All Shook Up

[Ludub]

Title: All Shook Up

Type of Fic: Short/Medium Fiction (3 parter)

Main Characters: Brody & Phoebe

Genre: Drama

BTTB Rating:  A

Does it contain spoilers: No

Warnings: No

Summary: Brody and Phoebe find themselves ‘thrown together’ in a bad situation.

 

All Shook Up

 

"Hey?!" said a panicked and pained sounding voice, "Are you… are you okay?!"

"Huh?" she mumbled, only becoming vaguely aware of the man's voice that had been pleading with her for some time now. She was barely conscious but she knew that someone had been calling her name over and over. Her eyelids began to flicker as she started to come to.

"Wake up!" wheezed the man’s voice, "Oh god! Come on! Wake up!"  He sounded like he was about to burst into tears. “Don’t do this to me!” he pleaded, “I need you to wake up! Talk to me!” The voice was right beside her ear.

She jumped with shock when she finally came round, and let out an anguished scream as she registered the level of discomfort that she was in. A sudden stabbing pain had shot up her spinal column and told her to stay still. It was almost like an electric shock! "Uhrmmmm!" she cried again, as she clenched her teeth. She'd never experienced pain like this before and some small part of her thought that she must be dying.

"Hey?!" said the voice, in a quiet sort of whisper, "Where are you hurt?!"

She opened her eyes but she couldn't see a thing. It was pitch black. "My... my back..." she stammered, "It hurts so much!" Her whole body was shaking now but there was something very heavy weighing her down. She couldn't move a muscle, and she could hardly breathe! "W...what... ha... happened?!" she asked, “What’s going on?!” She could feel something ragged and hard digging into her lower back, and she was wet, and incredibly cold. She couldn’t stop shaking.

"Earthquake" coughed the voice, "I think.... it was... an... an... earthquake!" He sounded like he could barely draw breath.

"What?!" she gasped, "W-where... where... are.... we?!"

"S-salt" he coughed again, "I think the fl...floor collapsed."

"Who are you?" she asked. He was speaking so quietly, and in such a pained and whispered tone, that she couldn't tell whether she knew him or not. Whoever he was, she’d come to realise that it was his body weighing down on top of her. His ribs were digging into her own and his head was so close to hers that she could feel his breath in her ear when he talked. They couldn’t have been more intimate if they’d tried!

“Brody” he replied, in a way that said she should already know that.

“Brody?!” she gasped, with a tone of relief, “It’s Phoebe!”

“I know” he said, “We were do-doing the r-rosters… when this happened.”

“I don’t remember” she said, “I… I don’t re-remember any-anything…”

“I think… I think you hit your head” he said, “You were out cold… f-for a long time… I was be-beginning to worry that you’d never wake up.”

“It is dark in here, isn’t it?” she asked, “I mean… I’m not bl-blind, am I?”

“No, it’s dark” he answered, with a pained little laugh, “Don’t worry.”

“Where’s the water coming from?” she asked. Water was gushing in and pooling around her where she lay. It was making her shiver.

“I guess it’s the water mains” he answered. The kitchen must have been destroyed. Cold mains water was pouring in through the rubble and it was absolutely freezing. So cold that he worried they might get hypothermia. Another terrible thought crossed his mind as he lay there though. What if the gas was leaking? What if it caused an explosion?! He couldn’t smell anything from where they were but that didn’t mean anything. Gas explosions happened all the time because of earthquakes. That was all they needed! He went to say something but thought better of it. He could feel her body shaking below him, and he could tell that she was crying, so he knew how scared she already was. Maybe it was better to keep his fears to himself?

"We need help" she moaned, “We need to get out of here!” She couldn’t see, but she lifted her one free hand and felt around her. She could feel a slab of concrete directly above her head, and there was rubble all around them. They were entombed in a sort of pocket within the ruins. There really wasn’t much space. There were hunks of concrete below them, and sharp pieces of metal everywhere. It was then that she felt the heavy weight on her chest begin to shift a little. “You’re crushing me!” she wheezed out, “Can you try to get off me?”

