The Midnight Patrol

Chapter 4

Jun escaped from his room when the tremors began. He chanced upon the nameless boy unconscious by the wall beside the stairwell. He laid him gently against a pillar and checked for signs of life. Before he left, he made a promise to the boy. "Just stay here. I'll be back for you. I'll just go help my friends," he said. "Heeey! Over here Jun!" Jun turned to where he heard the voice and sprinted towards the long hallway of the Children's ward. There, he saw Jules consoling a visibly shaken Ogie. "Jules, is Ogie ok?" Jun glanced at his two friends with deep concern. "I will be. I just need...a minute." Ogie answered while gripping the arms of his wheelchair. 

"Geez, that was scary! The ground started shaking and the lights went crazy," Jules recalled. "Everything was rocking back and forth. A ceiling almost hit us. It freaked Ogie out." He pointed at a mangled ceiling fan on the floor inside the semi-private ward. Jun looked around and quickly realized something. "The girls! Where are they?!" he asked. Ogie snapped out of his stupor and turned to the two boys. "Let's go to their rooms quickly!" He then gripped the side rails of his wheelchair and hurriedly wheeled himself to the private rooms where April and May were confined. Jun and Jules followed closely behind. 

April's room was empty when they arrived. The cabinets were all toppled and the bed was out of place in a weird angle. The pillows and the blanket were all scattered on the floor. The room was a mess as if a miniature hurricane went through it. "April! Where are you?!" Panic rose in Jun's voice. "I'm over here!" The boys turned to the direction of the voice. April was in the opposite ward. When the boys rushed in, they saw April hunched over a corner of the room. "It's alright May. Just take my hand. It's too dangerous to stay in there." April tried to convince May to come out from a crevice formed between the bed and the cabinet beside it. May was visibly shaken and afraid. 

"I-is it over? Please don't leave me alone," May whimpered while she hugged her doll tight. She was curled up like a ball inside the crevice. 

"I won't leave you May. We'll get out of here together." April held out her hand to invite her out. 

"Come on May. Don't be stupid! We have to get out here." An irritated Jules tried to help May out when the children felt the tremors again. The surroundings shook and creaked loudly. The room started tilting and May found herself slowly being crushed between the cabinet and the bed. "Ahhhh, Please help me." May froze in fear.

Jun and Jules rushed towards the heavy cabinet and pulled on its sides with all their might to keep May from being crushed. Ogie maneuvered his way to the bed and pulled out it's sheet. "April! Wrap this around the cabinet!" he ordered. April did as she was told while Jules and Jun held on to the cabinet. When she was done, Ogie reached for the ends of the blanket and secured it around his arms. He then shouted at the two boys, "Give me a push!"

Jun and Jules let go of the cabinet and they both pushed Ogie toward the opposite direction while the room continued to tilt. The blanket held the cabinet in place and finally opened the gap wide enough for May to move and get out. April held May's hand and pulled her towards the space behind Ogie's wheelchair and they both gripped its handles to pull the wheelchair toward the door. Ogie let go of the blanket and the heavy cabinet toppled violently away from them, hitting the bed and splintering into huge pieces. Jun and Jules continued to push Ogie towards the door, away from the collapsing room and into the hallway.

The children made it out just in time. Out in the hallway, they watched as the room crumbled and collapsed. They covered their eyes as dust bellowed around them.

"Is everyone alright?" Jun instinctively asked when the dust started settling. Jules and April coughed and hacked in the clumps of debris. May swung her doll before her to clear the clouds of dust before her. "Yeah." Ogie coughed hard after speaking. "We made it out just in time."