The chamber they are in is but one of seven chambers. These chamber face an unknown area where the glow of the torches can never reach. In these other chambers, cries and wails have erupt from time to time. Only one chamber is eerily quiet. The situation is too chaotic for anyone to pay attention to this particularly or other noises. In an another chamber, with slightly more debris, caved in the Blue Ribbon restaurant, Elise sits on top of a table hyperventilating. She tries to focus on her brother's voice which is soothing and coaxing. She gasps as if running out of air which instantly causes her shortness of breath. Bouts of dizziness attack her. She slowly curls up trying to find some sense of security to no avail as she feels gradual tingling at her fingertips. The rustling of her floral print skirt seeming to only intensify her situation. Up above, David curses. He becomes frustrated at himself and his subordinates who are having trouble finding their way into the restaurant. David frantically rubs his face harshly making his cinnamon colored skin reddish brown. He then slaps himself with all his might drawing blood. He follows the perimeter of the caved in restaurant only to circle around to the same gap that shows his sister across from him. He picks up a pole from a nearby pile and attempts to pry this opening. Elise is not the only one caved in. Other survivors are still unconscious or huddling under tables while some others have a madness in their eyes that is hard to decipher. These people are three young men. They had come to the Grove to hang out and cruise. They had planned to go to a party right after having dinner at Blue Ribbon knowing it was going to be drinks all night. The series of events that followed went beyond their imagination. They could perhaps banter about the shaking and still be sane when everything around them shook. However, what they could not deal with was this cave in. They screamed and hurled abuses at the people outside for not calling the firefighters. Of course, they had tried to call themselves only to find out a busy dial. No bars. No connection to the outside world. From the small gaps they could see through, the dim lights only emphasized the possibility that their cave in was only a part of their critical situation. The young men quickly fell into despair. One of them went over to an unconscious person and rummaged through his clothes. He found a wallet and a lighter. Seeing this, the other two felt as if hit by a brilliant idea. They hurried to scavenge the property and person of those unconscious. Some found strewn shopping bags with knick knacks and snacks. One of the young men looked at his companions with an eerie smile, "we can survive like this."
The other two felt enlightened. Some of the people they scavenged through were women. They still felt the warmth of the soft bodies. Looking at the first man who proposed they scavenged from others, he asks, "we might be here a long time. why don't we relieve our boredom"
The first man looks at him quizzically but realization dawns upon him soon. Their actions are seen by others. The other survivors are too much in shock, frozen, or slow about their situation. Not far from them are two other young men who surround a lady between them. They had come with their mother to walk around the Grove. They were planning to buy their old lady something nice. Their mother loved going to shopping malls. They felt that the shopping malls she went with their aunts were not very nice looking and so decided to go on a stroll at The Grove which they had heard from their friends and coworkers was very nice and trendy. Never had they expected to be trapped in a restaurant they had not even been close to. They had been by the fountain admiring the scenery. Their mother was particularly excited and happy. When the earthquake happened, they did not panic and only tried to calm their mother who was panicking and trying to call everyone to assure herself that her family was safe. The call to last person she called whom was their father disconnected midway as the shaking began to crack buildings and streets. Then they felt their bodies being pulled. When they woke up, they were in this restaurant. They didn't recognize it as the Blue Ribbon. They were confused, but their first priority was to make sure their mother was well. Back to their present situation, they see the behavior of those other men with prim and trendy clothes. Dismissing their behavior, they turn their attention back to their mother. They ask their mother, "Ma, how are you?"
"Are you thirsty?"
The lady tries to remain calm and pats their shoulders, "I'm ok, mijos." Her vision blurs slightly, "just let me rest a bit." The older brother looks at his younger brother and remarks, "you are going to that medical school. Can you check her condition?"
The younger brother's mouth twitches, "to be a nurse!" he whispers loudly. The older brother nods, "that still has to do with healing, no? hurry up and check on our mom."
Not far from them, those men who scavenged other survivors talk about their plans. Hearing their conversation, the brothers' hearts are filled with trepidation. They speak in their native tongue, "esos hijos de su madre estan demente. Apurate y yo me fijo de ellos [Those sons of a gun are mad. Hurry up while I keep watch]" A man in a white coat walks toward them. The older brother stands up in a defensive position. The man in the white coat puts his hands up to show he means no trouble, "I won't do anything. Me and my colleagues are simply going around to see who is awake. We felt it necessary to discuss what to do about those young men."
The older brother lowers his guard a bit and listens to their plan.
David meanwhile has his heart gripped in burning flames as he sees shadows approaching his sister. He starts beating the gap and trying to pull it apart with his bare hands. He screams at those as if wanting to tear them apart, "I'll destroy you if you go any closer!"
The gap grows bigger as if being melted. David has no time for secondary thoughts as he hurries to make the gap big enough for him to go through. He is careful to not compromise the integrity of the structure. He hurriedly scurries in when the opening is big enough and rushes to his sister. He brings her into his arms carrying her out as quickly as possible. He quickly hands her over to his deputy who helps bring her out of the opening. He turns to those shadows only to be met with the sight of them being tackled by the staff of the restaurant and other survivors. However, these shadows who are the young men who scavenged others seem to have a boost of something as they turn rabid. They scratch and bite at others. Their strength beyond what they had expected. David's anger has not subsided, so he proceeds to the closest target and motions for other to get away. He picks up the man by the collar and smashes him to the ground. He gets ontop of him and begins to pummel him. Howls of pain echo in the cave in. The companions of this man whimper. Slight embers etch the young man that has been pummeled. David closes in on his next target. The survivors are too shocked. They don't want to be involved in criminal charges, so they hurriedly try to stop David from beating up the last man. They ask him to compromise, "we will tie them all up and make sure they don't do anything." David sweeps a cold gaze at the survivors. He spits out, "Fine." He continues, "you should hurry to leave through there" and points at the gap he made. Many survivors here this and scramble forward. When David approaches the exit he made, they scramble out of his way. In an act of mercy or gratitude, he has his subordinates deal with the survivors and asks them to take care of those who helped his sister.
David hurries out and takes his sister back into his arms. He hurries to find a clear surrounding. Behind him, the structure where Elise was at crumbles. David's back is filled with cold sweat. He shakes his head in an attempt for stray thoughts to fly away. He places Elise down on a cleared surface. He covers her full pink lips with his palm and beckons her to breathe through her nose. She weakly tries to breathe through her mouth but her brother's warmth and coaxing slowly allow her breath to stabilize. When Elise regains clarity, she is met with the sight of her gentle brother in a haggard appearance. His gentle hazel almond shaped eyes etched with pain and worry. Elise flutters her big round eyes at her brother making her look like a bullied puppy. David softly chuckles and nuzzles her cheek. His short stubble irritates her cheek that he nuzzles. Her eyes open wide in surprise at his unexpected skinship. He sighs deeply as if a heavy weight has been lifted off his shoulders as he says, "thank god you're ok"