Ultima Ratio

Chapter 14: Phantom Pains

Akira's boosted strength made it much easier to navigate the unsteady terrain amidst the destruction. She jumped over a scattered stash of MREs, then briefly paused to reunite a young parent and toddler that were struggling to crawl towards each other, before finally reaching the gaping hole in the ground.

Danya leapt out of the pit just as Akira arrived, another two people in tow. When she gave Akira a once-over, her furrowed brows suggested she knew something had changed, but she didn't point it out.

"There are people still down there," Danya explained, gently lowering the two in her arms.

Akira nodded. "I can help."

Danya jumped back into the hole, and Akira watched her descent before mimicking her movements, using the uneven slope like stepping stones. The pit was about fifteen meters deep, and about two dozen workers were scattered across the rocky bottom in various states of distress.

"Focus on the ones with lighter injuries," Akira said. "I'll look at the others and figure out how we can move them."

Danya nodded without arguing, and the pair got to work.

The earthquake persisted.

While Akira wasn't a medic, she had basic field training, and she could at least identify things like possible head trauma or internal bleeding. By the time Danya rejoined her, having cleared out over half of the civilians, Akira had a plan for evacuating most of the remaining ten.

While the first nine victims of the second batch were quickly evacuated, the last victim was the toughest: an older woman with her leg pinned under the tire of a motorized cart, which in turn was wedged under a concrete slab from the second floor balcony. When Akira and Danya ran up to her, she slowly turned to face them, and Akira froze in recognition.

"I knew you two were sweet young ladies," the former space mechanic greeted them with a feeble smile.

"Of course," Danya said with an air of confidence that didn't show on her face as she looked at Akira with concern.

Suddenly, Danya's eyes widened, and her gaze snapped back towards the concrete slab. After a couple seconds of staring, Danya rushed towards the broken balcony and peered beneath it while Akira followed a few steps behind.

"There's someone here, unconscious," Danya said, pointing beneath the debris. "I-I can't get to them without moving this rock, but moving it might crush that lady's leg, and—"

"Danya, I can help," Akira said, only raising her voice to be heard over the rumbling tremors. "We can figure it out together, okay?"

Danya took a deep breath and nodded, her eyes still wide with worry.

As much as Akira wanted to carefully evaluate the situation, she was on a clock, and she was just going to have to trust her instincts; that, and her strength. After she instructed Danya to remove the balcony, Akira positioned herself by the cart, mustering her strength to hold it steady.

Miraculously, her plan worked. Danya lifted the balcony, and Akira barely managed to hold the cart still until Danya could discard the slab and take over. As soon as she did, Akira hurriedly pulled the woman out from underneath, trying her best to not jostle her. Thankfully, her injuries didn't seem immediately life-threatening, and she repeatedly thanked Danya as Akira focused on the other freed civilian, creating a makeshift neck brace from her uniform's collapsible helmet.

They were just about to climb out of the hole, Danya carrying the two workers and Akira carrying herself, when the tremors escalated even more. The sudden shift knocked them off their feet, and Akira swore she heard an ominous cracking from beneath them.