"Zac what happened to him ?" Amelia is scared, she is looking at Tom, he looks like he is literally dying in their hands.

Zac got him down on his back and is listening to his chest. "He got trapped under a falling wall in one of the quakes, I had to revive him, I think he has a punctured lung".

"You let him go on after that ? Zac for God's sake, he should have been to a hospital". She was afraid that they could do nothing to help Tom.

It was quite clear that Zac felt guilty already and she regretted saying it even before he answered, his tone a bit sharp.

"And don't you think I tried ? Tom don't exactly listen if he has his mind set on something, it is more than enough that Luke is blaming me, I didn't realise it was this bad". He had tears in his eyes.

She put a hand on his arm. "I am sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to blame you, I know how stubborn he can be, but what do we do ?"

"We need to get the trapped air out of his chest so he can breathe again, can you get the first aid kit in the backpack ?" He pointed to the backpack that Tom had put down.

She crawled over and pulled it with her, then she pulled out the first aid kit, it was typical Zac to be prepared. "Here, what do you need ?"

"There should be a syringe in the lid, can you unpack it for me, without contaminating the needle ?" He looked at her pleadingly, he couldn't really do it with only his left hand being useful.

She hurried and got it out of the package, careful not to get anything near the needle. "What are you going to do Zac ?"

"Let the air out of his chest with the needle, he needs space in there to breathe". He looked very focused and extremely nervous.

Amelia clamped her free hand over her mouth. "Is that necessary ? Isn't it better to let the professionals deal with this ?"

"There isn't time, if we don't get the air out know, he will stop breathing in a matter of minutes and then he dies, but I need you to do something". He looked at her.

She was afraid he would ask her to stab him with the needle, she was pretty sure she couldn't do that. "What is it Zac ?"

"Don't worry, I will do it, but I need you to remove the piston, so the air can get out". He nodded toward the syringe.

She pulled out the piston, and handed him the rest, feeling nauseated. "Here you go".

"Better look away darling, I don't want you to get sick". He said softly and she turned her head away.

She focused on Tom face instead, even though she wasn't sure it was a good idea, he looked almost white now and his lips were very bluish, his breathing only little shallow gasps.

She felt the tears running down her face, this wasn't fair, Tom just had to make it, he was always so sweet and helpful, nice to everyone, he deserved to live.

There was a weird unknown sound, but she guessed it was the needle being pushed into Toms chest, the there was a low sound like air being let out of a bicycle wheel.

"Now it is about time Luke arrives, he still needs immediate medical care". Zac looked worriedly at Tom, he was definitely breathing a lot better now, but not good enough.

Amelia was relieved that Zac not only knew what to do, but also had the courage to actually do it. "And you need medical care, I think you at least has a badly ruptured tendon in that shoulder".

"Thank you for coming Zac, both of you, I knew you would find me". She looked at him lovingly.

He leaned over, his lips ghosting over hers. "I will always find you Ami and I will always come if you need me".

"Is everyone okay ? How bad is it out there ? How badly did San Diego get hit ?" She hoped for good news.

His eyes were so filled with sadness that she feared the worst. "Everyone is okay, it was bad in San Diego, but we were lucky, comic con had an entire hall collapse and LA is a ghost town, it looks like something from a bad disaster movie".

"Oh God, how did you manage to get here ? It must have been gruelling, you looks like you walked through the nine hells". She looked at him with concern.

He bit his lip. "Tom flew in with a rescue helicopter from Las Vegas and I picked him up on the way, but we totalled the car in the first aftershock, so we walked through the city along the coast".

They could hear a helicopter approaching and they prayed that it was Luke and that there was time enough.