Rock My World

Chris woke later than usual so he got up and took a quick shower. He grabbed a glass of juice and ate a sandwich as he headed out the door. He went out to his car and drove towards the ATF offices.

When Josiah had parked his car in his parking space he headed for the elevator. He was suddenly stopped by a familiar voice:

"Wait up, Josiah!"

"Good morning, brother Nathan." Josiah smiled. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Just fine, Josiah, you?" Nathan said as he pushed the button for the elevator.

"Feelin' just fine." Josiah smiled.

"What's taking the elevator so much time?" Nathan pushed the button a few more times.

"Patience, brother, patience," Josiah said and put a hand on Nathan's shoulder.

About 15 seconds later the elevator arrived in the basement. The two men stepped in and as they pushed the button for the ATF offices they saw Ezra's car pull into his parking space.

Ezra stepped out of his car and proceeded to lock the car. As he was heading towards the elevator he saw Chris step out of his car. Ezra stopped and waited for Chris to catch up with him.

"Mornin' Ez," a voice suddenly said from behind him and it made him jump.

"Jeez, Mr. Tanner, you scared me! You really have to stop sneaking up on me like that," Ezra said.

"Sorry, Ez." Vin smiled and put a hand on Ezra's shoulder.

"Morning, boys," Chris said as he approached the two agents.

Suddenly Ezra felt a tremor under his feet and then all hell broke lose. Vin saw all the cars starting to move back and forth and he fell to the ground clutching Ezra's shoulder. Chris also felt the tremors and he started to run for cover when he was hit by a falling beam.

In the elevator Josiah and Nathan fell to the floor as the elevator came to an abrupt stop and then the lights went out. As the two men recovered from the initial shock they both felt the elevator shake and then it started to fall.

Up in the ATF office Buck and JD were both thrown to the floor and JD was hit by a telephone that fell off his desk. Buck saw JD being hit by the phone and he crawled over to him while everything was shaking all around them. There was a steady stream of things that fell down from the different desks all around them. As Buck finally reached JD he saw that he was bleeding heavily from the head.

"What's happening?" JD managed to croak out.

"Earthquake, JD, it's an earthquake," Buck said and put a reassuring arm around him. "It will be okay, kid, it will be okay."

"Make it stop, I'm scared," JD whispered as a couple of fluorescent lights fell down beside them.

"It'll be over soon," Buck said and sheltered JD with his own body.

As the tremors finally ended another light fell down from the ceiling and hit Buck in the head and he lost consciousness. JD finally gave in to the blackness that was threatening to surround him and he too lost consciousness.

+ + + + + + +

20 minutes later Vin regained consciousness and tried to get his bearings. He wasn't able to see anything since everything was pitch black. Vin soon realized that he was painfully aware of his left leg, he came to the conclusion that it was broken since he couldn't move it.

He felt a faint smell of concrete and there was something else too but Vin couldn't identify it, his nostrils were too filled with smoke from the crushed concrete. He knew he had lost consciousness when another beam had fallen down and hit him and Ezra. As he realized both Chris and Ezra were down there with him, he started to feel the ground around him. Since he couldn't see anything he could only feel and suddenly he felt someone. He touched the person gently and soon realized that it was Ezra, his silk shirt and clean-shaven face gave him away. Vin checked for a pulse and found one, it was faint but it was there.

"Ezra?" Vin said.

"Vin?" A voice was suddenly heard nearby followed by some coughing.

"Chris?" Vin felt a flood of relief wash over him.

"Yep, you okay, pard?"

"I'm okay, I think my leg's broken but I'm fine," Vin said and tried to clear his throat but only ended up coughing. "How 'bout you?"

"My head hurts like hell and I think my shoulder's dislocated but I'm alright."

"Ezra's right here beside me, he's unconscious but he's breathing," Vin said.

"Is he hurt in anyway you can notice?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, I think he's bleeding from the back of his head, it feels like blood," Vin said. "Other than that I don't know, it's so dark in here."

"Yeah. That was an earthquake right?!" Chris felt stupid for asking but he felt like he just needed to talk all the time to know that he wasn't alone in the dark.

"Yep, it sure felt like it," Vin said. "Can you get up?"

"Nope, I'm pinned to the ground by some damn beam," Chris said.

"Me too. Both me and Ez are caught under it," Vin said.

"I wonder if the whole building's collapsed?" Chris said.

"Yeah, maybe. You know if any of the others are here?" Vin said worried about the rest of his friends.

"I saw Buck's truck and JD's motorcycle," Chris said. "I hope they're okay."

