The Night that Changed New Landia
Written by the
Polliwog Pages Rockland Library Students
(Oliver, Dominic, Gabriel, Gloria, Elizabeth, Sena,
Genevieve, Sadie, Jacinta, Evelyn, Eliot)
(Parts between # are exact quotes of students' writing.)
Part Five
"Rumbles"
In Colson City, Joan Roberts,
was making her rounds in the pediatric ward of the Mercy Hospital. She had only
been a nurse for two years before coming in contact with a rare disease which took
her sight. Instead of falling into despair, she found that her condition gave
the ability to be more sympathetic with the younger patients. Although she
couldn’t administer medications anymore, she was able to calm and comfort the
children, which helped just as much in their healing.
On this day, she stopped in
to visit her favorite patient –
~ # ~
The sound of muffled sobbing drew Joan’s attention.
Was it Jimmy? Yes, it was. Joan walked slowly towards the sound and quietly sat
down on the little boy’s bed. Poor little Jimmy was blind. He had been blind
for a week now, because of the same dreadful disease.
Because Joan was also blind, she thought she
understood him better than other people. Her mind strayed back to almost a year
ago, when she herself had caught the dreadful disease. Her widowed mother had
tried desperately to pay the doctors, but they were too poor, and so Joan was
blind. She was happy, though, that she still had work at the hospital, helping
little children.
~ # ~
Joan sat near Jimmy’s bed and
softly sang to him. His sobs quieted, and she hoped he could get some sleep.
The dim night-lights in the hallway blinked a few times, but Joan didn’t know. All
was dark to her, whether day or night. Then a jolt vibrated through the steel
and concrete building. Joan senses intensified as she tried find a reason.
Beeps and loud voices alerted
her that there was some type of emergency. She stepped into the hallway. People
rushed back and forth by her. “What’s going on?” she asked.
Another nurse paused to say,
“It’s an earthquake! All the power is gone, but patients are flooding into the
emergency room.”
Joan felt her way down to the
ER. She stopped at the nurse’s station.
“What can I do to help?”
There’s a girl in room #3 with
a concussion, Shirley Colson. She was at the detention center, when the roof
collapsed. We need someone to keep her awake until she can get some x-rays.
Joan counted the doors as
people bustled past her. She knocked and entered the room. “Hello?”
A girl moaned.
“My name is Joan. I’m going
to sit with you while we wait for a doctor.”
For an hour Joan and Shirley
chatted about their families and struggles of growing up. Joan found out that
Shirley had been adopted by the granddaughter of Charles Colson, the founder
and first governor of New Landia. She ran away as a young teen and had been
living on the streets when she was caught shop-lifting.
“I was only trying to
survive, but that’s not how the judge saw it,” she complained.
“Do you have any family?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a brother. .
.
~ # ~
When I finally decided that running away from the
Midstate Detention Center for Girls would be safe, I had to pack for the long
trip I would be going on. That is how I happened to find the precious picture of
my brother and his diary. Here is what it said:
April 28, 1933
Dear Diary,
My name is Maxwell. I am age twelve.
Someday when I am of age seventeen, I will go out into the world and explore!
Then it stopped. The books was filled
with other entries, but I didn’t have time now. I packed along the diary,
picture, and a few necessities: such as food, a blanket, a toothbrush and
toothpaste, and a hair brush.
Then I quietly close my door and tip-toed
through the dark, musty hallways. Soon I was outside. I took one last look at
the detention center and ran on. Now I was alone.
~ # ~
“When
I was hiding in an empty building, looking for a place to sleep, I read a few
more entries. I know Maxwell went in the army. I don’t know if he’s back from
the war, besides he wouldn’t know how to find me, either.” She sighed. “It was
then that the earth started shaking. A piece of a building fell on my head, and
the next thing I knew, I was here.” She touched her forehead. “I didn’t get too
far, did I?”
All the while, Joan could the
vibrations in the floor increasing in strength and number. A man opened the
door. “We’re evacuating! We need all staff to help escorting patients that can
walk down to the front entrance where they will be taken by bus to the safety
shelter.”
Joan thought of Jimmy. He
would need her more than ever. “I’ll be right back, Shirley. I need to help
someone else right now.”
She couldn’t do much, but she
was determined to get both Jimmy and Shirley to safety.
Joan knew her way around the
hospital. She knew how to get back and forth from her home to work, but this
was different. This was scary. The air was filled with loud noises and smoke.
Debris blocked her footsteps. Her heart pounded. “How can I help others, if I
can’t do it myself?”
Just then a young man touched
her shoulder. “Miss, may I help you?”
“Yes! I’m blind, and so is
this boy. Can you help us get to the shelter?”
“My name is Jacob Brewin.
I’ll carry the boy, while you girls hang on to my arms. You’ll be safe with
me.”
Joan circled her palm around
his upper arm – or at least, tried to. His muscles bulged as he effortlessly
picked up Jimmy. “You’re strong! Do you lift weights?”
Jacob laughed. “Actually, I’m
a gymnast, but probably not anymore. My coach just lost his temper today, and
then quit. I enjoy the sport, but I think I’d rather be a counsellor at a
summer camp or be a mountain guide . . . or something that helps others.”
Joan understood. There was
lots of satisfaction in helping others. Soon they were at the shelter, and
Jacob found a comfortable spot for her and Jimmy and Shirley.
~ # ~
Down the street from the
hospital, Maxwell shivered in his bed. The rumblings had triggered vivid
memories and nightmares of his time at war . . .
Suddenly, there was a
loud ka-boom! Maxwell froze to the spot
in terror. He tried to yell but no sound
came. Just then, his dog Jip leaped on
top of him and Maxwell’s trance seemed to shatter. He knew what he had to do.
He got Jip’s leash and
ran for the stairs. When he got to the
street he ran to the shelter. He asked
someone what happened and they told him the volcano had erupted. The air smelled dank like rotten eggs and
dark smoke filled the streets. The shelter was cramped and filled with the
noise of many voices.
~ # ~
The shelter was full, and more people were coming. There
wasn’t any more room. Someone yelled, “We’ll all die of suffocation, if you let
anyone else in!” If the volcano was erupting, there was no guarantee that any
one of them would be safe. If the lava flowed their direction, they’d be
trapped together and sealed forever underground. Some men, acting as leaders,
tried to calm the crowd, but they couldn’t think of an alternative solution for
that many people – some of which were infants, elderly, and injured.
(to be continued)
If you are between the ages of 4-12,
(or know someone who likes to write stories)
I would like to post your story here.
Send me an email. I'd love to read your story!
Signed,
Wiggles the Polliwog
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