Big Mike and Jeanine had spent the better part of two days without no idea what had become of Mike and his friends.
"So, how did you find out? How did I get here?"
"As it happened, firemen called out to fight the Gammon Plant blaze found you pretty early on--but you were all unconscious, and since none of you had any identification, no one at the hospital knew who to contact. Eventually, Desmond came to and from there, the hospital was able to get in touch with the Potains. They contacted us."
"How are Mary and Desmond now?"
At this, his parents' faces suddenly took on an ashen hue. "Honey, I--I don't--" his mother began before allowing her words to trail off as her gaze fell to the floor.
"There's no easy way to say this, son." Big Mike interjected. "Desmond suffered a few broken bones and some damage to his eyes, but Mary...she..."
"She, what, Dad? She what?!" the pitch of Mike's voice rising in step with his panic.
"Somehow, during the quake Mary's back was broken. The doctors said it looked like she had suffered blunt force trauma. She's lost the use of her legs, Mikey."
His father's final sentence struck Mikey like a gut punch with a sledgehammer. The boy just sat there mutely staring into space, for what seemed like an eternity. At last, the silence with a barely audible whisper: "It's all my fault."
"Oh no, honey! No, it isn't."Jeanine retorted. "This was just a terrible accident--"
"It was my idea to go through the plant, mom!
"So, how did you find out? How did I get here?"
"As it happened, firemen called out to fight the Gammon Plant blaze found you pretty early on--but you were all unconscious, and since none of you had any identification, no one at the hospital knew who to contact. Eventually, Desmond came to and from there, the hospital was able to get in touch with the Potains. They contacted us."
"How are Mary and Desmond now?"
At this, his parents' faces suddenly took on an ashen hue. "Honey, I--I don't--" his mother began before allowing her words to trail off as her gaze fell to the floor.
"There's no easy way to say this, son." Big Mike interjected. "Desmond suffered a few broken bones and some damage to his eyes, but Mary...she..."
"She, what, Dad? She what?!" the pitch of Mike's voice rising in step with his panic.
"Somehow, during the quake Mary's back was broken. The doctors said it looked like she had suffered blunt force trauma. She's lost the use of her legs, Mikey."
His father's final sentence struck Mikey like a gut punch with a sledgehammer. The boy just sat there mutely staring into space, for what seemed like an eternity. At last, the silence with a barely audible whisper: "It's all my fault."
"Oh no, honey! No, it isn't."Jeanine retorted. "This was just a terrible accident--"
"It was my idea to go through the plant, mom!
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