Earthquake

Dilemna

Andy ran as fast as he could to the other end of the carriage, narrowly avoiding the debris scattered in the aisle. I watched him go, taking a minute to calm my breathing which was still laboured after hauling the little boy back into the train. He had recovered so quickly and showed so little signs of distress that I wasn't the only one staring at him curiously as he slowly made his way towards the group. 

I felt myself tense as he reached the huddle of people, in the hope that his mum would be safe, but in my gut I knew that she had never reached the carriage. The way Andy had been hanging suggested they must have been just between carriages when the bridge had collapsed, only the sleeve of his jacket had stopped him from falling into the deep valley below. Assuming his mum had fallen, and hadn't been killed, there would be no way we could reach her, due to the dense foliage, and she would never make it to the distant town with those injuries. It was a miracle that either of them survived at all. 

I was horrified to realise that my suspicions were correct as I saw Andy's shoulders slump and his head turn slowly back towards me with large, tearful eyes. Struggling to hold back the waterworks myself, I made a silent promise to protect this boy the best I could until I could be sure he would be safe. Desperate to try and calm his sobs, I clambered over to him and held him tightly in a hug whilst reassuring him that everything would be fine. The chance was so slight that his mother had survived the fall that I didn't dare suggest it, it would have been cruel to give him that hope. 

Of course, I couldn't guarrantee that everything would be fine, especially not in such a dangerous situation. But it was the best I could do to console this vunerable, devastated little child. 

Turning to the group of adults, I asked my mum for an update. She briefly described the injuries on board, a couple unconcious but breathing, several broken limbs, mild cuts and bruises all round but the main thing was: nobody had died. I breathed a tiny sigh of relief before moving on. 

My next action was to ask how many of the adults spoke English. Upon finding that less than half could confidently understand what I was saying, I decided to appoint a translator and discovered the man who had lifted the suitcase off my mum earlier was a qualified English teacher. 

He informed me that he had got several people to check their phones but nobody had signal, and therefore it was to be assumed that the network had gone down during the earthquake. 

After digesting this news and given brief instructions to him, I addressed everyone calmly, "There has been an earthquake and the shocks have broken the bridge we were crossing over. The back of this carriage is not supported and therefore we can not assume it is stable. We have two options: we either stay here and wait for help, or we try to get to a safer position. I saw a town in the distance so help is probably on its way but there is no guarantee how long it will take. The phone network is down for an indefinite period of time so we cannot rely on calling the emergency services for help. I suggest we take a vote." It took many of them a while to process this information despite it being swiftly translated.  This was either because they were still in shock or because they were being instructed by a bruised, skinny teenage girl with a  tattered, sobbing child hanging onto her hand. 

Finally, the decision was made. We were to stay where we were. Although it was against my instincts, some of the more confident people did suggest sensible reasons for remaining in the carriage. It would be getting dark soon and we wouldn't want to trek through the forest in the dark. Those with broken limbs would struggle to walk and the unconscious would have to be carried the entire distance. Most importantly, they pointed out that we didn't know the surrounding area, we could easily get lost and then any help which did arrive at the train would be no use at all. 

After this had been decided, there was a rush of activity as the passengers arranged themselves in groups, prepared to spend the night in the cramped space at the end of the carriage. There were still a couple of hours until darkness fell but, with no power and therefore no lights, preparations had to be made early. Parents ushered their kids over from their story time with Rebecca and tried to make things more comfortable by pulling out jackets and clothing from nearby suitcases and using them as make-shift covers and bedding. I doubted anybody over the age of 10 would be getting any sleep tonight but at least the children would get some rest.