"I think… I think my legs are broken" he coughed, "And there’s something on my back… I can't move"

She reached up to try to feel what he was talking about and gave a little gasp when she realised that he was pinned down by a massive slab of concrete. There was no way that he was going to be able to shift that!

“I can’t breathe” he panted, “It’s so heavy!”

“You’re telling me!” she wheezed back at him, “I ha… have you both on top of me!”

He gave a little moan of pain and tried again to move a little. “Maybe if I could just…” he groaned, as he tried to push his body up and away from her.

“No! stop!” she cried out. Every little movement that he made was reverberating through her body and sending shockwaves up through her spine. It felt like the physical equivalent of a flash of lightening.

“Sorry” he coughed, “I just thought…”

“I think… I think I’ve br-broken my back” she stammered, “I can’t… I can’t feel my legs…” Her body was shuddering as she began to really sob.

“It’ll be okay” he whispered, “It’s probably just cos… cos you’re so squashed.” He didn’t sound too convincing.

“Where’s Justin?!” she asked, “Is he here too?!”

“No… We hadn’t opened yet” he answered, “It was… just us… and the new guy… but he was in the kitchen.”

“Do you think…” she asked, “Do you think any-anyone’s looking f-for us?”

“I haven’t h-heard anyone” he sighed, “It’s… been hours…”

“Do you h-have your phone?” she asked, hoping that he might have it in his pocket. Maybe they could phone someone or send a text message.

“It was… It was in the kit-kitchen” he coughed, “You don’t have yours?”

“My bag” she said, as she started to cry again, “Oh, my God, Brody! How… How are we gonna get out of here?! …We can’t just lie here… We can’t…”

“Shhh… shhh…” he said, in a comforting sort of tone, “They’re coming, Pheebs… They’ll find us… We just have to… to hang on…”

“I can’t do this!” she sobbed, “It hurts, Brodes… It hurts so much…”

“I know” he sighed, “I know, Pheebs…” He wished that he could hug her. He was scared and in pain, and as much in need of comfort as she was. He was lying on top of her, with his arms on either side of her, but that wasn’t the same thing. He’d had pins and needles in his arms for at least a few hours and his hands were completely numb. This wasn’t a hug!

“They will come though…?” she said, “I mean… they’ll… they’ll get us out… w-won’t they?!”

“Yeah” he replied, “Course they will.” He was glad that she couldn’t see him, because he didn’t want her to see him cry. He was doing his best to hide it but he was incredibly scared! What if they didn’t find them in time? What if they just lay here till they died?! They’d been trapped here for hours now and there’d been no sign of anyone. He hadn’t heard any shouts from search parties. No dogs barking. No tapping to see if there was anyone alive in here. Nothing! This had been a very strong earthquake, and the fact that the surf club had collapsed didn’t bode well for the rest of Summer Bay. He knew that it might be a very long time before rescue operations made it to them. He just hoped that it wouldn’t be too late…

[Ludub]

Thanks guys! Hope you like this one... 

 

Chapter 2

 

“Brody?” said Phoebe, “Are you awake?”

There was no answer. Just his slow and laboured draw of breath, in and out, against her chest. They’d both fallen asleep, exhausted after hours of waiting, but a noise had woken her. She was sure that she’d heard a noise from above them.

“Brody?!” she asked again, turning her head and blowing on his face to try to get his attention. He didn’t react, so she began to panic that he might not wake up again. Maybe he’d lost consciousness?! Maybe he’d just drifted off and left her here to deal with this on her own?! She didn’t think that she could cope with that. “Brody?!” she pleaded as loudly as she could manage. She began jostling her head against his, “Brody?! Answer me!”

