The boy hesitated then left the floor where he sat and joined her sitting on the bed. The earthquake grew more intense. Jenn wrapped her arms around him. He remained tense at first before letting her pull him to her.
"Not so bad now, is it?" she asked.
"It's worse than before."
She almost sighed, not sure what to tell the boy. The shaking of the earth grew worse, until the walls began to tremble. Jenn took the boy's hand and led him out of the building into the bailey area. The other new Guardians were gathered there as well. The boy crept closer to her, and she sought some subject to discuss that would calm him.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Dustin."
"Don't worry, Dustin. I'll take care of you."
He said nothing, his blue eyes darting around their surroundings. There was a crash, and one of the barracks collapsed. Jenn eyed it uneasily. The earth bucked, and two more buildings went down. The walls around the bailey began to crumble. Jenn grabbed Dustin's hand and pulled him through the crowd, out of the enclosed space where the walls crumbled. She gazed at the city around them, startled to see buildings collapsing everywhere she looked.
Her heart sinking, she looked in the direction of her home. She couldn't see the poverty-stricken section of the city.
"Stay here, Dustin," she told him. "You hear me? Right here. Don't go in any buildings."
Scared, he nodded. Jenn released him and ran down the street, startled when the shaking ground knocked her down. She hurried to her feet and continued, heart racing as she ran through the city towards her home. The closer she got to the overcrowded, poor part of the city, the more people jammed the streets, shoving against her in an effort to escape the collapsing buildings.
Weaving in and out of people, Jenn made her way to her street and froze. Almost every dwelling on the narrow, crowded road was in pieces. Panic built as she forced herself forward. She stopped finally in front of the dwelling that had been hers. Her mother and father-in-law sat in front of the crushed structure, hunched over while their sobs reaching her ears.
Jenn approached as if in a dream, struggling to stay on her feet with the earth's shaking.
"Get out!" her mother shouted as Jenn stopped next to them. "You did this!"
Jenn glimpsed the black curls of her daughter's head as her mother tried to push her away. She gasped. Talia's head was split open, her lifeless eyes staring at the sky.