You Must Remember This

Chapter 37 - ... of November

It took another two hours before the rescue workers got to Bucky and Evelyn. He let her go out first, right into Lucas's arms. The paramedics were standing by to take them to the hospital, but Evelyn wouldn't have it. She stubbornly refused to take one more step until they got Tommy's body out. Lucas almost dragged her to the ambulance, cursing and crying at her obstinacy, but Bucky stopped him. She needed to see Tommy was taken care of. So did he.
As they waited, Bucky took in the ruins around him. All that remained from the main warehouse and office building was rubble. The flames destroyed everything, down to the last bit of cargo they loaded off the docked British ship that morning. Two of the other warehouses had caught fire after the second blast, but they were still standing, albeit with blackened walls. With some luck, both could be roofed again before the worst of winter hit. It was only a small silver lining in the catastrophe that occurred.

"Where's Steve?" asked Bucky as he looked around for his buddy. "I thought he'd be here after hearing about Evelyn?"

"He was," replied Lucas. "No idea when he got here. I caught him in the line, passing buckets of water, and made sure he wasn't too close. The smoke got to him after a while, though. He didn't wanna leave at first, but he came close to coughing his lungs out. I took him home and asked the upstairs neighbor to stay with him until I called."

Bucky gently placed a hand on Evelyn's shoulder. She didn't respond to his touch. Her eyes were fixated on the rescue shaft to the underground storage room. If it weren't for an occasional blink, she could've been mistaken for a window display mannequin.

"Do you wanna phone home? Steve'll be worried sick about you."

She didn't answer. Bucky noticed her trembling. He pulled her close, hoping the warmth of his body might help. Lucas'd given her his coat since she took her cardigan off to cover Tommy with, but it didn't seem to help much. The shock must've finally gotten to her.

"How many?" Bucky asked Lucas then.

"Ten so far," he answered, grasping Bucky's meaning. "Lots of injuries. I know three day workers were taken to surgery, but there could be more. They were still in their break and closest to the warehouse. The guys from the fixed crew who'd returned to work got to them as fast as they could and tried to put out the fire, but it was too much. Lots of people from neighboring districts came too when they saw the smoke, even Bobby and Miss Lettie. Goddamn fire department only arrived after almost twenty minutes. Flames were finally doused after two hours, but they wouldn't let us search for survivors until they deemed it safe. I'm sorry it took so long to get to you. I can't imagine what it was like having been stuck down there for almost six hours. "

Bucky didn't reply to that last comment. The last two hours had been hardest on both him and Evelyn, as they had to sit with Tommy's body until they were rescued. He would have to talk about that eventually, but not right now. Not when the poor kid was still down there.
He hung his head, silently praying for everyone who died and those still hanging by a thread. It felt like the most appropriate thing to do, even though he wasn't a religious man, per se. But as he prayed, Bucky felt the one emotion he'd been able to keep down all this time rising with his boiling blood - outrage.

"How did this happen, Lucas? I can understand the faulty wiring finally giving out. We told the bosses many times that was an accident waiting to happen, especially with the gas pipes being so close. But that second blast could've been avoided. Why the hell was there TNT in that warehouse? We're not equipped to handle military cargo."

"We're not equipped for anything." The union rep's face twisted in loathing as he sneered. "The union was informed of the military contract three weeks ago, after management signed. There was nothing we could do to stop it. That load today was the first one to ship out. Those upperclass ass-hats must've bribed someone, 'cause I've got no idea how this place could've gotten approved for such a contract. None of the security and first-aid requirements the union's been demanding this past year were put in place. We didn't even have any clean water at hand today, just the water from the taps and harbor."