“Mhhhhhrrrrmmmm… What?!” he cried out, as he finally opened his eyes, “What’s happening?!” He’d been startled, so he’d given an involuntary little jump, and sent shockwaves of pain reverberating up through his body. “Oh god!” he whined, as he realised where they were and that they were still stuck here!

“Brodes! I think I heard something!” she said, “I think there’s someone up there!”

“Where?!” he gasped, as he lifted his head to try to listen. “Mrrrrhhhmmm!” he groaned and put his head back down again. He’d forgotten how much it hurt to move even the tiniest bit.

“Don’t move” she whispered to him, “Just…just stay still.”

“You don’t think I know that?!” he snapped at her, “I’ve been lying here… f-for hours!” He panted heavily for a moment as he lay there on top of her and waited for the pain to subside. It was pretty overwhelming and he couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

“I’m serious, Brody” she said, “I… I think… I think there’s some-someone up there.”

“What…what’d you hear?!” he moaned, “Voi-voices?! Did you hear people?!”

“No” she sighed, “but I h-heard a crash… Maybe… Maybe they dis-disturbed something?”

“It’s probably… just an aftershock” he groaned, “Things move…”

“I don’t think it was an aftershock” she said, “I think it was people moving…”

He gave a little sigh. “I can’t hear anything, Pheebs…”

“Can you shout?” she wheezed, “Can… can you raise your voice?” She knew that she wouldn’t be able to, not with the way that her chest was compressed. Just taking a breath was hard enough!

“I don’t think so” he coughed, “I… I’m finding it hard… hard enough to… to talk.”

“Try?” she pleaded, “We have to… to try!”

“Okay” he sighed, “I’ll try.” He took as deep a breath as he could manage and then tried to shout, but it came out like more of a throaty whisper. “Hellllllpppppppp!” he wheezed, “Hellllpppppp!”

They both lay and listened but there was nothing. Just the sound of the water trickling in around them. They waited and they waited. It was eerily quiet.

“There’s no-one there” he sighed, “No-one’s coming… We’re just gonna die in here.” He felt bad as soon as he’d said it, because he could actually physically feel her panic taking hold. She’d started breathing much faster, but in a very shallow way. “Sorry” he said, “I didn’t mean that.”

“Don’t say st-stuff like that!” she said, as she began to cry again, “I need you to st-stay positive… I can’t do this with-without you.”

He could feel her whole body shaking below him as she began to really sob. “Don’t cry” he said, nudging her head with his own. It hurt to move even that much, but he needed to feel like he was close to her… and not just because they were crushed together.

“I’m so… I’m so tired” she said, shuddering as she cried.

“I know” he sighed, “Me too.”

They lay there in silence for a moment or two with the sides of their heads pressed together.

“Do you think… Do you think any-anyone else survived?” she asked, finding it hard to get the words out between sobs, “I mean… do you think… do you think everyone’s dead?”

“No” he said, “Pheebs, come on… They’re not dead!” He wasn’t sure that he believed that or not but he didn’t want her losing hope. They had to believe that there were people out there who were looking for them. They had to believe that they were going to get out!

“Do you… do you think Jus-Justin is alive?” she asked, “And the others? I mean… If the Surfclub coll-collapsed then it had to be a big… a big one… so maybe ev-everyone’s stuck just like we are?”

“Yeah… maybe” he coughed.

“Or maybe everyone’s already dead?!” she said, as she started to cry again.

“They’re not dead!” he answered, “They’re not!”

“You don’t know that!” she whined, “Maybe everyone’s dead… and we’re just gonna be stuck here till we die!”

“Hey?!” he reasoned, “We survived, and a whole building fell on us! If we’re still alive, then… there have to be other survivors!”

“Yeah” she said, “but there’ll be some people dead too… Maybe they weren’t as lucky as us…”

“Maybe” he said, “But I think I’d know if one of my family had died… I’d feel it.”

“You’re not psy-psychic” she said, “You can’t know… know that!”

“I think I’d know” he answered, “I just think I w-would.”