"Me too, Chris, me too," Vin said.

Up in the ATF office Buck regained consciousness and as he got his bearings he realized he was on top of JD. He gently moved off JD and carefully started to examine him, he was bleeding from the head where the phone had hit him. Other than that Buck couldn't see anything, he suddenly became aware of the sharp pain in his back. He carefully felt on his back and suddenly cut himself on the glass that was stuck on the left side of his spine. Buck hissed in pain and started to check if he could move his legs and arms, thankfully he could. There was quite a lot of light flooding through the, now broken, windows in the office and he saw that JD was starting to stir. As he finally opened his eyes Buck put on a 'no worries' face in an attempt to not upset JD.

"Buck?" JD whispered. "Is it over?"

"Yeah, Kid, it's over," Buck said trying to ignore the pain in his back.

"My head hurts."

"Yep, you were hit by a telephone, quite hard too by the looks of it," Buck said.

"Am I gonna die?" JD asked.

"No, Kid, hell no. You'll be fine." Buck smiled reassuringly.

"Are you okay, Buck?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Kid, I'm fine," Buck said.

In the elevator Josiah sat up and shook his head. Then he picked up the lighter he had in his pocket and lit it. He saw Nathan lying beside him, unconscious, Josiah checked him for a pulse and found one, slow but steady. He then checked Nathan over to see if he could see that he was hurt anywhere. The only thing he found was that his left arm was placed in an odd position, Josiah concluded that it must be broken. After that he proceeded to examine himself, he tasted blood in his mouth and concluded that he must have bit down on his tongue. He found a few cuts on his legs and it felt like a few fingers were broken, other than that he felt okay.

"Nathan? Nathan, wake up," Josiah said and after about a minute Nathan began to stir.

"Josiah?" Nathan croaked as he looked up.

"Yes, brother, how are you feeling?" Josiah said.

"Fine, I knew I shouldn't have been so eager with the elevator," Nathan joked.

"Perhaps," Josiah chuckled. "I wonder how brother Ezra is doing?"

"Yeah, he was down in the garage when it hit," Nathan said. "I think I saw Vin's car too, he's probably in the office."

"Buck and JD are also probably up in the office, I saw both their vehicles," Josiah said worried about his friends. "We have to get out of here."

"I know, but can we risk movin' around too much? I remember that the elevator fell when it hit," Nathan said.

"Yes, we hadn't got that far up when the earthquake hit so I assume we are at the bottom of the building," Josiah said and rose carefully.

"Help me up," Nathan said and Josiah pulled him up. "Damn, my arm's broken."

"Yes, I came to that conclusion too," Josiah said. "Well since the elevator is broken we have to pry the doors open."

"Yeah," Nathan said and the two began working on the doors.

In the garage Vin and Chris kept talking, just to reassure one another that they weren't alone.

"So... we know that Buck and JD are here, probably up in the office. The three of us are down here. You think Josiah and Nathan are here too?" Vin said.

"They are," a voice croaked beside Vin.

"Ezra!" Vin and Chris exclaimed.

"Yes, gentlemen. I have now experienced my first earthquake," Ezra said and coughed.

"Nice, huh?!" Vin said with a small chuckle.

"Oh yeah!" Ezra said.

"You okay, Ezra?" Chris asked.

"Why, thank you for asking, Mr. Larabee," Ezra coughed. "I would like to make you happy and tell you that I am fine but..."

"You're not," Vin finished.

"No, my head hurts and I think I have several broken ribs. And I think... yep I am coughing up blood," Ezra said an coughed some more.

"Oh God," Vin said in a worried tone.

"I'm alright otherwise though," Ezra said. "How are you two doing?"

"We're alright," Chris said. "Did you mention that Josiah and Nathan were here?"

"Yes, I saw them both enter the elevator as I parked my car," Ezra said.

"Both Josiah and Nathan are in the elevator?!" Vin said.

"Not anymore, brothers," Josiah's voice said from behind Vin and Ezra.

"Who's down here?" Nathan asked.

"Me, Ezra and Chris as far as we know," Vin said. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. How about you?" Nathan said.

"I've got a broken leg, Chris has got a dislocated shoulder and Ezra is bleeding from the head, he's got some broken ribs and one or more has punctured one of his lungs. He's coughing up blood," Vin said. "Can you guys reach us? We're all trapped under fallen beams."

"We're already here," Josiah said just beside them. "I'm gonna try to remove the beam."

"That would be kind." Ezra coughed as he felt the weight of the beam disappear.

"There we go," Josiah said. "Chris, where are you?"

"I'm over here," Chris said.

