Natural Disaster: Cracked

Chapter 4

"Well, shit."

"Language, Scotty."

The three men stood where the hotel they had already checked into had once stood, now shaken down to its foundation. Employees milled around, trying to clean up as much as they could, to no avail. One woman spotted the trio and carefully approached them. "Were you a guest with us?"

"Yeah," Kevin sighed, "We were all up on the third floor. There's no chance that our stuff survived, is there?"

The woman's apologetic expression said all she needed to.

______

"At least you didn't have Beyoncè with you," Avi said, resting his elbows on his knees as they sat on the curb across from the destroyed hotel. He caught Scott frowning and turning to say something out of the corner of his eye. "The cello."

"That's true, I guess," Kevin agreed, resting his chin in his hand, "And at least it's just us, right now. Everyone else's flight over here should be cancelled."

Scott looked over at the other two, his voice quiet. "They're all gonna be safe."

Avi sighed and pulled the beanie from his head, swiping his hand through his hair. They remained silent and still for a moment longer before he pulled himself to his feet, replacing the garment on his head. "We've got to get moving," he said to no one in particular. The feeling of defeat had become palpable amongst them, shoulders slumping at the loss of any hope of regaining any of their belongings. "We've had way worse," he continued, "We've got this."

Kevin nodded and stood to join him, both turning and waiting for Scott to follow suit. "Y'all don't think we have any cell service, do you?" He didn't wait for either of them to answer before yanking his phone out of his pocket, wrinkling his nose a moment after turning the screen on. "I don't have anything."

Both of the others checked their own, Kevin groaning aloud as he pulled out his own severely crushed phone. Avi confirmed no service on his, either.

"So," Scott started, "We're separated from our friends and family, our stuff's lost and probably destroyed, no cell phone service, and we're on an island country. I don't think it-"

"Don't you say it," Avi warned him, jabbing a finger at him, "Don't you fucking say it."

A squawk sounded from the eldest. "Language!"

A silence fell on the three of them, the urge to finish the sentence almost visible in Scott's face as he clenched his teeth, jaw held tightly closed. Without another word, he stood with his friends and they started down the street, hoping to come across a shelter for the evening.

Scott's whisper was barely audible. "-Can get any worse."

"If you just jinxed us, I swear to God that I will punch you in the face."

Luck is on our side, today. For once.

Thank goodness.

With some directions from helpful locals, the three of them had found themselves on the doorstep of a homeless shelter about a mile from where River Liffey used to be. Much to their relief, the people working there still had plenty of room available. "There's only two beds," the young man helping them had warned, "And that's all I have. Will that be workable for you, lads?"