“I hope they’re okay” she whimpered, “I can’t lose Justin.”

“You won’t” he sighed.

“I don’t want anyone to be dead” she said quietly, “I love the people in this t-town…”

“Me t-too” he said, “It’s the first pl-place that’s really seemed like ho-home… Y’know, since Wit-witness Protection? People have been… so kind.”

“There’s no-nowhere else like this” she said, “I mean… it tamed me… It made me want to belong… to settle…” She gave a heavy sigh. “I wanted for so long to be a pop star…” she said, “To be someone…”

“You… You are someone!” he scolded.

“You know what… what I mean…” she said, “To c-count… To leave a m-mark on the world… For people to know my name and… re-remember me…”

“You don’t think people will remember you?” he asked.

“You know what I… mean” she sighed, “I wanted to be f-famous… For people all around the w-world to know my name… To be somebody…”

“So?” he asked, “Why don’t you?”

She gave a little snort. “I’m not good enough”

“I think you are” he said, “I think you’re amazing!”

“Thanks” she said, “But you’re my f-friend… You have to say… say that.”

“No, I don’t” he said with an embarrassed little laugh, “You don’t think I’d tell you… if I thought you sucked? I’m a t-tough critic!”

“Good to know” she laughed, “But you’re still a pan-panel of one… I reckon I’ll keep the singing for my friends and family…” She gave a little sob. “If I ever get to have one…”

“You will, Pheebs…” he assured her, “You will!”

“Do you… think Justin wants kids?” she asked, “I mean… after what h-happened… with Ava?”

There was a very long pause.

“Brody?” she asked.

“Yeah” he said finally, “I’m… I’m sure he does…”

“What was that?” she asked.

“What?” he answered.

“That pause?!” she said, “You think… You think he might not?!”

“No… No…” he stammered, “I’m… I’m sure he does!”

“Then why the pause?!” she asked, sounding worried, “You kn-know something don’t you?!”

“I guess I just thought…” he started to say, but he paused again.

“What?!” she whined.

“I just…” he said again, “I guess I…”

“Brody?!” she scolded.

“It… It doesn’t matter” he said, “Forget I said anything…”

She lay there for what felt like an eternity as she thought about that pregnant pause of his. Was Justin really against having kids?! How had she not seen that?! What did Brody know that she didn’t?!

For his part, he lay there on top of her and thought how unbelievably awkward this whole thing was. Here he was, crushed on top of her, as close as they could possibly be without having sex. Their bodies were separated only by the fabric of their clothes and they were chest to chest as though they were dancing. He’d never been so close to her before, and despite this missionary position that fate had forced them into, she was still completely beyond his reach. She’d never felt so far away…

“Brody?” she pleaded, “You have to tell me… Whatever it is, I can take it…”

“It’s nothing” he tried to tell her, “Just forget I said anything… Jus-Justin will want to have a… a million kids with you… He’d be crazy not to!”

“Now you’re just t-telling me what I want… want to hear!” she complained.

“I’m not” he said, “I swear to you, Pheebs… Justin will want kids with you… I know… know he will…”

“Then what were you going… going to say?” she asked again.

“Nothing!” he snapped back at her.

“Brody?!” she growled, as she smacked her head off the side of his.

“You’re really not gonna let this go?” he wheezed “Are… are you?!”

“No” she said, “And it’s not like you can get away from me.”

He lay there for a moment and thought about his predicament. Maybe they were both going to die in here? Maybe everyone else was already dead. Was he really going to go to his grave without saying the one thing that he wanted to say to her?! Was he going to let some misguided sense of loyalty to his brother, a sort of ‘who got there first’ bro-code, dictate the way that he lived out the rest of his life? And what if this was it?! This miserable, cold, and pain-filled few hours? What if this was all they had? Surely, he owed it to himself to be honest with her? Surely, he owed it to her as well?

“Brody?! Seriously?!” she huffed, “Don’t make me hurt you!”