"Keep talking, so I can find you," Josiah said as he crawled on his hands and knees to reach Chris.

"I'm right over here, the beam is over my legs and my lower back," Chris said. "Can you get to me, Josiah?"

"Right here," Josiah said and lifted the beam and Chris crawled out from underneath it.

"Thanks," Chris said.

"No problem. Let's get back to the other three," Josiah said and the two men crawled back to the others. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah. Ezra's unconscious again though," Nathan said and lit the lighter again so the men could see each other.

"Put that out!" Vin suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Nathan said and dropped the lighter.

"Gasoline! It's gasoline!" Vin said as he finally recognized the smell that he hadn't been able to identify before. "Where's it coming from?"

"From the cars," Chris said.

"I know that! But the smell gets stronger every minute," Vin said and suddenly he felt something wet on his hand. "Shit!"

"What?" Chris asked.

"There's gasoline on my hands," Vin said.

"Here too," Chris said as he felt his arm get wet. "We have to get out of here."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Nathan said. "Ezra's unconscious and shouldn't be moved. We can't even stand up since the ceiling has collapsed. We sure as hell can't use the elevator. Any suggestions?"

"Nathan, it'll be okay," Josiah said.

"Do you guys feel that?" Vin said after a moment of silence.

"Feel what? The gasoline surrounding us? Yeah I feel that?" Nathan said.

"No, I feel a draft from somewhere," Vin said. "I think I can see some light on the left side of us."

"You're right, Vin," Chris said. "Can anybody try to get out?"

"Yeah, I'll go," Josiah said. "I am after all the one that has the least wounds."

"Okay, go," Chris said as Josiah started to move away from them.

Up in the ATF office JD finally managed to oriented and he rose to his feet. Buck tried to do the same but he only managed to get up on his knees. JD looked at him with a wondering look and as he reached out to help Buck he noticed the piece of glass that was stuck in his back. He went pale:

"You're hurt!"

"Yep. But I'm fine, Kid," Buck said.

"You're not fine! You're hurt, you can't even get up by yourself," JD exclaimed.

"It's not that bad," Buck said. "Can you help me up, JD?"

"You should be lying still, until an ambulance can get here!" JD said.

"Okay, Kid! Either you help me get up or I will myself," Buck said.

"Okay, I'll help you," JD said and as slowly as he possibly could pulled Buck up.

"Jeez, Kid, there'll be some heavy duty cleaning up after this one," Buck said as he surveyed the destruction of their office.

"I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about you!" JD said.

"Don't worry about ol' Buck, Kid," Buck said with a small smile.

"Alright, we have to get out of here," JD said. "The elevator is probably broken, maybe we can use the stairs."

"I wouldn't think so, but we can check," Buck said and started to move, slowly, towards the stairs.

"Damn it!" JD exclaimed as they opened the door the stairs. "It's blocked, we can't get out."

"Let's get over to the window, perhaps someone will see us and call for help," Buck said.

"Like that's going to happen! You don't think everybody else is busy tending to themselves and their loved ones?" JD said as they walked towards the windows.

"I was talking about the firemen, didn't you hear the sirens before?" Buck said.

"No," JD said as they reached the windows and they saw three fire trucks on the ground below them. "Maybe we can get help after all."

"I told you so!" Buck said and patted JD on the shoulder.

Josiah managed to crawl out and as he finally got out in the fresh air he drew a deep breath. He was immediately surrounded by three firemen who all started examining him. Josiah protested but they didn't seem to listen, finally he yelled:

"I'm fine! I have four friends that are trapped under the collapsed ceiling, and I'm sure two more of my friends are trapped up in the ATF office. I suggest you get to them first!"

"Yes, sir," one of the firemen said. "Jones, Anderson, get a stretcher!"

"One of them, Agent Standish, is hurt pretty bad, he needs to get to a hospital fast!" Josiah said.

"So this is where you got too," a new voice said from behind.

As Josiah turned he saw Nathan crawling out from the rubble. He got up and was lead to an ambulance and Josiah followed him there. As Nathan was examined he said that Chris had ordered him to try and get out.

"He told Vin too, but Vin refused to listen," Nathan said.

"He's stubborn. How was Ezra?"

"Unconscious, but alive," Nathan said and looked up at the building. "Oh my God!"

"What?" Josiah said and looked up in the direction that Nathan was looking. "Dear God."

"Buck and JD," Nathan said and called out to a fireman. "Hey you!"

"Yes, sir?" The man said as he came up to Nathan.

"Two of our fellow ATF agents are up there," Nathan said and pointed towards them. "Can you get them down?"

