Indiana Goes West (Mail Order Brides of Pioneer Town, Book 1) by Ruth Hartzler Page B

swept them along so fast that they
struggled to keep their footing.
    The ground was still shaking, but even this
was becoming normal to Morgan and Indiana, so accustomed they were
to the continual vibration.
    Morgan and Indiana stood for a moment in the
opening to catch their breath. Indiana looked up in terror at the
giant, towering column of fire spurting high from one building.
While she was distracted, a group of people burst into the street
and carried them along. This time, the force of the crowd pulled
Morgan and Indiana apart.
    When Indiana was finally able to detach
herself from the crowd, she saw that Morgan was gone.
     
     

Chapter 20

    Indiana was moving down the hill, her
thoughts only on Morgan. It was strange, and she knew it, to be in
a ruined city that was only getting worse by the minute, separated
from her mother and sisters, and still her mind was screaming his
name over and over. Morgan, Morgan!
    Fires were burning all around her, but they
died down as she reached the level ground at the base of the hill.
There were people there, on one side of the street, and Indiana
stopped to take them in. There were about ten of them, one family
it seemed, ranging in ages from no more than six, to an old man
with soot and ash covering his pajamas. Indiana turned and looked
up the hill, back toward the worse of the fires. It was strange, an
eerie light from the burning orange and yellow flames.
    “Water,” a voice said, and Indiana looked
back to the family on the side of the street. The old man was
pointing at her, Indiana thought at first, but then she realized he
was pointing past her, just a degree or too. A red-headed woman of
around thirty, possibly his daughter, just as dirty from soot and
barefoot to top it off turned and followed the man’s finger.
Indiana assumed he was asking for a drink, until she turned and
looked as well.
    Running at an angle to the street she had
just come down, there was another street that rose to crest a hill.
About halfway up the street there was a section of ruptured paved
road, and sticking through the black jagged hole was a thick pipe,
which had apparently just burst open. Frothy white water was
rushing out of the pipe, and due to gravity, came swirling and
leaping down toward Indiana and the others. It was certainly better
than fire, but Indiana knew that she would be unable to stay on her
feet when the water reached her, and it was due to do so within
seconds.
    Indiana was thrown from her feet as the water
slammed into the back of her legs, soaking her from her heel to the
back of her thigh. She fell backward, splashed through the water,
and came down hard on the pavement. She struggled to get her head
above the water, but she couldn’t. Her lungs were burning. The
water had forced itself into her mouth. It tasted dirty, having
picked up a number of pollutants from the filthy city street. Her
head broke the surface, and she gasped for breath.
    A young man stepped forward, and seized
Indiana’s arm. She braced against the running water, which was
lessening its power.
    The chilly, gray water flowed away, and was
now only ankle deep. Indiana wiped her face with her hands, and
took a deep breath. “Is everyone okay?” she asked the family. It
seemed as though they were all accounted for.
    “Yes. Are you all right?” the red-haired
woman asked, and Indiana nodded.
    “I have to find someone,” she said, and she
turned and ran.
    She sloshed through the water as she went,
and thankful that it was lessening. She figured that while
overwhelmed, the drainage systems on the road were doing their job.
The water had even been a blessing in disguise. She ran by a
butcher’s shop which had clearly been ablaze. The wood was
blackened and smoldering, but the flame was gone, extinguished by
the flash flood and leaving nothing but thick white smoke which
hung in the air.
    Indiana was beginning to despair. Everywhere
she turned were people, but none of them Morgan. She went on to