“Okay” he sighed, “I guess… I guess I was hoping that maybe you’d choose me.” He heard and felt her sharp intake of breath as he finally said the words. Was that a good thing or a bad thing, he wondered?! “I guess I was hoping” he continued, “That maybe you’d want to make a million kids with me… and not Justin?”

[Ludub]

Okay, so here's chapter 3... Hope you like it.

 

Chapter 3

 

“Pheebs?” said Brody, after what felt like a lifetime of silence, “Aren’t… aren’t you gonna s-say something?” Being in the dark like this was hard. He wished that he could see her face, so he could have some idea of her reaction. “Can you say something… please?!”

He heard her give a little snort and felt her head move a little from side to side as though she was shaking it.

“Phoebe?” he asked again, “Please? You h-have to say some-something!”

Silence again.

“Come on, Pheebs?” he begged, “I just told you how I f…”

“What do you want me to say?” she asked rather coldly.

“Well… what…what do you think?” he asked, sounding nervous, “I mean… how…how do you feel about it?”

“Feel about what?” she said.

“What I just said… about you and me?”

“What do I feel about it?” she repeated.

“Yeah” he replied, in an exasperated tone. Surely, she had to understand how difficult this was for him? Betraying Justin like this? Making the leap for both of them and saying what needed to be said? Why would she leave him hanging like this? “I m-mean…” he stammered, “I need… I need to kn-know what you’re thinking.”

She gave a sort of snort before answering. “What I’m thinking is… ‘How selfish can you possibly be?!’”

“What…?!” he began to stammer, “S-selfish?!” It was clear that she was angry, and he hadn’t expected that reaction.

“I mean… we’re ly-lying here…” she wheezed, “And we don’t know if we’re gonna live or die… We don’t know if… if Justin is alive or dead… You h-have me pinned to the floor…It’s not like I can go away and have a think!”

“Pheebs… I…” he began to say, but she cut him off.

“No really, Brodes?!” she snapped back at him, “You thought, ‘We’ve got some… some time to kill… Oh, I know! I’ll m-mess with Phoebe’s head… and tell her that I’ve got a crush on her’?! Because that won’t be awk-awkward at all! …I mean, it’s not like we’re stuck together… It’s not like… It’s not like we’re gonna have to lie like this together for God knows how long?!... Maybe forever!”

“Pheebs…” he pleaded, “I just… I didn’t want to die and not have told you…”

“Oh well, thanks for that Brodes” she snorted, “I’m glad you’ve put your mind at ease! Never… never mind the fact that… that you’ve just made my l-life so much… so much more difficult! …I mean… What did you think I was going to say?!”

“I don’t know” he said, “I thought maybe you felt the same way.”

“So, what?” she demanded angrily, “I was gonna… I was gonna say that I don’t love Justin?! …That I’ve just been using him… to get… to get closer to you?!”

“No… but I know you have feelings for me” he said, in a desperate sounding voice, “I know you do! Maybe you love me too?”

“Really?!” she asked, with an indignant tone, “Because I… I don’t know where you got that idea from! …I mean, exactly when… when did I give you that im-impression?!”

“When… when you hug me” he stammered, “When… when you told me you loved me?”

“Like a friend” she said emphasising every word, “I told you I loved you like a friend…”

“It didn’t feel like that” he said, feeling pathetic. Maybe he had been reading too much into everything? Maybe she genuinely didn’t feel for him the way that he did about her? It was like the ground had opened up below him. He felt sick.

“Well… that’s h-how it was!” she said.

“But… but I’ve seen the way you look at me…” he said.

“The way I look at you?!” she asked with a surprised tone, “And how exactly… do I… look at you?!”

He was embarrassed now. How could he describe the long lingering looks that he was sure he’d seen her give him? How she’d seemed to be undressing him with her eyes? Surely, it couldn’t all have been in his imagination?!  Surely, some of it had to be real?! Was he really that pathetic that he’d simply seen what he wanted to see?!