"Of course," the man said and ran off while yelling out orders.

A minute later the lift on one of the fire trucks were in the air, moving towards Buck and JD who were almost jumping up and down. The lift reached them and Buck climbed down first, closely followed by JD.

"Why's Buck moving so slow?" Josiah said.

"He's hurt," Nathan said as the two men moved towards JD and Buck.

"Pretty bad too, from the looks of it," Josiah said as they reached their two friends.

"Hello, boys!" Buck said. "You okay?"

"Broken arm, broken fingers, nothing big. You?" Nathan said.

"I'm okay, Buck's worse," JD said and pointed to the glass in his back.

"I'm fine," Buck said.

"You're not," Nathan said. "You need to go the hospital, now!"

"Alright, alright. How are the rest?" Buck asked as he sat down in the ambulance.

"Ezra, Chris and Vin are trapped in the garage, but they'll be out soon," Josiah said.

"Are they hurt?" Buck asked.

"Don't worry about that now," Nathan said. "We'll meet you at the hospital."

"See you later then," JD said as he too entered the ambulance and then it drove off.

"That was a smart move, not telling Buck about the others being wounded," Josiah said.

"I know, Buck would never have let if he knew Ezra was in critical condition," Nathan said and turned towards the building. "What's taking them so much time!?"

"Patience, brother Nathan," Josiah said.

"The last time you said that and earthquake hit," Nathan said and moved towards the building.

"Let the firemen do their job," Josiah said.

"No," Nathan said and got down on his knees to try and see anything, if they were coming out.

"Move over!" A familiar voice was suddenly heard.

"Chris!" Nathan exclaimed as their leader came crawling out of the hole in the building.

"Hey, Nathan. Can you help me with the stretcher?" Chris said.

"I'll get that," Josiah said and started to pull out that stretcher that Chris was pulling behind him.

On the stretcher Ezra lay, still unconscious. His face was covered with a thin sheet of sweat and gray dust. He had a trail of blood coming from his mouth and running down his neck. His hair was also covered in blood and he had lots of cuts and bruises on his arms and legs.

As Josiah pulled out the stretcher a fireman came crawling out. Josiah and the fireman carried the stretcher to another ambulance and pushed it in. Chris stood by the building and Josiah came up to him and asked him to go to the hospital.

"No, not until I know the rest are fine," Chris said.

"Buck and JD are already at the hospital," Josiah said.

"Vin's not out yet. They have to get another stretcher to get him out," Chris said.

"No they don't," Vin said as he came crawling out from the building.

"You're insane, Vin. You have a broken leg!" Chris exclaimed as helped Vin up.

"I'm fine, I'm not in any pain. I just can't use my leg," Vin said.

"Can I help you to the ambulance," Josiah said and easily lifted Vin up and carried him over to the waiting ambulance. "Chris you get in too!"

"What about you two?" Chris said.

"We'll wait. Get in, you have to be there for Ezra," Josiah said. "We'll see you at the hospital."

"Okay," Chris said and got in the ambulance and it drove off.

"You feel like you need to go to the hospital?" Josiah asked Nathan. "You look a bit tired."

"I'm alright, Josiah. I want to stay and see if I can help some people."

One and a half hours later Josiah and Nathan walked into the hospital and admitted themselves. They were both put in an exam room and were told to wait. About 10 minutes later there was a light knock on the door and JD entered.

"JD, you okay?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. My head still hurts, but I'm fine." JD smiled and touched his well bandaged head.

"How about the others?" Josiah asked.

"Buck and Ezra are in surgery. Chris and Vin are being X - rayed as we speak," JD said.

"You sure you're okay, JD? You look a bit pale," Nathan said and walked JD over to a chair.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just worried," he said with a small smile.

An hour later a nurse had been in to check on the three friends and she had asked if they needed anything. They all had said no but they had asked to get an update on their four friends. The nurse hadn't returned yet and JD looked at the watch on the wall and said:

"What's taking her so much time? She should be back by now."

"Relax, brother Dunne," Josiah said. "She'll be here soon."

Not long after that there was a knock on the door and the nurse came in. She smiled slightly and said:

"About your friends..."

"Yes?" JD said.

"We're okay," two voices said and everyone looked behind the nurse. Behind her stood Chris and Vin.

"Nice to see you," Nathan said as Chris entered the room followed by Vin who was wearing a cast that covered most of his leg. He was hopping along on crutches. The two made it over to the chairs and sat down.

"Are you two okay?" Josiah asked.

