable. Where is this man now?”

“No one knows for sure,” Carl said nervously. “He was last seen going into the building about ten minutes ago.”

“Over here! Over here!” The reporter ran towards the voice with the camera following him as quickly as possible.

“I see it!” He pointed. The camera focused on what was happening and there he was, the Westminster hero carrying yet another victim out. He could barely be seen walking towards the exit with another person. This time it was a young woman in her early twenties and she appeared to be in pretty rough shape. Just as the cameras got a glimpse of him, the stairwell erupted into flames.

Scott was having a difficult time seeing through the smoke and he was coughing almost continuously. He shaded his eyes looking for the stairs and when he finally saw them he saw there were flames shooting up. The rescue workers were at the bottom of the stairwell unwilling to venture up. He fought the panic he was feeling when he realized his exit was blocked and tried to think quickly. “This is only the third floor” he said to himself.

“I can't get to the stairs!” He shouted. “I need to lower her out a front window!” He barely saw the firemen salute in acknowledgement.

“Dios Mio!” Pilar said in horror as she watched the scene unfold.

“We are coming to you live from the Westminster Condominium complex in Santa Monica where one of its residents is desperately trying to get out with an unconscious victim.” The camera refocused on the front of the building waiting to see what would happen next.

Luis impatiently sat in his car in front of the station with his cell phone attached to his ear. He'd just dialed Jay's number and prayed she answered.

“Hello?” Jay answered breathlessly.

“JAY! Thank God!” Luis shouted, relief easing the tense muscles in his body.

“Luis, I'm fine” Jay said calmly. “I was going to contact you when I figured out what's going on here. I just got to the station a few minutes ago and we're all getting our assignments.”

“I'm just glad to hear your voice, Jay” Luis said smiling from ear to ear. “My mother and Sheridan are going to be thrilled.

Jay chuckled. It warmed her heart to know she had such good friends. “Luis, I'd love to chat, you know I would but things are a little crazy right now. I'll call you as soon as I get the chance and tell you everything.”

“Sure thing Jay” Luis said. “I understand completely. “Just tell me one thing, will you?”

“It was a big one huh?”

Jay exhaled her breath as she remembered how she felt during the actual quake. “Yeah, it was big Luis” she said in a very serious tone. “I hope I never have to go through anything like that again.”

“Take care of yourself, Jay” Luis said.

“Will do Luis. Do me a favor will you? Call my mother so she and my grandmother know I'm all right? Tell them I love them and will call them first chance I get.”

“You bet I will” Luis said.

Luis hung up from talking to Jay and called her mother just as he'd promised.

Pilar couldn't believe what she was seeing. She felt as though she were watching a movie and she could be sure everything would work out in the end, only it wasn't. This was real and happening right before her eyes.

A window finally opened on the third floor of the building. Firemen raced to place a ladder against the burning structure and one of them carefully climbed to the top where the man held out the unconscious woman for him to take. Slowly he began his decent with the victim over his shoulder as a fearful crowd of onlookers watched. Scott gratefully watched the fireman climb down the ladder and was relieved he'd gotten her out in time.

“In case any viewers have just joined us, we are live in Santa Monica watching the daring rescues of residents of this complex that erupted into flames following the earthquake measuring 7.6 that tore through parts of Southern California approximately 45 minutes ago…”

A strange feeling came over Pilar as she watched the young man open the window a little wider as he prepared to descend the ladder. She shook her head in disbelief, closing her eyes. “No lo puedo creer.” She slowly opened her eyes and continued to watch the scene as if in slow motion.

“Come on man!” The firemen yelled from the bottom of the ladder. The group of them waved to Scott telling him it was time to leave the building. Scott nodded and waved back and gingerly placed one leg out the window. The camera came in for as close a shot as it could as Scott climbed onto the ladder and began his climb.

“Ay Dios!” Pilar yelled, her eyes wide in disbelief as she stood up to watch the television. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing.

Scott climbed out onto the ladder and was about half way down when it happened…

“Oh my God! NO!” Pilar shrieked.

The cameraman fought to maintain his footing when the aftershock began. To the viewers, the camera was all over the place, enough so a person would have to look away to avoid becoming dizzy. Scott held onto the ladder for dear life, though it did no good. The ladder fell and Scott did the only thing he could think of, he jumped off, hitting the ground with a thud. As he hit the shaking ground he felt a searing pain in his shoulder and he was pretty sure he'd broken it. Involuntarily he grabbed it with his good hand. The rumbling from the quake was getting louder and the shaking more violent. Scott wasn't sure if it seemed more intense because he was outside now, or if maybe this aftershock was more intense than its predecessor. When he finally opened his eyes and looked up he realized what it was making the noise. Saying a silent prayer, he braced himself for the inevitable.

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“Marianna!” Sheridan shouted excitedly when her friend emerged from the shower. “You'll never believe what happened. There's been an earthquake in California, the same area Jay is from!”

Marianna could see how upset Sheridan was at this moment. “Did you try and contact her?” She asked.

She shook her head. “No, I talked to Luis and he tried to call her at home and couldn't get through. He's going to try her cell phone and then call me back.” At that very moment, Sheridan's telephone began to ring and she quickly picked it up.

“Luis?” She answered, hoping to God it was him with some news.

“She's fine!” Luis said. His tone was light and airy and Sheridan relaxed immediately.

“Oh thank heavens!” She sighed with relief.

“Tell me about it” Luis smirked. “I've never been so happy to hear her voice in my life as I was a few minutes ago. She's at work and couldn't talk long but she said it was huge.”

“Luis, you should see this” Sheridan said. “It's the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen. Some man has been pulling people from a burning building and they just had an after shock. I don't know what's happening now, the camera went crazy.”

Luis' call waiting interrupted his train of thought and when he looked at the number he noted it was his mother. “Sheridan, hold on for a second, my mother is trying to call.”

“Sure thing Luis” Sheridan said.

Luis clicked the button and answered his mother's call.

“Hi Mama. I just talked to Jay and she's fine” Luis said right away assuming that's why his mother had called.

“Mijo” Pilar said in a raspy voice filled with fear and shock.

“Mama? What is it? What's wrong?” Luis asked. His radar immediately went up when he heard the quality of his mother's voice.

“Luis, this is so unbelievable. I can't believe what I just saw.”

“What did you see Mama?” Luis asked, “What is it?” His heart began to race as he feared the worst. Something was definitely wrong with his mother.

“It's Antonio, mijo. I just saw your brother Antonio.”