“No, seriously, Brodes?” she asked, with a cruel little laugh, “Tell me! How did I look at you?!”

“I thought you liked me” he said, “I thought… I thought Justin just got there first.”

“What?! Like calling shotgun in a car?!” she snapped, “It doesn’t work like that, Brody… Justin and I… We’ve been through a lot together… We’ve built a relationship.”

“But maybe if you’d met me first?” he started to say.

“I thought you were gay” she said simply, “You made me breakfast that first morning I met you… and I th-thought ‘Justin has a nice… a nice gay brother’”

“You thought I was gay?!” he gasped.

“Yeah… cute, really friendly… making breakfast for his brother’s one night stands…” she said, “I guess you… you didn’t seem like you were a player.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m gay!” he complained.

“I know that” she said, “I guess my ‘gay-dar’ was a little off”

“It was!” he said, with an indignant tone.

“I guess… I’ve never stopped seeing you that way” she continued, “And I do love you… but you’re more like a brother… or one of my girlfriends…”

“Great” he groaned, “So… you’re saying? …You’re saying that you don’t have any feelings for me at all?”

“Yes, Brody” she said, with a tired sigh, “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Okay” he said quietly.

“Okay” she repeated.

“Then… I’m sorry I said anything” he said, fighting back the tears. He didn’t want to add crying to the mix and make himself seem even more pathetic than he already felt. “Can we just forget about it?” he asked.

“Forget that you’re in love with me?” she asked, “…and that you tri-tried to steal me off Justin?!”

“Please don’t tell him!” he pleaded.

There was a long silence.

“Please, Pheebs?!” he begged again, “He doesn’t need to know!”

“I’ll think about it” she said.

“Sorry” he said after a while.

“Just shut up” she sighed, “Stop talking… just for a while?”

With that, they fell into silence. If he could have crawled away and hid in a dark corner, he would have. He could feel her breathing below him, shallow and fast, and in an angry sort of way. He would have given anything to be able to get off her now. To not be crushed against her in this way. It felt indecent after what he’d said. As though he was sexually assaulting her in some way? Like one of those creeps on a train or a bus who presses himself up against some young girl and blames it on the crush of the crowd. ‘Oh God, this is awful!’ he said to himself, ‘Please let someone find us soon!’

 

2 hours later…

“Brody?!” wheezed Phoebe, “How… how long has it been now?” She’d fallen asleep for a while but it was getting really cold now. “Brodes?!” she said again. Somehow the weight on her chest seemed even heavier than before. It was hard to get the words out.

There was no answer. Just his pained breaths in and out. He was obviously asleep.

“Brody?!” she said again, giving him a little nudge, “Wake up… I need someone to talk to…” In truth, she wanted to say that she was sorry for how she’d reacted earlier, and to smooth things over with him. She wasn’t in love with him, but at the end of the day, she did care about him. She also wanted to say that she wouldn’t tell Justin. That he could rest easy on that front. They could chalk it up to him being scared, and in pain, and simply needing some comfort. A moment of weakness! There was no need to start World War 3!

“Brody?!” she said a little louder this time, but he still didn’t respond. He just made a soft moaning sound like he was in a lot of pain. She decided not to wake him. Suddenly everything started to shake again. “Oh god!” she squealed, as a few chunks of debris fell in on top of her. It didn’t last long. It was just an aftershock… but a memory flashed through her mind…

“Brody, I don’t think Mason can do Mondays” she said, as she pored over the roster that he’d put together, “You remember? He said he has lates on Mondays?”

“Oh” he said, as he walked over with two coffees, “I forgot about that… Maybe swap him with Sarah then?”

She took the coffee from him with a little smile and took a sip. “You put vanilla syrup in there?” she asked him.

“Yeah… I remembered you liked it” he said, shrugging it off as a nothing gesture.