"Yep. The doctor fixed my shoulder, put a bandage on my head, as you can see," Chris said.

"Vin?"

"Just fine. I'll be wearing this cast for about 6 weeks otherwise I'm fine." Vin smiled.

"How about Buck and Ezra?" JD asked.

"I talked to the doctor," Chris said. "They were able to remove the glass from Buck and he's pretty unharmed other than that."

"Brother Ezra then?" Josiah asked.

"He's lost a lot of blood but they were able to fix his lung," Vin said.

"Will he be okay?" JD asked.

"Yes, hopefully, the doctors said that he just had to be hospitalized for a few days but he'll be fine," Vin said with a small smile.

"Thank God," JD said and sighed heavily.

"Has anybody heard anything about the earthquake. How big was it? Any casualties?" Chris asked.

"I heard the radio before. They say it was a 6.4 and so far they have found 8 people dead," Nathan said. "They have found a lot more wounded but none of them have been critical."

"Okay," Chris said.

"Most of the people who had died were nearby our offices. Apparently it had its epicenter right there. The outskirts of the city were pretty okay."

"At least that's good to hear," Vin said. "I'm glad we're okay."

"Me too," JD said. "Do you think I can see Buck?"

"We'll go ask the nurse," Chris said and the two went to the nurses station.

"Mr. Larabee, Mr. Dunne," the nurse who had talked to them before.

"Is there any possibility that we can see Mr. Wilmington and Mr. Standish?" Chris asked.

"Yes, you can see Mr. Wilmington now but you have to wait 30 minutes before you can see Mr. Standish," she said with a kind smile.

"Thank you," Chris said.

"I'll take you to Mr. Wilmington," she said and led the way to a room labeled 101.

"Thank you, again," Chris said and she left.

"Listen," JD said suddenly and they both fell silent and listened.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do! I want to see JD and the rest now!"

"Sounds like Buck's fine," JD giggled as the two entered the room.

"Calm down, Buckley!" Chris said.

"JD, Chris!" Buck exclaimed as he saw his two friends. "Are you boys okay?"

"We're fine, Buck," JD said and walked up to Buck. "Are you okay?"

"Hell yeah!" Buck said and hugged JD. "I'm glad to see you two. How are the rest?"

"Vin's got a broken leg, Nathan's got a broken arm, Josiah's got some broken fingers," Chris said.

"How about Ez?" Buck said when Chris faded out.

"He's okay now, but he's lost a lot of blood, he's got a few broken ribs, a head wound and he had a punctured lung."

"Is he okay?!"

"I told you, he's okay. He'll be fine," Chris said and put a reassuring hand on Buck's shoulder.

Two hours later Chris and JD sat in Ezra's room watching him. Soon thereafter Josiah, Nathan and Vin entered the room. Nathan had a cast around his left arm, from the elbow down, Josiah had three of his fingers on his right hand in a cast and Vin still hoppled along on the crutches.

The five men all sat or stood around Ezra's bed, watching him closely.

"How's he doing?" A new voice said and they all turned.

"Hey, Buck!" JD said as Buck, sitting in a wheelchair, came in.

"Can I please get out of this now?" Buck said to the nurse that was driving him.

"No, Mr. Wilmington...," she said.

"Not Mr. Wilmington, Buck," he said and winked at her.

"Okay. Buck. No, you can't get out of the wheelchair," she said with a small smile.

"Aw, dang it, Jen! Please?" Buck gave her his best puppy dog look.

"No, Buck, I said no!" She said and left them.

"She's so bossy," Buck said and just when he was starting to rise from the chair the door was opened and Nurse Jen came through the door again.

"I said no!" She said and Buck quickly sat down again.

"We'll keep an eye on him," Chris said to the smiling nurse.

"Thank you," she said and left again.

"I don't want to sit here," Buck whined and attempted to rise again.

"If you get up again, I swear I'll shoot you!" Chris growled, that made Buck sit down quickly.

"Is Mr. Wilmington being difficult?" A voice croaked and they all spun around towards Ezra's bed.

"Ezra!" They all exclaimed.

"Hello, gentlemen. My, aren't you all looking splendid. With matching casts and everything." Ezra smiled.

"You okay, Ez?" Chris asked.

"Yes, I believe I am," Ezra said. "A bit tired but otherwise I'm feeling okay."

"That's good to hear," Vin said.

"So... That was an earthquake," JD said after a while.

"Yep," Buck said. "Don't you just love them?!"

"Oh yeah. They rock my world," JD joked and they all started laughing.

"We're fine," Josiah said to himself and looked at his laughing friends.

The End