“Justin can’t even remember if I like sugar or not” she sighed, “You’ll make someone a really good boyfriend some day.”

“He gave a little snort. “I guess…”

Suddenly everything began to shake. The bottles and glasses fell off the shelves and smashed, and all the tables began to walk across the floor.

“What’s happening?!” she gasped, as she jumped to her feet.

“It’s an earthquake!” he answered, looking a little shocked and dazed.

Just then a huge chunk of ceiling crashed to the floor.

“We have to get under a doorframe!” he said, as he put his arm around her back and began trying to shepherd her towards the doorway. The floor was shaking so badly it was like walking on the deck of a listing ship. They could hardly keep their feet. The ceiling was falling down in chunks around them!

They made it to the doorway, and stood trembling under the arch, using their arms to shield themselves from falling debris. He looked up and saw a massive crack starting to form in the ceiling, and then the stairs began to collapse out in the stairwell.

“There’s no way out!” he yelled.

Suddenly there was a loud crack and they looked up to see that the doorframe had begun to break apart.  There was a big chunk of it that was about to fall in. The shaking was getting worse! She looked up at him with fear in her eyes. “We’re gonna die, aren’t we?!”

“No!” he said, “We’re gonna be okay!” He began to look to see whether they could make it to the kitchen. Maybe they could get out the back stairs? He put his arm around her waist and led her towards the kitchen, picking their way as best they could past gaping holes in the floor.

“Oh God!” she gasped, as a section of floor in the middle of the room gave way. They looked up. The ceiling above them was just about to go.

Without hesitation, he flung his arms around her, and turned to take the impact on his own back. He was just in time. A huge slab of concrete fell and with that, they crashed through the floor.

Her heart thudded in her chest. She hadn’t remembered before, but it had all come flooding back in an instant. She could see it, playing out in front of her eyes, as though she was watching a scene in a movie! He’d saved her life!

“Brodes?!” she said, nudging his head again with her own. He still didn’t respond. “Okay, sleepyhead” she sighed, thinking that it might be better to let him sleep, “We’ll talk later…”

 

 

8 hours later…

“Brody?!” gasped Phoebe, as she woke up to sounds of rescue, “There’s someone here! They’re coming! I can hear them!” There were voices above them and the obvious sound of rubble being moved. Little pieces of concrete and dust kept falling on her face and making her blink. “Brody?!” she called again.

He didn’t move.

“Brody?!” she asked, nudging his head with hers, “Brody?! Wake up!” He didn’t answer her and he didn’t move. “Brody?!” she called out in a panic, “Answer me!” It was then that she realised that his chest wasn’t moving! There was no in and out movement anymore. No laboured wheezing breathsounds. Nothing! He was completely still and he was heavier than ever! “Oh, my God!” she gasped, as she began jostling him in any way that she could, “Brody?! Don’t do this to me! Don’t do this to me!” Despite the pain in her own body, she wriggled a little to try to wake him up.

Suddenly a hunk of concrete was moved from above her head, allowing light to flood in, and a hand with an orange sleeve reached down through the gap it had made. “Who’s in there?” said an all too familiar voice.

“Alf?!” wheezed Phoebe, as she reached up and took hold of his hand, “It’s Phoebe… Brody’s here too… but he… he’s not breathing!”

“Hold on, love!” said Alf, as they began frantically moving rubble out of the way, “We’ll get you out of there in a jiffy! Help’s on the way!”

She let go of his hand and turned to look at Brody. She could finally see him, after God knew how many hours! He looked peaceful, like he was sleeping, but he was a pale waxen white colour. He must have died some time ago. “I’m sorry” she said, with tears running down her cheeks, “I’m so sorry, Brodes!” All she could think was that her last words to him had been to tell him to shut up. And now he was dead, and she’d never get to tell him how much she had loved him as a friend, or how important he was to her. What was she going to do without him? “I’m sorry, Brodes” she whispered to him, “I’m sorry!”

 

THE END.

 

 

 

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